Baptism

Part 2

As I alluded to in part one, baptism is not a New Testament doctrine. As a matter of fact, it is one of the very oldest teachings in the scriptures. The idea of immersing and or cleansing with or in water is old because ALL matter is cleansed in water in the beginning. Water is in the very, very beginning and directly associated with the Spirit of God.

B'reshiyth 1:2
"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

The first action of God is to move upon the face of the waters. This is because all of God's creation will be first immersed in water. Two entities are brought forth first in the Word of God. Light and water, both of which are still being researched as to their essence, purpose and possibilities. The Holy Spirit or Spirit of God and water are used consistently all through scripture as figures, one of another.

Yesha'yahu 12:3
"Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

Yesha'yahu 44:3
"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:"

Yesha'yahu 55:10-11
"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

Yochanan 7:37-38
"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Y'shua stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

Hitgalut 22:17
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

These are but a handful of examples. But we must take note that the pattern placed by God has the Spirit of God moving first. What God will do for man, He does for the creation first. In restoring a fallen creation, God first moves on the face of the waters (B'reshiyth 1:2). This is because the earth will be cleansed by the waters a little later. He then brings forth light (1:3). Then He cleanses the earth with water (1:6-10). After that, the earth brings forth fruit (1:11-13). Then the creation is a witness through the sun, moon, and stars (1:14-19), and the result is life (1:20-27).

In verses nine and ten of B'reshiyth we have the earth baptized first. All the material from whence life will come from, is first immersed and then brought up out of the water.

B'reshiyth 1:9-10
"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the GATHERING TOGETHER of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Apparently, the land was still underneath the waters a result of the fall of hasatan in the beginning. (A detail I cover in much detail in our B'reshiyth series. This writer holds to a source of the fall of hasatan in the beginning and NOT a doctrine involving pre-adamic beings, mortal sin before death or any such teaching.) AFTER the Spirit of God moves on the face of the waters, we have the earth coming up out of the waters. The phrase 'gathering together' in verse ten is the word ulemiqeveh. This Hebrew word is the word miqeveh. This is the Hebrew word for baptismal, or the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek baptizo. It means a place of gathering. The Creator begins by immersing and cleansing the earth within which all plants, animals and people come from. The cleansing power of water still fascinates man to this day. Science, as we speak, still does not fully comprehend it's abilities. The following is a quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Although it's formula (H2O) seems simple, water exhibits very complex chemical physical properties that are incompletely understood."

One of the more profound properties of water is it's ability to dissolve so many other substances. Water is the principle substance in all living things, and is a universal solvent. I will suggest that only when we stand before our Creator and He reveals what water is really all about, will we fully realize the enormity of it. As I have stated so many times in the past, I believe ever law and every commandment of God has a physical and a spiritual purpose and application. All things brought forth from the earth are cleansed and declared very good by the Master. We have our pattern of baptism displayed in the gathering together of the waters in B'reshiyth 1:10, AFTER the bringing forth of light. This will be the pattern for man as well.

Shalom Alecheim!