The Faithful Priest
Why did John the Baptist baptize people in the wilderness?
The Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) came to this earth in the fullness of time to live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law), so he could bring redemption to those who could not live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Galatians 4:4-7).
One of the conditions that made it the fullness of time, was John the Baptist (Yochanan the Mikvah Man) baptizing the people of Israel in the wilderness. The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) brought about the rise and fall of empires, to make this possible.
The story of how this came to be, begins with the Greeks. This is just another example of Greco-Judeo wrestling.
The Father of Truth brought about the unified Greek Empire, and then split it into four smaller Greek Empires, including the Seleucid Empire (Daniel 11:2-4).
During the time of the Seleucid Empire, some of the priests in the Temple became corrupt. At first, the High Priest would put them out of the Temple, until they repented. However, the High Priest had to be approved by the Seleucid Emperor, under the agreement that the people of Judea made with Alexander the Great. For a long while, this was just a formality of informing the Seleucid Emperor who the new High Priest was, when there was a change.
However, a Seleucid Emperor arose, who was willing to appoint as High Priest, whoever gave him the largest gift to gain his favor. Soon, one of the corrupt priests was appointed as the new High Priest. This corrupt High Priest then began appointing other corrupt priests to positions of chief priests, based on whoever offered him the largest gift to gain his favor.
Soon, the Temple was a place of corruption, instead of holiness.
The main job of the priests was to teach people how to keep the Law of Truth (Leviticus 10:9-11).
However, they were not allowed to do this in the Temple, when the Temple was ran by corrupt priests, who did not keep the Law of Truth.
This led to the Maccabees restoring faithful priests in the Temple.
Some of the priests, who were not corrupted, like Matthias the Priest, began performing many of their functions away from the Temple, in places like Modi'in.
They also carried out other functions of the priests, that did not rely on the Temple, in these places. One of these was the mikvah (miqvah) ceremony (baptism). They often performed these ceremonies in a stream in the wilderness, since immersion was required to be done in living (running) water for abnormal discharges of bodily fluids, such as a festering sore, a week after the symptoms had disappeared (Leviticus 15:2-13).
Eventually, a new Seleucid emperor, Antiochus Epiphanes (Antiochus IV), came to power and waged war against the Law of Truth (Daniel 11:28-30). He was joined by the corrupt priests, who ran the Temple, and all among the Jewish people, who were not obedient to the Law of Truth (Daniel 11:30-32).
These corrupt priests, and these Jews by birth only, then helped Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Temple by erecting a giant statue of Zeus, with his own face on it, in the courtyard of the Temple, and sacrificing three pigs and a dog on The Altar to this idol (Daniel 11:31).
However, the Maccabees, the followers of Matthias the Priest, the people who knew the Father of Truth and did exploits, rose up against this vile and evil man (Daniel 11:32).
The Maccabees waged a war against the Seleucid Empire. Among the first to become Maccabees were the Hasideans (Chasidim), who were very zealous in keeping the Law of Truth.
Some Gentiles, mostly Greeks, also gave help to the Maccabees during their long, hard fight against the Seleucid Empire, because they had come to know the Father of Truth (Daniel 11:33-34). These Gentiles were immersed in a stream in the wilderness in the mikvah ceremony of repentance. This ceremony showed that they had turned from idolatry, and to obeying the Father of Truth, in at least the same manner as Noah (Noach).
Finally, the Maccabees and their Gentile allies defeated the army of the Seleucid Empire in Judea, and the Seleucid Empire gave control of religious life, the Temple, and the appointment of the High Priests to the Maccabees, after Antiochus Epiphanes was killed in Persia.
So, the Maccabees went to the Temple to clean house, both literally and figuratively. This process took a week, and on the eighth day the Temple was dedicated to the Father of Truth once again. The gift of the Maccabees included not only purifying the Temple, but also putting only faithful priests in the Temple.
After that, there was an eight day holiday every year to remember the Maccabees cleansing and dedicating the Temple. Most people know this holiday as Chanukah, which means "Dedication". It is also known as the Festival of Lights.
