With great love hast Thou loved us, O Lord our God, and with much overflowing pity hast Thou pitied us, our Father and our King. For the sake of our fathers who trusted in Thee, and Thou taughtest them the statutes of life, have mercy upon us and teach us. Enlighten our eyes in Thy law; cause our hearts to cleave to Thy commandments; unite our hearts to love and fear Thy name, and we shall not be put to shame, world without end. For Thou art a God Who preparest salvation, and us hast Thou chosen from among all nations and tongues, and hast in truth brought us near to Thy great Name–Selah–that we may lovingly praise Thee and Thy Oneness. Blessed be the Lord Who in love chose His people Israel.”
A Jewish prayer.
Mikvah vs. Rome
How much water in a baptism? The answer by one person? “The amount of water is ludicrous.”
I don’t find it ludicrous at all. Since the issue was raised on a good blog, I not only responded on her blog, but also my own blog. I cannot help but pepper my articles to come with Roman Catholic criticisms so forgive me when I rant and seem to get off topic. I will get on topic sooner or later in the article at hand.
To begin, I would like to give my perspective as a Messianic Jew regarding the topic of the mode of baptism. First off, it is in sweetness and sincerity that I communicate this response. It is not my desire to sound as if I am looking down on Gentiles when I refer to them as a people. The believing Gentile is just as saved as the believing Jew and that should be the end of any accusation that I am speaking in a derogatory manner. There is one tree and all who are in the olive tree are elect. It is not my intention to raise the blood pressure of paedo Baptists either.
I am simply going to attempt to show that the Gentiles are being robbed of a historical Jewish practice. Let’s face it; many of us know or agree, or should know and agree, that the Galatian heresy became quite dominant after the Apostle Paul was killed. It, along with other heresies, arose in bundles. While there were well meaning Christians who did what they could to combat these heresies, they too were drifting toward Greece. Before I talk about Mikveh, let me first say a few words about the “whys” of deception.
Note the number of men from Alexandria called “Church Fathers.” As if this is a compliment much less even true. Many people I know, for example, quote from Origen of Alexandria with no knowledge that the school of Alexandria was a pit of hell making disciples of Satan. They refer to him as one of the Church Fathers. Oy! Nothing could be further from the truth. Confused infant? Yes. Church Father, No Way!
Because of men like Origen, Rome was right behind to follow in the heels of men like these. (as well as the Eastern Orthodox) These men like Origen, and later Rome, did not create many of the doctrines we have today. They borrowed from the pagan Greek philosophers as well as the times in which they lived. In other words, they took from the pagan, idolatrous society and perhaps, things in vogue and sprinkled them with “jesus” words. If an idea seemed cool to them it was embraced. Just like painting the pig with golden paint. Looks pretty in the beginning right? But, in time, the true colors will come back. The paint begins to fade and chip. Why? The pig always feels comfortable in his own environment and that is in the mud.
I am often asked why do men take so long to reveal their heresies, like Douglas Wilson or Francis Beckwith or Scott Hahn? Because, they were always pigs per se. Their nature never changed and they were always Romanists at heart. I anticipate seeing R.C. Sproul and Norman Geisler amd William Lane Craig, et al, come out of the closet one day. They continue to use Romes apologetics and ungodly influences to defend the God of Scripture. And the naive Christian says all is well because these “philosophers” speak christianese. Heretics often keep the charade up for a while in order to effectively convince ignorant people that they are one of us, but sadly, the ignorant Christian not only buys the 24kt pig, but also defends the paint of the pig as genuine even though he or she sees the chips and scratches revealing pork.
Since the Messianic Influence was losing ground quickly, the converts were open prey. Now, since I never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to make a slam on Rome I want to provide an example. The picture of the baby Jesus sitting on the knee of mother Mary is nothing more than a revised picture of Isis and Horus borrowed from Greek mythology.
