UNDERSTANDING WATER BAPTISM BETTER

Transcription

1 UNDERSTANDING WATER BAPTISM BETTER March 2015 Rian Cilliers

2 PREFACE SUMMARY UNDERSTANDING WATER BAPTISM BETTER CONTENT 1. Water baptism as a kingdom key 2 2. A believer s baptism 4 3. Man s whole being involved in water baptism 6 4. Practical aspects of water baptism Water baptism built into the female body Baptism in the Holy Spirit before water baptism The water baptism of John the Baptist Dangers in not pursuing God s water baptism Infant baptism 24 29

3 SUMMARY UNDERSTANDING WATER BAPTISM BETTER Water baptism is a key of the kingdom of God. Water baptism is a believer s water baptism; not an adult water baptism. It is not the size or the age of the physical body that counts. Man s whole being is involved in the baptism, and therefore man s body is immersed under the water. Many explanations and biblical proof are presented in this regard, including water baptism built into the female body. Cases in which the baptism of the Holy Spirit precedes water baptism are discussed as well. The differences between the baptism of John the Baptist and of Christ are elaborated on, as well as the dangers if man does not pursue the correct believer s water baptism of God. The lies pursued by Satan s kingdom in infant water baptism, which leaves believers powerless, are discussed in detail.

4 2 1. WATER BAPTISM AS A KINGDOM KEY This chapter briefly elaborates on why water baptism is one of the keys of the kingdom of heaven. WATER BAPTISM AS ONE OF THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM Christ declared to Peter I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matt 16:19). Christ declared this to Peter when Peter heard the answer from heaven, from God the Father that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. (Matt 16:17). Peter was on the earth, living in a body of dust, when Peter heard the Father in heaven. Peter heard through his spirit God the Father speaking to him. And this is the keys of the kingdom of heaven for man s soul to hear through man s spirit God speaking to you personally and then speaking out what God told you into the physical realm. This is also the rock on which Christ will build his church and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matt 16:18). This will be the way to hear the words of God through man s spirit into man s soul, and these words are God s words, Christ, the rock of all ages. This way of operating towards heaven, hearing God speak, is to repent. Repent is for man s soul to first hear from God in heaven, before acting through the body. The spiritual keys which Christ spoke of are similar to the points within a key lock in the physical realm which prevents anyone to open a door. A physical key removes the obstacles in the key hole. The key aligns all of the obstacle points, which allows the lock to become unlock. The door opens wide. The door is for man s soul to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Christ is that door, and the keys are first to be reborn in man s spirit and then man s soul sensing first to Christ in heaven before acting through the body. That is why Christ said I will give you the keys (Matt 16:19). It is future tense it is a promise in the future. Christ could not give the keys at that stage when He was speaking to Peter, because He had not yet died on the cross. It occurred when Christ died on the cross for the sins of mankind, including the sins of Peter. Christ is also the keys of heaven. Christ is our example of first hearing from heaven what to do on the earth. Furthermore,...there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men. (1 Tim 2:5, 6). Christ removes the obstacles, man s sins, between man and God the Father, just as a key removes the obstacles in the key hole so that the door can open wide. It is through Christ that man is reborn. Christ spoke about keys plural; not only one key. And some of these keys became visible on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Christ gave the keys to Peter on the day of Pentecost through the Holy Spirit by speaking into his spirit. Peter described the keys of the kingdom of heaven to the multitudes when they asked Peter Brothers, what shall we do? (Acts 2:37). Peter gave the answer, the keys for others to enter the kingdom of heaven as well: Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. (Acts 2:38). Three keys to the kingdom of heaven are presented here, namely 1) Repent, 2) Be baptised, and 3) in the name of Jesus Christ. As already indicated previously, to repent is for man s soul to first operate through man s spirit to God the Father to hear what He has to say, before the soul acts through the body. This is the way man s mind enters and possesses the kingdom of heaven. This is one of the keys of

