MATT 3:1 In those days, John the Baptist began declaring to people, a message from Alahim. This was out in the desert area of Judea. 2. John said, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is very near!” 3. John was the one that Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said, “I hear the voice of someone crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for Yahuah and make the path straight for Him.’”
ISAIAH 40:3 "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of Yahuah and make straight the path of our Alahim in the desert”.
4. John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. 5. People came to John from Jerusalem and the rest of Judah and from all the areas along the Jordan River. 6. They confessed the wicked behaviour they’d done, and John baptised them in the Jordan River to prepare for the Messiah.
2 KINGS 1:8 “HE WORE A HAIRY GARMENT WITH A LEATHER BELT AROUND HIS WAIST." HE SAID, "IT WAS ELIJAH FROM TISHBITE.”
SO WHAT WAS THE ATTRACTION TO JOHN FOR PEOPLE FROM JERUSALEM AND ALL OVER JUDEA TO GO AND BE BAPTISED?
THE PURPOSE, WE'RE TOLD, WAS TO CONFESS THEIR SINS, HOWEVER THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IDENTIFYING WITH THE MESSIAH YAHUSHA BECAUSE HE HADN'T EVEN STEPPED ONTO THE SCENE IN HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY YET. IT SEEMS THAT MANY PEOPLE IN THIS REGION, IN AND AROUND JERUSALEM THOUGHT THAT JOHN INDEED WAS THE PROPHESIED RETURN OF ELIJAH. HE LOOKED LIKE IT, DRESSED LIKE IT, AND ACTED LIKE IT. SO THEY JUST FIGURED IT WAS ELIJAH. IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN (AND CAN BE EASILY GLEANED FROM THE NEW COVENANT WRITINGS) THAT COMMON EVERYDAY JEWS IN THAT ERA FELT SO OPPRESSED BY ROME THAT THEY WERE CERTAIN THEY HAD TO BE LIVING IN THE PROPHESIED END TIMES. AND SINCE THE PROPHET MALACHI SAID THAT ELIJAH WOULD COME BEFORE THE DAY OF YAHUAH….. MEANING THAT ELIJAH WOULD RE-APPEAR IN THE END-TIMES….. THEN IT MAKES SENSE THAT JOHN WAS SEEN AS ELIJAH, WHETHER HE CONFESSED TO IT OR NOT. IN FACT WHEN DIRECTLY CONFRONTED ABOUT IT, JOHN FAMOUSLY SAID THAT HE WAS NOT ELIJAH, BUT THAT WOULDN’T HAVE MATTERED TO MANY OF THE PEOPLE. THEY WERE CONVINCED THAT HE WAS THE 2ND COMING OF ELIJAH !!
WHAT IS
JOHN THE BAPTIST BRINGS TWO CRITICAL MESSAGES TO THE JEWISH PUBLIC: REPENT FOR YOUR SINS, AND THE KINGDOM OF ALAHIM IS NEAR. THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, AND YET INTIMATELY RELATED. THE HEBREW WORD 'SHUB' EMBODIES THIS CONCEPT OF REPENTANCE. LITERALLY IT MEANS 'TO TURN OR TO RETURN' IE 'TO TURN FROM ONE'S SINS AND TO RETURN TO ALAHIM'. SO IT DOESN'T ONLY MEAN TO QUIT YOUR BAD BEHAVIOUR, BUT ALSO INCLUDES SINCERELY AND PERSONALLY COMMITTING ONE'S LIFE TO ALAHIM AND TO HIS COVENANT.
7. Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to where John was baptising people, and when John saw them, he said, “You’re a Brood of Vipers! Who warned you to run from Alahim’s judgment that’s coming? 8. Repent and change your hearts! And prove by your behaviour that you’re genuine! 9. O’ I know what you’re thinking. You say, ‘But Abraham is our father!’ Well guess what? That means absolutely nothing. For I tell you, Alahim could make children of Abraham from these rocks here.
10. The axe is now ready to cut down the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire".
PRODUCE FRUIT WORTHY OF REPENTANCE !
WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES OF BOTH HALVES OF THE JEWS' DUAL RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THAT ERA SHOWING UP. THE PHARISEES REPRESENTED THE SYNAGOGUE SYSTEM AND THE SADDUCEES REPRESENTED THE TEMPLE SYSTEM. THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES WERE UNEASY RIVALS, BUT THEY WEREN'T ENEMIES. THEY WERE CERTAINLY UNIFIED IN THE MOTIVE OF WANTING TO GUARD THEIR RELIGIOUS TERRITORY AND AUTHORITY. SO THE GROWING FLOCKS OF PEOPLE SEEKING OUT JOHN SENT UP A RED FLAG. JOHN CAUSING THESE TWO GROUPS TO VISIT (AS TRYING TO AVOID ALAHIM'S COMING WRATH) ONCE AGAIN PLAYS RIGHT INTO THE ELIJAH AND END TIMES SCENARIO BECAUSE ELIJAH WAS BELIEVED THROUGHOUT JUDAISM TO APPEAR SHORTLY BEFORE THE DAY OF YAHUAH WHEN ALAHIM WOULD INDEED POUR OUT HIS WRATH UPON THE EARTH.
SO APPARENTLY THE COMMON FOLKS COMING TO JOHN BELIEVED THEY WERE LIVING IN THE END TIMES. WITHOUT DOUBT THE APOSTLES PAUL AND PETER BELIEVED THEY WERE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS AND TAUGHT IT TO ANYONE WHO'D LISTEN. THE PEOPLE WERE FEARFUL OF IT AND SO CAME TO PARTICIPATE IN A RITUAL BAPTISM FROM THIS VERY STRANGE MAN (WHO MANY THOUGHT WAS ELIJAH) IN ORDER TO PERHAPS AVOID ALAHIM'S WRATH IN SOME WAY ... MAKES SENSE!
THE CONCEPT OF BEARING FRUIT (MEANING BEHAVIOUR) AS THE NECESSARY PROOF OF ONE'S TRUE BELIEF AND REPENTANCE IN ALAHIM, IS STATED SEVERAL TIMES:
JAMES 2:15-18
“SUPPOSE A BROTHER OR SISTER IS WITHOUT CLOTHES AND DAILY FOOD AND SOMEONE SAYS TO HIM, "SHALOM! STAY SAFE, KEEP WARM AND EAT HEARTY!" WITHOUT EVEN GIVING HIM WHAT HE NEEDS! WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO? SO BELIEF BY ITSELF, WITHOUT ANY ACTION OR KIND BEHAVIOUR... IS DEAD. SOMEONE WILL SAY THAT YOU HAVE BELIEF BUT I HAVE ACTIONS. SHOW ME THIS 'SO-CALLED' BELIEF OF YOURS WITHOUT ANY GOOD BEHAVIOUR, AND I WILL SHOW YOU MY BELIEF THRU MY RIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOUR!
WHILE JAMES USES THIS GOOD FRUIT OF BEHAVIOUR AS PROOF OF OUR BELIEF, JOHN USES IT AS PROOF OF OUR SINCERITY. JOHN THEN TAKES IT ONE STEP FURTHER BY TELLING THESE RELIGIOUS FREAKS THAT SIMPLY BEING A HEBREW DESCENDED FROM ABRAHAM (THE FATHER) IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE IN GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH ALAHIM. THAT IS, BEING A JEW DOESN'T NEGATE THE NEED FOR PERSONAL FORGIVENESS OF SINS, RESTORATION AND DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL!
THE TAKE-AWAY IS THAT SINCERE TRUST IN ALAHIM CAN ONLY BE PROVEN BY ONE'S OUTWARD BEHAVIOUR, WHICH OBVIOUSLY BEGINS WITH OBEDIENCE TO ALAHIM. ONE'S AFFILIATION TO A GROUP OR ONE'S FAMILY-HERITAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE OR EXCLUDE ANYONE FROM HAVING INTIMATE-PEACE WITH ALAHIM. HOWEVER, IF THERE IS NO OBEDIENCE TO FACE THAT YAHUSHA IS ALAHIM, THEN THERE IS NO TRUE BELIEF OR CHANGE-OVER FROM OLD BEHAVIOUR TO NEW RIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOUR THROUGH YAHUSHA'S DELIVERANCE VEIN.
AS YAHUSHA WARNED US:
MATTHEW 7:19 “ANY TREE THAT DOES NOT PRODUCE GOOD FRUIT IS CUT DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE! SO YOU WILL RECOGNISE THEM BY THEIR FRUIT”.
