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The Jewish Mikveh was the "Christian Maker" Baptistry
Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pe 3:21
Architectural Similarities between Ancient Synagogues and the Church
Christians borrowed from Jewish synagogues, not the other way around.
Standardized Architectural Synagogue Signature Typology
Synagogue Architecture adopted by the Christian Church
Floorplans and Furnishings of Pre-70 AD Second Temple Period synagogues
SYNAGOGUE MIKVEH: THE CHRISTIAN MAKER: Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pe 3:21
1. The Ritual of using a Mikveh:
a. Every time a Jew would enter the synagogue, he
was strip off his clothing, descend into the water "ritually unclean",
immerse himself, then ascend up out of the water on the stairs "ritually
clean"
b. In this way the mikveh was a forerunner of
Christian water baptism were you have your sins "WASHED AWAY" . (Acts
22:16)
c. When the 20 year Paul was told ""'Now why
do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on
His name.'" (Acts 22:16) this was something he had done over 250 times
previously as a Pharisaic Jew, except this time, like all elements of
contrast between the old and the new covenants, IT WOULD BE THE LAST, but
he attained, once for all, the true forgiveness of sins through the blood
of Christ.
d. Paul later immersed in a Mikveh at the temple,
probably the pool of Siloam, in order to be admitted into the temple. "Now
after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present
offerings; in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been
purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from
Asia-" (Acts 24:17-18)
e. Paul likewise circumcised Timothy so he could be
admitted into synagogues etc: "Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a
disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a
believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the
brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with
him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in
those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek." (Acts
16:1-3)
Jews would immerse every day before entering the synagogue. At Qum'ran they would immerse twice every day.
2. It is clear, that in God's providence and his master
eternal plan, that synagogues paved the way for water baptism as the
gateway to forgiveness of sins through the first century mikveh.
a. It is actually a mystery why the Jews started
practicing full immersion.
b. Jewish full immersion was practiced from 280 BC
and a mikveh was a standard architectural feature of every synagogue.
c. FIND THE WATER. FIND THE SYNAGOGUE: Synagogues
historically would be placed near a water source for this very reason.
d. However, we know that it must have been God's
providence because immersion was the gateway to forgiveness of sins to
contact the blood of Christ.
e. When
f. Paul knew that synagogues were located near
rivers and this is how he found Lydia. "And on the Sabbath day we went
outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would
be a place of prayer [Synagogue]; and we sat down and began speaking to the
women who had assembled." (Acts 16:13)
g. Here is a papyrus record of the water bill for
two synagogues in Crocodilopolis, Egypt in 113 AD. Just like a property
owner with a hot tub, you need a lot of water to run a synagogue due to
evaporation.
3. There is direct line that connects Christian baptism to
the Synagogue mikveh which in turn derives its origin from the Tabernacle
brass wash basin.
a. "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "You shall
also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you
shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put
water in it. "Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet
from it; when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water,
so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by
offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the LORD. "So they shall wash
their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a
perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their
generations."" (Exodus 30:17-21)
b. What is interesting is that the figure of
ceremonial cleansing was at first sprinkling in the tabernacle and temple
but this changed in 280 BC with the Mikveh which featured full immersion.
c. In this way the figure of water "washing
away sins" was transferred from Mosaic Judaism to synagogue worship to
the church.
4. Gamla, Jericho, Modein and Ostia Synagogue top plan show
the location of the mikvaot:
a. All the earliest synagogues featured a mikveh
located directly beside or very nearby. As part of a spiritual cleansing
ritual, Jews would fully immerse in a mikveh before entering the synagogue.
b. Just as the priests had to wash their hands and
feet with water before entering the Holy Place, so too the Jews felt it
important to go one step further and fully immerse their entire bodies
before entering the Synagogue.
5. Every ancient synagogue had a Mikveh. Jericho had two
Mikvaot:
6. Herodium also had two Mikvaot:
7. This feature is carried over into the church as can be
seen that all early churches had full immersion baptistries, like at
Shiloh. Col 2:11-13
8. In December 2012, a perfect full immersion baptistry was
excavated at the church at Khirbet el-Maqatir by Director of Excavations,
Dr. Scott Stripling and square supervisor Abigail Leavitt:
9. An in situ Byzantine baptistry was discovered at this
famous location that dates back to the late bronze age when it was known as
the Ai of Joshua, second conquest city. In the first century it was the
town of Ephraim of John 11. In May 2016 AD, Steve Rudd supervised the
excavation of five sections of in situ flooring and was able to determine
that the Byzantines built a memorial church here in 375 AD which was
destroyed by an earthquake in 383 AD. Under one section of floor a hoard of
22 coins was discovered along with a fragment of chancel screen. The church
was rebuilt around 400 AD, eventually being occupied by the Muslims only to
be destroyed finally in 749 AD.
