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BibleTruth.cc "The Elementary Teachings" Series Instruction About Baptisms The Laver and Waters of Cleansings By David M Rogers www.BibleTruth.cc Published: April 2021 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Messiah and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in Elohim, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And Elohim permitting, we will do so. (Hebrews 6:1-3) Table of Contents The Baptism of the Holy Spirit The New Testament faith in Messiah Yahusha (Jesus or Yeshua) has a profound attachment to baptism. A very important teaching for followers of Messiah, baptism is, nevertheless, often misunderstood and misrepresented in the doctrines of many a church. Therefore, it is time to explore New Testament baptism in light of the undergirding, foundational texts from the Old Testament (Tanach - the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings). Much can be gleaned and clarity can be brought to us if we would just read and comprehend the reasons for immersions (baptisms) in the times before Messiah came. There are several Hebrew words we need to explore as we research this topic of cleansings in the Tanach. The first word mikvah is a Hebrew term, hw<q.mi (mikveh) - from the root verb hw"q' (qavah) - which means to collect. Thus a mikvah is a place of collection, a collected mass. This verb is found in Genesis 1:10: Elohim called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and Elohim saw that it was good. So, mikvah here means gathering of waters. In Leviticus 11:36 it refers to a cistern or collection of waters which must be clean for the purpose of cleansing what is unclean. Consequently, it is the collection of waters by which one would wash himself. Another important term in Hebrew is the verb #x;r' (rachats) which means to wash, wash off, away, bathe. Often used of washing one's feet or head or to bathe. So here is where the term gets interesting for us. In Exodus 29:1-7 and ff. we are taught how to consecrate Aharon and his sons to serve as priests in the sanctuary. "Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. Then you shall bring Aharon and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. You shall take the garments, and put on Aharon the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod; and you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. In the verses that follow it speaks of the procedure to describe the anointing of Aharon's sons and the washings of the sacrificial offerings which were to be brought in for the priests ordination (installation). In Exodus 30:18-21, we are given a more complete instruction about the purpose of the laver outside the Holy Place: "You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire [sacrifice] to Yahuwah. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aharon and his descendants throughout their generations." This instruction about washing the hands of feet of Aharon and his sons is repeated in Exodus 30 and in Exodus 40. Yahuwah spoke to Mosheh, saying, "You
shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing;
and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you
shall put water in it. "Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands
and their feet from it; when they enter the tent of meeting, they
shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach
the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire [sacrifice] to
Yahuwah. "So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that
they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for
Aharon and his descendants throughout their generations." "You shall anoint the laver and its stand, and consecrate it. Exodus 40:11 He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. Exodus 40:30 Anytime Aharon or his sons were to enter into the sanctuary (the Holy Place), they were to first wash their hands and their feet at the laver of water that stood in the outer court, within the tent structure which housed the Holy Place. This word rachats is also used of washing the animal offerings: "Then you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put [them] with its pieces and its head. (Exodus 29:17) Leviticus 14:8 describes the ritual of the cleansing of the leper: "The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water and be clean. Now afterward, he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days. Here, the worshipper who is returning to the community because he has been healed must wash himself and his clothes and shave off all his hair. Another Hebrew word, sb;K' (kabas) which also means to wash, be washed, perform the work of a fuller is used in Exodus 19:10 (and many other places in Leviticus and Numbers) which speaks of the cleansing of the people prior to approaching Mt. Sinai: Yahuwah also said to Mosheh, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day Yahuwah will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Leviticus 17:15-16 also traces out the cleansing ritual and used both of these Hebrew terms for washing: "When any person eats [an animal] which dies or is torn [by beasts], whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash (Heb cabas) his clothes and bathe (Heb rachats) in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. But if he does not wash (Heb cabas) [them] or bathe (Heb rachats) his body, then he shall bear his guilt." In each of these examples, washing with water in a collected pool of fresh, clean water is the ritual that Israel was given for an unclean person to be accepted back into the community of the nation, to be cleansed from diseases and all other manner of uncleanness. Furthermore, washings were also a part of the ordination of the priests and for the priests to wash before they entered the Holy Place. And so we have in these examples the background of New Testament baptism. We are introduced to New Testament baptism by Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptizer): Now in those days John the Baptist came,
preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand." For this is the one referred to by Yeshayahu the
prophet when he said, "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE
READY THE WAY OF YAHUWAH, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!'" Now John
himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his
waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going
out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; The New Testament Greek word translated baptism is bapti,zw (baptizo) which means to strictly dip, immerse in water; middle dip oneself, wash; in the NT predominately of the use of water in a religious and symbolic sense; (1) of Jewish ritual washings wash, cleanse, purify by washing. In these lexical entries (definitions of the word) we can see the correlation from the Old Testament usage of the cleansings/washings into the New Testament context of dipping or immersing. Baptism in the New Testament still means a washing so as to be cleansed or as a means of being consecrated. And thus the connection with repenting of one's sins (what makes a person unclean) so that the person doing so can have access in relationship with the Living Elohim and his community with "baptism" should be easy to understand. Thus, Yochanan introduces us to New Testament baptism. His message while dipping people in the Yarden (Jordan) River was to repent. This repentance of the people is indicated by their confession of their sins (vs.6). What Yochanan was doing was preaching the message of the prophets that the nation of Israel needed to return to Elohim. They had a long history of turning away from him to serve the gods and idols of the nations around them. The prophets brought a message of their need to repent so that Yahuwah could restore their inheritance and the blessings