Halakha

Rabbinical Baptism

Was their a prior historic baptism befor John?

Is their any support for Herod’s baptism other than what was provided in Barbara Thiering's Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls which is quoted in several articles including the one concerning White stones and the Corban of the Pharisees and the Corban of Christ?

The term "baptism" is generally not used to describe the Jewish rituals Halakha, the purification rite. In the Jewish law and tradition we find this form of baptism which included the tvilah which is the act of immersion in naturally sourced water, called a mikva.

In The Clementine Homilies we can see John the Baptist and his disciples are mentioned as Hemerobaptists. In Hebrew they were called Tovelei Shaḥarit which may be found in some of the different sects of the Essenes meaning something like the 'Morning Bathers' or Day-baptist taken by some to mean "one who baptizes every day". The idea of baptism everyday can be a ritual of daily purification related to your daily walk. But baptizing other people everyday was a baptism as an initiation.

What was John doing with his Baptism. Understanding the idea of and the difference between the Baptism of John and Herod's Baptism can be very eye opening for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear?

Understanding that there was a long tradition of Baptism and that Rabbinical Baptism may also different because it was fostered by "Rabbi" who did not exist until about 150 BC. We may use the term Rabbinical Baptism and while it was a Jewish tradition just like corban but the Pharisees had made such changes in these traditions they were in opposition to their original intent. But understanding what Corban was and why the Corban of the Pharisees made the word of God to none effect and how the definition of Religion has changed is almost essential to any real comprehension of these terms.

"According to rabbinical teachings, which dominated even during the existence of the Temple (Pes. viii. 8), Baptism, next to circumcision and sacrifice, was an absolutely necessary condition to be fulfilled by a proselyte to Judaism (Yeb. 46b, 47b; Ker. 9a; 'Ab. Zarah 57a; Shab. 135a; Yer. Kid. iii. 14, 64d)."

"Baptism was practiced in ancient (Ḥasidic or Essenes) Judaism, first as a means of penitence, as is learned from the story of Adam and Eve, who, in order to atone for their sin, stood up to the neck in the water, fasting and doing penance—Adam in the Jordan for forty days, Eve in the Tigris for thirty-seven days (Vita Adæ et Evæ, i. 5-8)."

"The Baptism of the proselyte has for its purpose his cleansing from the impurity of idolatry, and the restoration to the purity of a new-born man. This may be learned from the Talmud (Soṭah 12b) in regard to Pharaoh's daughter, whose bathing in the Nile is explained by Simon b. Yoḥai to have been for that purpose. The bathing in the water is to constitute a rebirth, wherefore "the ger is like a child just born" (Yeb. 48b); and he must bathe "in the name of God"—"leshem shamayim"—that is, assume the yoke of God's kingdom imposed upon him by the one who leads him to Baptism ("maṭbil"), or else he is not admitted into Judaism (Gerim. vii. 8). For this very reason the Israelites before the acceptance of the Law had, according to" 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Philo on the Decalogue ("De Decalogo," ii., xi.), as well as according to rabbinical tradition, to undergo the rite of baptismal purification (compare I Cor. x. 2, "They were baptized unto Moses [the Law] in the clouds and in the sea").

The Jewish religion requires that male and female conversion candidates to immerse themselves in a ritual bath called a mikveh. Jewish baptism by immersion in ancient times was to be performed in the presence of witnesses (Yebam. 47b). The person being baptized made special preparations including a fresh profession of his faith before the designated "fathers of the baptism" (Kethub. 11a; Erub 15a).

Fire Festival

Modern Baptism did not start with John the Baptist nor with the Rabbinical Baptism as we can see Exodus 19:10, Ezekiel 36:25.

Enke or Ninsiku, lord of Eridu, in ancient Babylon saw the cleansing power of water as important in spiritual purification according to the cuneiform Tablets of Maklu(Maqlu) which also included instructions about the “Fire Festival” in Sumer and Babylon.

Water bathing before initiation into a group or membership was common in ancient cults. Sometimes other liquids were used such as blood or milk. Even castration of Eunichs became a ritual as people seized the symbolism and unmoored the meaning of the metaphor of ancient text as corruption came and the logosLogos diminished into confusion.

Jews to baptized converts as much as five centuries before John the Baptist. John was not merely building on what was already established but was attempting to reform the people who had been dragged into apostacy by the blind who did not know Moses.

"Some time between 200 to 500 years before the birth of Jesus and John, baptism became a part of the traditional procedure for conversion to Judaism."

"Josephus tells us that even during the years of war (66-73 A.D.) the laws of ritual immersion were strictly adhered to (Jos. Wars, 4:205). Herod's Temple itself contained immersion baths in various places for the priests to use, even in the vaults beneath the court (Commentary to Tam. 26b; Tam. 1:1)."

Baptism was extremely common to mark events and among the Nazarenes there were at least three forms of Baptism, or what was called the mikveh.

