Water was regarded as the best protection against ghosts. The Romans carried water three times around the corpse; in the twentieth century the body is sprinkled with holy water, and hand washing at the cemetery is still a Jewish ritual. Baptism was a feature of the later water ritual; primitive bathing was a religious ceremony. Only in recent times has bathing become a sanitary practice. [1] Baptism became a religious ceremonial in Babylon, and the Greeks practiced the annual ritual bath. [2] Jews had long been the practice to baptize the gentile proselytes into the fellowship of the outer court of the temple. [3]
John baptized “for the remission of sins. ” Although baptism was not a new ceremony among the Jews, they had never seen it employed as John now made use of it. [4]
Jesus was baptized by John at noon on January 14, 26. [5]
Jesus foresaw that a social organization, or church, would follow the progress of the true spiritual kingdom, and that is why he never opposed the apostles’ practicing the rite of John’s baptism. [6]
Adoption of the baptism of John was the price apostles paid to gain followers of John. John’s followers, in joining Jesus’ followers, gave up just about everything except water baptism. [7]
The apostles of Jesus and John unanimously voted that baptism would become the initial step in the outward alliance with the affairs of the kingdom, a public profession of entrance into the kingdom. [8] Jesus never baptized anyone. This task was only done by the apostles and their followers. [9]
The true baptism that Jesus offered was the baptism of the Spirit: “John did indeed baptize with water, but when you enter the kingdom of heaven, you shall be baptized with the Spirit.”. [10]
In early Christian church at first they baptized in the name of Jesus; it was almost twenty years before they began to baptize in “the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Baptism was all that was required for admission into the fellowship of believers. [11] Mithraism shared with christianity a baptism and a sacrament with bread and wine. [12]