The principle is the same with the one brass sea and the ten lavers associated with the temple. Once the children of Israel were established in the land of Canaan, they built a temple. Along with the temple they built a brass sea and ten lavers (1 Kings 7:23, 38). Brass signifies judgment. The brass sea and the ten lavers indicate the fullness of the realization of baptism. You cannot enter into the presence of God until you pass through the true meaning of baptism, that is, to bury the world.
For example, we must bury our worldly shopping. As you read this message, your spirit may tell you that you have a problem with shopping. You do not go shopping under the leading of the Lord. Of course, there is no difficulty if you shop under the Lord's leading. However, if you do not go shopping under the leading of the Lord, you will be killed for a few days. You will not be able to pray well or get into the Lord's presence for that length of time. You may reason that there is nothing wrong with a particular article of clothing. Although there is nothing wrong morally speaking, your spirit tells you that as long as you wear that piece of clothing you cannot pray with the Lord's presence. Although you might be able to pray without His presence, you cannot pray into the presence of God until you have eliminated that article of clothing. If you do that, you will be liberated. What then should we do? We should jump into the brass sea.
Baptism is also signified by the sea of glass (Rev. 4:6). In Revelation chapter four John was in the spirit and saw the throne of God. In front of the throne was a sea of glass. What does this mean? Brass denotes judgment, and glass means exposure. Whatever was washed in the laver or in the sea of brass could not be seen from the side, but since the sea of glass is crystal clear, everything washed in it is visible. In Revelation 15:2 the sea of glass is seen mingled with fire. This also is a sign of the universal baptism. The sea is mingled with fire. A sea, of course, is filled with water, but this sea is mingled with fire. What does this mean? Due to the fall of Satan and the fall of man, the old creation has been judged by God. God has judged again and again ever since the beginning. God judged the pre-Adamic age with water. He also judged the Adamic age with water at the time of Noah. However, after the flood, God said that never again would He judge the world with water (Gen. 9:11). He will judge with fire. Hence, in Revelation 15:2, the sea is mingled with fire; fire is burning in the sea. The two kinds of judgment exercised by God over the fallen creation are judgment by water and by fire. The sea of glass mingled with fire will consummate in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 14-15). Everything that was buried at the time of your baptism will go to the lake of fire.
Revelation 15:2-3 reveals that the saved ones are standing upon the sea of glass rejoicing and singing. They sing two kinds of songs—the song of Moses, which was first sung at the shore of the Red Sea, and the song of the Lamb. They sing the song of Moses because Moses brought them through the Red Sea, and they sing the song of the Lamb of God because He has brought them through the sea of baptism. Thus, all the saved ones are on the sea of glass. This is the universal baptistery. Eventually, all created things will be burned (2 Pet. 3:6-7, 10, 12). The entire creation will pass through baptism, and the oldness will be burned and washed by the burning fire into the lake of fire. That is the universal baptistery.
Eventually, the new heaven and the new earth, the new creation, will be brought to the presence of God, and the New Jerusalem will descend. The presence of God will be there. There will be no more sea (Rev. 21:1). The lake of fire will be the consummation of all the baptisms throughout the ages. Everything else will be in the presence of the very God who will take the New Jerusalem as His eternal habitation. Thus, to be saved through water means that whatever is not of God and for God must be washed away by the flood. Ultimately, this flood will be mingled with fire and consummate in the lake of fire. We who have been washed from all things other than God shall be in the consummation of the New Jerusalem.
The principle is the same in the church life today. The church is a miniature of the New Jerusalem and the baptistery is a figure of the lake of fire. Every baptism is a picture showing us how all the negative things buried in the baptistery will flow into the lake of fire. Let me ask you, where is your worldly shopping? Where are your new fashions? Where are your long hair and short skirts? They are all in the baptistery. The baptistery will transfer them to the lake of fire. This is what it means to be saved through water. This salvation will terminate the old age and usher in the new age. This salvation will bring us out of the old, crooked, and perverse generation and will usher us into the kingdom of Christ. Therefore, the next message will be on the kingdom life in resurrection.