Pentecost: God Decrypting What He Had Encrypted

Let's examine the concept of "speaking in tongues" in context of scripture which is the method Paul always used to reason (Acts 17:2).

Before men sought to reach the heavens by building a high tower, they all spoke the same language. This is the same language everyone spoke prior to the confounding. Even the angels spoke this language of God! Paul referred to that common language:

1 Corinthians 13:1 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

Whenever Paul apparently spoke in "tongues" it was the language the angels spoke. It would seem that heaven has an official language and before the Tower of Babel was built, God, the angels and mankind spoke that one heavenly language. It wasn't an unknown tongue; it was a forgotten language; at least by confused men. Let's recount when things changed for mankind:

Genesis 11:1 "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

God confounded their speech and language for one reason: it was to restrain them from knowing what God knows. The same issue as when Adam and Eve had in eating the forbidden fruit; it would make them knowledgeable as gods! Since the original language was confounded to prevent men from knowing what God knows, the restoration of that language in apostolic times was to allow Christians to commune with God! The former was because the people sought to commune with God by their own initiative, but the latter was God communing with Christians at his initiative. Confounding toppled the idols of "selfs". Restoring the original language assured the "self" of the reality of God. The former denigrated God; the latter magnified God!

Linguists have never been able to establish the "original language" of mankind. In fact because of the impossibility to "prove" what that language was, science doesn't spend much time on researching. However, the early church father's (those subsequent to the apostles) believed that Hebrew was the original common language, and is the preferred language of God and of the angels. It must be noted that "tongues" research among Pentecostals indicates that they are not speaking Hebrew,  nor any known language, although it has the basics of the speakers own language. That is true among the babblings of peoples of pagan religions as well. The common theme is a parallel between the "unknown tongues" of Christians and pagans.

Others say that there was a proto-Canaanite language, one that preceded what the Canaanites spoke. It's likely that whatever language that was, the purity of it has changed with time as has most languages. That's because a world of people whose languages were confounded mingle and corrupt the language of those with whom they associate. Therefore, let's say that the original language is unknown to us and it was unknown to the apostles as well. Although scripture doesn't use the expression "unknown" when referring to "tongues", it's obvious that we don't know that language and neither did the Jews on Pentecost. However, God and the angels knew it!

If we look at messaging in the electronic world, many are encrypted. It's putting messages in code so that only those who have the information to decode can read the message.  Decoding is called decrypting. That process makes the message in crypt intelligible only to the ones it's intended!

Before Babel the common language was "pure'. God spoke to his people in a language not coded. Everyone understood! Then with Babel, the common language was encrypted. Each race of the people got their own language. Since, they couldn't understand others, God scattered them so they could be less civilized and astute than what they were before. One of these languages was surely Sumerian. Many peoples of the world have languages and writings strongly influenced by the Sumerians.

In Acts Chapter 2 we find all manner of Jews there from the different nations. They were a cornucopia of confusion... until! Until the Holy Ghost came! At the Tower of Babel God encrypted his word. At Pentecost God decrypted it! Pentecost was an undoing of the confusion of Babel. Confounding was to prevent the peoples of the world from straying from God. The tongues of Pentecost was so that the people could tell the world about God. No, it wasn't to reverse the confusion of languages, but to allow all the people's of the world know the reality of God by speaking, hearing and interpreting God's original tongue! It was never God's intent to have everyone speak a common language again, but to reveal to us that God does have his own language which he decrypts for those who receive him!

The Holy Trinity was always with mankind. God is unchanging, "the same yesterday, today and tomorrow". God the Father is who created it all. Jesus was his voice and his Holy Spirit was with the Hebrew prophets. In fact, God used his own Spirit to conceive his Son called Jesus. In patriarchal times the focus was on God, but the Son and the Spirit were shadows. Let's look at all three as appearing to Moses:

Exodus 3:2 "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say."

Note that "THE angel of the Lord" appeared in the flames. This was a particular "angel". It's the same angel who wrestled with Jacob. THE Angel is the pre-incarnate Jesus. Because he spoke to Moses he was "THE Word" (he who was made flesh). The Word in the burning bush spoke. It says "God called to him... Here I am!' Then the angel said "Go, and I will be thy mouth to teach thee what thou shalt say".

