(Inside front cover)

IF WE WOULD SEE OURSELVES AS GOD SEES US, IN ALL THE PERFECTIONS OF THE BELOVED IN WHOM WE HAVE BEEN ENGRACED SO FULLY AND IN WHOM WE ARE LOVED SO DEEPLY, WE WOULD BE REFLECTING MORE OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN MADE TO BE IN CHRIST.

GOD CONSIDERS US OF UNIQUE WORTH AND VALUE, SEES US "IN CHRIST", "ACCEPTED IN THE ONE ALWAYS BE-LOVED", WITH ALL THE ACCEPTABLENESS OF CHRIST HIMSELF, WITHOUT BLEMISH AND WITHOUT SPOT.

Keith McDonald

Progressive Revelation of Truth is a Biblical fact. The historical time of its revelation -- its implementation, must determine its place in Scripture and in practice. Theology, to be correct, must be right chronologically, RHS

Scripture Research

Volume 3 Number 7

Formerly

Ewalt Memorial Bible School, Atascadero, California

CONTENTS

The following Baptism Study by Russ Schaefer has been upgraded and enlarged in this issue of Scripture Research.

Preamble [To Be Read]

General Overview ……………………………. 1

Outline ………………………………………... 3

Biblical and Pagan Usages …………………... 3

Septuagent [LXX] Usages …………………… 15

New Testament Usages ……………………… 17

John The Baptist, Mode &

Manner of his Baptism ………………….. 20

John The Baptist as Elijah …………………. 22

Meaning of John's Baptism ………………… 23

Why Christ Was Baptized by John ………… 25

The Baptism of Fire …………………………. 26

The Baptism of Matthew Twenty-eight ……. 28

The Two Baptisms of Mark Sixteen ………... 36

Baptism For The Dead ………………………. 46

Baptism Unto Moses, In the Cloud and Sea .. 48

Baptism of 1 Peter 3:20.21. The Ark ……….. 50

Baptism Into Christ and Into His Death …... 53

Baptism of Galatians 3:27 …………………... 70

Baptism of Colossians 2:12 ………………….. 74

Baptism of Ephesians 4:5 …………………… 76

The "One Baptism" ………………………… 78

Poem, The "Cup". Russ ……………………. 81

Amazing Grace, Original Version, Newton .. 82

Back Cover, "To Complete The Word Of God"

Russ Schaefer

Inside, Front Cover, Two Quotes,

Keith McDonald

Adopt the widest possible boundary of truth tat be careful not to Hi! up the intermediate space with too much detail. Leave room for farther discoveries. J. Kelly

PREAMBLE

[To Be Read]

Christ spoke of His death under the imagery of a BAPTISM. Not BAPTISM IN WATER as an imagery of His Death;

But I have a BAPTISM to be BAPTIZED with;

and how am I straitened (under pressure)

till it be accomplished! Lk. 12:50

Christ asked:

CAN YE drink of the CUP (of death) that

I drink of? and be BAPTIZED with the BAPTISM

that I am (to be) BAPTIZED with? Mk. 10:38

And they said unto Him:

WE CAN.

Christ responded:

YE SHALL indeed drink of the CUP that I

drink of; and with the BAPTISM that I am

BAPTIZED withal shall ye be BAPTIZED … Mk. 10:39

One would hardly suspect under these simple terms of CUP and BAPTISM would be marshaled some of the very greatest truths of Scripture. For who would suppose a reference to a CUP would involve death -- and BAPTISM would involve a certain kind of death for certain reasons with effects and results that would bring God into the very life-stream of humanity and man into the very presence of God.

Under the Metaphor of a "BAPTISM" lies the destiny of a universe, and more. Some would limit its meaning and application to a watery tank, unfortunately, to most, the word only means water in one form or another. That it should embrace all that can possibly be inferred by redemption, reclaiming, restoring, reconciling - is to touch only the beginning of its meaning. That The Creator should die for man, the creature's sin, that an entombment and a rousing from the death-sleep would be the triumphal pattern through which death would be abolished is a GLORY revealed In this ONE BAPTISM.

BAPTISM

by Russell H. Schaefer

To those who hold dear the verity of The Word Of God, the exploration of great Bible themes should be undertaken with a joyous determination to understand what The Bible teaches about the great doctrines. To affirm belief in a certain doctrine without having thoroughly studied that doctrine is folly, not faith, and a bold unbelief is better in such cases. God has been pleased to reveal His will in The Sacred Scriptures; these being complete, He remains silent. It is unfortunate that the original autographs have been lost; critical translations however are available, as well as good reference books. The Canon of Scripture having been closed there is no need for additional inspired Scriptures with their Apostolic interpreters; and while the possibility of error is proportionate to the seriousness of the theme under consideration, still God has shut us up to His Word alone, despite all claims to the contrary.

In the following study on BAPTISM much related data will be given. Evaluate the information and draw your own conclusions, even should they differ from those of the author.

1

authorized by certain denominational church-bodies. Once the issue of regeneration and water-baptism was bonded, the rite itself became sacrosanct. Instead of merely a local church membership requirement, it was henceforth the doorway to heaven and to God. Instead of merely a symbol of something, it became life itself. Once water baptism became an essential part of regeneration or salvation, then the role and credentials of the one ministering that rite came into sharp focus, for here then, at the hands of a mere man would be resolved the issues of life and death; he would be the one opening the very door into the presence of God. Some see in this watery ritual priestly functions of a vicarious and efficacious nature to be performed for persons in generations long dead. While most of the controversy has revolved around water baptism (nearly all texts mentioning BAPTISM are made subservient to a watery ritual), still the truth that there are many and varied baptisms in Scripture has received little attention.

THE QUESTION

IS THERE A SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM OPERATIVE NOW, CONCURRENT WITH THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE FOR ALL PEOPLE, AND CONSISTENT WITH THE DECLARATION OF SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, NOT OF US, NOT OF WORKS?

If there is such a baptism then it must needs be aside from whatever one person can perform upon himself or upon another, and it must needs be as universal as is the grace of God, always and ever the same. It must needs be an "operation" of God, without ritual, form, or ceremony -- for man inevitably quarrels about these. It would have to be available whether the person were in a space ship, on the desert, in the frozen arctic, under the earth, or nailed to a cross. If the total validity of the Baptism is to be forever beyond dispute or question, the baptism must be completely efficacious, and therefore perfect in what it accomplishes, the Baptizer must be no less than God Himself, and the Baptismal element, Christ Jesus.

2

A SIMPLE OUTLINE

1. The Baptizer Or: Who is the Baptizer?

2. The Baptized Or: Who are the Baptized?

3. The Baptism Or: What is the Element?

4. The Result Or: What is the Result?

THE LANGUAGE

The words Baptist, Baptize, and Baptism are words that have become a part of our English heritage, and are forms of the Greek words that are anglicized. The non-Christian Greek liter-ature's usage of these words give an insight into their meaning, but, first, the family of words associated with Baptism are as follows:

1. BAPTO, verb, BAP-To, fr. BAPH. TO (present tense) BATH, BASK (BATH SIK, bathe self). Baptizing is causative, the persons or things baptized are so associated or identified with the baptismal element causing a changed and different relationship than existed hitherto.

2. BAPTISMA., noun. The act that identifies one thing or person to another. Christ's Death-baptism was to be shared by others, Lk. l2:50; Mk. 10:38, 39; Mt. 20:22, 23a; Rom. 6:3. Christ's Death-baptism was for all.

3. BAPTIZO, verb. To baptize, dip. To dye a garment, to draw water or wine, to be overwhelmed by debts, tragedy, or death. The baptisms of the Red Sea Crossing, 1 Cor. l0:2, safety of the Ark, I Pet. 3:21, and Christ's baptism in holy spirit gifts, (not the Giver), and fire (judgment of Israel), Mt. 3:ll, were all "dry" non-water baptisms, as was that of Christ's Death Baptism, Lk. l2:50.

4. BAPTISMOS, noun. Certain Baptismal accounts reflect the ritualistic washings of the Pharisees so condemned by Christ. Mk. 7:4, 8.

3

George Williams, in the Student's Commentary On The Holy Scriptures, makes the following observation, "They [The Hebrews] were urged to go on from the infancy of the Baptist's ministry [Heb. 6:l, 2] and from the childhood of Pentecostal miracles [vs. 4-5] to full manhood [perfection] ... John preached the rudiments of the teaching respecting the Messiah -- that is repentance, faith, ceremonial washings, and in obedience to Leviticus, of laying their sinful hands on the head of the sacrificial lamb..." End excerpt. Growing into maturity the child-training elementary things were to be left behind, this included O.T. baptisms. The various "washing-baptisms" of Heb. 9:10 were imposed upon Israel only until a time of reformation. They were never meant to be continued beyond their consummation date, i.e. Israel embracing the New Covenant which she never did.

5. BAPTISTES, noun. BAPTIST. Dipper. This title could arise because one person "dipped" another person, or "dipped" a vessel into water and poured the water upon another person. It describes a person who "dyes" cloth by "dipping" it. "Dipping" allows an exit from its element whereas "immersion" needs to be qualified. An "immersion" pump is intended to function under water.

In this study the simplest designations will be used of the words under consideration, ignoring the Greek grammar as much as possible; the Greek student does not need it and its use would merely confuse the English reader. Nearly all the O.T. quotations are from the Greek O.T. designated as LXX, the Septuagint.

The verb, BAPTO, is aptly illustrated in Alcibiades's Epigram On The Comic Poet Eupolis;

You DIPPED (bapto) me in plays:

But I, in waves of the Sea, baptizing.

4

Will destroy thee with streams sore bitter.

The author is simply saying: "You dipped me [made a joke of me] but I will kill you, drown you, in streams of bitterness." The mere "dipping", bapto, is vividly contrasted with the baptizing resulting in death. The dyeing of cloth was done by DIPPING the cloth into a color vat until it reached the desired hue. The Lord's garments were said to have been DIPPED, dyed, in blood, Rev. 19:13, a portrayal of the blood upon a warrior's cloak being that of his late enemies. This is a highly symbolical passage, with phantom heavenly horses and riders, and with Christ pictured as having a sword coming from His mouth. His brow swathed with the emblems of conquest, His eyes of fire, smiting the nations with the sword of His mouth, and Shepherding the nations with a staff of iron. He has this right, since He alone has trodden the winepress of the wrath of God. The blood upon His garments is the blood of the Lamb through which He takes away the sin of the world. [Not by a physical sword but by The Word Of God.]