Not to get off topic, but to make the point, see the following;
“Scholars have drawn comparisons with Isis worship in late Roman times and the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The scholars said once the Christian religion started dispersing throughout Rome, the Christians converted an Isis shrine in Egypt into one for Mary and in other ways “deliberately took images from the pagan world” For example, the historian Will Durant has claimed, “Early Christians sometimes worshiped before the statues of Isis suckling the infant Horus, seeing in them another form of the ancient and noble myth by which woman (i.e., the female principle), creating all things, becomes at last the Mother of God.” Though the Virgin Mary is not worshiped (only venerated) in Catholicism and Orthodoxy, her role as a merciful mother figure has parallels with the figure of Isis. This may be a result of early Christian exposure to Egyptian art. A survey of “twenty leading Egyptologists” by Dr. W. Ward Gasque, a Christian scholar, found that of the ten who replied “all recognize that the image of the baby Horus and Isis has influenced the Christian iconography of Madonna and Child” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis
I should hope we have learned by now that Rome has been the reason for so much dreck. (Dreck is trash in Yiddish) Not only does Rome continue its doctrine through the hearts of ignorant Arminians, Rome continues to effect many of today’s churches. Replacing instruments with chants. Replacing a manner of worship once practiced by the Jews into a sterile “library” scene. They have no regard for the early church and the fact that it was LOUD!. What is even more comical is this; Many Reformed churches continue their worship with no instruments in the service to accompany singing, but many Roman Catholic churches now have full Romish praise bands. Yes I am quite serious. I attended a Romish service and witnessed a guitar, bass, drums and a vocalist.
So, with this in mind let’s talk further on another issue suppressed by the absence of Messianic Jews in the early church. The Lord’s Supper. Why a piece of bread and a small cup? Where do you think that came from? Rome! For hundreds of years men and women ate a small wafer with no Lord’s Supper context. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Lord’s Supper is a feast, not a wafer. The Messianics, the early Christians ate the symbolic feast! In other words, they observed the traditional Jewish Passover feast, but now it had a terminology twist. The name changed, but the feast remained the same. When I was a religious Jew, when I celebrated the Passover, I rejoiced that the Lord had delivered my ancestors from their enemies and passed over them by having blood on the doorposts. I was called to remember this event forever. Now, I celebrate the same feast because I have been delivered from death and sin by his blood being shed on a cross and I proclaim this death until his return. Churches practice Roman Catholicism and they don’t even consider or take a historical look into the Pesach meal. 1 Corinthians 11 touches on this because of the abuse.
But, Jews never abused the Passover meal. It was done with a command a sense of tradition and maturity. The Gentiles were granted to participate in this feast as converts and because they didn’t have a historical background they were vulnerable to fleshly tendencies. Pigging out and drinking all the wine so the poor could come and starve. When I grew up it was a feast where family and friends all participated and no one left hungry. So, Paul never said stop bringing so much food to the celebration. He said if you are hungry stay home and eat so the poor could eat. The word for supper also means dinner or banquet. Same word used in passages like;
ESV Luke 14:12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. How many of you believe it will be a simple wafer and cup at the wedding feast of the lamb?
CJB Revelation 19:9; The angel said to me, “Write: ‘How blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb!’” Then he added, “These are God’s very words.”
ESV Revelation 19:17; Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
Rome has hijacked a beautiful celebration. A memorial meal in which men and women participate in a supper where we proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns. I am sad to have to see this in our day.