Here we have the Father (God who they worshiped), the Son (the angel of the Lord) and the Holy Spirit, the one who would "Comfort Moses, all there together on Holy Ground!

Note that the Lord appeared unto Moses as "a flame of fire". Compare that to how the Holy Spirit appeared to the Jews at Pentecost: The Holy Ghost appeared to them in a cloven tongue as of fire. Just as the flames billowed from the burning bush, the Holy Ghost appeared as "a rushing mighty wind". Moses life was changed at that moment. He had the Holy Ghost with him. Christians changed at Pentecost, they were filled with the Holy Spirit!

Exodus 33:18 "And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen."

This incident occurred later between Moses and God. The Son had appeared in the burning bush and Moses looked upon him. Jesus is the face of God. He appeared to men many ways until he was incarnated, then he appeared as a man. After he ascended, Jesus is still with us. It's the same as it was for Moses. The Holy Spirit is the representative of Jesus who lives within those who know him!

Moses was in the presence of the Father, on whom he could not gaze. God is real. He IS and Moses was in the presence of who we call "The Father". It was He from whom emanates both the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him."

Two things stand out here. Moses is a type of Jesus. Where Jesus did without food or drink forty days to stand strong against Satan, Moses was with the Lord forty days without nourishment. Jesus did this after he was filled with the Holy Ghost. It's my contention that Moses had the Spirit "on him" as Jesus had at his baptism, but the Spirit was not yet "in him".

On Mt. Sinai The Word gave Moses The Ten Commandments!  It was in God's language and Moses understood. It was the Holy Ghost which came upon him at the burning bush. Now he could understand the message The Word gave to him in the "original tongue". Yes, Moses had the Holy Ghost and he could, in my opinion, understand the language of angels, the same language Paul understood!

In Acts Chapter 2 we see that after the coming of the Holy Ghost the people changed! True they too spoke and understood the same language Moses could, and they spoke in God's language. Just like Moses got the Holy Ghost to convince the Jews to be assured of their salvation by escaping the bondage of Egypt, Christians at Pentecost spoke and understood God's language to be assured that God lives within them; the Holy Spirit! How else would they know?

There were 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Prophecy ceased. There was no overt communion between God and man!

Malachi 4:5 (ESV) “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

Malachi was the last prophet. The OT ends with a promise of the coming of the Lord who will be announced by John the Baptist, Elijah being the prototype of John. The Holy Ghost had stopped his work. He had been with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the prophets. He took himself out of communion with mankind because the time was not yet ready. Then we see the Holy Ghost coming again with John the Baptist (An Elijah type) and certainly on Jesus Christ! The Holy Ghost brought forth both John and Jesus. He was with Jesus until Jesus ascended, then he returned when Jesus stayed in heaven!

The Holy Ghost came to comfort Christians in the absence of Jesus. How were they to know? They needed to hear the language of God from the Holy Ghost just as Moses heard! The Holy Ghost had 400 years of rest. Now he was back! He came as a rushing wind and as a flaming fire, just as he appeared to Moses. Moses's change was a radiance about his face. The Christians at Pentecost radiated with understanding other languages. They heard and spoke the original language! But more importantly, the Christian Jews showed love. That's what Jesus is all about!

Did the miracle of tongues remain until the present time? Only God knows. Tongues served their purpose. It was to demonstrate the presence of God to Christians just as to Moses. Moses spread the word. The Holy Ghost was with him when he confronted Pharaoh and his own Jewish people. The Holy Ghost quit speaking for a spell; 400 years. With the return of the Holy Spirit, Christians spread the word! Did he quit speaking after the apostolic age. Pentecostals say "not", I say "yes"; except for those who need signs to believe what Jesus said, just as the Jews needed miracles!

Miracles Are Convincing: Reason Is Best

"Miracles" are welcome, stunning, inexplicable acts beyond science credited to God to convince those in doubt that God is real. Yes, there is a reason God does miracles. It's to convince those with the hardest hearts; those who doubt the most, that God is the divine authority and that he is real!