of Abraham. But not everyone was ready to receive that message: But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones Elohim is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:7-10 The religious rulers of the day were not interested in humbling themselves before Elohim. Theirs was a "theological reason" for not listening to the message of the coming of Messiah. Be claiming Abraham as their father, they were implying that they did not need to repent. They thought they were already in the favor of Elohim. Yochanan knew that his mission was to prepare the nation for the coming of Messiah. Thus, they needed to repent so that they could be included in the Messianic Reign. And Yochanan continued his message: "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matthew 3:11-12 Yochanan was calling people out to be cleansed of their sins. Repentance is the means by which forgiveness is granted. It has always been this way. In every period of human history, the Creator God has been calling people to turn away (repent) from their sins and to draw near to Him. Accordingly, Yochanan's baptism was a cleansing or purifying "washing" away of sin. When Messiah was to come, he would be the One to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And Messiah did come to Yochanan to be baptized in water: Then Yahusha arrived from Galilee at the Jordan [coming] to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Yahusha answering said to him, "Permit [it] at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Yahusha came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of Elohim descending as a dove [and] lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Matthew 3:13-17 Here, Yahusha Messiah come to Yochanan for a water baptism. But this dipping in water was not for cleansing from sin. He was not repenting from wrongdoing. Yahusha's baptism was as an ordination into ministry, just as the priests in the times of Israel's earlier history. This is where we see several purposes of baptism in the New Testament just as we saw several purposes of water immersions or sprinklings in the Old Testament. So, Yahusha was fulfilling all righteousness (according to the Torah) in order to enter into the service which Yahuwah had prepared for him. This ordination ceremony (being dipped by the prophet Yochanan into the water) introduced Yahusha as Elohim's "beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." The Baptism of the Holy Spirit Jumping ahead to the time of Yahusha's ascension into heaven, we see Messiah fulfilling the prophetic utterance, Yahuwah has sworn and will not change His mind, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." Psalm 110:4 As the appointed High Priest of the heavenly sanctuary, one of his duties was to "send gifts to men." He had promised his disciples that when he left them, he would send the Helper: "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; [that is] the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, [but] you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you [will] see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 4th Gospel 14:15-20 So, this happened at Shavuot (Pentecost), approximately fifty days after Yahusha's death on the tree. He sent his Holy Spirit to be in his disciples and with them forever. We read the account of the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" in Acts 2:1-4: When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. This, then, is the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Yochanan had said that the coming Messiah would perform. The disciples were "immersed" into the Holy Spirit that day. The Helper was sent as promised. And the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to remember everything Yahusha had taught them, and he empowered them to do the works of Messiah, such as healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, etc. When we come to Paul's letters in the New Testament, sometimes what Paul writes is confusing. But let's get back to the basics when we read Paul. If indeed a true prophet of Elohim, Paul's teachings must be in agreement with all the the prophets before him taught. And so it is. Paul's teaches about the "one baptism." Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Elohim and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6 The unity of our faith in Elohim is expressed in this summary statement by Paul. So what does he mean that there is "one baptism"? We have already seen that there is a baptism in water and a baptism in the Holy Spirit, and that there will be a baptism of fire. How then can there be only one baptism. The answer to this is simple. The water cleansings of the Old Testament always represented an individual entering into a special relationship with Elohim. The cleansings of the flesh brought a person back into the community of Israel. The cleansings of the priests brought them into a special ministry on behalf of Elohim. So also in New Testament times. The water baptism brought the worshipper back into proper relationship and status with Elohim. The Spirit baptism of the New Testament brings Elohim's Spirit into the worshipper to enable him for empowerment to perform the calling on his life. Each baptism is performed to fulfill the purpose of Elohim for the life of the believer. Though the modes of baptism may be different, such as cleansing from uncleanness, ordination into ministry, cleansing from sin, or entry into a specific calling on one's life, each of these baptisms are designed for a single purpose and accomplish a single result. The baptisms are one because they signify and result in the calling on one's life. And so we often see in the New Testament that a water baptism is accompanied by the baptism of the Holy Spirit: It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they [said] to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Yahusha." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Yahusha. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they [began] speaking with tongues and prophesying. Acts 19:1-6 This illustrates that these two baptisms are really one! First came the water baptism followed closely by the Spirit baptism. Baptism is also an outward testimony that the one so baptized is entering into the body of Messiah, the called nation of Elohim. For even as the body is one and [yet] has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Messiah. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Yehudim or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 Followers of Messiah are baptized into one body by one Spirit. All who connect to Elohim through Messiah come to him through the Son. This, again, is what baptism is all about. Finally, one more difficult passage to deal with and understand. And that's Paul reference to baptism for the dead. The text reads this way: The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that Elohim may be all in all. Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 1 Corinthians 15:26-29 Though we have no record of any instance of someone being baptized for the dead, nevertheless, Paul mentions here that some do this. It is connected with the resurrection here by Paul. We can only speculate about why people were baptized for the dead. It may be that this was a way for someone who was a true believer, but didn't know of the Messiah or of the baptism of the Spirit and then died, to be formally or ceremonially included into the body of Messiah. That's the best I can do since there is no additional information to interpret the meaning of being baptized for the dead. Hope this quick study was a help to you. I have not exhausted all the texts about baptism, but these should steer you in the right direction of this elementary teaching of the Scriptures.
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