BAPTO, in its non-Biblical usage is adequately translated by "dip" or "dipping", as in Homer's Odyssey, IX. 391-4:

As a brazier dips a large adze [axe] in cold water …

The object is limited as to size and placed .into an element and then withdrawn. There seems to be a lack of permanency in the element and the time involved:

One evening he took a chaplet of flowers from his head, dipped [bapto] it in the richest essences, and sent It from his table to Artaxerxes. Plutarch, Artaxerxes XXIII

In the LXX [Greek O.T.] it is related to vessels: Every vessel in which work should be done, shall be dipped into water. Lev. 11: 32.

Several things are seen here:

1. The vessels. 2. The Dipping. 3. The Cleansing.

In Lev. 14:6 [LXX] we find the required formula for the re-admitting of a leper to society:

5

And he shall dip [bapto] then [the living bird, the cedar wood, and the hyssop] into the blood of the bird that was slain over living water.

The typology is startling: -- a slain and yet living symbol of re-claiming redemption by making a person whole again. This is seen in the slain and living birds, the earthen vessel, the wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, to identify it all with the former leper. All of this portrays the ONE Who took the earth-form of a slave and bore the wood of the cursed tree, whose blood sufficed to justify all, including the leprous sinner, to present all as free from con-demnation, and to show in the freedom of the resurrection that while death had already taken place. He will forever sustain those for whom He died, because He lives. The leper could do nothing for himself, it all must be done for him. Here is a shadow-picture of our Saviour's Baptism of Death. Death took place first, the wings of the living bird then-being dipped into the blood of the co-sacrifice. The picture is one. though illustrated by two birds. The living water speaks of cleansing, as when Christ washed Peter's feet [John l3:6.]. It also speaks of Christ being the Living Water, [John 4:14]. In Num. 19:19 LXX, some of the same elements are mentioned:

...and a clean man shall take hyssop and: dip [bapto] it into the water...

Here again are found the wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet. The victim was to be a red heifer, its ashes were to be mixed with water and carried outside the camp as a sin-offering already accepted by God and including in Itself provision for all "out-siders". Heb. 13:12 speaks of Christ being outside the camp of Israel and others are asked to Join Him "outside" the Camp. The ashes of the Red Heifer Offering were available to anyone, [Lev. 19:9]. Its ashes could be carried away, mixed with water and using the hyssop sprig, applied to the individual. It was a water of cleansing, a purification for sin set within the kindergarten of types and shadows that awaited its Ant1-type, the Christ, in Whose perfect person

6

and complete work it vas fulfilled. It was this "dipping" into death, and the "death" then applied by the hyssop, to which the remorseful King David had reference in Psalm 51 after his sin with Bathsheba. [Under the Law of Moses he would have been put to death]. Note what he asked God to do for him:

Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin (vs. 2).

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (vs.7).

David asked God to apply the hyssop, to thereby initiate the forgiveness and full expiation implied in the sin-offering already accepted by God. This, in a larger sense would be in the Ant-type, Christ, as the Law made no provision for high-handed offenses or blood-guiltiness. David, because of his offenses, would have become "separated" from his heritage, and under the Law, from life itself.

It was the WATER of Purification [in connection with the sacrifice of the Red Heifer and the hyssop with which the damp ashes were applied to which Christ had reference in His reply to Nicodemus, John 3:5].David had asked that a right spirit be renewed in him, Psa. 51:10, this corresponds to the "spirit" portion spoken of as the New Birth. The New Birth was something that this Sanhedrinist and every Israelite could experience and it was amongst those "earthly" things that these people were supposed to know. The very word "birth" should have alerted any Israelite as to whom was being spoken of by Jesus Christ as the Jew by birth had been covenanted to God whereas the Gentile was not. Christ, in applying the symbolism of the uplifted serpent to Himself, [John 3:14 cf. John 12:32, 33] was revealing to Nicodemus that God loves, redemptively. The full and complete transfer of the serpent symbolism would have to await the actual crucifixion; but while the O.T. law of the sin offerings was then still in force, Nicodemus and others could substitute in their thoughts and in their hearts, the person of their

7

suffering Messiah, and His soon-to-be- work. In the meantime, until the judicial act was fully accomplished the Levitical sin offerings with all their statutes abolished, an Israelite would continue with his offerings, his baptisms, and his new birth. In availing himself of the water of purification in connection with the sin-offering, a testimony was being given to the efficacy of the offering for sin. The death of the sin-offering with its sprinkling application was viewed as defiling, hence an Israelite would then bathe (baptize) himself in pure or running water. The Ezekiel passage [36:25] refers to this, not the initial but to the concluding step to complete the symbolism of cleansing.

Then will I sprinkle [dash, throw, jerk, cf. Lev. 1:5] clean water upon you and ye shall be clean...

Nowhere do the visions of Ezekiel set aside the sin-offerings, as some have suggested; nor are its scenes projected outside of the framework of Israel. Ezekiel knows nothing of the completed, and never to be repeated, finished work of Christ. Admittedly, Heb. 9:10 speaks of the "different" washing-baptisms which Ezekiel envisioned as being a part of his plans for the second temple, effective upon Israel's restoration from Babylon, but the Hebrew's passage speaks of another "Perfect Tabernacle", unlike Ezekiel*s temple, this one "not made by hands", that is, not an earthly building at all, but that which the appointments of the Tabernacle typified, namely, the person and work of Christ, Heb. 9:11-14; 10:12. Once again [Heb. 9:13], the sprinkled ashes are mentioned, but only to point out how inferior the types were to the reality of Christ's sacrificial death to put away sin by the offering of Himself, Heb. 9:14, 25, 26. The inadequacy of the Aaronic High Priesthood was that their investiture was only "until death", after this a "CRISIS". Greek, krisis. or a "SEPARATING". This is illustrated in the case of man-slaughter; the death of the High Priest terminated the exile of the one sentenced to the City Of Refuge. Num. 35:25, cf. Heb. 9:27. The one leaving the City Of Refuge would look to the new High Priest for continued protection. The new High Priest would appear to the man-

8

slayer without any further charges and would be to him both "Deliverer" and "Restorer". The "judgment" or "crisis" in his case would be a "favorable" one and the avenger of blood could no longer seek his life. The passage [Heb. 9:27] points up the inadequacy of animal sacrifices and a priesthood that was always changing due to the death of the High Priest, whereas when Christ offered Himself once for all and rose from the dead in the power of an endless life, the efficacy of His work was never impaired.

The next usage in the LXX [Gr. O.T.] of BAPTO is in the Book Of Job, ch. 9:30 [vs. 30-31 in the A.V.]:

For if I could wash myself with snow, Thou hadst thoroughly dipped [bapto] me in filth, and my garment had abhorred me …

E'en though I bathe in water pure as snow.

And wash my hands clean with soap;

E'en then Thou wouldest plunge me in the ditch;

And make me an abhorrence to my clothes. C.B.

Job's long trial was made ever more bitter by his flesh being polluted by boils. His well-meaning friends compounded his misery by seeking to get at its cause by drawing their prescriptions from three basic tenets: 1. Human Traditions, 2. Human Experiences, 3. Human Meriting. They supposed that in these frail reasonings were to be found the answer to Job's trial. Their suppositions are still with us: "I've heard ..." or, "... according to my experience", or, "... he must have offended God or man ...." They were physicians of no avail to Job's piteous state, nor could they give an answer to the great question of the Book Of Job:

HOW SHALL MAN BE JUST WITH GOD?

Job 9:2 C.B.

In spite of Job's evaluation of his own character, in spite of all he had done to keep himself pure. Job looked beyond Satan's assault and felt it was God's hand that was dipping [bapto] him in misery's filth. He neither knew its cause, nor how to escape from

9

this ditch. His afflictions made him a reproach to himself, and in his bitterness he reproached God. He longed for an Arbiter, a Daysman, One who vas able to set out his defense before God, 9:32, 33. Job found his Arbiter, 33:6, only to discover that God did not demand anything of a poor sinner, rather:

Then He doth show him grace [Divine, and saith]:

"Deliver him from going down to death;

A RANSOM I have found -- Redemption's price."

... who grace and kindly favour sheweth him,

So that he looketh up to God with joy.

Thus, doth [God] give to man HIS righteousness.

Job 33:24, 26 C.B.

God is just and holy; as such He made provision in the judicial aspects of Christ's death for a universal and equitable justification, Rom. 3:24-26. In Christ's person and work God puts His hand upon us both judicially and in amnesty. If the glory of man is to be made Christ-like, then whatever "dipping" into wretchedness may transpire can be made subservient to that end notwithstanding Job's type of bitterness or Paul's goads and "thorns". Some see only the trials of life; others see God, whether seen or not, whether understood or not, whether reproachful of God or not, yet all is out of His love. Like Elihu, the youth of the Book Of Job, if a choice is discernible, justify God, even though it may mean condemning oneself rather than God.

Exodus 12:22, LXX, furnishes an apt illustration of BAPTO in connection with the hyssop sprig:

... take a bunch of hyssop, and having dipped [bapto] it in some of the blood ...

Of this event Sir Robert Anderson writes:

By the blood of the Paschal Lamb the Israelites were redeemed in Egypt, in all the hopelessness and degradation of their bondage.

10

No Israelite was ever to be "Washed In The Blood OF The Lamb". The concept of being bathed in blood was pagan, and is based upon an erroneous translation of Rev. 1:5. Blood poured out speaks of death, of life as poured out, given in behalf of another. The "soul" of the flesh vas in the blood, hence:

... Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin...

... He hath poured out His soul unto death...

Isa. 53:10, 12.

"Soul" is a synonym for "life"; Christ poured out His life in behalf of others. Blood poured out symbolized the sacrificial aspect of His death. The expression, "To plead His blood" is not found in The Word of God, and is as pagan as when the sacrament of the Mass is spoken of as being a Sacrifice -- as though Christ had to die again and again. Calling the Communion Table an "Altar" is blasphemous. The "sprig" of "hyssop" dipped in the blood of the lamb and sprinkled on the top and sides of the doorway sufficed to say that death had already taken place and that "Death's Angel" would "pass over" without claiming a victim. Paul sees the ful-fillment of the Passover for the Jew in Christ:

... for even Christ Our Passover is sacrificed for us [l Cor. 5:7].

The fleshly, carnal ordinances imposed upon Israel until the time of reformation included various kinds of washings or baptisms, Heb. 9:10. Among these were an annual Passover Feast to commemorate that historic event, and out of this has come the travestied "Lord's Supper" of Christianity. Having Christ, the reality of all types and shadows, we do not need the trappings of anyone's religion, however divine it may have been at its inception. Israel's redemption in Egypt was by sprinkling a door's lintel and posts with drops of blood, a "Baptism of Death" to save from death. As a nation Israel was to experience redemption from the power and authority of Egypt via the "Dry-Baptism" of the Red Sea crossing, l Cor.l0:2. No water touched them either in the Cloud-presence or the Sea-bed crossing; the Egyptians died, being immersed in the sea.