With this in mind, it has been said that sprinkling began when a person made a confession and there was no water around. As I already stated, many Messianic Jews were killed or ran off so who’s left? Gentiles who lacked a basic understanding of biblical Judaism. Gentile Christians needed instruction, but where would they go? Does anyone grasp the reason for the Lord sending an educated Jew to the Gentiles? Why the book of Romans? The entire plan of salvation laid out for both Jew and Gentile to have a working knowledge of Creation, fall and redemption, plus many bonuses. Paul could have been sent to the Jews first, but it was the Gentiles who needed Jewish understandings. No one is saying that they did not have some foundations, but with poor understanding and nothing but wolves coming into the church, not sparing the flock, how long do you think any sound doctrine lasted? The times were ripe for Rome to rise up and come into play. The sandbox was emptied by blood and a new sheriff came into town. This is why Jewish evangelism is so difficult today. When you say Rome and Christian in the same breath, you may as well say Hitler and Christian. This is why I get disgusted when so-called evangelicals use Roman Catholic sources to make a theological argument. I am sure Jews just love to hear Douglas Wilson accepts Roman Catholic baptism.
With this in mind, lets talk mikvah. It has been said that “sprinkling” began when a person made a confession and there was no water around and because of the urgency, this caused a compromise between immersion and sprinkling. As long as there is some water applied to the convert, all is fine. But I don’t buy that. As I already stated, many Messianic Jews were killed or ran off so who’s left? Gentiles who lacked a basic understanding of biblical Judaism. Gentile Christians needed instruction, but where would they go? Jews and Messianics were run out of town
Does anyone grasp the reason for the Lord sending an educated Jew to the Gentiles? Why the book of Romans? The entire plan of salvation laid out to have a working knowledge of Creation, fall and redemption, plus many bonuses. Paul could have been sent to the Jews first, but it was the Gentiles who needed Jewish understandings. No one is saying that they did not have some foundations, but with nothing but wolves coming into the church and not sparing the flock, how long do you think any sound doctrine lasted? The times were ripe for Rome to rise up and come into play. The sandbox was emptied and cleansed with the blood of the Messianics and a new sheriff came into town.
This is why Jewish evangelism is so difficult today. When you say Rome and Christian in the same breath, you may as well say Hitler and Christian. This is why I get disgusted when so-called evangelicals use Roman Catholic sources to make a theological argument.
Mikvah was a practice of the Jews, both religious and believing, long before Messiah arrived on earth. It was a custom, as I hope to demonstrate, practiced in the early church as well as post resurrection of the Messiah. Mikvah was a ritual immersion pool where ceremonial washing was conducted. These pools have been identified in numerous archeological digs. When a Jew went to the local mall, they did not know if they came into contact with (for example) an unclean woman who was having her period. To ensure they would not bring this uncleanness into their homes, they had a stairway leading into a basement area where they walked into the water (usually provided by rain) and walked out of the water. They were immersed to ensure ceremonial cleansing.
Where do Jews get this term mikveh? In the book of Genesis the Jews took the word to define ceremonial washing. It is because of this passage that many Orthodox Jews consider the ocean sufficient to baptize in.
ESV Genesis 1:10; God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
LXE Genesis 1:10; And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.
I hope you would consider that the Jews often used particular and prescribed manners to determine mikvah. According to Jewish writings; In order for a mikveh to be ritually fit for use, the miḳvah must contain sufficient water to cover entirely the body of a man of normal sized man. Notice I said normal. There were no McDonalds back then with addictive ingredients causing this obesity we see today. Rabbis estimated that the miḳveh should be 3 cubits long, 1 cubit wide, and 1 cubit deep, containing 40 se’ahs of water. In other words, enough space to hold 144 eggs, so we are looking at roughly 120 gallons of water. The water, as I already mentioned, must come from a natural spring or from a river that has its source in a natural spring. The basements were filled by both rain water and even snow or ice. The point of all this is that there was a practice of immersion in play.
Now let me identify the New Testament sources that prove water is in fact, a factor. With all due respect, we often forget our belief system runs on the heels of a Jewish belief system. Salvation is from the Jews. Our Messiah was a Jew and each of the Apostles was Jewish. For this reason a traditional customs simply transferred over. Even before the Messiah’s arrival, when a Goyim was converted to Judaism, the Gentile was immersed.
Permit me to quote from Jews For Jesus on Baptism for those interested in a historical analysis of Baptism from both written and oral tradition.
