Therefore leaving the principles of the
doctrine of Messiah, let us go on to perfection; not laying
again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of
faith toward God, of the
doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the
dead, and of eternal judgment.
(Hebrews 6:1-2)
Baptism is a rite
representing a change of state to purity, which is a
requirement to meet God at His appointed place, the Holy
Temple. Purity of heart is a requirement to dwell with God in
the renewed Eden of the future.
Who may
ascend into the hill of Yahweh? And who may stand in His holy
place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not
lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn
deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from Yahweh, and
righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the
generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Thy face — even
Jacob. Selah. (Psalm 24:3-6 In
the triennial Torah reading cycle used during Second Temple
times, Psalm 24 is sung on the Sabbath preceding Yom
haKippurim.)
Definitions:
Mikvah (pl. Mikvaot)
- A mikvah mayim is a gathering of waters, for our
consideration a Biblical baptistery.
Living Water - A pure
spring-fed stream, representing the river that flowed out from
Eden to water the earth, especially parts of the Jordan (Yarden
- Descending from Eden) River.
And God
said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered into one
place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God
called the dry land Earth; and the gathering of waters (mikvah
mayim) he called Seas: and God saw that it was good.
(Genesis 1:9-10)
There are six grades
of baptisteries (mikvaot) found in the Torah; a study of them
is found in the Mishnah, Tractate Mikvaot. Each is for
specific kinds of baptism (ritual purification), required at
specific times. John the baptizer was particularly involved
with the baptism of repentance in the highest level of mikvah
- a portion of the Jordan River called living water,
apparently during the Days of Awe preceding Yom haKippurim
(Day of the Atonements).
Original, intermediate,
and final sanctuaries:
Adam
walked with God in the Garden of Eden; he was pure until he
fell, and was exiled from Eden. A river descended from Eden
and watered the earth.
These
are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they
were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and
the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the
earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the
Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was
not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from
the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the
Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and
there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground
made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the
sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst
of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And a river went out of Eden
to water the garden; and from there it was
parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is
Pison: which goest around the whole land of Havilah, where
there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is
bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river
is Gihon: the same that goest around the whole land of Cush.
And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: which floweth
toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
And the Lord God took the
man, and put him into the garden of Eden to tend it and to
keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for
in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die. And
the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the
ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every
fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would
call them: and whatever Adam called every living creature,
that was its name.
(Genesis 2:4-19)
After
three millenniums, God established a Tabernacle, followed by a
Temple; this was God’s appointed place (moed - Exodus 27:21)
for man to meet with Him at His appointed times (moedim -
Leviticus 23:2). It was to be like a miniature Garden of Eden,
devoted totally to the service of God, where everything
pertaining to man's fallen state would be excluded. Purity was
a qualification for entering the Tabernacle or Temple (Numbers
19:20). After becoming defiled by contracting certain
diseases, having various fluid discharges, touching a corpse,
etceteras, one was required to be baptized (immerse in a
mikvah) before entering; such an immersion represented a
change in state from unclean to pure. The picture is of one
loosing his contamination from the world of sin, through the
water that flows from Eden, to qualify for entering the place
where God dwells with man.
"And let them make me a
sanctuary that I may dwell among them."
(Exodus 25:8)
There is a river, the
streams of which shall make glad the city of God, the holy
place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
(Psalm 46:4)
The
Temple was commanded to be made exactly like the pattern in
heaven. Yeshua ascended into the heavens to prepare a place
for us. This prepared place, that the Temple was patterned
after, will come down from the heavens to a renewed earth
(Revelation 21:1-3); it will be called the New Jerusalem, and
it will be in Eden. We will eat there of the tree of life that
was forbidden to Adam after his fall, and drink of the living
water!
Who serve unto the example and shadow of
heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was
about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou
make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the
mount.
(Hebrews 8:5)
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also.
(John 14:3)
And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a
great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be
their God. (Revelation 21:1-3)
And he showed me a pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out
of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of its
street, and on each side of the river, was there the tree of
life, which bore twelve kinds of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing
of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants
shall serve him: (Revelation 22:1-3)
Born
Again:
As
coming out of the waters of the baptistery (mikvah mayim)
represents a birth - being born through the waters of Eden, by
the physical we picture the spiritual - being born through the
Spirit of Messiah.
Yeshua answered and said to him, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be
born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his
mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit.