Usages of BAPTO in the LXX and Greek N.T. are:

11

In Lev. 4:6, 17; 14:16 as "dipping" a finger in blood. In Deut. 33:24 as "dipping" a foot in oil. In Josh. 3:15 of the priests "dipping" their feet In the Jordan. In Ruth 2:14 of "dipping" food in vinegar. In 1 Sam. l4:27 of "dipping" a staff in a honey-comb, in 2 Kings A.V. of cloth "dipped" in water. In Dan. 4:30; 5:21 of the king's body "dipped" in the dew of heaven. In Psa. 68:23 of "dipping" a foot in an enemy's blood. The N.T. usage is similar to that of the Old Testament:

Lk. l6:24 ... he may dip the tip of his finger...

John 13:26 ... to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped [it]. And when He had dipped the sop [morsel]...

Rev. 19:13 ... clothed with a vesture dipped in blood...

Mt. 26:23; Mk. l4:20; and John l3:26 use the same word with a prefix added: "in-dipping" the morsel and giving it to Judas was the manner in which Christ revealed to the rest of the company who His betrayer would be.

Whatever mode may be inferred from the usage of BAPTO, the inference should be tempered with the duration of the act, the item's size, and the symbolism implied. DIPPING, on the whole, seems adequate as a translation of BAPTO.

__________

In this study examples will be drawn from Biblical and classical usages 'to illustrate the meaning of this word. In the Greek text, spellings will vary according to grammatical syntax; except for the Gr. middle-voice these will be ignored for the English reader. ^:

The Creeks used this word BAPTIZE in the same way ancient and modern writers use it, to express a total or great calamity, as seen in Don Cassius's account of the Battle of Actium, Roman History. Bk. l Ch. 32:

12

... the other from above BAPTIZING [sinking] them with stones and engines ...

... for our vessel having been BAPTIZED [sunkj In the midst of the Adriatic, being about six hundred in number, we swam through the whole night ... Life of Josephus, Sec.111.

Since the word implied death, destruction or calamity Josephus used it in his book, Wars Of The Jews, Bk. III, ch. 9:3:

...and many struggling against the opposing swell toward the open sea...the billow rising high above BAPTIZED [drowned] them...

When Molon sent his cavalry through the marshes to attack Xenotas, the resulting pain, death, and tragedy that beset his forces are spoken of as BAPTIZING them:

... through ignorance of the localities, required no enemy but themselves, by themselves BAPTIZING [drowning and floundering] sinking down in the pools, were all useless, and also many of them perished....

Polybuis, Hist. Bk.V. ch.47.

The flood-tide [in-coming tide] about the Pillars of Hercules, and the ebb-tide [out-going tide] uses the term BAPTISM to describe the overwhelming eagre or tidal bore caused by this sea action:

... desert places full of rushes and seaweed, which when it is ebb-tide are not BAPTIZED but when it is flood-tide, are flooded.

Asltotkle, Wonderful Reports, 136.

In Plutarch's Life of Sylla, ch. 21, being BAPTIZED is associated with dead bodies and implements of war:

… dying, they filled the marshes with blood, and the

lake with dead bodies; so that until now, many

13

barbaric bows, and helmets, and pieces of iron breast-plates, and swords, are found BAPTIZED in the pools.

Josephus was fond of the word BAPTIZO, and in five of the usages "drown" or "death" is implied when he tells of the sinking of ships as resulting in the death of those cast in the sea. Winston's text translates the word: Destruction, Sink, Dipped till drowned, and Plunge. Don Cassius, Roman Hist. Bk. I, ch. 35 cites similar concepts:

...others, leaping into the sea were drowned or struck by the enemy were drowned [Baptized].

In all these an actual DEATH-BAPTISM is intend. Again, Josephus writes:

... continually pressing down and BAPTIZING him while swimming, as if in sport, they did not desist 'til they had entirely suffocated him.

Josephus, Antiquities, Bk. XV.ch.3:3.

And:

...desiring to swim through, they were BAPTIZED [drowned] by their full armor... Suidas, Lex.

Being BAPTIZED with debts was as common anciently as it is today:

... and that he was loaded [BAPTIZED] with a debt of five million drachmas...

Plutarch's Lives, Galba. Vol. IV, p. 393.

If a city was destroyed, it was said to have been BAPTIZED:

... these very men, besides the seditions they raised, were otherwise the direct cause- of the city's destruction [BAPTISM]...

Josephus, Wars of The Jews, Bk. IV, ch.3:3.

To BAPTIZE a sword was to bury it in a body, thus taking a life:

14

...and stretching out the right hand so as to unseen by none, he BAPTIZED the whole sword into his own neck .... Josephus, Jewish Wars, Bk. II, ch.18, p. 4.

A natural usage of BAPTIZO is for a person to be under the influence of something or someone:

... therefore I beseech thee, before thou art fully BAPTIZED by this drunkenness, to return to soberness ... Chrysostout's Plea to Theodorus.

A person driving a chariot under the influence of much wine finds a counter-part on our highways:

… and having made Alexander drunk [BAPTIZED] with much wine ... Conon, Narration L.

This was putting wine into the man, not man into the wine. The result was inebriation, being brought under the influence of wine.

BAPTIZO AND THE SEPTUAGINT

... and Naaman went down and BAPTIZED himself in Jordan (2 Kings 5:14 LXX).

In 2Kings 5:10 Elisha sent a message to Naaman: "Go and wash in [or at] the Jordan seven times ..." Naaman finally acted as he had been told, and this would be according to the Law of Moses in respect to leprosy as instructed in Lev. 14:7, 9:

And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean ... and he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean ...

This is the method appointed by God and the prophet would advise Naaman accordingly. Naaman's disease was a local infection and Naaman had trouble understanding the washing of his whole body instead of just one spot, 2 Kings 5:11. Christ sent the blind man

15

to wash his eyes in the Pool of Siloam -- a fountain basin wherein bodily immersion would be impractical. It is interesting that Christ used the incident of the healing of Naaman, the Syrian, as an illustration of how God worked with others when Israel was in disobedience. It is also interesting to note that of the twenty lepers mentioned in Scripture none was healed by self-water baptism, nor was any other leper told to "go wash himself".

The LXX speaks of transgressions BAPTIZING the prophet, [The A.V. differs from the LXX]:

... my heart wanders, and transgression BAPTIZES me; my soul is occupied with fear. Isa. 21:4.

The prophet had reason to fear for his nation, after two hundred and sixty-five years of national revolt against God under twenty despotic rulers, the sword of the Assyrian threatened to destroy the nation; the prophet identifies himself with the wayward people and seeks deliverance from the sword of the Assyrian. The nation's sins are the prophet's baptism as ours were those of the Saviour.

____________

Before the New Testament usages of BAPTIZO are considered, the aforementioned illustrations of BAPTISM show the oft tragic and fatal associations between the object baptized and the baptismal element, the result being frequently death and some sort of entombment. The baptismal element is that which engulfs, drowns, or overwhelms, having been used of debt, sin, death, suffering, a billowing wave or flooding water, destruction, or even blood -- as of a sword sheathed in a body. The Hebrew O.T. usage allowed washing and sprinkling to be included in the meaning. The object baptized and the baptismal element are closely allied so as to make the identity and destiny of the one the same as the other. In the O.T. symbolism the identity of one with the other was essential to convey the import of the symbolism used. That the word BAPTISM should be so weakened as to mean only a watery ritual or some symbol of reality when the reality has already come, is indeed tragic.

16

HOW IS BAPTIZO TO BE TRANSLATED?

As mentioned earlier, BAPTISM and its family of words, have been transliterated from the Greek to the English. Some translations have tried to find an English equivalent but in doing so usually show a predisposition to a certain mode of water baptism, as though water were the main element synonymous with BAPTISM. Among Reform churches teaching Baptismal Regeneration very little water is used, while others, teaching a Symbolical Meaning of water baptism, use much water. In Scripture the water-mode is left to inference, as for instance, John came baptizing WITH water, Lk. 3:16, if possible with running water as the O.T. enjoined, hence, the Jordan River. In translating the classic usage should be considered for it must not be forgotten that in the Greek parent usage of baptism it meant death, entombment, drowning, killing, overwhelming trials and troubles. It meant to be under the dire influence of someone, or something, such as intoxicants. If a ship was baptized, it was sunk; if a city was baptized, it was put to the sword; if a person was baptized in the sea he was drowned; if a man was baptized in wine, he was intoxicated; in debt, bankrupt; in sorrow, desolate; in death, dead. There is a unique singular BAPTISM in which the baptismal element of actual death [not symbolical or spiritual] is the method and mode of bringing our need and God's redemptive provision to fruition for us all.

__________

BAPTISM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT

It is a misnomer to speak of all the Books of The Bible as either the Old or New Testaments. The "Old Testament" [Old Covenant] in reality started with Moses and technically ended with the death of Christ; the "New Covenant" was a covenant-provision in the death of Christ for the covenant people, Israel. This, ratified in His blood, was offered to that people, and was refused by them as a nation. John the Baptist was the last of the O.T. prophets, [albeit was a Minister of Circumcision to confirm the promises of the fathers]; the New Covenant vas not operative during the life-time of John the Baptist nor in the life-time of Christ and His Apostles. The New 

17

Covenant provided for in the death of Christ for Israel, would have replaced the "Old" made with the same people had Israel as a nation accepted it, Heb. 8:7, 13; 10:9. Direful warnings were given to those who would tread under foot The Son of God, and count the blood of the New Covenant a worthless thing, Heb. 10:27-31. The warnings were fulfilled in A.D. 70 with the destruction of the nation so they were neither an Old Covenant nor New Covenant people. The "Old" could not be practiced and the "New" was not consummated. Some of the so-called "Old Testament" books do not function under the "Old Covenant" given to Moses as when the ten or two tribes were in exile, or the book of Genesis or Job, written before Moses existed. So also, some so-called "New Testament" or "New Covenant" books are not "New Covenant" at all. Particularly, the Ephesian and Colossian epistles for in these the former distinct covenant people no longer exist as a separate entity from the nations, rather their national existence has been abolished as well as their covenant privileged position. The "wall" keeping them separate from the nations had been destroyed; their holy days, feasts, new moons, Sabbaths, temple, priesthood priest craft, and baptisms were no more. Instead of a "New Covenant Israel and Judah" [the ten and two tribes] God made a "New Humanity" in Christ in which all racial, cultural, and privileged position ceased to exist. These radical changes, in keeping with the dispensation of the grace of God to all people, would be a critical factor on the "how", "when" and "where" of baptisms and how they are to be interpreted and applied. For instance, John the Baptist, baptized in order to make Christ manifest to Israel, [John l:31]; no one else ever used this as a reason for water-baptizing. Nor is the typology certain since heretofore Jews baptized themselves. Note:

1. Mk.7:1-18 and Lk.11:38:

The baptism here mentioned was a ceremonial dipping of the fist into water if the person was alone or by a slave if he was a person

18

of distinction. This was a meaningless ritualistic washing rejected by Christ; and denounced by Him as the commandments of men. It was a part of the hundred and one "extra" commandments added to the Law of Moses that made it such a heavy burden. The subtlety of this was that it seemed to offer a holiness greater than that enjoined in The Word of God. Christ had no patience with the niceties of religion: the superciliousness of wearing peacock vestments, of venerating men or relics, of special watery rituals for hands and pots and pans. Anything that was of religious fraud or priest-craft received short shriff from Him.