THE FRUIT IS THE PRODUCT OF A PERSON'S LIFE….. THAT IS, HIS ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOUR. AND JOHN WAS NOT MAKING SOME VASTLY GENERALISED STATEMENT ABOUT A TREE NOT PRODUCING GOOD FRUIT BEING CUT DOWN. HE WAS APPLYING IT TO THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES WHO CAME TO INVESTIGATE HIM AND TO BOTHER THE PEOPLE WHO CAME FOR JOHN'S BAPTISM. AND THE RESULT OF BEARING NO FRUIT OR BAD FRUIT IS THE SAME: ETERNAL DESTRUCTION.
JOHN IS CALLED THE BAPTIST, OR IN TERMS MORE FAMILIAR TO THE MINDS OF JEWS, "THE IMMERSER”. FOR JEWS TO BE IMMERSED (OR BAPTISED) WAS MEANT IN THE SAME SENSE AS ONE MIGHT DYE A PIECE OF CLOTH. THAT IS, ONE DIPS A CLOTH INTO A VAT OF COLOURED DYE AND WHEN REMOVED, THAT CLOTH HAS TAKEN ON THE CHARACTERISTICS (THE COLOUR) OF THAT DYE. HOWEVER FOR JEWS, THIS DIPPING AND ABSORBING OF CHARACTERISTICS ALSO REVOLVED AROUND OLD-COVENANT RITUAL PURITY.
BEFORE A JEW COULD PRESENT HIS OFFERING AT THE TEMPLE HE FIRST HAD TO BE IMMERSED IN ONE OF THE SEVERAL MIKVAHS THAT WERE LOCATED EITHER IN OR NEAR THE TEMPLE GROUNDS. THIS DIPPING WAS IN OBEDIENCE TO SEVERAL PASSAGES IN LEVITICUS ...
... WHICH PRESCRIBED THIS BAPTISM AND WASHING TO REMEDY ANY NUMBER OF CAUSES FOR THE ISRAELITE TO HAVE BECOME RITUALLY IMPURE. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO NOTICE IS LESS THE EXACT METHOD OF BAPTISM, AND MORE
WHAT THE BAPTISM IS ABOUT/FOR!
FOR JEWS, BAPTISM WAS ABOUT RITUAL CLEANSING FROM SPIRITUAL IMPURITY?!?!?!?! BUT HOW CAN SOMETHING PHYSICAL CLEANSE A SPIRITUAL PROBLEM?!?!?!? JOHN SAID THAT THIS NEW BAPTISM THAT HE BROUGHT WAS NOT FOR CLEANSING FROM RITUAL IMPURITY (PHYSICAL) BUT RATHER IT WAS A CLEANSING FROM SIN (SPIRITUAL)! YOU SEE IMPURITY AND SIN ARE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS AND CAUSE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT HUMAN CONDITIONS AND OUTCOMES. PHYSICAL IMPURITY (ie hygiene etc) IS NOT SIN. IMPURITY COULD ALMOST ALWAYS BE SET RIGHT WITH A ‘WASH AND A WAIT’. THAT IS, MOST OF THE REASONS FOR BECOMING RITUALLY IMPURE COULD BE SOLVED BY THE PERSON IMMERSING THEMSELF IN LIVING WATER (FLOWING WATER) AND THEN WAITING UNTIL A NEW DAY BEGAN (WHICH WAS AT SUNSET). SO THE REMEDY FOR IMPURITY WAS USUALLY QUICK AND PAINLESS, AND COST YOU VERY LITTLE.
HOWEVER THE REMEDY FOR SIN (A SPIRITUAL ISSUE) ALWAYS INVOLVED AN ANIMAL SACRIFICE (BLOOD ATONEMENT) UPON THE TEMPLE ALTAR, WHICH RANGED FROM INEXPENSIVE ANIMALS LIKE BIRDS, ALL THE WAY UP TO THE HEFTY PRICE-TAG OF A MATURE BULL. IMPURITY WAS CURED WITH WATER, BUT SIN WAS CURED WITH THE BLOOD OF AN INNOCENT ANIMAL. JEWS WERE ACUTELY AWARE OF THIS DIFFERENCE.
SO WHAT WAS JOHN'S BAPTISM TO ACHIEVE?
