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Footnote:
In New Testament Revelation 2 ("Life and Ministry of John the Baptist,") John the Baptist states, "(...) the gospel is not true in declaring that I did not know Jesus, but that I would anoint the one on whom I would see the dove of the Holy Spirit descend. I did know Jesus and I did anoint him, not because I saw any dove or heard a voice from Heaven, but because I was convinced in my heart that he was the Messiah and that I was the prophet who was to announce his coming." And in Vol. I ("Description of Birth and Life of Jesus Up to the Time of His Public Ministry," p. 8) Jesus says, "I knew John the Baptist when I was a child growing up. He was my cousin and we often played together, and afterwards discussed the truth of my mission and the way in which it should be made known to the world."
Even though John the Baptist obviously knew Jesus beforehand, and did not identify Jesus as the Christ by any "Spirit descending and abiding upon him," in Vol. I ("Description of Birth and Life of Jesus Up to the Time of His Public Ministry," p. 8) Jesus does however say, "I first became the Christ when I was anointed by my Father, and that occurred at the time of my baptism by John." In New Testament Revelation 33 ("The Star of Bethlehem and the Three Wise Men,") Jesus reiterates the importance of that pivotal moment when he says, "(...) there was no Messiah until I had obtained that sufficiency of the Divine Love in my soul that enabled me to have knowledge of my immortality and until I had been anointed as the Christ by John's baptism for me."
In Vol. II ("The Time Is Now Ripe for the Truths to Be Made Known so that Mankind Can Be Redeemed from the False Beliefs," p. 110) John the Baptist attests that, at the time, he was fully aware of the symbolic nature of his water baptism as opposed to the baptism of the Holy Ghost, "I will say, that when I baptized Jesus, I went with him into the water and then took the water in my hands and placed it on his head - there was no immersion. As this water was merely symbolical of the washing away of sin and error, and does not actually accomplish that great necessity, in order for men to become one with God, it did not make any difference whether the recipient of baptism was immersed or sprinkled." And in Vol. II ("Jesus was the Messiah and the true Christ as he taught when on earth," p. 146) John the Baptist again says, "As I knew then, I know now, that Jesus was and is the true Son of God, and the savior of mankind, in the sense that he brought Life and immortality to light."
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