Mikvah the Forerunner of Baptism
Along with the purposes already mentioned in the Torah, another use of symbolic purification by water became part of early Jewish tradition. This was immersion or baptism for Gentile converts to Judaism. Though the only Biblical requirement for entrance into the covenant was circumcision, baptism became an added requisite. No one knows exactly when or by whom the requirements were changed to include baptism, but it was before the time of Jesus. We know this, because debates on the subject of proselyte baptism are recorded between rabbinic schools of Shammai and Hillel, both contemporaries of Jesus. Whereas the school of Shammai stressed circumcision as the point of transition, the Hillelites considered baptism most important because it portrayed spiritual cleansing and the beginning of a new life. Ultimately the Hillelite view prevailed, as is reflected in the Talmudic writings. Maimonides, that greatly revered 12th century Jewish scholar, summed up all Talmudic tradition concerning converts to Judaism as follows. “By three things did Israel enter into the Covenant: by circumcision, and baptism and sacrifice. Circumcision was in Egypt, as it is written: ‘No uncircumcised person shall eat thereof’ (Exodus 12:48). Baptism was in the wilderness, just before giving of the Law, as it is written: ‘Sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes’ (Exodus 19:10). And sacrifice, as it is said: ‘And he sent young men of the children of Israel which offered burnt offerings’ (Exodus 24:5)…When a gentile is willing to enter the covenant…He must be circumcised and be baptized and bring a sacrifice…And at this time when there is no sacrifice, they must be circumcised and be baptized; and when the Temple shall be built, they are to bring a sacrifice…The gentile that is made a proselyte and the slave that is made free, behold he is like a child new born.”
The mishna says this;
And Shammai says, Nine kabs – of drawn water, (36 logs) render a mikveh unfit. One who had a seminal emission may immerse himself in nine kab and become clean. This amount of drawn water renders the mikveh unfit, for an amount sufficient for immersion in turn suffices to render a mikveh unfit for immersion. Less than 9 kab, though, does not do so (Ravad). But the Sages say, Neither according to the opinion of the one nor of the other, but – three logs of water render a mikveh unfit (Tosefta). Both Hillel and Shammai disagreed with them, when two weavers from the Dung Gate in Jerusalem came and testified in the name of Shemaiah and Abtalion, Three logs of drawn water render a mikveh unfit – if the mikveh was not yet filled with the required forty se’ahs. Three logs are the same as a quarter of a hin, which is the smallest volume used in the wine offerings brought on behalf of the community. As three logs are considered to be important enough for the wine offering of the community, this amount of drawn water is also considered important enough to render a partially filled mikveh unfit (Ravad).
Traditionally, the mikvah was used by both men and women to regain ritual purity after various events, according to regulations laid down in the Torah and in classical rabbinical literature. The Torah requires full immersion
• after Keri – normal emissions of semen, whether from sexual activity, or from nocturnal emission; bathing in a mikvah due to Keri is known as tevilath Ezra (“the immersion of Ezra”)
• after Zav/Zavah – abnormal discharges of bodily fluids • after Tzaraath – certain skin condition(s). These are termed lepra in the Septuagint, and therefore traditionally translated into English as leprosy; this is probably a translation error, as the Greek term lepra mostly refers to psoriasis, and the Greek term for leprosy was elephas/elephantiasis.
• by anyone who came into contact with someone suffering from Zav/Zavah, or into contact with someone still in Niddah (normal menstruation), or who comes into contact with articles that have been used or sat upon by such persons.
• by Jewish priests when they are being consecrated.
• by the Jewish high priest on Yom Kippur, after sending away the goat to Azazel, and by the man who leads away the goat.
