"Water and the Spirit"

[Guest]

I thought I'd do a short study on "water and the Spirit" here. I think you'll all find it fascinating. 8)

Has anyone ever thought to themselves why water was chosen as the symbol of baptism? Why should immersion (or sprinkling, if you lean that way) be connected with spiritual death and rebirth?

For those who are somewhat familiar with Jewish culture, the Jews themselves performed ritual baptisms. Not only was this a custom for the bride in the wedding rituals as well as a custom for converts to Judaism, it was also a part of the Temple service. The "bronze sea" mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23-26 was used for baptizing the priests before they went into the Temple or took part in any other Temple rituals.

But the ritual of baptism is even older than that. In ancient Egypt, long before the time of Israel, the priests would often baptize themselves in a pool that symbolized the waters of Creation. I've also seen a reference to Egyptians being baptized in a coffin filled with water.

In fact, the concept of baptism goes straight back to Creation, to the primordial sea of waters that existed before dry land appeared. Since all life was symbolically "born" from the waters, as it were, then rebirth should also come from water!

This isn't just a nice idea, either. The concept of the waters of Creation or being born out of water appears all through the bible, even in the Old Testament. It's impossible to fully grasp the meaning of certain passages without understanding this symbolism.

Now, the other great symbol of birth is the Holy Spirit. According to Genesis 2:7, God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath or Spirit of life ("breath" and "spirit" are the same word in Hebrew), and man became a "breathing creature", a living "soul." So when we look at spiritual rebirth, we again see the same Spirit involved!

In John 1, we read that "in Him [the Word] was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it. ...This was the true Light that lights everyone who comes into the world." Looking back at Genesis 2:7, what was it that gave Adam life? THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. According to John, it was this same Spirit who shined in darkness - referring back to God's declaration of "let there be light" in Genesis 1:2-3. This "light" gives life to everyone who comes into the world. (Also cf. Prov. 20:27.) Everyone who is born into the world is given their breath of life from the Holy Spirit of God.

Compare the following types of "birth" or baptism:

The "birth" of the world:

Water: The waters of Creation, later called "seas" (Gen. 1:2-10)
Spirit: The first "light" (Gen. 1:2-5)

The Flood:

Water: The Deluge
Spirit: The rainbow (Gen. 9:12-16; cf. Eze. 1, esp. v. 28 - the rainbow is symbolic of the "light" and glory of God which is the Holy Spirit)

Israel coming out of Egypt to be "born" as a nation:

Water: The crossing of the Red Sea (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-2)
Spirit: The pillar of fire (Ex. 13:21-22, 14:19-20, etc. - this was a brightly glowing, rainbow-colored cloud and pillar of fire, just like the one in Ezekiel 1)

A human baby

Water: the watery amniotic fluid of the womb
Spirit: taking its first breath

Jesus:

Water: same as above
Spirit: the Star of Bethlehem, a parallel with the Holy Spirit shining as the "light of the world" at Creation

The spiritual "rebirth" or baptism of an individual
Water: baptism
Spirit: the Holy Spirit

The physical "rebirth" of an individual
Fire/Spirit: Cf. Mat. 3:11-12; 1 Cor. 3:10-16

The "rebirth" of the world

Fire/Spirit compared with water: the glory of God (Num. 14:21; Hab. 2:14 and Isa. 11:9; 2 Pet. 3:5-7, 10, 12-13)

Okay, so why do we have all of these symbolic parallels? What's the point?

They all point to one thing: LOVE.

As we read in 2 Timothy 1:7, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love! When we are born, we are born with natural, human love which is a function of the spirit of man within us (see Job 32:8 and 34:14-15). As we grow up, circumstances and parentage will conspire to rob us of that natural love, to some degree. Baptism - of whatever sort that I listed above - is meant to symbolize a renewal of the love that we had as children! That's part of why Jesus said that we must become as little children if we are to enter into the Kingdom of God (Mat. 18:3).

In Matthew 24:12-13, we read, "Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved." This is what I was talking about before. Because circumstances of whatever sort will conspire to rob us of our love (for God as well as for one another), we must be careful not to allow that love to grow cold in us. Otherwise, we will not be saved. Only pure love can endure forever. And, that's why we'll be given eternal life: because we have pure love.

God sent the Flood upon the world because it was filled with wickedness and VIOLENCE (Gen. 6:5-13). Violence is the end result of total insensitivity - a total lack of love - towards others. What's interesting about this is how it applies to the last two instances of "baptism" that I listed above: the physical "rebirth" of an individual and of the world.

In 1 Cor. 3:10-15, we read that we can build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ works which are represented by gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble. The fiery judgment of God will reveal what sort of works we have by testing them with "fire."

Spiritually speaking, what's going on here?

As I said before, all of these instances of baptism point towards a renewal of love. Now, we can go through fiery trials, as it were, to help us to become more sensitive in this life. But did you ever stop to think that since the Holy Spirit of God will cover the whole earth and everyone in it, everyone on earth will become just as sensitive as God is? And what will happen when some of those people suddenly understand and FEEL the pain that they've inflicted on others - intentionally or unintentionally - because of this baptism of fire?

It will be like going through "purgatory" for those whose works are wood, hay or stubble.

Understand that the Catholic concept of purgatory isn't entirely wrong. There is a deep and profound truth in it! For those who believe in God but go through this life being somewhat insensitive to others, perhaps because they don't know any better, they'll be given supernatural sensitivity in the Kingdom of God. They'll feel that pain and sorrow that they've inflicted on others, and it will cut to their heart. It will take time for them to come to terms with it. Of course, they'll have to repent before those they have wronged (assuming they're also in the Kingdom) and before God.

Also, the incorrigibly wicked will suffer this same fate. They'll be given the same supernatural sensitivity to what they have done to others. For them, however, it will be an eternal punishment, because they'll never have the opportunity to repent - whether or not they want to, simply to escape the pain!

The fate of the wicked has always been somewhat confusing. For instance, we see in Malachi 4:1-3 that the day of the renewal of the earth that burns like fire will BURN UP the wicked so that they are ashes under the feet of the righteous. But in Matthew 25:31-46, we see that the fate of the wicked is eternal punishment! In Revelation 20:10 and 14-15, the wicked are cast into a lake of fire to be eternally tormented. In Revelation 14:9-11, the same punishment of eternal torment is promised to those who worship the Beast.

What we have is that the bodies of the wicked will be burned up into ashes. The spirits of the wicked will suffer eternal torment in the "lake of fire" which is the Holy Spirit covering the whole earth just as the Flood once did. This eternal torment is because they will be made supernaturally sensitive to the wickedness that they have done towards others. The principle of Matthew 7:1-2 will be fulfilled to them: they will be condemned to suffer the effects of what they have done to others.

Interesting, innit?

Damon