What Is A "Baptism of Fire?"
What did John [the Baptist] mean when he said Jesus would 'baptize with fire'? The answer can be found in the Kabbalah, and is surprisingly practical for understanding some more complex metaphors in the Bible.
A skeptic once came to Rabbi Abbahu with questions about the Biblical account of Moses' death¹. Perceiving an apparent problem, the skeptic wondered if a Holy G_D could have contracted ritual impurity through the burial of Moses.
As is often the case in Aggadic literature², the question seems comical initially; however, the logic is quite interesting. Subsequently, it reveals a truth that might help us understand other Biblical concepts.
The skeptic asked;
"When G_D buried Moses, did he have to immerse in a mikveh (ritual immersion)?".
Rabb Abbahu replied, "He immersed in fire, as it is written: "For behold, the Lord will come in fire." (Isaiah 66:15)
The skeptic asked, "Is this kind of immersion really effective?"
Rabbi Abbahu: "On the contrary, the main form of immersion is in fire, as it s written: "and all that abides not the fire you shall make to go through the water." (Numbers 31:23) - Sanhedrin 39a
The deeper meaning here is not referencing the kind of fire seen in the physical world but a supernatural fire.
A Refining Fire
When envisioning or trying to describe the ethereal worlds, the prophets often had to use the best metaphors they had at their disposal to describe the indescribable. To them, the supernal dimension resembled various forms of fire. Yet, we will see how this falls short of the mark.
Many ideas come to mind to support this idea. For instance, various angels are described as a kind of fire³. In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet's impure lips are purified by a fiery coal, delivered by a Seraph (שָׂרָף), which means a "fiery serpent"⁴.
In one of my favorite Midrashic accounts⁵, it is taught that the Torah was written through various types of fire:
"How was the Torah written? It was written with letters of black fire on a surface of white fire ..."
As we will see below, the New Testament adheres to this tradition. In Mark 9:49, Jesus tells his audience that everyone will be 'salted with fire'; in Hebrews 12:29, G_D is called a "consuming fire".
In the Zohar, the soul is often likened to the flame of a candle⁶, a metaphor Jesus co-opts in his famous teaching of the 'lamp under a basket'⁷.