2. Heb. 9:10.

The BAPTISMS spoken of here are the Israelitish-Levitical baptisms as formulated under the Law of Moses. The whole are branded as "carnal [fleshly] ordinances" that had been imposed upon Israel as regulatory statutes, mainly after the "golden calf" incident. Once Christ had fulfilled the Sabbatical typology, the Sacrificial, and other types involving washing, then it would be meaningless to continue these in the presence of the reality. For Peter, a Jew, to be told to "... kill, and eat ...". Acts 10:11-16, of unclean or "non-kosher" food, would cause him not only to wash his body but his mouth as well. This was one of the first intimations of a turning away from the exclusiveness of the Jew and the inclusion of other races.

… which stood only in meats and in drinks, and divers [different] washings [baptisms], and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

In some instances these baptismal-washings involved the whole body, sometimes a part. Washing with the fist was to plunge the fist into water up to the elbows, or have water poured over the fist to the elbows. It was sufficient if water passed over the body, or if the body was placed wholly or in part in the water at once or in stages, or if the object was already in the water and additional water

19

was poured over the subject, as was more usual, the person did this for himself:

... and he shall wash himself in water, and shall be clean.

Ex. 29:4; Lv. l4:8; Nu. 19:19.

And:

...Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet with water from it. Ex. 30:19; 2 Kings 3:11.

Josephus, Ant. 111. 6:2, mentions the function of the Brazen Laver in the Tabernacle:

... within these gates was the Brazen Laver for purification, having a base [basin] beneath of the same material, whence the priests might wash [in the basin, not in laver-reservoir] their hands and pour down [shower] upon their feet.

Immersion in the Laver proper would cause it to be unclean and therefore unfit for purification rites.

__________

THE BAPTISM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

What was unusual in John's Baptism was that he performed the baptism on others, whereas under the law each one accomplished it for himself.

E.W. Bullinger

What John preached, that he also symbolized by a rite which, though not in itself, yet in its application, was wholly new.

Edersheim, Bk. l, F.273.

Gentile proselytes, who had attained the position of "Proselytes of the Gate" or of "Righteousness", were baptized. Except for the installation of Aaron and his sons in their High-priestly offices, a Hebrew baptized himself.

The locale of John's Baptism was where Israel first entered

20

the Promised Land; it was the crossing of the Twelve Stones. John's

Baptism was, in effect, a reentry to their promises, a national awakening, a call for a new-birth of the nation, a people made ready for the advent of their Messiah. It was therefore fitting that his baptisms were at Bethabara, beyond Jordan. This was the site of Gideon's victory; here the kingdom was first divided [Jud.7:24]. "Bethabara" was indeed, "The House Of Passage." From Enon [John 3:23] to Bethabara John pointed men away from himself and to Christ, John 1:36, 37.

The mode of John's Baptism is inferred from the following passages:

... were baptized of him in Jordan ... Mt. 3:6.

I baptize you with water unto repentance ...

Mt. 3:11; cf. Mk.1:8; John l:26.

... when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water ... Mt. 3:16; cf. Mk. l:10.

... and were baptized of him in the river of Jordan ... Mk. l:5.

... and John also was baptizing in Aenon, near to Salim, because there was much water there. {AEnon/Ainon-Springs]. John 3:2 3.

In summing up the mode of John's water baptism the following is apparent:

1. It was with water, in water, and of much water.

2. The subjects went into and out of the water.

The use of WITH. IN, and OUT, used in connection with this watery O.T. ritual are used of both the BAPTIZER, and the BAPTIZED. Both could have been dipped, or both could have gone into the water, stood in the water, and John could have sprinkled [the mode of Eze. 36:25 and Isa. 52:15] or dipped the subject in water, or have poured water upon him or over him. A very old engraving shows John pouring water over Christ from a clam-shell, from any of these modes both would "come up out of the river". The being "in" the water was from the Jewish preference that the water be running, regardless of its depth. Peter expressed the feeling of many dippers or immersionist in the following:

21

... Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head

... John l3:9.

The Lord graciously pointed out to Peter that for a person that had bathed it vas only necessary to wash the feet -- in that country walking the dusty roads with open sandals would cause the feet to be soiled and it was a mark of hospitality for the host to pour water over the feet of his guest and to towel them.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia gives a broad synopsis of the Baptist, Lutheran, and Anglican views on water baptism.

It is unfortunate but must be taken into account that, while the early Christians were close to the source of truth, they were closer still to the fount of paganism, hence the simple rite became one of nakedness, thrice-dipping, partaking of milk and honey, and other elements associated with pagan mysteries.

JOHN THE BAPTIST AS ELIJAH

The following texts give a compendium of John's person and ministry as they lend meaning to his unique singular baptism, for this last and greatest O.T. prophet was a God-sent Herald of Israel's Messiah.

The Prophecy: [Young's Literal Translation].

And thou, child, Prophet Of The Highest

Shalt thou be called:

For thou shalt go before the face of The Lord,

To prepare His ways.

To give knowledge of Salvation to His people

In the remission of their sins, through the

Tender mercies of our God, in which the Rising

From on High did look upon us,

To give light to those sitting in darkness and

Death-shade, to guide our feet to a way of peace.

Lk, l:76-79.

As it hath been written in the scroll of the words

22

Of Isaiah the prophet, saying, A Voice of one 

Crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of

The Lord, straight make ye His paths; every

Valley shall be filled, every mountain and hill

Shall be made low, and the crooked shall become 

Straightness, and the rough become smooth ways;

And all flesh shall see the Salvation Of God.

Lk. 3:4-6. [Young's Literal Translation].

Christ's Testimony of John:

... and if ye are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who was about to come ... Mt. 11:14. YLT.

Verily I say to you, there hath not risen among those born of women, a greater than John the Baptist ... Mt. 11:11. YLT

The Proclamation of John:

... reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens ...the axe unto the root of the trees is laid ... Mt. 3:2, 10. YLT

... John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, "Lo, The Lamb Of God, Who is taking away the sin of the world; this is He concerning Whom I said, after me doth come a man, who hath come before me, because He was before me: and I knew Him not, but that HE MIGHT BE MANIFESTED TO ISRAEL. BECAUSE OF THIS I CAME WITH THE WATER BAPTIZING" (John 1:29-31. YLT).

... and I have seen and have testified, that this is THE SON OF GOD (John l:34. YLT).

THE MEANING OF JOHN'S BAPTISM

It is surely the intent of the Sacred Writer to go beyond the mode of John's Baptism to its meaning. In Christ's person, in His

23

Messiahship and Saviourhood, John could truly proclaim that the Kingdom Of The Heavens [Heavens-God] drew near, and should there be a repentant people to own The Messiah as their Lord and King; their renewal of heart and mind attested to by confession of sin and the bringing forth evidence of their changed lives in their obedience to the Law of Moses and of God, and by submitting to the symbolical "Baptism of Repentance" under John's ministry. This rite of washing, so fraught with meaning in the O.T., would identify them as a company looking for the ONE of Whom John was the Forerunner. The doctrine was still O.T., John was looking for an immediate setting up of the kingdom and the installation of a king. When this did not follow, John asked the sad and plaintive question, "Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another?" Mt. 11:3. So John, imprisoned, wondered. But, always John pointed men away from himself to The Christ. For himself, he sought nothing. Compared to the varied baptisms associated with Christ [Power from On High, Fire, and Christ's own Death Baptism] John's baptism was mere water as he so well contrasted it with the others. John pointed his disciples away from himself to Christ; some, if not all, became the first apostles, Acts 1:21, 22. The hopes of Israel were bound up in the Land, the history of the sites where John baptized, the message he proclaimed, and The Christ He presented. Those who were awaiting their Saviour-God responded to his message and turned their footsteps away from John to The Christ he served. The spirit of humble service that marked this greatest of prophets is summed up and stated poignantly in Marshall's translation of John 3:30:

THAT ONE it behoves TO INCREASE,

Me? But to decrease.

Those seeing and hearing John must have sensed something of this humility of spirit. John did no miracle, his ministry was short, he died at the whim of a vengeful woman, he was without a formal education, without recognized authority, his ministry was carried out far away from the cloistered sanctuaries of men, he dressed in rough garb, in short, he sought only to point out the greatness and the glory of Christ. The following is a worthy epitaph to grace this man's life:

24

There was a man, sent from God,

Whose name was John,

The same came for a witness, to

Bear witness to THE LIGHT, that

All through hi* might believe.

John 1:6. 7.

__________

WHY OUR LORD WAS BAPTIZED

John did not know Christ in person, John 1:33a; Christ had to be identified by an unmistakable sign from God, John l:33b, 34. Only in Christ does one encounter utmost purity, grace, sinlessness, majestic godliness, and incarnate love. Thus, when Christ presented Himself to be baptized by John He was refused:

But John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? Mt. 3:14.

John knew that, unlike himself and others, Christ had no need to repent nor sins to confess. He was not expecting the request of Christ to be baptized at his hands, for how could the "Baptism of Repentance for the Remission of Sins" apply to this un-sinning man?

And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. Mt. 3:15.

The original meaning of RIGHTEOUSNESS was a freedom from blame, a freedom from all legal claims to the contrary. It was originally spelled RIGHT-WAY-NESS, later, RIGHT-WISE-NESS. Christ was born under the Mosaic Law and lived under this Law, and it was under this Law that His death was ruled a "curse" (Gal. 4:4; 3:13). It was also under the Law of Moses that before an anointing of a leader or official of the nation take place that the person was to be "washed", Ex. 29:4; 40:12; Lev. 8:6. The baptism of Christ by John preceded the "Official Anointing From On High" of Christ; upon its completion the heavens opened and there descended, and remained on Christ The Holy Spirit, fulfilling the

25

typology used in the anointing of prophets, priests, and kings. Cf. Isa. 61:l; Heb. l:9. The silence of God over the previous four centuries was finally broken:

Thou art My Beloved Son;

In Whom I am well pleased. Lk. 3:22.