SO TO BE CLEAR: IT IS NOT THAT (ACCORDING TO JOHN) A BAPTISM IN WATER NOW ITSELF ATONED FOR SIN. RATHER IT IS THAT WHEN ONE TRUSTED IN THE ONE THAT JOHN WAS PREPARING THE WAY FOR, BAPTISM IN WATER WAS A SYMBOLIC SHADOW OF TAKING ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ONE WHO ATONED FOR SINS AND SO IDENTIFIED THEM WITH YAHUSHA.
WHILE MANY PHARISEES AND SCRIBES WOULD ARGUE (FROM THE POSITION OF JEWISH TRADITION) THAT THERE WAS INDEED A KIND OF SUPERNATURAL NATURE IN THE LIVING WATER OF A RIVER OR LAKE OR IN A MIKVAH, CAUSING AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL EFFECT UPON THE HUMAN BODY (SUFFICIENT TO REMOVE THE TOXIC IMPURITY ),
OTHERS OF THE MORE LEARNED AND ENLIGHTENED JEWS UNDERSTOOD THAT THE EFFECT OF IMMERSION WAS SYMBOLIC ON THE ONE HAND, YET ALSO IT WAS IN OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMAND OF ALAHIM ON THE OTHER. SO WHATEVER PHYSICAL EFFECT OF RITUAL IMPURITY THERE MIGHT BE ON THE BODY, IT WAS ERASED BY ALAHIM IN RESPONSE TO RIGHTEOUS OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW OF MOSES - IT WAS NOT BECAUSE WATER LITERALLY WASHED IT AWAY LIKE DIRT COMING OFF THE BODY WHEN TAKING A BATH. IT IS INTERESTING THAT ALTHOUGH THE TERM BAPTISE MEANS "TO DIP, SUBMERGE OR IMMERSE", HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO WITHIN CHRISTENDOM, THE PRACTICE OF SPRINKLING BEGAN. HOW SPRINKLING CAN BE SEEN AS THE SAME AS A BAPTISM WHO KNOWS, BUT THE FIRST GROUPS TO BREAK AWAY APPROPRIATELY CALLED THEMSELVES 'BAPTISTS'.
AS TO THE ACTUAL BAPTISM PROCESS, A JEW WAS NOT 'DUNKED' BY ANOTHER PERSON BUT SELF-IMMERSED. EVEN TODAY THERE IS OFTEN A SUPERVISOR AT A MIKVAH TO MAKE SURE THAT A PERSON IS 100% UNCLOTHED, OR HAS NO OPEN WOUND ON THEM, OR THAT EVERY LAST HAIR BECAME SUBMERGED, AND THEY WATCH FOR A FEW OTHER VIOLATIONS AS WELL. WE DO READ THAT JOHN IS SAID TO HAVE BAPTISED PEOPLE, AND THIS IS ASSUMED TO MEAN THAT HE PHYSICALLY BAPTISED THEM, BUT HIS ROLE WAS ACTUALLY THAT OF A SUPERVISOR, AND TO HAVE THE IMMERSION CANDIDATE PUBLICLY DECLARE WHAT THEIR BAPTISM WAS MEANT TO ACCOMPLISH !! RITUAL, REPENTANCE, CLEANSING?
YAHUSHA DID NOT COME TO PUT A BANDAID ON OUR DEFILED BODIES & NATURE, BUT TO REMOVE THE SINFUL CORRUPT HEART ALTOGETHER AND BRING ABOUT A COMPLETE SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
MATT 3:11 "I indeed baptise you with water for repentance, but there is someone coming after me Who’s much mightier than I, and able to do much more than I can. I’m not even worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptise you with His set-apart spirit and with fire. (2 SUPERNATURAL BAPTISMS !) 12 He will come ready to cleanse the grain on His threshing floor, winnowing and separating the good grain from the straw, and He will put the good into His barn, but will burn the useless chaff with unquenchable fire.”
IN OLD-COVENANT SHADOW TIMES A PERSON BECAME RITUALLY CLEAN THROUGH WATER AND THEIR SINS WERE FORGIVEN & ATONED THROUGH ANIMAL BLOOD. JOHN WAS USING THIS MIKVAH OBSERVANCE TO PREPARE THE PEOPLE FOR THE TRUE DELIVERER, WHO'S REAL BAPTISM OF SPIRIT & FIRE WOULD COMPLETELY ERADICATE THE CORRUPT HEART & SPIRIT THAT CAUSED THE DEFILEMENT AND SEPARATION IN THE FIRST PLACE, BRINGING ABOUT DELIVERANCE & ETERNAL LIFE!
"REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR!"
WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
THE TERM "KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" OR "REIGN OF ALAHIM" IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE CONCEPT OF ULTIMATE RESTORATION OF ALAHIM'S CREATION.
YAHUSHA IS QUOTED AS SAYING:
LUKE 17:20-21 "THE KINGDOM OF ALAHIM DOES NOT COME WITH VISIBLE SIGNS, NOR WILL PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO SAY, 'LOOK! HERE IT IS!' OR, 'OVER THERE!' BECAUSE, YOU SEE, THE KINGDOM OF ALAHIM IS AMONG YOU."
HOW IS THE KINGDOM OF ALAHIM "AMONG US”. IT IMPLIES THAT YAHUSHA HIMSELF IS THE KINGDOM OF ALAHIM (WHICH HE IS) HOWEVER THE WORD BEING TRANSLATED "AMONG” ACTUALLY MEANS "WITHIN" OR "INSIDE". IT DOES NOT MEAN "IN THE MIDST" AND CERTAINLY NOT "AMONG". IN OTHER WORDS, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NOT A PLACE OR A TIME, BUT RATHER IT IS A DELIVERED STATE OF BEING, WHEREBY ALL IS BEING RESTORED TO THE ORIGINAL PERFECTION. ALL IS NEW AND THE NEW UNIVERSE IS FOREVER FREE FROM SIN AND DEATH. IN THE SCRIPTURAL CONTEXT IT ALSO MEANS THAT ALL LIVING BEINGS QUITE NATURALLY GLORIFY ALAHIM YAHUSHA AS THE RULER OVER ALL THINGS.
TELL ME HOW THIS IS POSSIBLE OUTSIDE
THE VEIN OF SPIRIT & FIRE BAPTISM?
BUT WHAT DOES JOHN THE BAPTIST MEAN BY "THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR?" FIRST, IT DOESN'T INDICATE PROXIMITY SINCE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ISN'T A TIME OR A PLACE, RATHER IT'S THAT THE ARRIVAL OF THIS STATE OF BEING (CALLED THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN) IS A PROCESS THAT INVOLVES A FEW STAGES (A VEIN). JOHN THE BAPTIST'S PRESENCE AND MINISTRY IS ITS BEGINNING BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE WHO WILL PREPARE THE WAY AND ANNOUNCE THE ARRIVAL OF ALAHIM HIMSELF: YAHUSHA, WHO WILL BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM WITHIN US. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WILL ONLY BE IN A PARTIAL STATE OF BEING UNTIL COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE OCCURS AT YAHUSHA'S RETURN AND THE NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH ARRIVE.
WHEN WE ARE BAPTISED IN YAHUSHA'S SPIRIT, HE REMOVES OUR OLD CORRUPT HEART AND SPIRIT AND SOWS INTO US HIS INCORRUPTIBLE SEED OF ETERNAL LIFE - YES YAHUSHA'S REIGN, HIS KINGDOM, ALL THAT HE IS, COMES AND LIVES
WITHIN US IN SEED-FORM, AND WE MUST TRUST, BELIEVE AND EXERCISE THIS SEED, WATERING IT WITH HIS LIVING WORDS, THE TRUE WATER FROM ABOVE, WHICH H2O IS BUT A SHADOW.
THIS IS HOW WE BECOME SPIRITUAL IN THE VEIN! WE ENTER & CONNECT WITH YAHUSHA'S REIGN, THROUGH HIS PORTAL ON OUR HEARTS AND WE CAN HEAR HIS VOICE AS HE LOVES & TRAINS US!
H E W I L L B A P T I S E Y O U I N S P I R I T A N D I N :
IN THE SCRIPTURE, ALAHIM USES FIRE MOSTLY FOR TWO PURPOSES: EITHER PURIFICATION OR FOR DESTRUCTION. PURIFICATION IS TO BURN OFF THE DROSS OF SIN AND IMPERFECTION, BUT IT LEAVES THE CORE ELEMENT NOT ONLY INTACT BUT PURE. DESTRUCTION IS TO TAKE A WICKED THING AND END ITS EXISTENCE. WHEN YAHUSHA BAPTISES US IN HIS FIRE, HE COMBINES BOTH THESE PROCESSES TOGETHER, PURIFYING US OF OUR FLESHLY-SELF BEHAVIOUR BY DESTROYING THE CORRUPT SPIRIT THAT LIVES IN US.