This is the Feast of Dedication, which the Man of Truth thought was so important, that he walked two or three days in the winter to celebrate it in Jerusalem (John 10:22-23).
After the Maccabees, corrupt priests began appearing in the Temple again.
After the Maccabees, there was continual war and conflict for many years, to separate those like the Maccabees, who had faith in what was written in the Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament), from those who would take away from or add to the Original Covenant (Daniel 11:35).
The Hasmoneans, the descendants of the Maccabees, were the High Priests of Israel during those years.
During this time, some split off from the Hasideans to become the Pharisees. They added the traditions of the elders developed in Babylon, called the Oral Torah, to the Law of Truth.
Many of the descendants of those Jews who sided with Antiochus Epiphanes became the Sadducees. They accepted only the five books of the Law of Truth as legitimate, but rejected the rest of the Original Covenant. They interpreted the Law of Truth using Greek philosophy and logic.
The Pharisees and Sadducees fought for control of the Temple and religious life in Judea during the time of the Hasmoneans.
During the time of the Hasmoneans, many mivkot (baptismals) were built around the Temple in Jerusalem. People were immersed in a mikvah in Jerusalem to be made clean, before they entered the Temple. To date, about two hundred for them have been uncovered near the south wall of the Temple Mount, where Josephus described them being located, before the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD.
After the High Priest ceased to be one of the Hasmoneans, the priests became even more corrupt. However, there was still at least one faithful priest.
King David had divided the time the priests spent ministering in the Temple into twenty four courses, with a chief priest over each course (1 Chronicles 24:3-18). Zacharias the Priest, the father of John the Baptist, was only ministering in the Temple during the course of Abia (Abijah), which occurred about every six months (Luke 1:5).
Zacharias the priest was faithful to carry out his duties in the Temple, in the way commanded in the Law of Truth, during the course of Abia (Luke 1:8-10). This faithful priest was told by an Angel of Truth in the Temple, that he and his wife would soon have a son, who would prepare the people of Israel for the Messiah of Israel (Luke 1:11-17). He came out of the Temple afterwards, then went home when his course was over, and his wife conceived (Luke 1:21-25).
His son, John the Baptist, also a faithful priest, was sent to reveal the Messiah of Israel (John 1:6-8).
King David had changed the age when a priest started their ministry to thirty years of age (1 Chronicles 23:1-3). John began his ministry of calling people to return to the Law of Truth when he was thirty, since the Man of Truth came to him when he was almost thirty for the mikvah ceremony (Luke 3:20-23).
The course of each priest was hereditary, so John the Baptist was also a priest in the course of Abia. This would have been the only time the Faithful Priest would have been required to be in the Temple to do his work as a priest, except for some of the Feasts of Truth.
So, if the course of Abia had ended right before John the Baptist had turned thirty, then the Faithful Priest could have been teaching the Law of Truth and performing the mikvah ceremony for almost six months, when the Man of Truth came to him.
Like in the days of the Maccabees, the faithful priests were not allowed to teach people how to keep the Law of Truth in the Temple, when the Temple was ran by corrupt priests, who did not keep the Law of Truth.
So, John the Baptist could not perform the mikvah ceremony near the Temple. Like Matthias the priest, the Faithful Priest had to teach people how to keep the Law of Truth away from Jerusalem, and had to perform the mikvah ceremony in a stream in the wilderness.
John the Baptist began performing the mikvah ceremony that was given to him from the Father of Truth, instead of the rituals performed by the chief priests (Matthew 21:23-25). The Faithful Priest began performing the mikvah ceremony of repentance in the wilderness, far from the Temple, which was controlled by the wicked High Priests, Annas and Caiaphas (Luke 3:2-3).
For this reason, some of the chief priests were sent to ask John the Baptist, if he was the Messiah of Israel, but the Faithful Priest told them that he was not the Messiah of Israel (John 1:19-20). The Faithful Priest told them, that he was performing the mikvah ceremony in the wilderness, because he was preparing the people of Israel for the Messiah of Israel (John 1:25-28).