This Heavenly affirmation was the formal close of Christ's private life ... now the die was cast, now He belonged to His people and to the world. The anointing was by God, as was fitting. The title, CHRIST, means ANOINTED, as does the Hebrew equivalent, MESSIAH. It carries the meaning of one set apart for a special task, in respect to Christ there was an inherent sacrificial aspect to His life and death -- a life poured out for others just as each lamb selected for a sin-offering was set aside, and apart from its companions, and was washed [Lev. 1:10-13] in preparation for the ascending flames. It was fitting, then, for John to point out the Sinless Lamb, "Behold" -- meaning look, see, inspect [John l:29]. In Christ, the whole sacrificial system of the Law was fulfilled as Christ brought it to its focal point and ended it.

No one can "follow Christ in Baptism". He alone was baptized TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. He alone could have this unique identification with the Law of Moses and the Laws of God. In Him every righteous demand of the Law was met, every demand of God's holiness was met, every act of obedience was perfect and every work complete. ONLY CHRIST HAD THIS BAPTISM AND ANOINTING.

THE BAPTISM OF FIRE

The following formula is repeated, since it can be an aid in distinguishing the varied characteristics of any baptism being considered.

1. WHO is the BAPTIZER? 1. WHO is the BAPTIZER?

2. WHAT is the BAPTISM? 2 WHAT is the ELEMENT?

3. WHO are the BAPTIZED? 3. WHO are ACTED UPON?

26

Distinguish these and the enigma of baptism is solved.

FIRE BAPTISM: Mentioned in Mt. 3:11, 12; Lk. 3:16, 17.

... He [Christ] will baptize in holy spirit and FIRE, Mt. 3:11b, Marshall Text.

... but the chaff He [Christ] will consume with FIRE unquenchable, Mt. 3:12b, Marshall Text.

Christ is THE BAFTIZER, and the ELEMENT or BAPTISM is FIRE. In verse eleven this is joined to an "in spirit" baptism, or "POWER FROM ON HIGH", i.e., "gifts". It is in holy spirit power or sign-gifts as in "Acts", but it is in a purifying power as well:

... when The Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from midst thereof by the SPIRIT OF JUDGMENT and by THE SPIRIT OF BURNING (Isa. 4:3, 4).

The task of John the Baptist was to make Christ manifest to Israel, John l:31, and to prepare Israel for their Messiah. Lk. l:17. Fire-baptism completed this trilogy:

1. John The Baptist Mission

2. The Messiah's Baptism

3. Israel's Fire Baptism

FIRE is spoken of in Scripture as either remedial or as penal-Judgmental. Peter spoke of the infamy that would befall many believers as a FIERY trial, 1 Pet. 4:12, in this they partook of Christ's sufferings, 4:13. The FIRE BAPTISM of Mt. 3:12 is the fire of awful penal judgments, the FIERY INDIGNATION which befell the Israelitish nation upon their historical treading underfoot The Son Of God and, their counting the blood of the New Covenant an unholy thing (Heb.10:27-31). This FIRE BAPTISM bears no relationship whatever to the Pentecostal "Revivalist" usage of "Letting the fire fall" concept.

27

The Baptism of FIRE, whether corrective or penal, is distinct from those of John The Baptist. His was WITH WATER, an O.T. typical washing and cleansing to prepare a people for the advent of their Messiah. In this FIRE BAPTISMAL element Christ was to purge His floor and burn up the chaff, i.e., make a clean sweep of all that would hinder God's government. Whether or not the Judging and death of Ananias and Sapphira [Acts 5:1-11], or death coming on those profaning the Passover Feast [the so-called Lord's Supper], I Cor. 11: 29, 30, has to do with this FIRE BAPTISMAL element, is open to conjecture. It is obvious that none of these judgments is operative now, not since the closing of the Apostolic ministry and the final blow upon an apostate Israel in A.D. 70. Paul's words in 1 Cor. 3:17 about defiling the temple of God [one's own body] and consequently being destroyed by God must be understood in light of the New Covenant Feast, made with Israel and denied by her, and the subsequent national demise.

The so-called Lord's Supper, as served in churches, is actually a combination of Judaism and paganism and has nothing in common with the Passover Feast observed by Christ. He changed the meaning and association of some of its elements -- the old meaning looked back to Egypt and its deliverance whereas by imposing the New Covenant Feast meaning upon certain elements, it was to symbolize a greater deliverance than that of Egypt and a greater deliverer than that of Moses. It also forewarned of a greater destruction than that which befell Israel in the wilderness if they were at all disobedient (Heb. 2:2, 3; 3:11; 6:8; 10:27-31).

In the Book of Revelation FIRE is used as a vivid portrayal of Judgment, and it was significantly used of Israel's last chance as described in Heb. 10:27.

Whenever Israel is spoken of in this study, the "nation" is meant as represented by their rulers, not to the individual Jew. Even when the nation was in apostasy there were individuals in captivity who, while denied the temple, offerings, and priesthood, nonetheless were owned, honored, and used by God.

THE BAPTISM OF MATTHEW TWENTY-EIGHT

Matthew 28:18-20 has long been the stronghold of Water-

28

Baptistic denominations since it seems on the surface to give priority to water baptism as being the primary concept whenever baptistic terms are used. The following translations are of interest as they imply something quite different from the water-baptism concept:

And Jesus, having come, spoke to them, saying, "There was given to me all authority in heaven and upon earth. Having gone on your way therefore, teach all the nations, making them your pupils, baptizing them INTO THE NAME of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit. teaching them to be attending to carefully, holding firmly to, and observing all, whatever thing I enjoined upon you. And behold, as for Myself, with you I am all the days until the consummation of the age." [N.T. Wuest, Moody Inst.].

The concept embodied in Kenneth Wuest's translation is reflected in the 1881 Revised Version, Samuel Lloyd's Corrected N.T., Nestle's Resultant Text, Godbey's Translation of the N.T., The Diaglott, The Amplified N.T,, American Standard Version, Dean Alford's N.T., Griesback'S N.T., Weymouth, In Modern Speech N.T.. Williams N.T., Rotherham, and others.

The proposition EIS is translated INTO 571 times in the A.V. It is translated TO, 280 times, UNTO 203 times and TOWARD 32 times. It governs only the accusative case, illustrated by one thing meeting another at a certain point, hence motion toward, to, unto, into an object. The object being in this instance the sacred NAME, if the word BAPTISM had been translated into English instead of being transliterated or carried over, the text would strongly imply that the nations were to be so discipled as to be IDENTIFIED with The NAME. They were to be brought INTO THE NAME, just as Israel had been identified with and in the name of Moses [Baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea, 1 Cor. 10:2 -- both dry baptisms]. The NAME is singular and embraces all that is inherent in the concept of a Father. It is all that is revealed of The Father through the work of The Son, with the dynamics of The Holy Spirit.

29

Christ said, "I HAVE MANIFESTED THY NAME," John 17:6 or "... and in The NAME OF HIM nations will hope", Mt. l2:21. Marshall Text. Only Christ could say, "... he that has seen ME hath seen The FATHER ..." John l4:9b. In manifesting The NAME, Christ, SON-WISE, reveals the gracious nature of God as FATHER. A father's love must have an object; it is a reflection of a father's heart. It must have "sons in The SON; He must love and be loved. The Father-God seeks fellowship, not as a despot or of necessity, but because He loves as a FATHER. Charles Welch states: "All doctrine that pertains to our salvation is summed up in the title, FATHER. Every theory of the atonement must stand or fall by the standard of 1 John 4:14, The Father sent The Son to be the Saviour of the world."

A commission such as this, to identify the nations into The Name of God and all that name implies, would herald for Israel a breaking out of their sectarianism and for nations, including the scattered tribe-nations of Israel [Israel called nations in Gen. 35:11; 48:19] a teaching into the code of the Sermon on the Mount. For as yet, the great truths, later spoken of by Paul in his letters written during the Book Of Acts period and those after the close of the Acts ministries, were still unknown, and The Sacred Secret or The Mystery was still hid in God. The first apostles to whom this commission had been given, had hardly gone beyond the immediate area surrounding Jerusalem, much less than the whole Land of Palestine. Seven years had passed before Peter had protestingly spoken to Cornelius, and we find Peter's closing ministry, in his epistles, to have been still to the dispersed Jews. A Theocratic Kingdom had been officially offered by a supremely empowered Christ to Apostles given the power to bind or loose, to allow or disallow its blessings or its sanctions ... hence the determination of the Apostles to first bring the Nation Of Israel within the blessings of the Kingdom and, if possible, to avoid the final awful judgment upon its rejection.

30

the Israelites, they crossed dry-shod, the Egyptians, being immersed in water, died, Ex. 14. The Apostles were given life or death power, authority to bind or to loose, Mt. 16:19; 18:18-20. Israel chose death and thereby became just as other unbelieving nations. Not-withstanding a lot of religious claims to the contrary, no evidence exists that the authority given to the Apostles, Mt. l6:19; 18:18, 19, was to be shared in perpetuity by others. The New Covenant of blessing and cursing, grace and law, offered to Israel alone is alien to the very nature and of a Dispensation Of Grace provided for all peoples, cultures and races, Eph. 3:2. Its alien nature is seen in the sanctions attached to the New Covenant Feast, l Cor. 11:27, 29. The power and authority of the Apostles were seen throughout the Book of Acts but not thereafter. Nations were not "discipled" according to the terms of this commission. Christ had taught the Apostles not to carry money, not to have two coats, not to carry a beggar's purse, Mt. 10:9, 10. Leprosy is not cured, the dead are not raised ...yet these cures and miracles were some of the things the Apostles were to share as taught to them by Christ. All "Claimants" to this power need but demonstrate it by going into any hospital or mortuary or to those suffering from Hansen's disease. To review briefly:

The tenets of the commission are simply set forth;

1. Immediacy is implied. The Apostles met at an appointed place, Mt. 28:16. All authority in heaven and earth had already been given to Christ, (28:18). No hint is given that this commission belonged to a future, and distinct ministry of the Apostles as some suppose and teach -- others seeing in it only a call to build churches everywhere. A more valid view would be that it belonged to the Apolistic age and would have been fulfilled upon the conversion of Israel as a nation. That this did not happen is no reason to propose another "gap" theory wherein it is "put off" until another age rather than looking for the reason.

