Section 6
I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire; whose winnowing shovel is in His hand to thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Here we see that although John preached a bap tism of repentance, the goal of his ministry was a wonderful Person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He did not make himself the center of his min istry, as a magnet attracting others to himself. He realized that he was only a messenger sent by Jehovah of hosts to bring people to Jesus Christ and exalt Him as the goal of his ministry.
In verse 16 John said that he baptized with water, but the One coming, the Man-Savior, will baptize people in the Holy Spirit and fire. Water signifies death and burial for the termination of repenting people; the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and resurrection for the germination of ter minated people. The first was a sign of John's ministry of repentance; the latter, a sign of the Man-Savior's ministry of life. John buried the re penting people into the death-water; the Man- Savior raised them up for their regeneration in the Spirit by His resurrection life.
The death-water, pointing to and signifying