In Acts Chapter 3 is the second miracle written of after the ascension of Jesus and the advent of the Holy Ghost; the first being the reception of the Holy Ghost himself!

There is one thing the reader must remember, especially the Jews! There is One True God! The Jews worshiped him and him alone. They are monotheistic, but not by nature. Jews, throughout their history were syncretic, worshiping other gods besides God. Through the miracles of God, Jews were finally convinced that indeed there is One True God and other gods were not to be worshiped. It took God hundreds of years to make believers out of the Hebrew people. It took the destruction of their country, temple and the dispersion of their people to make believers out of a hard-hearted people! It always took miracles coupled with punishment (after Jews forgot the miracles) to make a dedicated people!

Before we continue, let me add that Jews still have faith in Christ. Are you surprised? Here are the Thirteen Points of Judaism:

1. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.
2. The belief in G-d's absolute and unparalleled unity.
3. The belief in G-d's non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.
4. The belief in G-d's eternity.
5. The imperative to worship G-d exclusively and no foreign false gods.
6. The belief that G-d communicates with man through prophecy.
7. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.
8. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.
9. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.
10. The belief in G-d's omniscience and providence.
11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.
12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era. (My underline)
13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.

"Wow", you say! "They believe the same as Christians!" My contention is that Moses and the prophets were Christians, having conversed with Emmanuel himself, The Word, being the preincarnate Jesus Christ! However, because the Jews failed to put their belief in practice, they missed the opportunity for salvation until Jesus comes into their lives. Messianic Jews are Christians. After the rapture theologians believe that 144,000 Jews will be converted to Christianity. However, it will take the miracle of the rapture and the fulfilling of prophecy to finally convince them that Jesus is God!

(Note: Let me add that Christians don't believe in the Torah, which includes not only The Law (The Penteteuch), but commentary also. It's the commentary which got the Jews into trouble with Christ! Their rabinnical commentary made The Law impossible to live and interfered with grace which was always there if they had only recognized it.)

It takes miracles to convince Jews. Paul said that!

1 Corinthians 1:22 "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom..."

In effect Greeks and Jews are skeptics. Greeks need a scientific or rational explanation in order to believe, and Jews need a divine intervention, a miracle!  In Acts Chapter 2, the miracle was the infusion of the Holy Ghost into Jewish Christians. In Chapter 3 it was the healing of the lame man:

Acts 3:6 "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk (to the lame man). 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God..."

Acts 3:12a And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? 13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. 14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. 16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. "

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."

The Acts of the Apostles were used to convince. The optimal plan was that God's blessed people would believe and be saved.  The first Acts were done to convince the Jews.

Acts 28:28 "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

In general Jews refused to listen to the gospel nor believe the miracles performed, mostly for them to convert (Acts 3:19). I assure you that if I saw the lame walk I would become a believer in Jesus Christ! The Hebrew people just failed to understand what was happening. Just as they colluded to kill Jesus out of ignorance (Acts 3:17) out of ignorance they still refused Jesus as Messiah!

If one remembers Pavlov's experiment with the salivating dog, the dog had become imprinted that  a bell ringing brings food. With the ringing of the bell, they were accustomed to receiving food. Even when food failed be presented, the bell would still make them salivate. God rang their (Jewish) bells for hundreds of years. In anticipation they would spiritually salivate, but after awhile Jesus was not forthcoming. They quit salivating! Their experience was reverse Pavlovian because even when the "Meat" was presented they still failed to salivate!

Jews were finally imprinted after God "ringing the bell" for years: They finally turned from "other gods besides God" and worshiped the One True God. Now look at what was presented to them: Jesus Christ! "But", they say, "We worship the One True God". The concept of the Holy Trinity was hard for them to understand just as it is for many Christians today! Absolutely, the belief in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost is basic for Christians!