2. The Commission was given to the Apostles alone. There is no warrant to suppose that the power and authority of Christ that He specifically shared with His Apostles, Mt. 16:18; 18:18-20; John 20:21-23, was ever conferred upon others. To bind or to loose, to

31

allow or to disallow as on legal grounds, to forgive or to hold the nation hostage to its guilt in rejecting their Messiah-King, this was the under girding of this commission inherent in the age covered by the Book of Acts. The commission has been watered down so as to merely represent some supposed continuing church authority over its members, or orders to evangelize the world even though the very basic truths such as justification, imputation, reconciliation, etc. had not as yet been revealed. To suggest that this "life" or "death" authority extended beyond the ministry of the Apostles, or has functioned since the Grace of God Dispensation to all people was fully operative after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish State in A.D.70, is to perpetuate a defunct Israelitish state Theocracy. To contend that this authority now resides in any office, person, or denomination or functions when two or more persons pray together is to misapply the terms and design of the initial empowerment and subsequent commission.

3. The Apostles were to "disciple" the nations, that is, to make "learners" of the nations. This commission being found in the Book of Matthew, a Jewish Gospel, one might assume that the nations spoken of are the Twelve Tribes of Israel. In Gen. 35:11 the sons of Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes, are called "nations", as are the descendants of Ephraim (Gen.48:19). The "nations" mentioned in Acts 2:5-11 were the home-land of Jews and proselytes that had come to Jerusalem out of every nation under heaven, Acts 2:5. This would be a help to explain the nations mentioned in Mt. 25:31-46 -- the condition of inheriting the kingdom being the treatment of the Jewish brethren of Christ, 25:40. Those in China had not even heard of Him ... "Nations" or "Gentiles" are a poor rendering of the word "ETHNOS". meaning people of different races, culture, or religion. When Christ spoke of giving the kingdom to another nation, He was not speaking of giving it to a non-Jewish people, but to another segment of Israel, those living in exile from Palestine, in the case of l Pet. 2:9, those living in the Province of Babylon (not the city, as that had been destroyed over 300 yrs. before) and called a Holy Nation, a Royal Priesthood. It is indeed strange that this "Holy Nation" status should be applied to the Jews of the Dispersion rather than to the "at home" Jews in Palestine. The Alexandrian Jews of

32

Egypt had their great synagogue that served millions of their county-men and was hated by the Judean Jews for its influence and opulence. In the days of the captivity it was the exiled Jews that kept alive the hope of the nation and their names grace some of the books of the Old Testament. It has been always assumed that the "at home" Judean Jews were the faithful of Israel and those living outside the Land were unfaithful. Those to whom Peter spoke in Acts 2:5-12 were foreign Jews whereas those who mocked him were from the Jerusalem area, Acts 2:14. After the leaders of Israel had become mere political puppets of whatever emperor was in power the dispersed Jew held on to his national heritage and showed remarkable courage, oft under the most adverse circumstances. The unwillingness of the Judean Jews, and their synagoges, to heed the message of the Apostles left the spear-head to reach the other nations, blunted, dulled, and finally, stopped. Thus, the work that started out with great promise and attended by miracles, wonders, and signs -- and token evidences of mighty power that the Apostles did not bear the Sword of Authority in vain.

4. Baptism into The NAME. Christ made much of The NAME in His ministry (John 17:4-26). The "NAME" in Mt. 28:19 is singular, not "names". The name was inclusive of all that is implied by the other titles. The title of FATHER is revelatory as is "Son" or "The Holy Spirit" as Christ spoke of Him as the Parakletos, this corresponding to the Heb. Menahem, Consoler, as The Messiah was called. Cf. John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7. The people were to be closely associated with The NAME so as to partake of and in its meaning. The NAME may have reference to the JEHOVAH title, i.e., that God in Christ has always been, is, and will always be whatever He must needs to be to HIS own. No record exists of any national Tri-Name Baptism in "Acts" or anywhere else, since the governing body of Israel refused the proffered terms of the New Covenant and trod under foot The Son of God. The Twelve Apostles were equated with the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and if Israel had been regenerated, the Twelve Apostles would have been their

33

"Judges" or "Rulers", (Mt. 28:20). The vast scope of this commission is lost if it is reduced to a mere watery formula.

5. The Apostles were to teach what they had been taught during Christ's earthly ministry, (Mt. 28:20). The Lord speaking from heaven to the Apostle Paul was no accident. In reading "Acts" one can discern that from the onset that Israel in the rejection of their Messiah was to be in turn rejected for the role she would have had on the world's stage as the harbinger of a Messiah-Savior for the whole world. With the call of Paul the role and function of the Twelve diminished and finally ceased. The words of Christ to the Twelve gave way to the words from the Heavenly Christ to the Apostle Paul and in the ministry of this man, as new truths were revealed, the old gave way, until finally the governmental principle of God's pure grace ruled over all.

6. Matthias had been appointed in Judas's place to round out the number twelve so that there be twelve Apostles to represent the Twelve Tribes or Nations of Israel. Christ appeared to Twelve Apostles after His resurrection, 1 Cor. 15:5, and to Paul many years later. Christ was to be with these early Apostles unto the conclusion of that age. The phrase "... unto the end of the world" is a mis-translation, the text is speaking of a certain segment of time, the conclusion of an age in which certain things were to be done relative to the office and authority conferred upon the Apostles.

All the ages in Scripture are bracketed within time events so that when Heb. 9:26 mentions that certain "ages" were completed in the sacrifice of Christ. that is, His death would complete, and thereby end, the ages of Levitical priesthood with their sacrifices. Each age must be interpreted by the events or persons of which it treats. Christ will always be with His own under all circumstances and in spite of circumstances but He need not be with them always in the same way. He used an earth-quake In the ministries of Peter and Paul, an Ark in the life of Noah, a whale with Jonah, a coin in a fish's mouth to pay taxes - lack of these things, or others, does not mean His presence is less, or that He loves less. I Cor. 10:11 tells of the "end of the ages" [literally, the ends of the ages], the context grouped

34

a series of events that befell Israel in their wilderness wanderings and implies by these examples that a similar fate could befall others. In l Cor. 11:29, 30 the fate is connected with the New Covenant Feast being partaken of in an unworthy fashion, the result being an enfeeblement, sickness and finally, death. In these chapters Paul is speaking to a Jewish element to whom these examples would have meaning, and by contrast he derides the Gentiles. If the then present counterpart of Israel in the wilderness would behave as their ancestors did -- the tangled skein of Israel's ages would come to an end. Thus, Mt. 28:20 must have a "juncture" of the ages in mind, an ending and a beginning: not the end of the cosmos, not indefinite time, but rather of the events that would fulfill or negate the --completion of the commission -- whether good or bad. The "epoch" of the Apostles and their ministries ended. What had begun so auspiciously in "Acts" two ended in "Acts" twenty-eight with the third and final pronouncement of judgment on Israel. Cf. Acts 13:40, 46; 18:6; 28:26, 27.

Christ had promised to be with His Apostles until the completion of the age. The special uniqueness of this promise is lost if it is made a general thing and to every believer. Christ had been with the Apostles during the few years of His public ministry in an individual and physical way. Another "Comforter", One alongside of the same kind was to be sent from The Father to be with them "... unto the age" (John 14:16). It was in this way that He would come "unto them" and how The Father would "... come unto them", John 14:18-23. Christ, in Spirit, would be with and in them (John 14:17). It is only in this way that Christ could be with each of the Apostles as they went on their assignments.

"Disciple all the nations ...." This included the Jews. The Apostles at the beginning of their ministry went only to the Jews in the Land, then first to the Jews elsewhere. Thereafter, the wall is abolished, not only between the "at home" Jews and those "abroad" but "in Christ" between all races, cultures, and people, Col. 3:11; 2:14, 15. No priority exists for the Jew now.

35

THE TWO BAPTISMS OF MARK 16:15-18

And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My Name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly (poison) it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

New American Standard Ver.

The Text does not identify which "Gospel" was to be proclaimed:

The Gospel of the Kingdom.

The Gospel Of God.

The Gospel of the Grace of God.

The Gospel of the Glory.

The "Aionion" Gospel.

The Gospel of the Uncircumcision.

The Gospel of the Circumcision.

The "Mystery" of the Gospel.

The Gospel of Christ.

The Greek word translated "Gospel" merely means "Good Hews". The context must determine what particular good news the writer has in mind. The Angel's words to the shepherds was the good news regarding the birth of the Messiah, the Saviour,

Lk. 12:10,11.

In the early chapters of "Acts" it is apparent that the Kingdom of God was being heralded and Christ set forth as the rightful "Anointed", i.e., The Messiah. In Mk. 1:14, 15 the Kingdom of God was announced as being "at hand" or "offered". What is offered can also be withdrawn, and the people were called upon to heed that Good News then and in "Acts". This Commission is

36

broader than that of Matthew, and additional details are given. Some texts end the chapter at verse 8; pro and con arguments are given, however, since the signs did follow during the Book of Acts period. It is likely that the verses are authentic. The Seed of the Woman, The Coming One, The Desire of All Ages, The Messiah. had come. The dim, ancient finger of God painting midst the stars, the voice of the prophets "from a remote age" (Acts 3:18-21), had been fulfilled. All creation was to be alerted that God had moved onto the stage of human history by means of the Divine Conception and human birth of a Child, in the giving of a Son, in a Victim-Offering on an accursed tree, in an entombed, crucified body, in an awakening from a death sleep, and in an identifiable but Glorified Christ. All this as a testimonial that God was in Christ, robed as "Son of God" and "Son of Man" to redeem and to raise His creation to the highest possible level by drawing to Himself, in Christ, an otherwise errant creation. These truths were emboldened, enlarged, and brought to their greatest heights through Paul's ministry. Mark's depiction of Christ as The Servant parallels Paul's account of Christ as Servant in Philippians. The end of Mark's Gospel sees Christ as seated in the rights of God, Mk. l6:19. Thus seated in power, waiting and willing to implement "the restitution of all things" as Peter offered in Acts 3:18-26.

The progress of this Evangel was first through the Apostles to the Ten Tribes associated with the name Israel, and the two tribes associated with the name Judah. While the A.V. translates the Greek word ge by the word "earth" in Acts 1:8, it can mean region or territory, one special land, or country, as distinct from other countries. The Lord certainly did not mean for the Apostles to cover the full reaches of the earth with their message. Rotherham translates as follows: "... as far as the land's utmost bound". The message was to go to the Dispersed scattered abroad, Peter and James addressed these in their Epistles, as did John in the Book of Revelation. The puzzle of the Book of Hebrews is solved when one sees reflected in it the religious culture, its Alexandrian Greek as written and spoken In the Alexandrian synagogues of Alexandria, Egypt and of Rome. The Seventy, Jewish Disciples sent forth by Christ, would have been the forerunner of what all Israel could have been to the seventy nations, reversing the Babel disaster of Gen. Ch. eleven. This would also explain the meaning and intent of the

37

"Gift" of Tongues or languages in Acts.