(John 3:3-6)
The like figure to which
even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of
the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
(1 Peter 3:21)
Therefore we have been
buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
(Romans 6:4)
Christ also loved the
church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he
might present it to himself a glorious church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish.
(Ephesians 5:25-27)
Ritual uncleanness primarily involves the soul, rather than
the body (Leviticus 11:44). Ultimately, all uncleanness,
including death and human imperfection, is a result of Adam's
sin.
The
Talmud teaches that all the water in this world had as its
source the river from Eden. The Mikvah Mayim is our
primary contact with the Garden of Eden. When we immerse in
it, we are born again - symbolically from the Mem for Mayim,
picturing our spiritual birth by the Word of God.
Technicalities of Mikvaot:
Six
degrees of mikvaot (gatherings of water), each superior to the
former:
(Talmud, Seder Tohorot, Tractate mikvaot, Chapter 1, Mishnaot
1-8)
1. Water of pits (if an unclean person drinks thereof, the
next drinker becomes unclean)
2. Water of rain drippings (valid for the * * *
3. The mikvah (valid for immersion if 40 se'ahs / 200 gallons)
"Only a spring and a pit, a gathering of water, it shall be
clean" - Lev 11:36
Ach - not a vessel
Ma'yan - water must be natural
U'Bor - receptacle may be man made
Mikveh - water cannot be flowing
Mayim - no other kind of liquid
Yihyeh tahor - receptacle and all ducts must be
undefilable
The sea is always a valid mikvah (Chapter 5, Mishnah 4)
These render the mikvah invalid: (Chapter 7, Mishnah 2)
a. drawn water
b. water used for pickling or seething
c. unfermented wine (grape juice)
4. The fountain (valid for immersion when
pooled) Water from a fountain that is
made to pass over a trough becomes invalid (Chapter 5, Mishnah
1)
5. Smitten water (hot spring - valid for immersion when
running)
6. Living water (clear spring fed stream - valid for
immersion of persons with running issue, sprinkling of lepers,
and preparation of water of purification)
Method
of immersion:
The
person goes completely into the water, with no clothing,
jewelry, caked dirt, or anything to keep the water from
wetting every part of the body. Once in the water, arms, legs,
toes, and fingers are spread to ensure full contact with
water. One must go in deep enough that his hair does not float
on the surface. No one else may be touching the one immersing.
One
traditionally immerses three times, and has a witness to
verify proper total immersion.
A
proclamation is to be made as to the purpose of the immersion
(i.e., for the dead - contact uncleanness, for conversion -
entering new life, etc.) and the statement may include "in the
name of . . . ". This proclamation is made by the one
immersing himself, indicating his intent. An immersion is
neither validated nor invalidated by stating "in the name of .
. . (Jesus; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; etc.)"
Immersion is invalidated by the use of a defiled mikvah (such
as a man-made tub), impure water (such as from piped water
systems), clothing or jewelry being worn, incomplete
immersion, or stating incorrect purpose.
Required times to immerse
in a mikvah and put on clean clothes
(partial listing):
Before entering the Holy Temple (hence before the pilgrimage
festivals for men),
and (traditionally, by extension) before going to synagogue on
Sabbath,
Before Yom HaKippurim or conversion (baptism of repentance
- Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3, Acts 13:24, 19:4),
(a man) After letting the scape-goat go for Yom HaKippurim
(Leviticus 16:26),
(a priest) After burning the red heifer (Numbers 19:7),
After involvement in the mitzvah of sex (Leviticus 15:18),
(men) After a seminal emission during sleep (Leviticus
15:16),
(women) Before entering marriage, thence after menstruating
(Leviticus 15:19),
(women) 40 days after birth of a boy, 80 days after birth
of a girl (Leviticus 12:2-5),
After being healed from certain diseases (Leviticus 13:6,
34, 14:8),
7 days after stopping of a running issue (Leviticus 15:8),
After touching a dead body - as when burying a relative,
3 days & 7 days after touching a slain man, a man’s bone,
or a grave (Numbers 19:16),
After touching the carcass of an unclean animal (Leviticus
11:24-25),
After touching the carcass of an animal that died of itself
(Leviticus 11:39-40),
And after eating of that which died of itself (Leviticus
17:15).
The right of entry into the future Eden
(Paradise) of God is by grace through faith. A pure heart is
the requirement. Baptism is a physical picture of a spiritual
reality. However, it is suggested that we should not be so
arrogant as to think that we may freely change God’s planned
picture. |