5 3 the kingdom of heaven. This is the key of entering the kingdom of heaven during rebirth of man s spirit, and this is the key to possess the kingdom after entering it during rebirth. Repent is a continuous action every second of the day. Then comes the second and third keys of 1) being baptised and 2) in the name of Jesus Christ. Without these 2 keys, heaven remains unlocked. These 2 keys are extremely important to unlock Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven, and open it up to a person. As will be seen at the end of this volume, Satan and his fallen angels attack these particular keys with all their might in terms of lies and half-truths in order to lure man s mind away to see these keys. Water baptism is the door to a powerful personal relationship with God, which the fallen angels try to avoid at all cost through onslaughts of lies, deceit and half-truths, because they dread the most the consequences of people adhering to the truth. Fallen angels target water baptism in order to handicap Christians for decades when they dash off from their spiritual starting-blocks, keeping Christians powerless from the start. This is to the advantage of the enemy. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (human beings), but against the rulers (in the spirit realm), against the authorities (in the spirit realm), against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph 6:12). When you observe a very contentious issue in religious circles, such as water baptism, know that behind it all lies very powerful truths which the enemy, fallen angels, tries to hide at all cost. One of these truths is that water baptism is a major key to unlock Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven. THE PURPOSE OF A SPIRITUAL KEY Christ already gave the answer to Peter of what the purpose of a spiritual key actually is, namely: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matt 16:19). To lock, to imprison, to bind, to restrict access, to prevent flow, are all dimensions of acts of a spiritual key, just as a key in the physical realm locks, imprisons, binds, restricts access and prevent flows. A key in the spiritual realm allows man s soul to access Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven, and locks and unlocks the alignment between the spiritual and physical realms. The question of how does water baptism in the physical realm allows man s soul access to Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven has already been answered by the previous Volume dealing with water baptism.

6 4 2. A BELIEVER S BAPTISM This chapter briefly focuses on the fact that water baptism is intended for those who believe in Christ, that is, who rely totally on Christ; not only know about Christ. A BELIEVER S BAPTISM Water baptism is not about adult baptism. It is all about believers baptism. It is not the size of the flesh, of the body of dust, that counts. It is also not the age of the physical body that counts. Therefore infant baptism versus adult baptism is not the issue. Water baptism is for people who had made the choice of rebirth of their spirits. It is for people who are able to perceive what Christ did for their sins on the cross, and to make a choice. Children who are already able to comprehend the reality of what Christ did on the cross cannot be excluded from water baptism. If they believe what Christ did on the cross, then they are entitled to experience rebirth of their spirits and to be baptised in water. Being raised out of death into a new life can only occur if man s soul is old enough to make a mature choice for God. You cannot become a son of God as an infant, because an infant cannot yet believe. But as many has received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:11, 12) You cannot rely on the Christian religion of your parents to pull you through to Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven. You, and you alone, personally have to be born again. This implies that you have to believe what Christ did for you personally. You have to apply Christ to your own spirit and soul. John wrote: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (Joh 3:16). You first have to believe, then the blessings follow. Then the resurrection follows. But resurrection is always preceded by death death of man s own flesh. Here, in John 3:16, the word believe refers to cleaves to Him, clings to, trusts in, relies on, which is much more intensely than merely knowing about Christ and think that you are a Christian because you are a member of Christian church denomination. It is not a watered-down believe for James declared: You believe.. You do well. Even the demons believe; and tremble! (James 2:19). You have to be first a disciple, or follower, of Christ before you can be baptized. Christ instructed his disciples: go and make (first) disciples of all nations, (then) baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matt 28:19). God s words are eternal; they do not change with the rational thinking of man s mind. Even though everybody would be Christians in a country, they would still continue to first make disciples of their children, and then baptize them in water. You first have to believe before you are baptized. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16). Therefore, man has to first repent, before being baptized. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. (Acts 2:38). The end result was that Those who accepted his message were baptized. (Acts 2:41). Paul also wrote: Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. (Act 18:8). Infant water baptism gives a totally different interpretation to the meaning of water baptism. However, there cannot be two viewpoints of what water baptism stands for. There is.one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph 4:5). Only one is the truth. For example, babies, who have

7 5 merely been born in the physical realm for a couple of weeks or months, not even able to speak or make a choice for Christ, not even able to comprehend what Christ did for him/her personally, and not been able to make a quality choice for Christ cannot undergo water baptism, which is the image of death and resurrection during rebirth of his own spirit, because the baby cannot yet believe and cannot yet absorb and accept the message of Christ for himself. Therefore, infant baptism is foreign to God s Word, as discussed later on.

