178 Dimensions of Baptism
be added the suggestion of C.F.D. Moule that Rev. 7.14's reference to
those who 'have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb' might form a link with other passages that speak of baptism in
terms of'washing' (1 Cor. 6.11; Eph. 5.26; Tit. 3.5 and 1 Pet. 3.21), though
he adds that 'the "baptism" in this case was the drastic one of martyr-
dom'.^59 While these passages do not use 'baptism', it is not implausible to
see here, at the least, echoes of Jesus' sayings on the baptism of death—
his and some of his disciples'—and it is not inconceivable that those who
read and heard these verses could have made the connection between them
and the Jesus logia on the baptism of death. If this is accepted, even just as
a possibility, then it adds further weight to the argument proposed in this
paper, providing evidence probably from the end of the first century, and,
according to most scholars, from the Domitian persecution (c. 95-96 CE),
though there are some who contend for an earlier date shortly after the time
of Nero (c. 68-69 CE).^60
Unequivocal evidence is to be found in the writings of the Apostolic
Fathers, which shows that the idea that martyrdom is both an imitation of
and participation in the sufferings of Christ continued to develop (cf. Rom.
8.17; 2 Cor. 1.5; Phil. 3.10; Col. 1.24; 1 Pet. 4.13).^61 In the early second
century, Ignatius employs the imagery of the water of new birth into the
body of Christ in his discussion of his impending martyrdom (which
occured between c. 98-117 CE), specifically the baptismal analogies of his
own death being a rebirth, an illumination and a patterning after Christ's
passion: 'I seek Him who died for our sake. I desire Him who rose for us.
The pains of birth are upon me.' Then a little later: 'Suffer me to receive
the pure light... Suffer me to follow the example of the Passion of my- C.F.D. Moule, Worship in the New Testament (Ecumenical Studies in Worship,
9; London: Lutterworth, 1961), p. 57. Beale, Revelation, p. 437, comments that 'the
image of saints with "cleansed, white robes" in Rev. 7.9,14 and elsewhere in the book
connotes a purity that has been demonstrated by persevering faith in Christ's redemp-
tive death (= "blood"), that faith tested by a purifying fire'. He later (p. 438), concludes
that, 'the picture does not primarily connote the idea of a select group of martyrs, but
encompasses the entire company of the redeemed'. - See the discussion of the various dates in Robinson, Redating, pp. 221 -53; D.E.
Aune, Revelation 1-5 (WBC, 52 A; Dallas: Word Books, 1997), pp. lvi-lxx; and Beale,
Revelation, pp. 4-27. - On the disciples' 'fellowship of Jesus' sufferings', see J.D.G. Dunn, Jesus and
the Spirit: A Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience of Jesus and the First
Christians as Reflected in the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1975), pp. 330-38.