Yet, they did not believe that John the Baptist was performing the mikvah ceremony at the command of the Father of Truth (Matthew 21:25). They did not believe that the Faithful Priest was doing this, by the same authority that the Messiah of Israel did his works (Mark 11:29-31). They did not believe that the Messiah of Israel had the same authority to teach in the Temple, as the Faithful Prophet of Truth had to perform the mikvah ceremony in the wilderness (Luke 20:1-5).
However, many of the people of Israel came to the wilderness for John the Baptist to perform the mikvah ceremony in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:5-6). The Faithful Priest, who lived in the wilderness like a wild man, performed the mikvah ceremony on everyone, who repented of breaking the Law of Truth (Mark 1:4-6).
When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to participate in the mikvah ceremony, John the Baptist told them, that they must produce evidence of repentance to escape the wrath to come (Matthew 3:7-10). The Faithful Priest told everyone, who came to him for the mikvah ceremony, that they must repent of their disobedience to the Law of Truth to saved from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7-9). The Faithful Priest taught them, that they must do what the Law of Truth says is right, in order to be saved (Luke 3:10-14).
Some of the people of Israel wondered, if John the Baptist was the Messiah of Israel (Luke 3:15). The Faithful Priest told them, that the Messiah of Israel, who had existed before him, was coming soon (John 1:15). The Faithful Priest told those sent by the Pharisees, that he was performing the mikvah ceremony to prepare the people of Israel for the soon coming Messiah of Israel (John 1:24-28).
John the Baptist told them that the Messiah of Israel was coming, who would perform the mikvah ceremony with something better than water (Matthew 3:11). The Faithful Priest told them that the Messiah of Israel would perform the mikvah ceremony with the Spirit of Truth (Mark 1:7-8). The Faithful Priest told them that the Messiah of Israel would perform the mikvah ceremony with fire (Luke 3:16).
John the Baptist warned them, that the Messiah of Israel was coming to clean house, like the Maccabees had done in the Temple (Matthew 3:12). The Faithful Priest warned them, that the Messiah of Israel would destroy from among the people of Israel, those who did not repent (Luke 3:17). The Faithful Priest gave everyone this warning, even King Herod Antipas (Antipas II) (Luke 3:19).
("Herod" had became a title by this point of those claiming the right to rule as a descendant of Herod the Great. This was similar to the Hasmoneans adopting the title Hasmonean to show that they came from Matthias the Priest. None of the descendants of Herod the Great were given the name of "Herod" as a baby, except for Herod the Great.)
Many of the people of Israel returned to walking the righteous way of the Law of Truth, like the Faithful Priest did (Matthew 21:32).
John the Baptist taught people to fast often, just like the Pharisees (Matthew 9:14). The Faithful Priest taught them to fast, like the Pharisees taught their disciples to fast (Mark 2:18). The Faithful Priest taught people to spend time in prayer, like the Pharisees (Luke 5:33). The Faithful Priest taught people how to pray in agreement with the Law of Truth, just like the Man of Truth (Luke 11:1-4).
When John the Baptist performed the mikvah ceremony on the Man of Truth, signs came from heaven to confirmed that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 3:13-17). When the Faithful Priest performed the mikvah ceremony on the Man of Truth, the Father of Truth confirmed that he was the Messiah of Israel (Mark 1:9-11). When the Faithful Priest performed the mikvah ceremony on the Man of Truth, the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) confirmed that he was the Messiah of Israel (Luke 3:21-22). The Faithful Priest then announced, that these signs were given to identify the Messiah of Israel (John 1:29-34).
John the Baptist then directed his disciples to follow the Man of Truth, instead of himself (John 1:35-37).
His disciples later asked John the Baptist, how the Messiah of Israel could have his disciples perform the mikvah ceremony, since they were not priests like him (John 3:22-26). The Faithful Priest told them, that the Messiah of Israel had this authority, because the Father of Truth had given him this authority, as well as the Spirit of Truth without measure (John 3:27-34). Even the Pharisees had heard, that the disciples of the Messiah of Israel were performing the mikvah ceremony on more people than the Faithful Priest (John 4:1-2).
