The ordinance of baptism has been with us from the beginning of time. Most people not of our Faith, believe the first time baptism was performed was when John baptized the Savior in 29 AD.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know differently and it strengthens our testimony of the Gospel.
Adam Baptized
Moses 6:64 “And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.
65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.
66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;
Enoch Baptized
The Lord said to Enoch, in Moses 7:11 “And he gave unto me a commandment that I should baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, which is full of grace and truth, and of the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son.”
Alma Baptized, and Baptizes
“The Prophet Mormon was named after his father Mormon (Mormon 1:5) who was named after the land of Mormon where Alma entered into the baptismal covenant and established the Church (3 Nephi 5:12). Is it any wonder that he extols “the place of Mormon,” “the Waters of Mormon” and “the Forest of Mormon” in “the land of Mormon?” The name “Mormon” should be considered sacred, as it refers not only to the Prophet Mormon, but to the significance of the place where the baptismal covenant was restored. An alternate name for the Book of Mormon could be “The Book of the Restoration of the Covenant.” “And it came to pass that as many as did believe him [Alma1] did go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land” (Mosiah 18:4). As quoted in Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum page 187
The Baptism of Jesus, When, Where, and Why?
By Timothy J. Adams
The baptism of Jesus is recorded in Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 3
When?
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli. (Luke 4:23)
Many assume Jesus started his ministry at age thirty because of this verse. But it clearly says that he was beginning to be the age of thirty, meaning he was still 29. Two verses in the book of Numbers add to this confusion.
3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
47 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation. (Numbers 4:3,47)
The problem with this idea is that Jesus was not anointed to be a Levitical Priest, but instead a Prophet, Priest and King after the order of Melchizedek.
13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 7:13-17)
In addition to this right of the higher Priesthood, Jesus first receives baptism from that of the lower Priesthood, by him who was described by Jesus as being the greatest of all Prophets! Jesus out of necessity waited for his time of growth and maturity to present himself as the great teacher and Prophet. Baptism was an appendage to the Gospel, and therefore it began at the same time with the preaching of the Gospel as it had with John the Baptist. As Jesus came up out of the waters of baptism the Holy Spirit came down and lighted upon him in the likeness of a dove, with the sign of the dove present[1].
Shortly thereafter we see Jesus back up in Nazareth reading form Isaiah
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (Isaiah 61:1)
We are told in these verses that Jesus recognized the spirit of the Lord was upon him. Why? Because the Lord anointed him! The title “Messiah” means the anointed one! Was he anointed at baptism, or from the foundation of the world, or some other time one can only guess. But he was anointed and the spirit of the Lord settled on him.
Where?
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:28)
23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. (John 3:23)
If one does a search for Bethabara and Ænon in the land of Israel today they would be hard pressed to find them. There is a reference to Beth-bara in the Old Testament[2], but we also have today an ancient mosaic map produced sometime during the 6th century in the Byzantine Church of Saint George in Madaba Jordan that shows both of these areas written in Greek.
Bethabara (BEBABAPA) and under it is written “The place of baptism by John” is shown near the mouth of the Dead Sea (where no fish swim) up against Jericho (surrounded by palm trees, and Ænon or Ainon (AINWN’ENOA) (NYNOCATTCA OAC) Saphsaphas on the opposite side of the Jordan River. Bethabara means “House of the Ford”. Ainon has underneath it a mushroom shaped appendage which some believe to be a fountain or a spring, or perhaps a cave. In that area across the river there have been found springs and caves. The main spring today is called John the Baptist spring because it is believed that John lived in one of the many caves and baptized from the spring. Near this location the Jordan River has a sharp bend into the Jordanian side where some time ago when the water flow was heavier, but today is now dry land. The river today irrigates both Jordan and the land of Israel making the flow of water dramatically reduced. To get a better perspective take a satellite view of the area and one can get a better idea of how wide the river used to be. Byzantine churches had been erected over this area as a probable site for Jesus baptism nigh unto where John the Baptist dwelt and where on the same hill Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Today the Catholics and Greek Orthodox and other churches take this area to be the site of Jesus baptism. And it may well be. Whether it was on the Jordanian side or on the west side is of little importance to me.
The greater question is why did Jesus have to go all the way down there to get baptized? The distance from Nazareth to this location is approximately 75 miles! Wasn’t Jesus good enough for John the Baptist to hike up to the Sea of Galilee or at least the northern end of the Jordan River? How many people today are willing to walk that far to get baptized? Why did Jesus have to leave what he was doing to go way down there?