WHILE JOHN CALLS FOR A BAPTISM IN WATER THAT ONLY AMOUNTS TO A RITUAL PUBLIC PROFESSION OF THE PERSON'S ACT OF REPENTANCE, HE SAYS THAT THE ONE WHO IS COMING (YAHUSHA) WILL BAPTISM THIS SAME REPENTANT PERSON IN THE SPIRIT, AND WITH FIRE. BAPTISM IN WATER IS ONLY RITUALLY SYMBOLIC AND DONE IN OBEDIENCE TO THE OLD COVENANT COMMANDMENT OF ALAHIM. HOWEVER BAPTISM IN THE SPIRIT ACTUALLY CHANGES THE VERY NATURE OF THAT SAME PERSON, TRANSITIONING THEM INTO THE NEW COVENANT VEIN OF YAHUSHA ALAHIM’S DELIVERANCE.
WHILE JOHN CALLS FOR A BAPTISM IN WATER THAT ONLY AMOUNTS TO A RITUAL PUBLIC PROFESSION OF THE PERSON'S REPENTANCE, HE SAYS THAT THE ONE WHO IS COMING (YAHUSHA) WILL BAPTISM THIS SAME REPENTANT PERSON IN THE SPIRIT AND IN FIRE. BAPTISM IN WATER IS ONLY RITUALLY SYMBOLIC AND DONE IN OBEDIENCE TO THE OLD COVENANT COMMAND OF ALAHIM. HOWEVER YAHUSHA'S BAPTISM IN HIS SPIRIT ACTUALLY CHANGES THE NATURE OF THAT SAME PERSON, TRANSITIONING THEM INTO THE NEW COVENANT VEIN OF YAHUSHA ALAHIM’S DELIVERANCE.
REMEMBER FIRE IS USED FOR PURIFICATION OR IT IS USED FOR DESTRUCTION. THE "FIRE" OF THE SPIRIT BRINGS DIVINE PURIFICATION TO US, STRIPPING US OF THE UNCLEANNESS CAUSED BY A LIFE-TIME OF SINFUL BAD HABITS, AND MAKING US ACCEPTABLE FOR HABITATION AND POSSESSION AS A NEW LIVING TEMPLE - RATHER THAN US REMAINING UNCLEAN AND UNACCEPTABLE, AND SUFFERING THE DIVINE DESTRUCTION THAT WILL COME TO THOSE WHO REFUSE YAHUSHA’S BAPTISM OF SPIRIT AND FIRE. A COMPLETELY CHANGED NATURE WITHIN US MEANS WE BEHAVE THE FRUITS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND YAHUSHA’S NEW COVENANT TWO ROYAL LAWS OF LOVE AT ALL TIMES. THOSE WHO REFUSE THIS VEIN OF DELIVERANCE (JEW OR GENTILE) WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCE OF COMPLETE ETERNAL DESTRUCTION.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THIS EVENT AND TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE VERY JEWISH NATURE OF IT, SOME ASPECTS OF IT BECOME MORE CLEAR. FOR ONE THING:
THIS WAS HARDLY YAHUSHA'S FIRST IMMERSION! HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BAPTISED HUNDREDS OF TIMES BY THIS POINT IN HIS LIFE, JUST AS ANY OBSERVANT JEW WOULD HAVE BEEN - ESPECIALLY A JEW THAT LIVED IN THE LAND (AS OPPOSED TO ONE WHO LIVED OUT IN THE FAR FLUNG DIASPORA). SO WHAT, EXACTLY, WAS JOHN'S BAPTISM MEANT TO DO? IT HAD LITTLE TO DO WITH PURIFICATION AND MORE TO DO WITH PREPARATION FOR YAHUSHA AS A DECLARATION.
13. Then YAHUSHA came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He came to John, wanting John to baptise Him. 14. But John tried to stop him, saying, “Why do You come to me to be baptised? I should be baptised by You!” 15. But YAHUSHA answered, “It's gotta be this way for now mate, to fulfil all righteousness”. Then John agreed. 16. So YAHUSHA was baptised, and as soon as He came up out of the water, the sky opened, and He saw the anointing Spirit of Alahim coming down on Him like a dove 17. And a voice from the sky was heard, saying, “This is My Son, the One I love and delight in.”