Then King Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptist, to please his wife (Matthew 14:3-4). The Faithful Priest was arrested for rebuking him for transgressing the Law of Truth, by marrying the wife of his living brother (Mark 6:17-18). He did this, because the Faithful Priest had rebuked him for all of his wicked ways (Luke 3:19-20).
Yet, even this wicked king acknowledged that the Faithful Priest lived a righteous and holy life (Mark 6:20).
Those taught by John the Baptist, told him about what the Man of Truth had done (Luke 7:11-18).
After John the Baptist was arrested, he sent two of those he had taught to the Man of Truth, for confirmation that he was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 11:2-3). The Faithful Priest wanted proof, that he was the Messiah of Israel, spoken about in the Law of Truth (Luke 7:19-20).
The Man of Truth sent word to John the Baptist, that he had done those things spoken by the Prophets of Truth, which showed that he was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 11:4-6). The Messiah of Israel gave the Faithful Prophet of Truth proof, that he was the one spoken about in the Law of Truth (Luke 7:21-23).
Many of the Pharisees and scribes rejected the testimony of the Faithful Priest, and the testimony of the Messiah of Israel (Luke 7:30-35).
So, John the Baptist had finished his mission of preparing the people of Israel for the Messiah of Israel, and soon the Faithful Priest was executed due to a plot by the wife of King Herod Antipas (Mark 6:21-28).
The headless body of the Faithful Priest was buried by those he had taught, before they started following the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 14:12). They gave the headless body of John the Baptist an honorable burial, worthy of the Faithful Priest (Mark 6:29).
Yet, King Herod Antipas did not realize, that the Man of Truth was not John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-2).
Eventually, many of the priests of Israel became so corrupt during this time, that they conducted the unjust trail of the Man of Truth. This set the pattern for the unjust courts that persecuted his followers. So, they had also desecrated the Temple, like Antiochus Epiphanes.
John the Baptist had indeed prepared the people of Israel for the death, burial, and resurrection of the Man of Truth by performing the mikvah ceremony of repentance in the wilderness (Acts 10:37-41). The Faithful Priest had prepared the people of Israel for these events, when he performed the mikvah ceremony of repentance in the wilderness (Acts 13:24-31).
It was the hidden hand of the Father of Truth that caused this mikvah ceremony with water to be performed in the wilderness. The mikvah ceremony of the Faithful Priest helped prepare the Jewish world for spreading the Gospel, similar to how the Maccabees help spread the Gospel.
The mikvah ceremony with water that John the Baptist performed, does prepare people to be used mightily by the Father of Truth, but there is a better mikvah ceremony that only the Man of Truth can perform (Acts 18:24-26).
After the Man of Truth rose from the dead, he told his disciples to wait for him to perform the mikvah ceremony with the Spirit of Truth, instead of the mikvah ceremony that John the Baptist had performed with water (Acts 1:1-5). The Messiah of Israel performs the mikvah ceremony with the Spirit of Truth on both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:15-18).
The mikvah ceremony of the Faithful Priest in water shows the repentance of those, that it is performed on, but the mikvah ceremony of the Messiah of Israel shows the Spirit of Truth speaking through those, that it is performed on (Acts 19:2-6). The mikvah of the Messiah of Israel produces the sound of power!
The mikvah ceremony of the Faithful Priest in water is only meaningful, when people have become dead to sin (Romans 6:2-4). There is no salvation without true repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). There is no true repentance without total surrender to the Messiah of Israel (Hebrews 6:4-6).
While the Man of Truth is first and foremost the Messiah of Israel, it has always been about the Gentiles coming to salvation as well. He demands total surrender from both Jews and Gentiles. Do not be taken in by the great deception, that you can follow the Man of Truth without following his instructions. You must come into the House of Truth!
You come into the House of Truth, when you come to the Man of Truth in total surrender, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9)! Then the mikvah ceremony in water of the Faithful Priest is a sign of your salvation (1 Peter 3:21)!
Come into the House of Truth!
The Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) came to this earth in the fullness of time to live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law), so he could bring redemption to those who could not live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Galatians 4:4-7).
One of the conditions that made it the fullness of time, was John the Baptist (Yochanan the Mikvah Man) baptizing the people of Israel in the wilderness. The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) brought about the rise and fall of empires, to make this possible.
The story of how this came to be, begins with the Greeks. This is just another example of Greco-Judeo wrestling.
The Father of Truth brought about the unified Greek Empire, and then split it into four smaller Greek Empires, including the Seleucid Empire (Daniel 11:2-4).
During the time of the Seleucid Empire, some of the priests in the Temple became corrupt. At first, the High Priest would put them out of the Temple, until they repented. However, the High Priest had to be approved by the Seleucid Emperor, under the agreement that the people of Judea made with Alexander the Great. For a long while, this was just a formality of informing the Seleucid Emperor who the new High Priest was, when there was a change.
However, a Seleucid Emperor arose, who was willing to appoint as High Priest, whoever gave him the largest gift to gain his favor. Soon, one of the corrupt priests was appointed as the new High Priest. This corrupt High Priest then began appointing other corrupt priests to positions of chief priests, based on whoever offered him the largest gift to gain his favor.
Soon, the Temple was a place of corruption, instead of holiness.
The main job of the priests was to teach people how to keep the Law of Truth (Leviticus 10:9-11).
However, they were not allowed to do this in the Temple, when the Temple was ran by corrupt priests, who did not keep the Law of Truth.
This led to the Maccabees restoring faithful priests in the Temple.
Some of the priests, who were not corrupted, like Matthias the Priest, began performing many of their functions away from the Temple, in places like Modi'in.
They also carried out other functions of the priests, that did not rely on the Temple, in these places. One of these was the mikvah (miqvah) ceremony (baptism). They often performed these ceremonies in a stream in the wilderness, since immersion was required to be done in living (running) water for abnormal discharges of bodily fluids, such as a festering sore, a week after the symptoms had disappeared (Leviticus 15:2-13).
Eventually, a new Seleucid emperor, Antiochus Epiphanes (Antiochus IV), came to power and waged war against the Law of Truth (Daniel 11:28-30). He was joined by the corrupt priests, who ran the Temple, and all among the Jewish people, who were not obedient to the Law of Truth (Daniel 11:30-32).
These corrupt priests, and these Jews by birth only, then helped Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Temple by erecting a giant statue of Zeus, with his own face on it, in the courtyard of the Temple, and sacrificing three pigs and a dog on The Altar to this idol (Daniel 11:31).
However, the Maccabees, the followers of Matthias the Priest, the people who knew the Father of Truth and did exploits, rose up against this vile and evil man (Daniel 11:32).
The Maccabees waged a war against the Seleucid Empire. Among the first to become Maccabees were the Hasideans (Chasidim), who were very zealous in keeping the Law of Truth.
Some Gentiles, mostly Greeks, also gave help to the Maccabees during their long, hard fight against the Seleucid Empire, because they had come to know the Father of Truth (Daniel 11:33-34). These Gentiles were immersed in a stream in the wilderness in the mikvah ceremony of repentance. This ceremony showed that they had turned from idolatry, and to obeying the Father of Truth, in at least the same manner as Noah (Noach).
Finally, the Maccabees and their Gentile allies defeated the army of the Seleucid Empire in Judea, and the Seleucid Empire gave control of religious life, the Temple, and the appointment of the High Priests to the Maccabees, after Antiochus Epiphanes was killed in Persia.
So, the Maccabees went to the Temple to clean house, both literally and figuratively. This process took a week, and on the eighth day the Temple was dedicated to the Father of Truth once again. The gift of the Maccabees included not only purifying the Temple, but also putting only faithful priests in the Temple.
After that, there was an eight day holiday every year to remember the Maccabees cleansing and dedicating the Temple. Most people know this holiday as Chanukah, which means "Dedication". It is also known as the Festival of Lights.
This is the Feast of Dedication, which the Man of Truth thought was so important, that he walked two or three days in the winter to celebrate it in Jerusalem (John 10:22-23).