For one thing this location on earth is the lowest place on earth. Jericho is the lowest city on earth at 850 ft. below sea level and the Dead Sea at 1,338 below sea level. This last five mile stretch of water emptying into the Dead Sea is the lowest fresh water on earth. Did I say fresh? It is not clear water. In fact baptizing the Savior at this location really is descending,[3] below all things!
8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? (Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 122:8)
So this is the location, now lets try to answer the more important reasons why here?
Why?
1. Because he was obedient to the will of the Father.
In addition to his obedience there are other very stark reasons for going to this place on the Jordan River.
2. Starting with Moses and the greatest story ever told, he led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and with Pharaoh at his heels He and the Israelites Passed through the waters crossing the Red Sea and lived to tell the tale. This “passing through the waters” is symbolic of baptism, where as we come out again we become “alive” or “new creatures”. After passing through this water they traveled through a small section of Arabia to Mt Sinai where covenants were made, not unlike the covenant we make when we receive the laying on of hands to become members of his Church to be obedient to Jehovah. Shortly thereafter the covenants were broken, and they were left to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
Now a new generation is being led into the Promised Land, not by Moses, but rather “Joshua”. Joshua is the Hebrew rendering for the Greek name Jesus! Moses brought the law, but it is Jesus who leads us into the promise land. However if we read the story close, Joshua does not cross the waters of the Jordan first, the priest carrying the ark of the covenant lead the Children of Israel through the water on dry ground. Remember Jehovah was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, as the priest feet dipped into the waters of the Jordan River the waters part. Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New Testament, whom later as Jesus returned to the place where as Jehovah He had passed through before! Now this was done at the time of year when the waters flowing were at their fullest, after the winter and spring rains had gorged the river placing the timing of the entrance into the Promised Land in the Spring, at the beginning of the Jewish year[4] at Passover! The crossing over the River Jordan is at the same time of the year as when they had crossed over the Red Sea forty years earlier! They are being re-baptized as they enter the land, in addition a member of each of the twelve tribes take a stone form out of the middle of the River and they carry them to Gilgal where they place them in a pile making a covenant to follow and obey Jehovah. Is it any wonder that Jesus would return to that location? For this reason this “area” is called Bethabara meaning “House of the Ford”, for it was here that they forded the River. Thus Bethabara is the crossing point, and the point where Jesus was baptized is most likely the place where the Children of Israel entered the water from the Jordanian side.
3. Another story in the Old Testament is that of Elijah and Elisha. Earlier[5] we are told that Elijah had already thrown his mantle to Elisha and from that point on he follows Elijah. Now as Elisha was the under study of Elijah both were living in the area of Mt. Carmel. The story is found in 2 Kings 2:1-15. Verse 4 puts the two of them in Jericho up the hill from the same place where the Israelites crossed the Jordan years earlier. As the two of them come to the waters of Jordan Elijah takes his mantle and parts the waters, where the two of them walk through the waters over on dry ground to the other side of Jordan. As they ascend a hill Elisha asks for a double portion of the spirit that Elijah held. Elijah said I’m not sure I can promise you that, but if you see me ascending into heaven then you will have a double portion of my spirit.
The chariot of the Lord parts the two and up Elijah goes and meanwhile Elisha witness’s it all. Elijah’s mantle had fallen to the ground so Elisha picks it up hits the waters of the River Jordan and they part.
Why all this detail? Remember Elijah is described as a Hairy-man with a girdle of leather about his lions. In his article “Elisha and the Children: The question of Accepting Prophetic Succession” Author Fred E. Woods writes:
Scholars have two interpretations for the words ba’al se’ar. One translates them as “a hairy man,” the other as “ a man with a hairy garment.” This latter interpretation seems more correct when the word se’ar (“hairy”) is associated with the word “mantle” (‘adderet), which plays a central role in this account of prophetic succession.
John the Baptist is described as wearing a mantle or garment (Greek, endyma) made of camel’ hair. He too wore a leather girdle about his loins. This description is virtually identical to that of Elijah’s apparel. In addition to this the word sackcloth is a dark-colored material of goat or camel hair used for making grain bags and garments. A garment of sackcloth was uncomfortable and was therefore worn by those in mourning.