10. In Christian theology, salvation and forgiveness of sins is
attained at the point of water baptism. There are five metaphors for water
baptism:
a. Cleansing and washing away of sins: Acts 2:38;
22:16
b. Putting on clothing of Salvation: Gal 3:26-27
c. New birth: Jn 3:3-5
d. Circumcision: Col 2:12
e. Re-enactment ceremony of the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ: Rom 6:3-7; Col 2:12
f. The Nicene Creed of 325 AD, verifies that
this is the first century tradition and explains why full immersion
baptistries were built directly into all Byzantine churches.
11. The recently excavated pool of Shalom in Jerusalem features an
Olympic size mikveh with two different sets of stairs (500 meters long)
that connect the temple to the pool.
a. Paul probably "purified himself" in the pool
of Siloam: "Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and
to present offerings; in which they found me occupied in the temple, having
been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from
Asia-" (Acts 24:17-18)
b. The Jew would arrive at the temple, then walk
down the descent stairs to the pool of Shalom, then immerse in the pool,
then put on a white robe, then return to the Temple of Herod using a
separate set of stairs (500 meters long, that ran parallel to the descent
stairs), back to the temple above.
c. The "pool of Siloam is found 3 times in the
Bible at early as 730 BC: Is 8:6, "waters of Shiloah"; Neh 3:15 "Pool of
Shelah; Jn 9:7, "pool of Siloam".
d. Josephus said the pool of Siloam was located at
the end "Valley of the Cheesemongers" or the Tyropoeon Valley (Josephus,
Wars 5.4.1). He also said it was outside the city wall (Josephus, Wars
5.9.4) at a place where the old wall bent to the east (towards the rising
sun) (Wars 5.6.1), but also facing the hill upon which was a rock called
"Peristereon", which was further East (Josephus, Wars 5.12.2). Josephus was
likely making reference to the present Birket Silwan, on the other side of
the Kidron valley.
e. While its original use was not likely connected
with spiritual cleansing and the temple of Solomon, it is clear that when
Herod the Great remodelled the ancient pool of Siloam in 18 BC, that he was
adopting its use to current practice as a Mikveh.
f. Pictured above is the author excavating the
stairs that encircled the pool of Siloam.
12. Josephus tells us one amazing bit of history connected with the
Pool of Siloam is how the Romans found 2000 Jews hiding in the drainage
ditch below the ascent stairs when Titus destroyed Jerusalem, fulfilling
Jesus prophecy of Matthew 24 in 70 AD.
a. "Now this vast multitude is indeed collected
out of remote places, but the entire nation was now shut up by fate as in a
prison, and the Roman army encompassed the city when it was crowded with
inhabitants. Accordingly the multitude of those that therein perished
exceeded all the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the
world; for, to speak only of what was publicly known, the Romans slew some
of them, some they carried captives, and others they made search for
underground, and when they found where they were, they broke up the ground
and slew all they met with. There were also found slain there above two
thousand persons, partly by their own hands, and partly by one another, but
chiefly destroyed by the famine" (Josephus, Wars 6.428-430, 70 AD)
b. In a stunning confirmation of Josephus, when the
stairs were excavated in 2006, the very place where the Romans broke
through the stairs to kill the hiding Jews below was discovered. Although
the valuables had been looted by the Roman soldiers, the many whole Roman
cookpots they left have been excavated and are in museums for all to see.
13. Pool of Siloam Ascent and Descent Stairs
a. There were two parallel sets of stairs
between the pool of Siloam and the Temple of Herod about 500 meters long.
b. The worshipper would arrived at the temple,
take the descent stairs down to the pool, be immersed, then put on a white
robe and take the ascent stairs (pictured below) back up to the Temple
"cleansed of sins"
14. Garments of salvation = putting on Christ: What is even more
amazing is the connection between the wearing of physical white robes after
being immersed in a Synagogue mikveh and the symbolic wearing of Christ
after Christian baptism (immersion)
a. A Jew would strip naked and descend down the
"descent stairs" to the Mikveh and immerse himself, then climb the
"ascent stairs" where he would be given a white robe symbolizing his
ceremonial washing away of his sins.
b. It is likely that the Jews adopted this practice
of wearing white robes after being baptized in the Mikveh from: "I will
rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has
clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of
righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride
adorns herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10)
c. This is the precise symbolic imagery used by
Paul, a Pharisee, of Christian baptism in Gal 3:27 where the newly minted
Christian arises born again to "Put on" Christ: "For all of you who
were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." (Galatians
3:27)
d. "'But you have a few people in Sardis who have
not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they
are worthy. "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor deviant sex practitioners, nor thieves, nor
the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the
kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and
in the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
e. 'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in
white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I
will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation
3:4-5)
f. Today, Christians wear the same white robes
at baptism that Jews wore 2000 years ago when they immersed in a Mikveh.