Israel had been entrusted with a message for all people, that of Isa. 9:6, 7. This PRINCE OF PEACE was the embodiment of peace from God, the peace of God, and peace for all mankind. On Israel's own behalf, the embracing of The Messiah was the first step in this arduous Journey. Instead of this, Israel chose to confront the military might of Rome. Israel counted the blood of its covenant with God an unholy thing and "trampled underfoot" The Son of God, Heb. 10:27-31. In refusing Christ as their Kinsman-Redeemer they were placed in the alternate position of having murdered The Prince of Life (Acts 3:15-26); Mt. 22:7;Lk. 20:13-16. The A.D. 70 Roman siege of Jerusalem with its ensuing horrors has no parallel for savagery in the annals of human history. In recounting this war Josephus states that Deut. 28:48-57 was literally fulfilled. Even the hardened Roman Legionnaires were appalled. at parents' cannibalizing their children and evidences of almost unspeakable deeds done to each other during the siege. The prisoners taken, during the time of the siege, amounted to ninety-seven thousand, and the slaughtered to one million, three hundred and fifty-seven thousand, six hundred and sixty. If those outside of the city of Jerusalem be counted, the figure can be no less than a million and a half perishing. Josephus computes the number of those qualified to celebrate the Passover at the time of the siege as being at least two million seven hundred thousand. These and others were trapped in Jerusalem and perished. It was written, "Bodies were wanting for crosses and crosses for bodies". Blood literally ran like water. Israel "believed not" and suffered loss. The "damned" of Mt. l6:16 is heard in the word, "damage", to suffer loss, not as in the damnation of "Dante's Inferno" as some would have it. Israel nationally, like Judas, lost their place and position in the scheme of things.

In the commission of Mk. 16:15-18 "Having believed" and "having been baptized" [Gr. aorist passive participle] are brought together in the text as qualifiers of those having to bear the burden of this commission. By the operation of God Himself a Divine Baptism has been provided completely aside from human hands and efforts of the human will – a baptism freely given and is entirely

38

consistent with the salvation "by grace without works" as mentioned in the Ephesian Letter. This Divine, without human hands, Baptism will be discussed at length when the Baptism of Romans, Ch. Six is considered at length. The "Baptism" in Mk. 16 is not defined in the text but since it is so united with salvation then it must be assumed that it is referring to a baptism that not only implies but means salvation itself. It is wrongly supposed that every mention of Baptism means "water". At the flood, those in the Ark were "dry baptized" while those without had "water-baptism" but died. Those baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea were "dry baptized" while the Egyptians being "water baptized, perished. Those in the "Acts" period were "in spirit -- power baptized" a "dry baptism". Christ's death and entombment baptism was a "dry baptism" as the tomb was not flooded -- it was not an "under ground" or "underwater" baptism.

THE "POWER FROM ON HIGH" BAPTISM Of MARK 16:17, 18.

John the Baptist made the following declaration concerning a baptism that was to be performed by Christ (Mk. l:8):

...HE [CHRIST] shall baptize you with "PNEUMA HAGION":

In keeping with the context of Mk. 16:17, 18 this baptism was to soon be fulfilled … CHRIST was to be the BAPTIZER; POWER FROM ON HIGH was to be the BAPTISMAL ELEMENT, and SIGN-GIFTS would be the RESULT. The Greek text reads: "pneuma hagion", i.e., with POWER FROM ON HIGH in the form of power for SIGN-GIFTS, which is far different than water. If The Holy Spirit personally had been meant the Greek text would have followed its usual practice of using "The Spirit, the Holy." Note:

... I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with POWER FROM ON HIGH.

Lk. 24:49b. New American Standard Ver.

It is CHRIST Who is doing the sending, the "POWER

39

FROM ON HIGH" is the BAPTISMAL ELEMENT; spiritual gifts, consisting of varied manifestations and operations of Divine POWER are the RESULT. This is repeated:

But ye shall receive POWER, after that the hagion pneuma [holy spirit] is comE upon you (Acts 1:8).

The "POWER" equates the gifts of The Spirit rather than The Spirit Himself. Not everyone was given the GIFTS of The Spirit in the Book of Acts but all believers certainly possessed the Spirit of God. The sign-gifts were not to be evidences as to whether or not one had The Spirit of God; nor were the sign-gifts evidences of a second work of grace, as some imply. Being "BLESSED WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS" is a common possession of the Body of Christ, without distinctions and without exceptions. It needs no evidential signs to "proof" It. They are God's gift "in Christ". These sign-gifts are distinct from the salvation given to each "in Christ". Being "accepted in the Beloved", Eph. l:6, is not conditioned upon anything but the grace of God. These sign-gifts are not evidenced or operative now as they were during the Book of Acts.

Mt. 3:11; Mk. 1:6; Lk. 3:16 and John 1:33 all refer to Christ as The BAPTIZER. The ELEMENT is distinguished from the one doing the Baptizing as is the RESULT. It is unfortunate that these should be considered as one and the same. A greater error is in supposing that this is the same as being BAPTIZED "INTO CHRIST". The Greek text of Acts 1:5 reads: [Nestle Gr.Text]

"... but ye in spirit will be baptised..."

"... for in one spirit we all are baptized in one body..." 1 Cor. 12:13 Concordant Ver.

In sharp contrast to this:

"... we were baptized into Christ Jesus..."

Rm. 6:3 Nestle Gr. Text.

"... for as many as into Christ ye were baptized ..."

Gal.3:27. Nestle Gr.Text.

40

Only God can put a person positionally "In Christ", "Into His Death" -- not any man or men or organization.

The BAPTIZER, the BAPTISM or ELEMENT, and the RESULTS or EFFECTS of the BAPTISM are easily distinguishable. A person can place another "in water", God alone can place a person "in Christ, into His death, etc." Christ was the baptizer "in the spirit" baptism with POWER FROM ON HIGH in the manner of Sign-gifts being the RESULT. "Baptism IN the Spirit" is commonly spoken of as though The Spirit of God instead of Christ was the Baptizer -- or, worse, that this "in spirit" baptism was the same as God placing a person into Christ or into Christ's death baptism. The "in spirit" baptism of which Christ was the BAPTIZER with the Power From On High being the element with sign-gifts, miracles, and wonders being the result -- was not permanent, was very selective, and served a special purpose for a definite length of time. Some are specifically labeled as "... the signs of an Apostle ..." 2 Cor. l2:12; Acts 2:43; 5:12; Rm. l5:19. These "gifts" were not universal but "... according to His own will ..." Heb. 2:4. These were to be a fore-shadowing of the powers of a coming age -- to fall away after all this would be to put Christ to an open shame and crucify Him afresh with dire threatenings and warnings, Heb. 6:4-8. Christ's words to the Courtier, "... except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe" are true of many. How refreshing are the words, "... and the man believed The WORD ... John 4:48-50. This same chapter tells of others who believed because of His Word, John 4:39-42. Miracle made disciples can as easily be unmade. It is vital for those seeking "gifts" be concerned with the one that is the greatest of all, the one of the more excellent way, THE LOVE OF GOD EXEMPLIFIED IN CHRIST, 1 Cor. 12:31-14:la. This love will endure and endure.

The "in-spirit", Power From On High Baptism resulted in an accrediting, the authenticating, the legalizing, the proofing and the proving of the ministries of the Book of Acts period. The Israelites had been raised on miracles that were also "signs¹¹. They were to them a testimonial of God's presence in their midst. A pagan, upon viewing a miracle, assumed the deity of the one performing the

41

miracle, Acts 14:11;28:6. The first miracle of the Book of Acts was a reversal of the confusion of languages recorded in Genesis, Ch. 11. The Jews and Proselytes from all nations attending the festivities in Jerusalem heard the Apostles speak in their own languages, even to their local dialects. Acts 2:6, 11. This is not operative today, nor have they been since the close of the Book of Acts ear -- otherwise missionaries would not have to labor over the dialects and languages of those to whom they would bring the message of Christ. Those claiming to have this gift should be In the front ranks of the missionary effort or, at the least, teaching languages to those going to those to whom the foreign language is a problem. What a ministry it would be to fill of role of "interpreter" for one not versed in the language of the messenger to others. Prisoners in jail would wel-come an angel's kick, cell doors opening and chains falling off, as with Peter, Acts 12. Assessor's jobs would be simplified in collecting taxes if the Ananias and Sapphira type of people dropped dead for having lied about their capital gains, as in Acts 5. The varied manifestations of this Power From On High Baptism thrust the Apostles, being some of the most powerful men on earth, upon the forefront of history. Who else could slay by a word, allow on earth that which had been settled in heaven, heal by the mere touch of a shadow falling on the ill, consort with angels, speak and have their words determine whether Israel as a nation was to be blessed or cursed? Surely these did not bear the sword in vain; their judging Israel did not await their being seated upon twelve thrones. On a personal basis they could raise the dead, no mean feat for them, language barriers did not exist. If the New Covenant Feast (corresponding as it did in the curses attending the misuse of the O.T. Passover Feast) was taken unworthily, weakness, sickness, and death would follow (I Cor. 11:27-30). The Communal Brother-hood of Acts 2:44-46 centered in the Temple, each member selling his possessions, sharing as each had need, while miracles were abounding on the streets of Jerusalem -- in all this the inhabitants were tasting the powers of the age that could have come, and it seemed the floodtide of supernatural power would bury all unbelief before it. As the rulers of Israel rejected this heavenly-wrought ministry, the Communal Brotherhood's funds dried up, and Paul

42

had to come to the rescue of its starving membership. The Temple-centered ministry gave way to the synagogue; it was to these that James 2:2 refers, the A,V "assembly" is the Jewish Synagogue, cf. any Gr. or critical text. Its content is consistent with those to whom James is writing. Martin Luther called the Epistle of James, "An Epistle of Straw" since it contradicted "Justification by Faith" as taught by Paul. He did not realize that the bridge from a Jewish Synagogue to a non-Jewish world had not yet been crossed -- that would take place only after Israel had been given every opportunity to seize its calling to be a spiritual force outside of the boundaries of its own interests. Their rejection of so great a covenant station freed God from their local interests so that He would hereafter be free to tender to the whole world the DISPENSATION of GRACE, Eph. 3:2. This was without exceptions and without distinctions, not through National Israel as was to have been done, but continuing on with the whole purpose of the ages. Eph. 3:11, through the final ministry of Paul.

The BIRTHRIGHT despised by Israel was conferred on Paul, the one born out of due process or time, to the world's gain.