• by the Jewish priest who performed the Red Heifer ritual
• after contact with a corpse or grave, in addition to having the ashes of the Red Heifer ritual sprinkled upon them • after eating meat from an animal that died naturally Classical rabbinical writers conflated the rules for zavah and niddah. It also became customary for priests to fully immerse themselves before Jewish holidays, and the laity of many communities subsequently adopted this practice. Additionally converts to Judaism are required to undergo full immersion in water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikvah#Historic_reasons
If you would like to see archeology photos of Mikvah in Qumran, see; http://www.sitesandphotos.com/catalog/parent-55484.html
As I alluded to already, many things were simply brought over into the New Testament and did not need to be clarified or explained. Another example is the issue of instruments; worship of God included instruments. See Psalm 150. To make the argument that there is no mention of instruments in the New Testament and build a theology around the absence of any mention is immature. The practice was carried over and did not need explanation. It is the same thing with baptism. However, baptism and its history is well recorded! And not only is it mentioned, it is not silent in its application. For example, several passages indicate men walked “down” into the water or came “up out” of the water.
ISV Matthew 3:16; When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. In order to come up, you must first go in right? When Philip baptized the Eunuch we are told the same thing;
ISV Acts 8:36-39; As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s some water. What keeps me from being baptized?” Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” He replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch went on his way rejoicing and did not see Philip again.
Both, please note both, went down into the water and both came up out of the water. And, to make matters even more interesting, the providence of God was displayed even more so. Think about this for a moment. Philip was sent to a desert road right? Right! A desert that is isolated, solitary, and desolate. A wilderness or possible wasteland.
Acts 8:26; Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south by the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert road.”
Immediately after the Bible study and conversion, before Philip departs, **poof** there is water. Enough water to baptize two people.
Acts 8:36; As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s some water. What keeps me from being baptized?”
To clarify my position, this has nothing to do with a Baptist theology. I am trying to get folks to understand that this subject has a Jewish history and it is a Jewish thing. It has nothing to do with Presbyterian or Baptist systems. Therefore, we have to put down our systems and consider what and how the Jews did it, pre Roman Catholicism. We also read two important things when John Baptized the Lord.
Matthew 3:-13-16; Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
First point is clear; The Messiah came up from the water.
Two; had this been some Pharisee doctrine or unbiblical act, the Messiah would not have been a participant. In other words, where do you find a passage where the Messiah goes along to get along? For example; when he turned over the tables of the money changers. He did not say “Let it be this way for now, for this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness,” pull up a chair and a table and assisted in money changing. On the contrary, he turned the tables over. Please also note the issue of hand washing in Mark 7.
Mark 7:6 He told them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites. As it is written, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is empty, because they teach human rules as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
The Messiah was outspoken against mans rules and mans teachings. However, when we read the account of the Baptism there is no hesitancy or negative attitude.
Matthew 3; “Let it be this way for now, for this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John let him.”
In other words, the Messiah defined the baptism as suitable, proper or fitting, in order to fulfill all righteousness. The Messiah participated in the baptism because it had meaning and had there been any conflict of Mikveh He would have said so. Therefore, he consented in two ways. He approved of John the Baptist manner of baptism and he himself was baptised by John. In addition to this, John the Baptist is said to have gone to Aenon, the place known as “fountains.” This place was said to have been noted for its abundant supply of water.
John 3:22-23; After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside. He spent some time there with them and began baptizing. John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People kept coming and were being baptized,
I think I will conclude here. I hoped only to bring up the history of Mikveh and show how it was used in the New Testament. I am sure the paedo Baptists will defend their system and they have that right. It should be our purpose to get as close to the history and culture surrounding the New Testament texts first and foremost and not find a final resting place in any system. As I have always stated, my first allegiance is to the Messiah. While I do enjoy reading the reformers, they are no substitute for Scripture. We should never stop with the reformers; rather, use them only as a springboard to the Scriptures. The reformers were only men and they had issues due to hundreds of years of tyranny imposed upon them. It is my desire that we all come to the unity of doctrine and defend the Scriptures before we defend a man or his system.
Moshe