15. Old Testament allusions to ritual purity before Mikvehs came into
use in 280 BC.
a. ""Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil," (Isaiah
1:16)
b. "When the Lord has washed away the filth of the
daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by
the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning," (Isaiah 4:4)
c. ""Although you wash yourself with lye And
use much soap, The stain of your iniquity is before Me," declares the
Lord God." (Jeremiah 2:22)
d. "Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, That
you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts Lodge within you?"
(Jeremiah 4:14)
16. New Testament allusions to ritual purity and Mikvehs in the New
Testament:
a. "so that He might sanctify her, having
cleansed her by the washing of water with the word," (Ephesians 5:26)
b. "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we
have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit," (Titus 3:5)
c. "let us draw near with a sincere heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)
d. "When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing
nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his
hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's
blood; see to that yourselves."" (Matthew 27:24)
e. "He answered, "The man who is called Jesus
made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and
wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight."" (John 9:11)
f. "'Now why do you delay? Get up and be
baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'" (Acts 22:16)
g. "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about
the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of
repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about
BAPTISMS [Greek: immersions in a Jewish Mikveh] and laying on of hands, and
the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment." (Hebrews 6:1-2)
17. Foot washing of Jn 13 uses same word in other passages: [Greek:
Louō]
a. ""You are already clean because of the word
[not through a mikveh] which I have spoken to you." (John 15:3)
b. "Then He poured water into the basin, and began
to wash [Greek: Louō] the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the
towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him,
"Lord, do You wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I
do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Peter said
to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do
not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him,
"Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head [ie.
full immersion in a mikveh]." Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed
[Greek: Louō] needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and
you are clean, but not all of you."" (John 13:5-10)
c. "let us draw near with a sincere heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed [Greek: Louō] with pure water." (Hebrews
10:22)
d. "It has happened to them according to the true
proverb, "A dog returns to its own vomit," and, "A sow, after washing
[Greek: Louō], returns to wallowing in the mire."" (2 Peter 2:22)
18. WHERE DID ALL THE MIKVAOT GO IN MODERN SYNAGOGUES?
a. The usual reason given for the removal of Mikveh
is that after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, Jews lost interest or
felt there was no need for ritual purity.
b. Author's Theory why Mikveh were removed:
Synagogue Mikveh's were CHRISTIAN MAKERS, so the Jews removed them from
their later synagogues.
c. The earlier synagogues (280 - 100 AD) all
had Mikveh but the later ones did not!
d. Mikveh's convert Jews into Christians so they
were removed from later synagogues because of the loss of weekly synagogue
sabbath attending Jews who started worshipping the Messiah on Sunday, the
day Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week.
e. Every time a Jew looked at the Mikveh in the
post 70 AD world, it reminded him of countless friends who had their sins
forgiven by the blood of Christ through Christian baptism IN THE SYNAGOGUE
MIKVEH. So the Jews broke with 400 years of synagogue tradition and removed
the Mikveh's from the synagogues or stopped building them architecturally
into new synagogues.
f. As part of ritual purity of the first
century, all synagogues had one or more Mikvehs, but today they are
universally absent from modern synagogues.
g. The damage done by Mikvehs installed in
Synagogues to the Torah observant Jewish community through loss members who
were baptized into Christ, far outweighed any concern for ritual purity.
h. Besides, immersing in a Mikveh before you enter
a modern synagogue is messy and time consuming.
i. "Reich (1995:296-7) notes an interesting
detail. Some of the Second Temple synagogues had a miqveh connected to them
(Gamla, Masada, Herodium, the Theodotos inscription in Jerusalem, which was
found in a cistern), while the later period synagogues usually do not,
except for Sasa and Korazim. Other synagogues have only water installations
(see Beth She'arim, Khirbet Shem`a, Ma`on). It seems that in the Mishnah
and Talmud periods there is no linkage between the two institutions of the
synagogue and the miqveh. The linkage in the Second Temple period might be
due to the practice of holding sacred meals, which would have required some
purification ritual by the participants, or that the reading, study, or
worship of the Torah (by the Zealots) required some purity. Adler (2008:72)
maintains that the miqveh built adjacent to these synagogues was intended
"for ablutions prior to engagement in Torah study and prayer for
individuals who had experienced seminal emission" following a rabbinical
enactment. Yet it should be noted that not only synagogues had an adjacent
miqveh; the Goliath Tomb at Jericho also had one which had a different
function." (Ancient Synagogues - Archaeology and Art: New Discoveries and
Current Research, Rachel Hachlili, p45, footnotes, 2013 AD)
j. Modified Peter Paul and Mary song: "Where
have all the Mikvaot gone, long time passing? Where have all the Mikvaot
gone, long time ago? Where have all the Mikvaot gone? Torah observant Jews
removed them, every one. Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they
ever learn? (See Acts 22:16)"
k. It is clear, that in God's providence and his
master eternal plan, that synagogues paved the way for water baptism as the
gateway to forgiveness of sins through the first century mikveh.