8 6 3. MAN S WHOLE BEING INVOLVED IN WATER BAPTISM This chapter briefly touches on the truth that man s whole being, spirit, soul and body, are involved in the process of rebirth of man s spirit, and thus also in its image in the physical realm, namely water baptism. REBIRTH IS EXPERIENCED ALL OVER MAN S BEING When man s spirit is reborn, and man receives a new spirit, it is not only a matter of removing of man s old spirit and replacing it with a new spirit, while man s soul and man s body remains unaffected. It is not like taking a defect component out of a broken fridge and replacing it with the new component, without touching the rest of the components of the fridge. When man receives a new spirit, man s whole soul and whole body is also involved, that is, man s whole being. It cannot be otherwise, because man s body becomes the temple of God when Christ starts to live inside of man s body. Christ, the spirit Word of God experienced the same when He came from heaven into the physical realm and walked in a physical body. Christ spoke of his coming ordeal on the cross as a baptism: Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" (Matt 20:22). When Christ experienced death on the cross, He was baptised. He experienced death in his whole being. In terms of Christ body, Christ s back was whipped. A crown of thorns was pressed onto his head until the blood flowed. The soldiers spat on him, in his face. Christ s whole body struggled under the weight of the cross until He could no more carry the weight. His feet and hands were nailed to the cross. He was stabbed in the side of his body with a spear. All of Christ s body was involved in this death experience. And the same can be said of Christ s spirit and soul which also suffered together with His body under the rejection and humiliation. Likewise when Christ was raised from the grave, His whole being was raised; not only his head. Therefore, when man s flesh dies, and man is crucified with Christ, then, it is not only man s head that is involved. It is man s whole being. Man gives man s whole life over to God everything: spirit, soul and body. Man s whole being; spirit, soul and body, experiences rebirth; not only man s head, man s mind. Man s whole being experiences the absolute release of the burdens of man s sins and the freedom to talk to God. Man s whole being is immersed and baptised in Christ. In the image of the Israelites moving out of Egypt, the whole Israelite nation was involved. All of them experienced the release of the slavery the release of the burdens binding them to Egypt. Each of the actions in which the power of the Holy Spirit operated within the Israelite nation when their old life experienced death of the first-born, was experienced by the Israelites all around them and in their midst as well. When they met Christ more intimately, by absorbing the lamb and applying the blood on the doorposts, their whole spirit, soul and body was involved and affected by these actions. All Israelites had to move from head to toe into freedom through doorposts on which blood of lambs were applied. In the images built into the body of the female part of man, when a new baby body is birthed from the vagina of the female, the new body is baptised from all sides of the vagina, as the vagina surrounds the new body while the body moves through the vagina. The vagina,

9 7 representing Christ, touches all of the baby body all around all the time as the baby moves out of the female womb. It is also like moving through a crucible; God s fire. The body experiences all parts of the vagina which has unlocked and opened up wider than usual. When the baby body moves through the vagina, the baby body is touched and affected all over, from top to toe. In this process, the whole baby body is touched. Furthermore, the whole baby body experiences the release from the pressure of the womb when moving into the lighter atmosphere of the earth. Each of the actions in which the new baby body experience the power of the female representing the Holy Spirit bringing death to the old life, the placenta, are experienced all around the new baby body. When John the Baptist declared: "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:8), John did not had in mind that the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the spirit realm, which is here compared with water baptism in the physical realm, will only be applied to a small portion of man s body, namely man s head. When man is baptised in the Holy Spirit, man is filled all over man s whole being. Man s whole being is riddled with fleshly activities, and therefore man s whole flesh has to die and go to the grave, just as the whole of the people who perished in the flood of Noah under the many waters. If you exclude a part to go under the many waters, then Satan will use that part of the flesh which has not died for himself to operate in. MAN S WHOLE BEING IS RECONCILED WITH GOD DURING REBIRTH During rebirth of man s spirit, God allows man s soul to first meet Christ more intimately, thus reconciling man to God through Christ s redemptive work on the cross for man s sins. Man s whole being is reconciled with God when man accepts Christ as man s saviour; not only man s head, or man s mind, is reconciled with God. Rebirth occurs when God washes away all of man s sins and iniquities through Christ. Rebirth is a baptism in Jesus Christ. He saved us through the washing of rebirth (Titus 3:5). Washing occurs all over man s spirit and soul, just as in a baptism. Man s whole soul and new spirit is filled with satisfaction. THE WORD BAPTISM CONFIRMS ALL OF MAN S BEING ARE INVOLVED That is why the rebirth of man s spirit is also called the baptism into Christ, because man is baptised, or immersed, all over. Baptism means to be immersed and submerged all over. An example is Christ s own baptism (Luk 12:50) on the cross, i.e. the overflowing afflictions and judgments to which Christ voluntarily submitted Himself on the cross, which have already been described in this chapter. The Greeks used Baptism, or to dip, to signify the dyeing of a garment, or drawing water by dipping a vessel into another, e.g. drawing wine by dipping the cup into the bowl. WATER BAPTISM ALSO INVOLVES MAN S WHOLE BEING REQUIRING LOTS OF WATER TO REPRESENT THE GRAVE Therefore, when the image of the rebirth of man s spirit is applied in the physical realm, namely water baptism, then the image of to die with Christ, going to the water grave, involves man s whole being, not only a sprinkling of a little bit of water on man s head.