After the Maccabees, corrupt priests began appearing in the Temple again.
After the Maccabees, there was continual war and conflict for many years, to separate those like the Maccabees, who had faith in what was written in the Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament), from those who would take away from or add to the Original Covenant (Daniel 11:35).
The Hasmoneans, the descendants of the Maccabees, were the High Priests of Israel during those years.
During this time, some split off from the Hasideans to become the Pharisees. They added the traditions of the elders developed in Babylon, called the Oral Torah, to the Law of Truth.
Many of the descendants of those Jews who sided with Antiochus Epiphanes became the Sadducees. They accepted only the five books of the Law of Truth as legitimate, but rejected the rest of the Original Covenant. They interpreted the Law of Truth using Greek philosophy and logic.
The Pharisees and Sadducees fought for control of the Temple and religious life in Judea during the time of the Hasmoneans.
During the time of the Hasmoneans, many mivkot (baptismals) were built around the Temple in Jerusalem. People were immersed in a mikvah in Jerusalem to be made clean, before they entered the Temple. To date, about two hundred for them have been uncovered near the south wall of the Temple Mount, where Josephus described them being located, before the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD.
After the High Priest ceased to be one of the Hasmoneans, the priests became even more corrupt. However, there was still at least one faithful priest.
King David had divided the time the priests spent ministering in the Temple into twenty four courses, with a chief priest over each course (1 Chronicles 24:3-18). Zacharias the Priest, the father of John the Baptist, was only ministering in the Temple during the course of Abia (Abijah), which occurred about every six months (Luke 1:5).
Zacharias the priest was faithful to carry out his duties in the Temple, in the way commanded in the Law of Truth, during the course of Abia (Luke 1:8-10). This faithful priest was told by an Angel of Truth in the Temple, that he and his wife would soon have a son, who would prepare the people of Israel for the Messiah of Israel (Luke 1:11-17). He came out of the Temple afterwards, then went home when his course was over, and his wife conceived (Luke 1:21-25).
His son, John the Baptist, also a faithful priest, was sent to reveal the Messiah of Israel (John 1:6-8).
King David had changed the age when a priest started their ministry to thirty years of age (1 Chronicles 23:1-3). John began his ministry of calling people to return to the Law of Truth when he was thirty, since the Man of Truth came to him when he was almost thirty for the mikvah ceremony (Luke 3:20-23).
The course of each priest was hereditary, so John the Baptist was also a priest in the course of Abia. This would have been the only time the Faithful Priest would have been required to be in the Temple to do his work as a priest, except for some of the Feasts of Truth.
So, if the course of Abia had ended right before John the Baptist had turned thirty, then the Faithful Priest could have been teaching the Law of Truth and performing the mikvah ceremony for almost six months, when the Man of Truth came to him.
Like in the days of the Maccabees, the faithful priests were not allowed to teach people how to keep the Law of Truth in the Temple, when the Temple was ran by corrupt priests, who did not keep the Law of Truth.
So, John the Baptist could not perform the mikvah ceremony near the Temple. Like Matthias the priest, the Faithful Priest had to teach people how to keep the Law of Truth away from Jerusalem, and had to perform the mikvah ceremony in a stream in the wilderness.
John the Baptist began performing the mikvah ceremony that was given to him from the Father of Truth, instead of the rituals performed by the chief priests (Matthew 21:23-25). The Faithful Priest began performing the mikvah ceremony of repentance in the wilderness, far from the Temple, which was controlled by the wicked High Priests, Annas and Caiaphas (Luke 3:2-3).
For this reason, some of the chief priests were sent to ask John the Baptist, if he was the Messiah of Israel, but the Faithful Priest told them that he was not the Messiah of Israel (John 1:19-20). The Faithful Priest told them, that he was performing the mikvah ceremony in the wilderness, because he was preparing the people of Israel for the Messiah of Israel (John 1:25-28).