( PSALMS 2, PROVERBS 30).
SO IF YAHUSHA WAS BORN SINLESS, AND HAD REMAINED SINLESS ALL OF HIS LIFE, THEN WHY HIS INSISTENCE THAT HE BE BAPTISED FOR "REPENTANCE OF SINS"? ( IN RIGHTEOUSNESS )
SO YAHUSHA WAS THE LAST LEGALLY REQUIRED WATER BAPTISM, JUST AS HE WAS THE LAST LEGAL BLOOD SACRIFICE (THAT’S NOT TO SAY THAT THE RITUAL DIDN’T CONTINUE - BUT IT WAS ILLEGAL AND AN INSULT TO HIS WORK OF DELIVERANCE.
YAHUSHA (THOUGH PERFECT) ACHIEVED AND FULFILLED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ALAHIM. SO MUCH SO, THAT AT THAT SAME MOMENT WE'RE TOLD, THE SPIRIT OF ALAHIM DESCENDED UPON HIM LIKE A DOVE.
YAHUSHA TELLS JOHN IT IS TO “FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS". THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT ALAHIM'S RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ALL ABOUT DELIVERING HUMANS THROUGH A MESSIAH THAT IS AS HUMAN AS HE IS DIVINE. ALL CEREMONIAL MIKVAHS AND BAPTISMS WERE TO TEACH A CHOSEN PEOPLE ABOUT DELIVERANCE (JUST LIKE THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM DID REGARDING BLOOD-ATONEMENT AND THE DIVINE-FIRE AND ALTARS OF OLD SPOKE OF PURGING-PURIFICATION). SO YAHUSHA’S LIFE IS TO BE A FULFILLING AND COMPLETION OF THE OLD COVENANT WITH ITS MANY SHADOW-REQUIREMENTS.
THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT A SUPERNATURAL DOVE LANDED UPON YAHUSHA. RATHER SOMETHING SPIRITUAL IS BEING EXPLAINED IN PHYSICAL TERMS. THE SPIRIT ANOINTING COMING DOWN FROM HEAVEN IS MEANT AS VISIBLE PROOF OF THIS, SINCE YAHUSHA WAS ALSO A READILY IDENTIFIABLE HUMAN BEING WHO GREW UP IN NAZARETH OF THE GALILEE. THERE WERE INDEPENDENT GROUPS OF JOHN'S DISCIPLES WHO HAD DEVELOPED THEIR OWN SENSE OF WHAT BAPTISM MEANT, WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN AFTERWARDS, AND STILL MAINTAINED SOMETHING THAT COULD ONLY BE CALLED 'JOHN'S BAPTISM'. BUT JOHN NEVER CLAIMED THAT HIS BAPTISM
BROUGHT SALVATION/ DELIVERANCE, ONLY THAT IT WAS A SIGN OF REPENTANCE OF SINS (AN OLD SIGN) !
SOME TIME AFTER JOHN'S BAPTISM OF YAHUSHA, AND AFTER YAHUSHA HAD CHOSEN HIS 12 DISCIPLES AND WAS WELL INTO HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY, JOHN WAS NOT CERTAIN ABOUT WHO YAHUSHA WAS. AND JOHN'S OWN FLOCK WASN'T CERTAIN EITHER, AND THEY ASKED YAHUSHA IF HE WAS THE PROPHESIED DELIVERER OR IF THEY SHOULD LOOK FOR ANOTHER.
AND THE STORY IN ACTS 19 SAYS THAT AS MUCH AS 30 YEARS AFTER YAHUSHA'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION, THERE REMAINED GROUPS OF JOHN'S DISCIPLES WHO STILL DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHO YAHUSHA WAS, AND WHAT IT MEANT TO RECEIVE THE SPIRIT IN YAHUSHA'S NAME. EVEN SO, WERE THESE DISCIPLES OF JOHN DELIVERED?
NO THEY WERE NOT. BECAUSE IT IS THE RECEIVING OF YAHUSHA’S SPIRIT AND FIRE BAPTISM THAT IS BOTH THE REWARD AND PROOF OF OUR DELIVERANCE, THROUGH A CHANGE-OVER OF BEHAVIOUR FROM ABOMINATION TO LOVING-RIGHTEOUSNESS.