10 8 To be emerged fully under water implies that man s whole being fully associates with man s old life, the old man. To arise fully from underneath the water, presents man s whole being rising fully to a new life. It speaks of being immerse in, not sprinkled on. The most appropriate water image is for man s whole being to go under the water. To reflect the watery grave properly, there has to be lots of water. John the Baptist was not sprinkling water on people while baptising people at the river. The reason for being at a river is that there is lots of water. And John also was baptising in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptised. (John 3:23). Man should be able to go down into the water (Acts 8:38) and then came up out of the water (Acts 8:39) in order to be baptised. Even of Christ during His baptism it is said Jesus came up immediately from the water. (Matt 3:16). THE SPRINKLING OF WATER AT WATER BAPTISM IS INAPPROPRIATE Any fleshly generated custom, or tradition, of interpreting baptism as a sprinkling of a few drops of water on a person s head as an image in the physical realm of spiritual baptism are totally foreign to what actually occurs in the realm of the genuine original, the spiritual realm. No scripture verse relate sprinkling directly to rebirth and water baptism. Scriptures used to sprinkle a little bit of water during water baptism instead of immersing the whole body under water (Heb 9:13 28, 10:19-22; 1 Pet 1:2, Ex 24:8, Lev 14:14 16, Num 19) actually refer to the sprinkling of the blood of Christ in the spirit realm on a person s sins who is already a child of God, who has already been born again. After spiritual rebirth, when man s soul senses through the spirit s conscience that man has sinned, man s soul can immediately give it to God and ask for forgiveneness, and God immediately forgive man s sins and allow His peace and joy to reign in man s soul. At that particular moment, God sprinkles Christ s blood onto man s being, restoring man s being. Sprinkling of the blood of Christ refers to the period of spiritual growth long after rebirth has occurred, just as in the images built into the Israelites moving to the Promised Land, the sprinkling of the blood of animals refer to the Israelite nation erecting the tabernacle, an activity that occurred at a much later stage after they have left Egypt, that is, long after they were reborn as a nation. Therefore the above verses of sprinkling do not refer to rebirth as the first step towards moving to God through Christ. These scripture references of the sprinkling of blood are therefore neither related to rebirth, nor to the image of rebirth in the physical realm, namely baptism with physical water. Sprinkling is an action in the spirit realm, where Christ cleanses man through His blood via sprinkling while man is already walking on the narrow road. The image in the physical realm is the sprinkling of blood in the tabernacle. Sprinkling deals with cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (Heb 9:14). It deals with the spirit s function of growth after rebirth; not the act of rebirth. As indicated in the first section of this chapter, when man s spirit is reborn, it is not only a sprinkling here and there. Man s whole being experiences rebirth. Therefore, the image of rebirth in the physical realm cannot only be the placing of a few drops of water on a person s head. CHRIST S REWARDS FOR OBEDIENCE The core issue as to whether it really matters if a only a few water droplets or lots of water are used for water baptism is eventually not a question about the amount of water, but to what

11 9 extent man s flesh is prepared to die to conform to God s ways, because what is really at stake is sacrifice. God sees when man has to sacrifice that which was dear to man, such as man s old traditional ways, man s traditional church, even man s friends. God sees when man s soul is prepared to die for Him. Christ rewards the level of death of man s flesh automatically by an equivalent level of raising man up, by resurrecting man accordingly. Resurrection instinctively follows death. The issue here is the depth of man s death experience, which leads to a corresponding height of raising man s soul up. The harvest of man s soul determines the reward which Christ will impart to man s soul at the end of a season in a person s life. Unique cases are here not under discussion, such as a person in physical desert conditions, far away from many water, and only having little water at his disposal to baptise himself. However, the situation changes when a person has lots of opportunities around him of being baptised into lots of water, and he chooses a traditional setup which uses sprinkling of a little bit of water as a type of law which man should not tamper with. Christ looks at the heart, not at the letter of the Word. Christ looks at man s attitude of coming all the more closer to Him.