Jesus said of John the Baptist[6] that there was not one greater born of woman. John said of Jesus[7] “ He must increase and I must decrease”. Like Elisha asking Elijah for a double portion of the spirit Jesus certainly carries that double portion of the spirit. It is at this moment that the Lord Jesus begins his ministry as Prophet, Priest and King. The mantle of John the Baptist is passed to Jesus exactly in the same way Elijah passes it on to Elisha at the same approximate location! This story of Elijah and Elisha pre-figures identically to that of John and Jesus. Elisha passes through the water at the same place that Jesus passed through as Jehovah, and as Jesus of Nazareth! If John the Baptist dwelt at the place where Elijah ascended to heaven we have a clear picture of the Mission of these two great Prophets.
And then we have these two scriptures that seem to question both John and Jesus about the Identity of Elias.
22 And they asked him, saying; How then art thou Elias? And he said, I am not that Elias who was to restore all things. And they asked him, saying, Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. (JST, John 1:22)
10 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things, as the prophets have written.
11 And again I say unto you that Elias has come already, concerning whom it is written, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and they knew him not, and have done unto him, whatsoever they listed.
12 Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them.
13 But I say unto you, Who is Elias? Behold, this is Elias, whom I send to prepare the way before me.
14 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist, and also of another who should come and restore all things, as it is written by the prophets. (Matthew 17:10–14)
Elias is the Greek spelling for the word Elijah of the Old Testament. It also means a forerunner or messenger John the Baptist when asked if he was Elias said:
21 And he confessed, and denied not that he was Elias; but confessed, saying; I am not the Christ.
22 And they asked him, saying; How then art thou Elias? And he said, I am not that Elias who was to restore all things. And they asked him, saying, Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. (JST John1:21-22)
It appears from these two verses One Elias is a preparer and one a restorer. So did he side step the question or did he not think of himself as Elijah? He may have been asked because of where he dwelt in the wilderness near the Jordan River. But then in the Matthew verses Jesus confirms John as Elias.
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa,
2 And saying Repent ye: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The coive of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, Confessing their sins.
(Matthew 3:1-6)
In addition to this place where Elijah is taken up into heaven it being on a hill on the East side of Jordan, possibly above the caves where John the Baptist may have dwelt, we have another Prophet who was taken up without tasting of death (possibly) at this same location.
1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,
3 And the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.
6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulture unto this day.
7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. (Deuteronomy 34:1-8)
So this verse can be read as a guide of what Moses did.
1. The children of Israel were camped somewhere in the valley of Moab on the northeastern side of the Dead Sea or the plains of southern Jordan.
2. Moses went up to Mt. Nebo and was shown the land of Israel.
3. Then to the top of Pisgah that is over against Jericho.
No one knows for sure where Pisgah is located. Some think it must be the top of Mt Nebo. Other maps show it below the Mountains of Abarim, which Nebo is the highest point. Does it not make sense that the tribes were encamped on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River also known as the region and valley of Moab? And that Moses went up to the Abarim Mountains to Nebo to see the land of Israel as he talked to the Lord. Then after blessing the tribes he went up to the hill-top of Pisgah over looking the Jordan river and there was taken up and received of the Lord. Or, more likely if Pisgah is the peak of Nebo, then it would make sense that he was buried of the Lord in a valley in the land of Moab called Beth Peor. Do not make the mistake of Baal Peor in this case is the false god of the Moabites, but rather the Hebrew “Beth” house of “Peor”, with the Hebrew meaning of Opening, or all together “the house of the opening”. Remember on the Israel side of the Jordan “Bethabera” house of the ford and on the Jordanian side “Bethpeor” the house of the opening meaning where the waters opened up to receive the Israelites. While the Bible says Moses died and was buried of the Lord; it also says, that “no man knoweth his sepulcher”. The Book of Mormon teaches that Alma was taken up, perhaps translated like unto Moses[8]. It seems likely that Moses was taken up at the same spot that Elijah was, because it was both Elijah and Moses that appeared at the transfiguration of Jesus with bodies that had been translated and were yet awaiting the resurrection of the just, possibly 6 or so months later after the first-fruit resurrection of Jesus! It seems likely that Moses and Elijah and or possibly John the Baptist[9] who shared this same area “over against Jericho” the same place Christ began his ministry.
Another story in the Old Testament is about Elisha who having moved for a time to Jericho[10] (He dwelt in Gilgal on the North side of the ruins of Jericho). Naaman[11] Captain of the Host of Syria covered with leprosy comes to the Prophet of Israel to be healed.