Yet, they did not believe that John the Baptist was performing the mikvah ceremony at the command of the Father of Truth (Matthew 21:25). They did not believe that the Faithful Priest was doing this, by the same authority that the Messiah of Israel did his works (Mark 11:29-31). They did not believe that the Messiah of Israel had the same authority to teach in the Temple, as the Faithful Prophet of Truth had to perform the mikvah ceremony in the wilderness (Luke 20:1-5).
However, many of the people of Israel came to the wilderness for John the Baptist to perform the mikvah ceremony in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:5-6). The Faithful Priest, who lived in the wilderness like a wild man, performed the mikvah ceremony on everyone, who repented of breaking the Law of Truth (Mark 1:4-6).
When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to participate in the mikvah ceremony, John the Baptist told them, that they must produce evidence of repentance to escape the wrath to come (Matthew 3:7-10). The Faithful Priest told everyone, who came to him for the mikvah ceremony, that they must repent of their disobedience to the Law of Truth to saved from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7-9). The Faithful Priest taught them, that they must do what the Law of Truth says is right, in order to be saved (Luke 3:10-14).
Some of the people of Israel wondered, if John the Baptist was the Messiah of Israel (Luke 3:15). The Faithful Priest told them, that the Messiah of Israel, who had existed before him, was coming soon (John 1:15). The Faithful Priest told those sent by the Pharisees, that he was performing the mikvah ceremony to prepare the people of Israel for the soon coming Messiah of Israel (John 1:24-28).
John the Baptist told them that the Messiah of Israel was coming, who would perform the mikvah ceremony with something better than water (Matthew 3:11). The Faithful Priest told them that the Messiah of Israel would perform the mikvah ceremony with the Spirit of Truth (Mark 1:7-8). The Faithful Priest told them that the Messiah of Israel would perform the mikvah ceremony with fire (Luke 3:16).
John the Baptist warned them, that the Messiah of Israel was coming to clean house, like the Maccabees had done in the Temple (Matthew 3:12). The Faithful Priest warned them, that the Messiah of Israel would destroy from among the people of Israel, those who did not repent (Luke 3:17). The Faithful Priest gave everyone this warning, even King Herod Antipas (Antipas II) (Luke 3:19).
("Herod" had became a title by this point of those claiming the right to rule as a descendant of Herod the Great. This was similar to the Hasmoneans adopting the title Hasmonean to show that they came from Matthias the Priest. None of the descendants of Herod the Great were given the name of "Herod" as a baby, except for Herod the Great.)
Many of the people of Israel returned to walking the righteous way of the Law of Truth, like the Faithful Priest did (Matthew 21:32).
John the Baptist taught people to fast often, just like the Pharisees (Matthew 9:14). The Faithful Priest taught them to fast, like the Pharisees taught their disciples to fast (Mark 2:18). The Faithful Priest taught people to spend time in prayer, like the Pharisees (Luke 5:33). The Faithful Priest taught people how to pray in agreement with the Law of Truth, just like the Man of Truth (Luke 11:1-4).
When John the Baptist performed the mikvah ceremony on the Man of Truth, signs came from heaven to confirmed that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 3:13-17). When the Faithful Priest performed the mikvah ceremony on the Man of Truth, the Father of Truth confirmed that he was the Messiah of Israel (Mark 1:9-11). When the Faithful Priest performed the mikvah ceremony on the Man of Truth, the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) confirmed that he was the Messiah of Israel (Luke 3:21-22). The Faithful Priest then announced, that these signs were given to identify the Messiah of Israel (John 1:29-34).
John the Baptist then directed his disciples to follow the Man of Truth, instead of himself (John 1:35-37).
His disciples later asked John the Baptist, how the Messiah of Israel could have his disciples perform the mikvah ceremony, since they were not priests like him (John 3:22-26). The Faithful Priest told them, that the Messiah of Israel had this authority, because the Father of Truth had given him this authority, as well as the Spirit of Truth without measure (John 3:27-34). Even the Pharisees had heard, that the disciples of the Messiah of Israel were performing the mikvah ceremony on more people than the Faithful Priest (John 4:1-2).