12 10 4. PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF WATER BAPTISM This chapter briefly focuses on a few practical issues around water baptism which are important to take note of. THE END PROCESS OF BIRTH AND REBIRTH IS IMPORTANT What is crucial here to note is that there is a whole process involved that leads to birth of a nation, or birth of a baby body, or birth of man s spirit. It starts off with 2 separate seeds, and eventually ends with birth/rebirth. There are so many intermediate exist points highlighted in the volume Rebirth of man s spirit in which fallen angels are able to make man s soul content. However, none on these exist points contain the real and true and final death and resurrection experience at the end of the process, which Christ requires. And that end product is the death and resurrection experiences during birth, or rebirth. It is that particular death and resurrection experience which is played out in water baptism. The focus remains the end product of the process. Man s soul has to undergo that final death and resurrection experience of the rebirth of his spirit in order to make water baptism worthwhile. WATER BAPTISM FOLLOWS REBIRTH OF MAN S SPIRIT During the process that leads to rebirth of man s spirit, if man s being exits before rebirth of man s spirit has occurred, and then undergoes water baptism, then man s soul acts out of tradition, or ignorance, or peer pressure, to undergo water baptism. Man s being remains distorted, because man still has not the new spirit of Christ inside of his being, and has not yet died of self and yet man undergoes water baptism in the physical realm as though man s spirit has already been reborn. Water baptism in the physical realm will not guarantee that man s spirit is reborn in the spiritual realm. The physical realm should follow that which occurred already in the spirit realm, according to Christ s prayer: your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). Water baptism follows rebirth. Water baptism is what man s soul engages into AFTER the event in the spirit realm is completed. This sequence of events is in line with the interpretation of repentance to sense first in heaven from Christ what to do, before acting it through the body into the physical realm. Heaven rules. That which is of the physical realm follows that which is heavenly. WATER BAPTISM IS ONLY OF VALUE WHEN REBIRTH HAS OCCURRED Many are those that have gone through the ritual of physical water baptism in the world of dust without having met Christ more intimately. Such people have met the criteria of their church denomination in the world of dust without having sought God, and the Kingdom of God, in the spirit realm. The ritual is legalistic. God in the spirit realm has never been involved. Such people engage in religious tradition, in the

13 11 customs of men in the realm of dust, rather than obeying God in the spirit realm. They are pleasers of men, such as their friends and family. Their hearts are not really with God. Satan and his fallen angels even try to propagate the lie that water baptism is merely another religious ritual, just as the Hindus and Moslems have their own rituals. Each person has to ask the critical question for himself whether he met Christ more intimately before baptism with water, or was the baptism in water out of tradition, focusing on the requirements and expectations of pastors, parents and friends. A person might undergo the most correct and appropriate baptism with physical water, but if this was done out of tradition, to please man, then man s spirit remains untouched. Man s soul has not interacted with God in the spirit realm. Man has not met one of the triune God more intimately prior to been baptised with physical water. Such a baptism in water of dust means nothing in the spirit realm. What happened in the spirit realm is the most important activity. Without the spiritual activity being in place, the activity in the physical realm is worthless. Traditions tend to become part of all churches. And when tradition sets in, man follows the motions in the physical realm like a slave without interacting intimately with God. Whether a traditional church denomination or a charismatic church, when tradition sets in, baptism with physical water starts to occur without intimately meeting God in the spirit realm. Man operates in the letter of the truth that he believes, and the correctness of his religion, instead of having a yearning for a personal intimate relationship with God, which God is able to meet and satisfy. The required change in man s being of dying as well as being raised up in a new life is only possible by meeting Christ first more intimately, after which the image of water baptism in the realm of dust makes sense. REBIRTH AND WATER BAPTISM MUST BOTH OCCUR PROPERLY A proper rebirth of man s spirit, but without being followed by undergoing water baptism, results in man s being not operating in God s righteousness, as already mentioned in a previous chapter. Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven remains unlocked for such a person, because the proper water baptism in the physical realm is one of the spiritual keys to unlock Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven. A proper water baptism in the physical realm, but without a prior rebirth of man s spirit, also results in Christ s spiritual kingdom of heaven remaining unlocked for such a person. He does not have the spirit of Christ inside of him. He is not yet reconciled with God. He has not yet claimed for himself what Christ did for him on the cross. Such a person is even worse off than a person who has experienced rebirth of his spirit, but not the appropriate water baptism in the physical realm. In all cases the spiritual realm rules over the physical realm. So much scope is available for Satan and his fallen angels to distort one or both of the processes which take place in the spiritual and physical realms concerning the rebirth of man s spirit. WATER BAPTISM CANNOT OCCUR IN MAN S OWN STRENGTH Jews did not baptize themselves. They were baptized by someone else. John the Baptist baptized people, and Christ s disciples also baptized people. Man is part of a family, the body of Christ.