The following is a quotation from the book entitled, The Giver and His Gifts, by E.W. Bullinger:

They were filled with pneuma hagion (Acts 2:4). Here it is not the Giver, but it is the gift, and the gift is "the gift of tongues" (I Cor. 12:10. 11); for it is immediately added, that they "began to SPEAK with other tongues as the Pneuma (The Spirit) gave them utterance. The fact that pneuma is used twice in this verse is of service to us: because the article with the second occurrence distinguishes the GIVER from His gift and the Divine worker from His operations. It shows that in the former we have the gift, and in the latter we have the GIVER. End Quote,

43

The context of the Apostles' speaking in orderly and known languages to the Dispersion Jews visiting Jerusalem labels as religious hysteria the gibberish frequently found at emotionally packed meetings which capitalize on these passages. This type of glossolalia is frequently found in pagan rituals, voodooism, snake dancers, etc. Anticipating the misuse of these gifts Paul hedged them about with safeguards. The word "unknown" (l Cor. 14) is an ill advised insertion that is italicized to show it does not occur in any Gr. text. It has given credence to various "tongues" movements. The ability to speak another's language not native to the speaker, and untrained In Its use would be a sign to unbelievers (1 Cor. 14:22). In keeping with the order of the synagogue women were to be in quietness, 1 Cor. 14:34. The "split" from Judaism had not as yet been crystallized, and the admonition for women to be in quietness in the synagogue-type of assembly where they sat apart and frequently could not hear the speaker caused some to call out, causing confusion Paul advised such to wait and ask their husbands at home. In the Body of Christ the man-dominated synagogue-type of assembly is not warranted as all are a JOINT BODY, i.e., equal. In the Body of Christ the Headship of Christ should be the dominant feature, not one person over another but each serving the other in love.

The canon of Scripture was formulated during and after the forty year period of the Book of Acts. It was given to an inspired Apostle to complete The Word of God, Col. 1:25. The Word of God having been already completed no place remains for "inspired words of knowledge", for authoritarian officers, for sign-gifts to accredit an office or work, or for raising the question of whether or not one has this baptism.

The "Power From On High" Baptismal element raises the question and problem of miracles in general. The "Delphic" sanctuaries of Greece, or the "Our Lady of Lourdes" grotto, or the "Our Lady of Fatima" shrine, or their counterparts, all credit them with the miracles performed. The majority of Christians have been taught that Christ proved His claims to Deity on the basis of the miracles He performed – but Christ needed no miracles to prove

44

who He was, rather, they were on another and distinct basis and for other reasons. When He did perform miracles He told those upon whom a miracle was wrought to TELL NO ONE OF IT (Mk. 7:35, 36; 8:23-26; Lk. 5:14; 8:56). The Messianic titles and office of Christ were not to be made known until after the resurrection, Mt. l6:20; 21:27. Even that He was The "Christ of God" was to be kept secret (Lk. 9:20, 21; Mk. 8:29, 30). The momentous Transfiguration episode was to be kept secret (Mk. 9:9). Human need or suffering demands that if one can relieve it, he must. But Christ did not desire that this ability be the basis for following Him, those who followed Him only because of miracles met with His rebuke (John 6:23-66). On the issue of miracle-made disciples the following runs contrary to the commonly accepted reason for miracles:

... many believed in His Name when they saw the miracles which He did; but Jesus did NOT COMMIT HIMSELF UNTO THEM, because He knew all men (John 2:23, 24).

Christ did not trust nor commit Himself to miracle-made disciples. He ever appealed to The Word of God, and to this, miracles were but incidental and always subservient. Cf. John 4:39-42. Those seeking miracles should ponder these facts. Even if an angel from heaven, or Apostles like Peter, James or John were to contradict the gospel of the "... grace of Chris t..." for one of "legalism or law-works" as Peter was trying to do as Paul mentions in the Galatian Letter, the final appeal would be to The Word of God even if against the first Apostles or angels ....

The desire to experience something of God's power in an extraordinary way is a common trait as it was for those who sought to but touch the hem of Christ’s garment, that may not be our lot, but there is one precious thing that is free to all and can be had by all. Chapter Thirteen of 1st. Corinthians is one of the most sublime compositions in all literature. It gives a much needed perspective and evaluation to all attainments and aspirations versus Divine love. It is

45

of greater value than languages of awn or angels, than the ability to see into the prophetic future, having all gifts of knowledge, knowing all mysteries, power to remove mountains, martyrdom -- all are marked as nothing without the admixture of God's kind of love. In a larger sense this chapter is a portrait of Christ and of the life of Christ lived in and through us. It is the kind of love that turns enemies into friends, Rm. 3:8-10. It Is the type of love that allowed a cross to be planted upon Golgotha's hill -- not thereby to let mankind win redemption and full access to God but rather to tell of a redemption and access freely and graciously given. It is the love that is neither enhanced by merit nor diminished by demerit; it is always no less than all His love. It is this "love" that God enjoins upon all that would desire "gifts" of power. "Power From On High?" To what end and for what purpose? Peter was too busy counting the fish of that wondrous moment, after the resurrection when Christ showed Himself beside the sea, to enjoy the person of His Lord and Saviour (John 21:15-17). No wonder that Christ asked him if he loved these fish more than Him.

Rather than asking, "Have you had this 'in spirit' baptism?" is another question, "Do you possess this love?" Possessing the "Giver" of this Baptism, Christ, is by far the most important thing in life or death.

__________________________________________________________

BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD

1 Cor. 15:29

This BAPTISM OF MARTYRDOM (as borne out by the context) presents a problem only if it is interpreted apart from its context. Pressing a gloss upon the text to buttress a supposed doctrine of baptising a living person on behalf of a dead person's salvation is to make the text teach what is otherwise unknown in either the Old or New Testaments. This doctrine of "Vicarious Baptism" teaches that, under clearly defined restrictions of persons, places, and modes, the living can be water baptized to save certain selected ones who have died either recently or in the remote past.

46

Elaborate records are kept of those giving and receiving the benefits of such a water baptism. Where ancestral veneration has been a cultural thing, this would have great appeal -- or. in the realm of those being taught endless conscious torment just for having lived even if they knew nothing of Christ. Vicarious water baptism, as taught by one denomination, nor purgatorial fires – relief from which is obtained by the liturgical mass, prayers, and meritorious works of the living, is the answer to this vexing problem. It is regrettable that those who are so deeply burdened by the state of their loved one who have died should have to find comfort in these alternatives.

Dr. E.W. Bullinger's book, Figures Of Speech has some astute observations concerning this text. The following are selections from this article, p. 41-44:

Else what shall they do which are baptized (baptized-here present participle, not past, those who are being baptized, Alfred) for the the dead, if the dead rise not at all?

This passage has been supposed to refer to a practice which obtained even in those apostolic days of persons being [water] baptized on behalf of and for the spiritual benefit of those who are already dead. As this practice thus received tacit approval, and yet is destitute of any historical evidence as to its existence, apart from this passage, various methods have been proposed of meeting the difficulty which is thus raised. Some have erroneously suggested that "the dead" refers to Christ: but they do so in ignorance of the fact that the word is plural, as is clearly shown by the verb "rise." Others (with MacKnight) suggest the supply of the words "resurrection of" -- "What shall they do which are baptized for the resurrection of the dead?" But this implies the omission of the very word which is most essential to the argument; and would form an ellipsis seldom, if ever, found. There are multitude of other explanations; but the true solution of the difficulty is (we submit) to be sought in punctuation, and in the supply of the ellipsis. We must

47

bear in mind that there is no punctuation in the ancient manuscripts beyond the greater pauses. All inter-punctuation is purely human in its origin, and we may be thankful that it is so seldom necessary to question its accuracy ... "what shall they do which are being baptized? It is on behalf of the dead if the dead rise not at all!" From Rm. 6 we learn that our circumcision [cutting off-death] is in Christ's death, our baptism is in Christ's burial [entombment].

"Buried [entombed] with Him by the baptism of Him (by His baptism-unto-death"); and if He is not raised, we cannot be raised (Rm. 6:4). "Buried [entombed] with Him in the baptism of Him," i.e.. His Baptism (Col. 2:11, 12). [cf.Lk.12:50; Mk.10:38, 39]. whenever we have the word nekos, dead, with the article (as in 1 Cor. 15:29) it always denotes dead bodies, corpses ... if Christ be not raised, well may those who are being baptized [by God] into Christ's burial be asked, "what shall they do?" Truly, "It is for the dead." For they [as Christ] will remain dead, as corpses. In this life they "die daily" verse 31; in death they perish, verse 18; and are thus "of all men most miserable" (verse 19).

(End of partial Quotes)

These men were daily gambling with death for the cause of Christ, they courted martyrdom, they suffered and many died -- all for nothing if the supposed union of their lives with that of the risen and ascended Christ never really took place. If Christ lives now, and God has made an undissolvable union of their lives with that of Christ, then the dissolution of their bodies was not the final act in this great drama. No water is mentioned in the text; the context refers to the resurrection of the dead [not DEAD BODIES], and co-joins their hope to a risen, not a dead, Christ.

__________________________________________________________

BAPTISM UNTO MOSES

... our ancestors all had the experience of being guided by the Cloud [The Shekinah] in the desert and of crossing the sea dry-shod. They were, so to speak,

48

"baptized" into Moses by these experiences (1 Cor. 10:1, 2). Philipps Trans.

... all were baptized into Moses by the Cloud and by the Sea ... Moffatt Trans.

... our fore-fathers were all protected by the Cloud ... Goodspeed Trans.

To clarify the account. Ex.14:19, 20 states:

... and the Pillar of Cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them; it came in between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel.

Rotherham Trans.

The Cloud-imagery was that of a Pillar, it hovered and moved before and behind the Israelites -- and between them and the Egyptians. They were only "under" the Cloud of His Presence in the sense of His protection. Liddel & Scott: "Under" Gr. hupo, accusative, under shelter or protection of, and so behind a thing". The placement of the Cloud was to protect Israel from the wrath of the Egyptians. Not one Israelite was dipped into the Cloud or into the Sea. The Egyptians that were immersed in water, died there. The crossing was a "dry" one for the Israelites and a wet one for the Egyptians. Through this unique experience of "Cloud and Sea" Israel and those leaving Egypt with Israel were identified with Moses: they had changed their status of slavery in Egypt to one of freedom with Moses (Cf. Ex.14:12 & 31). The "Cloud" and "Sea" episode of leaving Egypt behind was the historical marker, a BAPTISM, a Joining them in and with the life of Moses. They had been brought into a changed and, different condition from that which had been theirs in Egypt. They were not immersed, dipped, nor submerged in water. The experience was such that it made them fear, believe, and follow Moses. It is a tragedy that only two of the multitude leaving Egypt lived to enter the Land of Promise. The ready expectation of miracles undermined the determination to hold to a steadfast faith -- and Israel lost in her wanderings what she had Gained in the Exodus. Pa