Bully's Blog

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11 

I remember a scene from X Files where they printed out a binary code and laid the pages out on the floor. When viewed from a distance the ones and zeros made the image of a face. There was a similar scene in one of the Indiana Jones movies, where there was a search for a secret passage and it turned out to be a large X on the floor when viewed from above. This is just my view, but it seems a lot of theologians spend a great deal of time walking in circles in the jungle, lost in the details of prooftexts when we have Old Testament “Google maps” at our fingertips.

There’s been some discussion about the baptism of John: why his disciples needed to be baptized again, and why we never hear of the disciples themselves being baptized.

James Jordan points out that John’s baptism was Red Sea, but the baptism the disciples ministered was Jordan. The first was an exit; the second an entry. [1]

But what about those pesky disciples who only had their feet washed? What’s the bird’s eye view? Why, it’s the familiar Tabernacle floorplan!

Ark – Completing His own ‘personal’ Adam-cycle, Jesus is transfigured. Peter suggests the construction of tabernacles. As ‘Great Prophet’ He initiates the next cycle, the ‘Eve’ (Light – Sabbath)

Veil – Jesus is crucified (Firmament – Passover)

Altar & Table – Jesus is resurrected from the earth (new Land) and ascends as fulfilled ‘grain and fruit,’ bread and wine on the table (Rev 4-5 – Firstfruits)

Lampstand – The Spirit descends as fire (Apostles baptized – Pentecost)

Incense – The Apostles, as elders in the new government, [2] preach to Jews (the old house is comin’ down – Trumpets – swarms) in Gentile tongues [3]

Laver – The Apostles baptize Jews (new Adams – Atonement)

Shekinah – Gentiles are also invited and the house is complete (Tabernacles)

It is a new Creation and a new Temple. And it is the end of the old week. Worship is moved from the last day to the first day.

And, as we see many times in the Old Testament, this initial structure foreshadows a similar structure at a much larger scale. It set the pattern for history between AD30 and AD70.

ADDENDUM: Those who are familiar with the Bible matrix might also notice it in the verse quoted above.

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[1] See the links on baptism here.
[2] See Big Government.
[3] See That Which is Perfect and Three Babylons for more on this temporary gift.