14 12 In the spiritual realm, rebirth occurred not in man s own strength. It is God who allows rebirth to take place. Man has to be born again of the Holy Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:6). Thus, within the image of the rebirth of man s spirit, man s being will be baptised by others who are already part of the cloud of witnesses in heaven. There might be unique cases where God will allow something different. For example, I know of a woman in India who met Christ more intimately amidst an environment dominated by the Hindu religion. She wanted to be baptised in water, but there was no Christian and no Christian church in her surroundings. Therefore, she baptised herself in her bath. She still experienced the peace of God inside of her being. That is part of God s grace and love towards a person. God is not focusing on the letter of the word. This woman s level of obedience towards God and the depth of the death she experienced of her SELF, was much greater than in a setting where a person undergoes water baptism where everyone around him are Christians. PROPER WATER BAPTISM IS NO GUARANTEE OF RECEIVING THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Man is able to experience rebirth of his spirit and undergo a proper water baptism. However, these 2 actions are no guarantee that man s automatically receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 8:14-16). This trend is elaborated on in more detail in the volume Understanding the baptism of the Holy Spirit better. BAPTISE PEOPLE IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST Christ gave the instruction to His disciples before ascending into heaven: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mat 28:19). The baptizing them into the Name (Matt 28:19; Acts 8:16) indicates that the baptized person was closely bound to, or became the property of, the one into whose name he was baptized. It also refers to revealing to a person that all images on the earth refer to God. You are baptized into God. That is how you become a child of God. Your mind is immersed and submerged into knowledge of God all over. Sometimes it is noted that people were only baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The name Jesus refers to saving a person from his sins, for the angel told Joseph, the father of Jesus: " she (Mary) will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matt 1:21). Peter confirmed this: let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;.. (Acts 2:38). Man s soul has to first meet Christ more intimately, before man is able to interact with the other two persons of the triune God, because it is Christ who reconciles man with God.

15 13 WATER BAPTISM IS A ONCE-OFF EVENT Water baptism is a once-off event, just as rebirth of man s spirit in the spiritual realm is a once-off event. Paul confirms this by the words: There is.one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph 4:5). BAPTISING A PERSON AGAIN WITH WATER If a person has been baptised in an incorrect way with water, such as sprinkling of water onto a person as an infant, and not as believer s water baptism, then man can indeed go for the correct way of being baptised in water. This implies a second time of undergoing water baptism. Scriptures record many occasions when people underwent a second water baptism. For example, Christ had a much better idea of God s righteousness when Christ came to John the Baptist to be baptised in water. When John did not want to baptise Christ with water, Christ told him "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him (Matt 3:15). The baptism of John was merely focusing on repentance, turning around, but without having the end goal, Christ, in mind. John merely prepared the way for Christ and made Christ s way smooth. Christ understood the true image of water baptism, of dying of the flesh, dying of those who are part of the many waters that are below, of being raised from this grave of death of the many waters below, and identifying his being as part of the waters that are above, of the clouds of witnesses in heaven, of which Christ is the first of the cloud of witnesses. That is why, when Christ continued to grow in God s righteousness, Christ eventually saw into the future the cloud of witnesses on the Mount of Transfiguration which will assemble after Christ died on the cross in Jerusalem, and out of this cloud, Moses and Elijah also came forward and spoke to Christ about His ascension from Jerusalem, who will receive Christ when Christ ascends permanently into heaven. That is why it is stated that even John the Baptist eventually came to be baptised with water by Christ and His disciples: After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized (John 3:22, 23). The Book of Acts also records of people who only knew about John s water baptism, after which they were baptised again in water. And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Act 19:1-5).

16 14 5. WATER BAPTISM BUILT INTO THE FEMALE BODY This chapter briefly focuses on water baptism built into the female body. THREE IMAGES OF WATER BUILT INTO THE FEMALE BODY There are 3 images built into the female body related to water. The first deals with the continuous taking in living waters from above, and discarding the waters that are below. The spiritual living waters from above refers to sensing Christ s voice from His spiritual kingdom of heaven, and obeying what He tells man to do and say. It is Christ s input into man s being that is filled with life life-giving waters. Its origin is spirit in nature. The image of the life-giving waters that are from above is when man s soul takes in clean and refreshing physical water through man s mouth. That is why there is even a reward for giving a person these life-giving waters, whether spiritual waters or physical waters it does not matter: "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward (Mark 9:41). The many waters that are below refers to those who operate in the flesh, who are not part of the clouds of witnesses, the waters from above, and thus has to be discarded. It refers to "The (many) waters which you saw are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues (Rev 17:15). The image built into the female body is that man should discard, reject, the waters that are below, and focus on the waters that are from above. In the female body, her urine is the waters that are below and that is allowed to be discarded from the body. Thus, the images of the waters that are above and below shows man s soul the direction he has to move into, namely to focus on the waters that are from above, which is spiritual in nature. In the female body it has already been built in that the waters that are above and the waters that are from below have been separated, just as in God s creation, the waters above and the waters below have been separated on the second day. Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day (Gen 1:6-8). It is clear from the above scripture that heaven is between the waters that are above and the waters that are below. In the female body this has already been built into. Between the mouth and private part of the female to pass out urine is the female s stomach area. And it is from there, just below her breasts, and not to the left where her heart is, from where Christ eventually speaks to her while Christ lives inside of her body, inside of the body of born again person. This is discussed in much more detail in subsequent volumes dealing with Christ speaking to a person, where man s body has become the temple of God: Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16). See also 1 Cor 3:17; 6:19. This particular image of the waters that are above and below refers to man s soul continuously allowing Christ s life and His waters to flow into man s soul, just as man has to daily take in lots of physical body for man s physical body.

