Chapter 23: BOG: The Baptism of Fire

​In the last chapter, we considered an overview of being Born of God.  This chapter we’ll review in more detail the concept of the Baptism by Fire.  Once a person has committed to living God’s Law and received a confirmation of the truth and expanded their knowledge of Him through the Spirit, God orchestrates a test of loyalty/a trial of faith.  This test of loyalty measures a person's core convictions and effects an internal change that makes them more like God.   The Baptism by Fire is a specific test that results in God raising a person to a higher level of blessedness - Zion, God’s Covenant People.​

​The Process of Perfection
Our Process of Perfection looks like this:

Individual Salvation
Born of the Blood Redemption
Born Again Sanctification Born of the Water > Born of the Spirit > Born of God

Trying One’s Faith as Fire
In the scriptures, we see this concept of being tried as a recurring theme.

God tried Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac.
God tried the children of Israel by sending them into the wilderness for forty years.
God tried Job through the loss of his health, wealth and family.

​We see this concept of being tested taught in the New Testament as well  by Peter, James, John and Paul.  Peter here uses the metaphor of going through “fire” when he describes this test or trial of faith, he writes,

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”  ​1 Peter 1:7​
 
We also see Job declaring that he would be like gold to God by remaining faith to Him.
 
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”  Job 23:10
 
 
Changing Hearts and Extending Covenants
The two purposes that we see in God testing us is to change our hearts/purge our carnal will and to extend our covenants into heaven.
 
Changing Hearts
We see this concept of changing hearts to live Gods law at Ezekiel 36:26,27.
 
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
 
So the sequence we see here.

Trial of Faith > Change Heart/Spirit > Keep God’s Law

​Extending Our Covenants
A second purposes of the trial of our faith is to test the degree of our faith and to make our covenants with God unconditional and everlasting. We see this with Abraham’s trial with the offering Isaac his only son to God. Because of Abraham’s faithfulness, God makes His covenant with Abraham unconditional and everlasting. Genesis 17,22
 
  
Isaiah’s Descent and Becoming Zion
We see this same concept in Isaiah’s descent and then ascent. Those who pass the trial of their faith raise their level of blessedness from Jacob/Israel to Zion/Jerusalem.
 
Dr. Gileadi’s analysis of the Book of Isaiah suggests that this time of testing is designed to prove our loyalty to God and then to raise our level of blessedness.  He calls this the descent before the ascent. Once we have proven ourselves, God converts our covenants with Him from temporary and conditional to permanent and unconditional and raises us to a higher spiritual level of blessedness.  Graphically, this process looks like this.

Enduring Persecution
The trial we see here for those who ascend from Jacob/Israel to Zion/Jerusalem is to be persecuted. Indeed, those who remain devoted to God and His Law under distress receive an internal change that binds their core self to God and His Law. We see this concept Yeshua teach in the Sermon on the Mount.
 
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”  Matthew 5:10,11
 
 
Endtime Tests
The prophet Isaiah sets out three Endtime tests that provides the opportunity to ascend and pass into the Kingdom of God and into the Millennial Era.

1. Overcoming Modern Idolatry (the trappings of Babylon)
2. Rejecting an Endtime Tyrannical Kingdom (mark of the beast)
3. Being ostracized by those in Authority (for those who take an untraditional path)