Then King Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptist, to please his wife (Matthew 14:3-4). The Faithful Priest was arrested for rebuking him for transgressing the Law of Truth, by marrying the wife of his living brother (Mark 6:17-18). He did this, because the Faithful Priest had rebuked him for all of his wicked ways (Luke 3:19-20).
Yet, even this wicked king acknowledged that the Faithful Priest lived a righteous and holy life (Mark 6:20).
Those taught by John the Baptist, told him about what the Man of Truth had done (Luke 7:11-18).
After John the Baptist was arrested, he sent two of those he had taught to the Man of Truth, for confirmation that he was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 11:2-3). The Faithful Priest wanted proof, that he was the Messiah of Israel, spoken about in the Law of Truth (Luke 7:19-20).
The Man of Truth sent word to John the Baptist, that he had done those things spoken by the Prophets of Truth, which showed that he was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 11:4-6). The Messiah of Israel gave the Faithful Prophet of Truth proof, that he was the one spoken about in the Law of Truth (Luke 7:21-23).
Many of the Pharisees and scribes rejected the testimony of the Faithful Priest, and the testimony of the Messiah of Israel (Luke 7:30-35).
So, John the Baptist had finished his mission of preparing the people of Israel for the Messiah of Israel, and soon the Faithful Priest was executed due to a plot by the wife of King Herod Antipas (Mark 6:21-28).
The headless body of the Faithful Priest was buried by those he had taught, before they started following the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 14:12). They gave the headless body of John the Baptist an honorable burial, worthy of the Faithful Priest (Mark 6:29).
Yet, King Herod Antipas did not realize, that the Man of Truth was not John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-2).
Eventually, many of the priests of Israel became so corrupt during this time, that they conducted the unjust trail of the Man of Truth. This set the pattern for the unjust courts that persecuted his followers. So, they had also desecrated the Temple, like Antiochus Epiphanes.
John the Baptist had indeed prepared the people of Israel for the death, burial, and resurrection of the Man of Truth by performing the mikvah ceremony of repentance in the wilderness (Acts 10:37-41). The Faithful Priest had prepared the people of Israel for these events, when he performed the mikvah ceremony of repentance in the wilderness (Acts 13:24-31).
It was the hidden hand of the Father of Truth that caused this mikvah ceremony with water to be performed in the wilderness. The mikvah ceremony of the Faithful Priest helped prepare the Jewish world for spreading the Gospel, similar to how the Maccabees help spread the Gospel.
The mikvah ceremony with water that John the Baptist performed, does prepare people to be used mightily by the Father of Truth, but there is a better mikvah ceremony that only the Man of Truth can perform (Acts 18:24-26).
After the Man of Truth rose from the dead, he told his disciples to wait for him to perform the mikvah ceremony with the Spirit of Truth, instead of the mikvah ceremony that John the Baptist had performed with water (Acts 1:1-5). The Messiah of Israel performs the mikvah ceremony with the Spirit of Truth on both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:15-18).
The mikvah ceremony of the Faithful Priest in water shows the repentance of those, that it is performed on, but the mikvah ceremony of the Messiah of Israel shows the Spirit of Truth speaking through those, that it is performed on (Acts 19:2-6). The mikvah of the Messiah of Israel produces the sound of power!
The mikvah ceremony of the Faithful Priest in water is only meaningful, when people have become dead to sin (Romans 6:2-4). There is no salvation without true repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). There is no true repentance without total surrender to the Messiah of Israel (Hebrews 6:4-6).
While the Man of Truth is first and foremost the Messiah of Israel, it has always been about the Gentiles coming to salvation as well. He demands total surrender from both Jews and Gentiles. Do not be taken in by the great deception, that you can follow the Man of Truth without following his instructions. You must come into the House of Truth!
You come into the House of Truth, when you come to the Man of Truth in total surrender, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9)! Then the mikvah ceremony in water of the Faithful Priest is a sign of your salvation (1 Peter 3:21)!
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Baptism, Chanukah, Hasmoneans, John the Baptist, Maccabees, Repentance, Tongues
posted by The House Of Truth @ December 15, 2018
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