Where he is told to dip himself in the river Jordan 7 times, whereupon he complains about the waters in Damascus are they not better than all the rivers in Israel to make one clean? Nevertheless he dips himself in the waters of Jordan and his skin comes out of the water soft as a newborn baby’s. This story is yet another type of baptism where the curse of leprosy, like the curse of sin can be washed away in the waters of Baptism.
This occurred in the same place where Elijah passes the Mantle to Elisha, where Jesus is later Baptized and where the tribes of Israel cross over into the Promised Land with Jehovah! This cleansing of Leprosy is reminiscent of the miracles of Jesus who heals Lepers.
Examining the life of Elisha we have other relevant depictions of the life of Christ. Almost from the beginning in reference to Elisha he is instead referred to as the “Man of God”[12]. It is Elisha who fills empty vessels of oil[13] from one pot of oil, like the first miracle turning water to wine in Cana. The Shunammite woman[14] whose husband is old and they are childless he promises she will have a son. They do have a son and later he falls ill and dies. Elisha brings the dead son back to life. He and Elijah are the only Prophets in the Old Testament who brings someone back from the dead. Elisha is the one who multiplies the loaves of bread[15]just as the Master multiplied the loaves and the fishes.
There are certain sacred places on this planet where no Temple or edifice needs to be erected. Locations that are sacred because of what happened there. Adam-ondi-Ahaman, Mount of transfiguration, the Sacred Grove, Bethel where Jacob saw an entryway into heaven and therefore named the place “the House of God”, the Temple mount in Jerusalem, and the place in Missouri where the future “New Jerusalem will be built. These past, present, and future holy sites, were designated for man to approach God; one which I would include is Bethabara.
It is certain that these Old Testament stories pre-figure Our Savior. These were timed events, that were representational of a coming event (Jesus Baptism), Who fulfilled the acts of these Old Testament Prophets, who descended below all things, and was baptized not just because it was the will of the Father, but to complete and make known unto man the link between him, and those who had gone before. To give us a more complete rationalization of why we his followers should also go down into the waters and become new creatures following him into the Promised Land. Not a mere shower or sprinkling of droplets, but lowering ourselves and passing through deep waters.
[1] John 1:34-36
[2] Judges 7:24
[3] Doctrine and Covenants 122:8
[4] Exodus 12:1-2 Institution of the Passover
[5] 1 Kings 19:19
[6] Luke 7:28
[7] John 3:30
[8] Alma 45:19
[9] JST Mark 9:3
[10] 2 Kings 4:38
[11] 2 Kings 5:
[12] 2 Kings 4:7
[13] 2 Kings 4:2-7
[14] 2 Kings 4:8-38
[15] 2 Kings 4:42-44
Tim Adams Husband, Father, Author, Iconology Expert
Tim Adams is first and foremost a father of six children and married to the love of his life Katy Ann MacArthur. Raised and lived around the US spending middle and High school years in Upstate New York. I remember well camping as a boy scout on the backside of the Hill Cumorah. Sneaking out at night as our leaders slept, digging with sticks looking for that stone box that held the plates. Professors hadn’t taught me yet that New York’s Hill was the wrong one. Nonetheless we moved there when I was 13; and I identified strongly with the boy prophet. My Father became a professor of Art History working on organizing an iconografical index for the Cathedral of Chartres. Having read a few of my Fathers papers and having him as a Seminary teacher trained me to “see” what the scriptures looked like in stone. Latter served a mission in the Netherlands Amsterdam mission, where I had fun with my companions seeing if they could identify the apostles and prophets in the large Catholic churches.
Tim attended Ricks College as it was then known; and found his girlfriend Katy MacAurthur (and yes; she is related to that famous General), and married her in the Washington DC Temple.
Similitudes: Typology of our Day
Tim attended a meeting in Portland Oregon where he lives; where a Christian man gave a presentation on the constellations, and how they testified of Christ. Having an acute interest in Greek mythology, I thought how strange that he fears using the icons that are Greek to testify of Christ’s godliness. Someone should write a book about it that understands iconology. So “Pattern of the Heavens” became my first book written in 2009. This year in March I completed a second book called “Similitude’s”. One could call it the iconology of Old Testament stories. This new book is a twist on a topic about typology, taking it to new places it has yet to go.
Tim graduated from Ricks College earning an associate degree in general education. He has not gone on to further his studies in any direction. No masters degree, no PHD, preferring instead to be a self made man; husband, Father, follower of Christ, and yes a dreamer.
Purchase Tim’s new book today: Similitudes: Typology of our Day