17 15 The second image of spiritual living waters flowing through the female refers to Christ s words: He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38). Christ declared this at a feast day, in the middle of the feast period, the Feast of Tabernacles, and it thus refers to a time in the life of a person when he moves to a higher level of glory, closer to Christ. He ascends more into heaven. This issue is described in later volumes. It involves 2 events in the year in which man is rewarded and is able to ascend closer to Christ, namely at the time of the feasts at Passover Feast, and 6 months later at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. The image in the physical realm of this flow of the genuine original spiritual living waters is when the female experiences an orgasm. It refers to the female having intimacy with the male representing Christ. This issue is also described in later volumes in much more detail. These 2 images eventually become one in Christ. As man moves closer to Christ, even the 2 events of ascending closer to Christ occur regularly inside of man s spiritual season, until they become continuous, just as receiving Christ s life-giving input becomes continuous. THE THIRD IMAGE OF WATERS FROM BELOW TO BE DISCARDED The third image is specifically highlighted as an image built into the female body during birth of new life. Have you ever heard that when a female is about to give birth to new life, that she cries out my water has broken?! And have you seen where that water goes when the female cries out that her water has broken? It goes straight from the female womb through her vagina down her legs to the ground, the earth, the soil, the floor, to the bottom. It is waters from below that starts to flow, representing the flesh in man. It is discarded. And it is usually many waters that flow. New life had been living inside of this waters that are from below for quite some time, until it breaks free, breaks out, and the waters that are below, representing man s flesh, is discarded. Fallen man, fleshly man, has operated in this grave for quite some time, living inside of that grave, represented by life flowing through the umbilical cord to the fetus within the amniotic fluid, the water inside of the female womb. This is an image of man s spirit and soul having to regularly and constantly break free from the imprisonment of man s old life, the old man inside of fallen man, the flesh, which keeps man in bondage to earthly, fleshly thinking. And when new life, the life of Christ, breaks through, then the flesh is discarded, the flesh dies. This fleshly, earthly thinking dying is represented by the flow of amniotic fluids from the female womb to the ground. The amniotic fluids within the female womb in which new life germinates and moves towards birth is exactly what happens when man s being goes under the many waters that are from below when man is baptized in physical water. Both are images of the grave, of death. Both are many waters. In the case of the amniotic fluids inside of the female womb, the fluids are so much that it fully surrounds the baby body, the new life, growing inside of the female womb. And man has to be raised from that grave of the waters from below. During water baptism, man is raised from a helper out of the water, just as John the Baptist raised Christ from under the water in order to stand up again out of the water. Such a person standing up out of the many waters, stand up in a new life.

18 16 In the case of the new life in the female womb, namely the new baby body, the new life is released into a new dimension of operating in which much more life-giving oxygen can flow through him, while the waters that are below, the amniotic fluids, vanish falling away towards the ground. It is no longer there to provide any form of life, the old life, in which the baby body was used to operate. The amniotic fluids in the female womb are from below and it has its own life, representing the fleshly life of fallen man. The amniotic fluids are well below the female s mouth where the input of life-giving spiritual waters actually occur representing Christ s life-giving input through man s spirit. And when the amniotic fluids flows, that do not flow in the same direction as an orgasm, from below upwards towards the female s head, but they flow through the vagina to the ground below that is why the amniotic fluids are the waters that are below representing man s old fleshly life. That is why Christ declared the important role of water when man is born again: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). It is not only to be born again, receiving Christ in man s life, which is an event taking place in the spirit realm, and being baptized in the Holy Spirit, receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit inside of man s life, which is also an event taking place in the spirit realm, that is important. The image of water has to be adhered to as well. And that is an action which man has to take in the physical realm, allowing his whole being, spirit, soul and body, to be baptized in physical water, immersed under the waters that are from below. And this happens immediately after he has received a new spirit, new life, when his spirit has been reborn, when he has received Christ s spirit living inside of him. These 3 actions of being born again, baptized in physical water, and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, ought to take place on one day, the same day, in the life of a follower of Christ, just as it has happened with Christ, when Christ was baptized. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked (1 John 2:6). In the female body, these 3 actions also take place on the same day. The new life moves through the vagina, representing the door to new life, Christ. Simultaneously, its old fleshly life is discarded, represented by the new life being freed, released from the waters that are below, the amniotic fluids. And then the baby body is given a slap on the bum so that its lungs start to operate in a healthy way, which is an image of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This image of the flesh in man dies, represented by the waters from below that is discarded, while man s soul pursuit new life in Christ, starts when man is reborn, but grows in intensity and regularity until it becomes a continuous action inside of man s being as man grows spiritually.

