Post by garrett on Aug 16, 2015 14:29:56 GMT -8
Interesting - it's curious (to my knowledge) how there are so many Christians who will become baptized AFTER they accept Messiah. But in John's time, they repented, went through purification and the L-rd came. The evolution is wild.
To me, John added a real twist this use of "baptism" with relation to the Messiah.
Now it tries to exist in very many forms - garrett
A practicing Jew went through tevilah for many reasons: women after their period, men after an emission, priests getting ready for Temple service, and those who underwent a major change in their beliefs, like joining another sect. John was the leader of his own very large sect, one of many who preached repentance at that time. He baptized (performed tevilah) into his own following, preaching repentance in order to make way for Moshiach. Those who later believed in Yeshua as Moshiach would again undergo tevilah coming into the sect of the Nots'rim, who are the forefathers of true Meshiachim today.
They would continue to undergo tevilah for all the reasons listed above, and more. The church has twisted its meaning to be a one time thing when you accept Jesus; or things like sprinkling and infant baptism. So when thinking about tevilah, we need to get away from church doctrines and think like the 1st cen Hebrews did about it. Tevilah is not baptism, and baptism had its roots in tevilah, but the tree itself is contorted and stunted; an ugly, twisted relative of a beautiful, meaningful practice- one we should be doing every chance we get.
We don't generally have access to a mikvah (place where tevilah is done), or to a rabbi who can perform tevilah. This is why n'tilat yadayim is so important to us. It is like tevilah for the hands.
Dan C
edit: looked up thread on n'tilat yadayim-
theloveofgod.proboards.com/thread/3305/ntilat-yadiyim
There are Jewish people today who have accepted Yeshua as THE Messiah but don't just "walk away" from these practices. It is common for people to immerse before Shabbat, before Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement, before marriage, after a woman's phase of niddah, etc.
I find it curious and a bit confusing as to how these things have been weeded out of the life of religious belief. Nowhere in scripture have I ever found any doing away with these practices. Many may find them unnecessary or legalistic (a term I am weary of). However, there is NO SIN or bondage to be found in such practices. To incorporate such things into our religous life as a way of orbiting around G-d is (and should be) the main reason.
This is very strange to me, all of it, because today's "baptism" and tevilah almost seem like two very separate things. Immersion at the acceptance of Yeshua/Jesus is understandable but not much else is left to us after that in scripture. Perhaps G-d knew the news of the Messiah would become available to the world and the many nations - and the process of regular, symbolic purification would fall on glossed over eyes.
The more I learn, the more I wonder what in the world is going on?? What has occurred? I literally hope that things that get lost in mistranslation or due to any anti-semitism haven't taken countless souls down some terrible path. I really don't know what to make of so much of today's Christianity - it's teachings, beliefs, grace, culture, holidays and music. As I've mentioned before, I am never interested in bashing any of Christianity, for we hold some of the very same beliefs. But I'm at quite a bit of a loss as to how I can relate to some of the Christians I know. Perhaps I am making too big a deal of it
Always perplexed - garrett
at Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, Yehoshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Nevi'im, and the Nevi'im to the men of the Great Synagogue. The latter used to say three things. Be patient in the administration of justice, rear many disciples, and make a fence around the 
