As believers that the ritual rite of water baptism was set aside when Israel was set aside (see author’s article entitled, “Understanding Baptism in this Age of Grace”), one question that is raised periodically is whether this ceremony will be practiced during the tribulation, when God deals primarily with Israel once again. This brief article will try to address this topic in a short, concise and yet thorough manner.
Under the Law, Israel was commanded to observe certain “various washings” (baptisms in the Greek)-Hebrews 9:10. One of these baptisms was the practice of ceremonially washing/cleansing the priests who would serve Israel for God-Exodus 29:4 and Lev. 8:6, etc. This was symbolic of what Christ would do on the cross by washing away sin with His blood. During the three year ministry of Christ in Israel, He called them to repentance and to observe water baptism, whether it was through John the Baptist or His own apostles-Matthew 3:11 and John 3:22, etc. Besides His purpose of going to the cross for the sins of the world, one of Christ’s major ministries while He walked the dusty roads of Galilee was to prepare Israel for the coming tribulation and the kingdom to follow. That is why the Holy Scripture calls Christ’s message the “gospel (good news) of the kingdom”-Matthew 4:23 and 9:35, etc. It is this gospel that will be preached during the tribulation-Matthew 24:14. In this kingdom, Israel is to be the priests that God would use to reach the nations-Exodus 19:6, Isaiah 61:6 and Zechariah 8:23. I believe that this is one of the reasons why Israel needed to be baptized, even after the cross-Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15-16, etc. There is a seldom mentioned parable that Christ rehearses in Luke 13:6-9 in which it is clear that God was not done dealing with Israel after the cross. This parable shows that it wasn’t until one year later that God judicially set Israel aside. This explains totally why Peter and the rest of the apostles followed the same practice of calling Israel to repentance and water baptism-Acts 2:37-38. Pentecost was clearly within the one year timeline that Christ Himself laid out in that parable in Luke 13. So, obviously, this is NOT the beginning of the age of grace and the Body of Christ (see author’s article entitled “Acts 2-The Beginning of the Body of Christ?”). They were still attempting to prepare Israel for their role as priests in the coming millennial kingdom. According to prophecy-Psalm 2:1-6, Isaiah 61:1-3, Daniel 9:24-27, and Zechariah 13:7-9, etc. after Israel’s (and the world’s) rejection of God’s Christ, the pouring out of God’s wrath should have commenced, which we call the tribulation, or the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” as Jeremiah termed it in chapter 30:7 (KJV), and then the kingdom would be realized.
But, God had other plans that He had never revealed before. Instead of bringing in the prophesied “time of Jacob’s trouble”, He saved Saul of Tarsus and called him to be his top ambassador to go the Gentiles with the gospel of the grace of God-Acts 20:24. Members of the Body of Christ are not priests under the Law, but ambassadors under grace-Romans 6:14, 2 Corinthians 5:20, etc. Therefore, no water baptism is required in this age of grace.
When God calls the Body of Christ home to heaven-1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Philippians 3:20, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; He will pick up right where He left off with Israel. The tribulation will commence, and the gospel of the kingdom, of which water baptism was central to preparing Israel for their role as priests in this kingdom, will be preached again just as Christ said it would-Matthew 24:14, including by the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11. This gospel of the kingdom was preached by Christ under the Law-Galatians 4:4, and it would therefore follow that the Law will be resumed as well during the tribulation. In fact, Daniel 9:24-27 indicates that sacrifices will commence again, and Jesus spoke of Sabbath keeping in Matthew 24, which is all tribulation ground (compare with Revelation 6). Christ gave no indication or instruction that water baptism would cease during that tribulation period. So, for at least the first half of the tribulation, the Law will be followed and presumably water baptism, which is incorporated into the Holy Law that God gave to Israel.
As for the second half of the tribulation, some speculation must be done. A remnant of Israel will flee into the desert and will be providentially taken care of by God-Matthew 24 and Revelation 12. Will there be a makeshift temple in the wilderness with lavers for baptisms like in the desert with Moses? How about during the 1000 year kingdom age? There seems to be some form of Law adhered to during the reign of Christ on earth-Isaiah 19, 56 and 60 and Zechariah 14, etc. Israel will still be the priests of this age, and new babies will be born that will need to be consecrated as priests, so maybe there will still be water baptism practiced in Israel in the Millennium. Will water baptism be part of their remembrance ceremonies during the kingdom age? Some of these questions seem to be unanswered in Scripture, at least to me and my scant knowledge of it. I pray that this article will increase the fervor of anyone who reads it to dig and dig and dig further into the treasure trove that God has given us-His Word.
Article written by Paul D. Pedro of Oakdale, Minnesota Copyright 2016
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