By Steve Rudd 2017: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections
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Ancient Synagogues
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Quick links:
Master introduction: Summary overview is the place to start to tie it all together.
Providence: God's eternal plan: The providential transition from Temple to Synagogue to Church
Origin: Synagogues originated at Alexandria Egypt in 280 BC spawned by the Septuagint
Jesus the Messiah of the Tanakh:
1. First Century Jewish Messianic Expectation: As witnessed in the Dead Sea scrolls.
2. Looking for the wrong thing: Mistaken Jewish ideas of the Messiah in 30 AD.
3. Jesus fulfilled Prophecy: Master list of fulfilled messianic prophecies
4. Jesus fulfilled Prophecy: "He shall be called a Nazarene (branch)" Matthew 2:23
5. Jesus fulfilled Prophecy: "Jesus would rise the third day" 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Synagogue Architectural Prototypes in the Church:
1. Standard architectural synagogue typology: Introduction, Master Chart
2. Mikveh for Ritual Purity: The Christian Maker
3. Ritual purity stone Vessels: Stoneware cups and wash basins
4. Freestanding Columns: Antitype of Christians
5. Artwork: Heart-Shaped Columns
6. The bema: Prototype of the Church Pulpit
7. Synagogue Benches: Metaphor of Equality in Christ
8. Women Seating in Synagogues: Not segregated from men
9. The Moses' Seat: Metaphor of Pride
10. Niches & Ark of The Scrolls: Prototype of Church Apse
11. Table of the Scrolls: Prototype of Communion Table
12. Byzantine Church Architecture: Octagonal and Basilica
13. Orientation: Early Synagogues did not Point to Jerusalem
14. The Church replaced the Temple: Replacement theology is pure Christianity
Synagogue Worship Prototypes in the Church:
15. Worship prototypes: Introduction and Master Summary Chart
16. Collective Names of Synagogues: House of Prayer, Temple, Church
17. Organization of Synagogues: Elders, officials, attendants, Independent, autonomous
18. Attendance: Weekly Sabbath Assemblies in Synagogues absent from Tanakh
19. Public Bible readings: Preaching and Teaching In Synagogues
20. Greek Septuagint: The Standard Tanakh of every ancient synagogue
21. Greek Septuagint scroll of the Twelve Minor Prophets written in 50 BC
22. Prayer in Synagogues: "House of prayer" Proseuche
23. Food: Sacred Passover Meals, No Common Meals In Synagogues
24. Sermon Topics in Synagogues: How Christians used the Tanakh to convert Jews
25. Singing in Synagogues: Non-Instrumental Acapella Responsive Singing
26. Benevolence Money: Freewill Weekly First fruits Collections for poor in Synagogues
27. Education: Schools and Literacy of Jews In Synagogues
28. Role of Women in Synagogues: Never leaders, preachers but never segregated
29. Sanctuary Status: Refugees seeking Asylum in Synagogues
30. Appendages: Hostels, Housing and Food Banks in Synagogues
31. Civil Court: Judgements, beatings and scourging in Synagogues
32. Civic Meetings: Political Town Hall assemblies in Synagogues
33. Christians replaced Jews: Replacement theology is pure Christianity
Synagogue Occupation Date (SOD)= Excavation date + Inscriptional date + Literary date
Allusions: Synagogue worship allusions and imagery in the New Testament
Master builder Stonemason Jesus: "Upon this Rock I will build My church"
Everyday life: Archeology of Everyday Life and Homes at the time of Jesus
Master List: Master list of First Temple Period, Pre-70 AD Synagogues
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Jewish Messianic Expectations in DSS
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Map of Synagogue Sites
Excavations
Inscriptions
Literature
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Synagogue Excavations
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Synagogue Inscriptions
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Synagogue Literary Sources
Jesus Master Builder of the Church/Temple
Archeology of First Century Houses
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Jesus your messiah is waiting for you to come home!
Why not worship with a first century New Testament church near you, that has the same look and feel as the Jewish Synagogue in your own home town. As a Jew, you will find the transition as easy today as it was for the tens of thousands of your forefathers living in Jerusalem 2000 years ago when they believed in Jesus the Nazarene (the branch) as their messiah. It's time to come home!
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