19 17 6. BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT BEFORE WATER BAPTISM This chapter briefly focuses on unique incidents where people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit even before they were baptised in water. CHRIST S BLUEPRINT The usual sequence of events when man is baptized in Christ and in the Holy Spirit, is that man is first baptized in the spirit realm in Christ, by been born again, receiving the spirit of Christ inside of man s body. Then man is baptized in water, which transports man into the domain of operating in God s righteousness, aligning earth with heaven. Then man receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the case where John the Baptist baptized Christ, Christ became the blueprint of the sequence of events. Christ was first baptized in water, and then immediately after that received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When He (Christ) had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. (Matt 3:16). EXCEPTIONAL CASES In a few cases in the Word, the Holy Spirit fell on people before they had been baptized with water. Christ baptized these people with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and yet, they are not yet operating in God s righteousness, having aligned earth with heaven, by been baptized with water. This is part of God s grace. The sequence of events is not a law according to which God has to abide all the time. God is above any law. In such cases, the disciples of Christ asked the question: can there be any hindrance and blockage now to baptized these people with water? No! Because the disciples can see that these people belong to the waters above they have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. They have been resurrected into heavenly places, because it is only being in the Spirit (Rev 4:1) that a person is able to be part of the waters above, the cloud of witnesses. And Christ in the spiritual realm around them, in heaven, did the baptizing. Christ is the one who transferred these people to the waters above. The baptism in the Holy Spirit merely confirms that these people have already been baptized in the spiritual realm in Christ that is, they have already been reconciled with God and reborn, having received the spirit of Christ inside of their beings. If that was not the case, then the holiness of the Holy Spirit would have prevented God to impart the Holy Spirit to these people. EXAMPLES OF EXCEPTIONAL CASES Two examples in which the Holy Spirit was first imparted before the persons had been baptized in water are Paul and Cornelius. Paul was a Jew, while Cornelius was a Gentile. In the case of Paul, it is stated: And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him (Paul) he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy

20 18 Spirit." Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. (Acts 9:17, 18). In the case of Cornelius, it is written that While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. (Acts 10:44-48).

21 19 7. THE WATER BAPTISM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST The chapter highlights the difference between the water baptism of Christ and the water baptism of John the Baptist. JOHN S WATER BAPTISM NOT THE SAME AS CHRIST S WATER BAPTISM The water baptism of John the Baptist is not the same as the water baptism of those who have met Christ, the Messiah, more intimately. John s baptism was still without the power of the Holy Spirit been released, because the Holy Spirit was still not poured onto the earth. John s baptism was not to be resurrected into the spiritual kingdom of heaven, to become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, and to become part of the cloud of witnesses in heaven, part of the waters that are above. The reason is quite obvious: Christ s spirit which overcame all enemies was not yet released via the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist died, beheaded by Herod, even before Christ went to the cross. Therefore, John s water baptism was not an image of what happened in the spirit realm, namely rebirth of man s spirit, when man receives the spirit of Christ which overcame all, because Christ has not yet gone to the cross to die completely of His flesh. Man could still not be reborn. The spiritual kingdom of heaven still remained near, not in man. John s task was to prepare the way of the Lord (Matt 3:3). John the Baptist still preached Repent.for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt 3:1, 2). Christ also preached at that stage: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matt 4:17). All of their preaching dealt with the same message of the kingdom of God, and that this kingdom is near. Christ had not yet died on the cross for the sins of mankind, and therefore man was not yet reconciled with God. Furthermore, the day of Pentecost had not yet arrived, and therefore the holiness of the Holy Spirit prevented Him to interact with sinful man. The channel to the Holy Spirit was not yet open. Christ and the Holy Spirit still did not live inside of man. However, the message of Christ and John the Baptist of the kingdom of heaven that is near changed when Christ died on the cross. That kingdom of God is no longer near. It is here. All of the kingdom; all of that which Christ prepared for man on the cross as an inheritance, is now available through Christ Jesus. All. Fallen man has still really no idea of what ALL actually comprises. Christ has already died on the cross 2000 years ago. Christ has already declared on the cross It is finished (John 19:30). All of the works that God prepared through Christ, the Word, have been accomplished on the cross. Christ has done all that He could. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit has already been poured out on the day of Pentecost as a result of Christ reconciling man with God through his death on the cross. Paul found some disciples and asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, Then what baptism did you receive? John s baptism, they replied. Paul said, John s baptism was a baptism (using water) of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptised (using water) into the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:4, 5). The water baptism of John the Baptist was therefore an image of man s soul repenting, turning from its former ways. It represented man s soul being prepared to stop operating directly through the body, and becoming prepared to operate first through his spirit towards God. That is why Christ preached to them Repent, for the kingdom of God is near... (Matt