Baptism: A Historical Allegory (02-12-07)

As I struggle with the questions of life and that life more abundant I must axiomatically reflect upon death. One of the greatest evidences of the value of life is the unavoidable fear of death. New life and a second death being the ultimately profound fullness of the equation. Baptism is a biblical memorilization or caricature of the actualities. Before this is discussed in its symbolism I want to look at it historical Allegory: The flood, the Ark and the new world. There is a new world packaged with new life. The old world is destroyed. Though eternity possesses the temporal it can never be possessed of time. Though my case, protection of temporal rights, title and interest, pains, suffering and emotions all are tethered to the existential state of being and becoming they are either the fullness of my life or are swallowed up by my new life. As the world of Noah failed to exist from the day he entered the ark (which is a type of the Christ) so my world as I knew it failed to exist: The causation of this change being wholly outside of my powers like God sealing the ark. Without His power to seal I am destroyed in the transitions of the world. A world no matter how vast it is that is the possession of space and time is dead already because its finiteness cannot outlast the infinite. Like baptism there was a complete submergence of the old dying world. The new world coming by the breath of the eternal spirit blew across the deep and in the presence of a dove landed upon the “Branch.” When Christ was baptized our new world offer arrived. Though the ark was of the dead world it rose above it. Likewise I am above this trial in my ark of Christ and in it my life is preserved. The by product of eternal life is an eternal hope that my ark is sea worthy to raise me again above the flood of death that threatens me. Christ did not stop resurrecting with Himself but continues to seal us in His state of aboveness.