1. RISHAMA BAPTISM was performed daily with a covered head, just before sunrise and before all religious ceremonies.
2. TAMASHA BAPTISM was simple triple immersion in the river.
3. MASBUTA BAPTISM: The third ablution, or ‘full baptism

Baptism and Provision

In the nine Tablets of Maklu there were incantations and ritual instructions of the Maqlû like the “Fire Festival” but water was important as a spiritual cleansing agent in the cult of Enke to say nothing of the rebirth or the idea of regeneration through water as an initiation into the cult of Isis.

All these systems or Religions were steeped in symbols and rituals that have been subject to interpretation over the centuries.

Gibil ('burning'), called the “founder of cities”, is the ancient Sumerian god of fire and light because of his association with kilns and brickmaking, potters and bakers, but also metallurgists. His fire was important in the formation of civilization, i.e. city-state, but also in its purification.

The Goddesses of Sumer and their priests presided over the care and provision of daily bread within the city to secure their loyalty and dedication of the people to the city-state.

These cities became the cities of blood that would snare the people and return them to bondage and were opposed if not forbidden in the Bible in both Old and New Testaments. This is not just because they are idolatry but because they make men merchandise, entangled them again in the yoke of bondage, and curse children.

The Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus: His Revolutionary View of Reality and His Transcendent Significance for Faith was written by Rev. Dr. John F. Baggett who is a graduate of Kentucky Wesleyan College and Vanderbilt Divinity School. He holds a Masters in the Anthropology of Religion and a Ph.D. in Psychiatric Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He writes:

“Once again, it is important to understand the intent of the law. The commandment to honor fathers and mothers was not simply intended to ensure the right relationships between parents and children while the children were growing up. It was also intended as the social welfare system of the day which assured that the aging and elderly parents received compassionate care and support.”

“In religious zeal, some Pharisees were allowed to circumvent their responsibility to provide for their parents by declaring the resources that would have gone to that purpose as “dedicated to God.” By seeking their own personal holiness at the expense of the welfare of their parents through the declaration of Corban, they in fact made the commandment meaningless for they had avoided its purpose. Social responsibility for those in need was the intent of the Law. Some Pharisees violated that intent by placing their own desires for personal righteousness above social responsibility.”

Just a few verses that show that there were tables built by the early Church through the fervent charity of the Corban of Christ which was an alternative to the tables of the rulers of the world and the covetous practices of the masses:

Acts 6:1 "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration."

John 9:22 "These [words] spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue [excluded from sacred assemblies of Israelites, excommunicated]...The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. 31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth... And they cast him out."

John 9:35 "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. 39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."

Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, [It is] Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; [he shall be free]. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."

John 10:1 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out."

The theme of the Bible is about man either governed by the Will of God i.e.Right Reason which is revealed through the Holy Spirit, the Tree of Life, or even what has been called the Urim and Thummim, or man as subject in back in the bondage of Egypt being governed by the Fathers of the earth, the Benefactors who exercise authority, or the gods many that man may choose for himself through the Civil law and Contracts, Covenants and Constitutions.

The social welfare of the welfare State degenerates the masses through their appetite for the dainties of rulers which are a snare. Because they become accustomed to the covetous practices and are willing to bite one another through the men who exercise authority one over the other the social bonds are broken until a tyrant rises.

There are many verses supporting the idea of what became the Christian conflict with the baptismal initiation by the Pharisees and Herod into their social welfare systems of legal charity or Public religion run through the temples built by Herod and eventually those civil temples of Rome that offered free bread, and dainties, and the alimenta of Trajan.

If the Modern Church's baptism is not an initiation into a social welfare system operating through faith, Hope, and charity but they leave their members to apply to the Public religion run through their civil temples of legal charity with its dainties, free bread and benefits which operate by force, fear, and fealty.

This would mean that the condemning words of John and Jesus and the warnings of the Apostles would apply to the Modern Church as they did to the Pharisees:

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Matthew 23:33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Luke 3:7 "Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

What is God writing on Your Heart?

From the preface the Covenants of the gods:

"This book is a beginning. It is not intended to supply an answer. “And the King shall answer…”(Mt. 25:40). The quotes are not meant to establish an authority in your mind. “Little children, let no man deceive you…” (1 Jn 3:7). The use of logic is not to lead you. “Let no man deceive you with vain words…” (Eph 5:6). Any teaching of established doctrines of men is impugned, “lest in vain we teach for doctrines the commandments of men” Mt. 15:9). Any advice that is taken from these writings was not intended."

Understanding the message of Christ is about revelation, not about eating from the tree of knowledge.

Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

So what do we think about the modern Church that does not do what Jesus said nor have the Baptism of repentance.

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.

Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

1 John 5:2 -3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Luke 22:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so:

John the Baptist | Baptism |
Rabbinical Baptism or Halakha |
Herod | Pharisees | Essenes |
Festival of Fire vs Baptism of fire
Corban vs Corban of Christ
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Early Church vs Modern Church
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Pure Religion vs Public religion
Fervent charity vs Legal charity

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