In ancient days Jews finally accepted the One True God, but out of ignorance (reverse Pavlovian imprinting) they rejected Jesus. Now, they are confronted by the reality of the Holy Ghost, and many had even more trouble believing in whom they could not see! After the ascension of Jesus it was the Holy Ghost's function to draw unbelievers to Christ (comfort). How could the Jews believe in the Holy Ghost when they failed to even believe in Jesus. It was by miracles that God used the apostles to convert! In other words, the miracles or Acts of the Apostles were intended to convince the Jews to convert their ingrained unbelief!

Of course, as a generalization, the Jews still did not believe and the gospel was turned to the gentiles. (Acts 28:28). The gospel was always for all mankind, but God offered it first to his chosen people; the seed of Abraham, which the Jews were! However, they conveniently forgot that many of the gentiles were also of Abraham's seed. God followed through on his promise to provide a savior through the seed of Abraham and all mankind!

Out of ingrained ignorance Jews failed to accept Jesus (yet), and failed to accept the Holy Ghost, even with miracles. By their ignorance they failed to understand that Jesus IS God, the Holy Ghost IS God and that the Father still IS God. They failed to understand that the One True God sacrificed himself on the Cross for them and they failed to listen and believe! Now with the Holy Ghost they continue in their unbelief.

Look around you. Many Christians accept God, they even accept Jesus, but are reluctant to accept Jesus' stand-in; the Holy Ghost. Many even ridicule his existence. Sure, in doctrine they believe, but in practice they don't! We Christians sometimes are very Jewish. We fail to listen what God announces so loudly.

Remember, the gentiles (Greeks) require logic and reason to believe in God. Rather than using miracles, Paul used logic and reasoned with the gentiles to believe:

Acts 17:1 "Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,  4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. 5a But the Jews which believed not..."

Not only did miracles fail to persuade the Jews, but so did reason, Using their own scriptures, they failed to listen to Paul's reasoning! Miracles failed them and so did logic!

There is no longer much need for miracles because it's logic which is used to convert. Speaking in tongues was for the Jews. Tongues are a miraculous event to turn the Jews. Before the apostolic age was over emphasis ceased to be placed on miracles and turned toward reason. Paul reasoned with the Jews. It worked with any gentiles. Even some Jews listened to reason after miracles failed.

Scripture never refutes the continuous of "speaking in tongues". It does point toward the purpose of those strange utterances. It was to convince those who doubted Jesus and the Holy Ghost. The early church, consisting of Jews, needed that! It's still possible that some may still need that, but the speaking in tongues was never intended for the gentile people. They needed reason, not emotion. Most Christians are still gentile. It's the life if Jesus which is proof enough for most of us! We believe that the Holy Ghost dwells in us because Jesus said he was coming. We're convinced! For some who fail with reason, it may be that they still need miracles.

The Little Engine That Could: The Spick and Span Man Who Can

In a certain nation there stood an extremely large deficit that had to be drawn up an 
unusually heavy grade before it could reach solvency. The People of  the nation were 
not sure what was best for them to do, so they found a popular smooth-talking figure and asked:
 "Can you pull that debt we have over the mountain until we're free of the burden?"


"It is a very heavy deficit," responded the candidate, but he made it worse!

They then went to another lying candidate and 
asked:
 "Can you pull that burdensome debt over the hill?"


"It is a very heavy load to pull," she replied, "but I can do anything". They didn't believe her because she is known to lie.

The People were much puzzled, but they turned to still another candidate who was spick
 and span new, and they asked him:
 "Doctor, can you pull that deficit up the slope of the mountain?"


"I think I can," responded the good doctor.


So the polls were circulated, and the candidate
 started at the back of the pack, but slowly moved up so that he had confidence that he might be coupled
 to the people, and as he went along the route he kept repeating to himself: "I think I can. I think
 I can. I think I can."


The polls were made and the candidate began
 his journey, and all along the level, as he rolled 
toward the ascent, he kept repeating to himself:
 "I ---think ---I can. I ---think ---I--- can. I ---think--- I ---can."


But nefarious forces put slime on the slope and stones along the way. Those who sought to derail his campaign and his reputation said: "We'll see that he doesn't ---- we'll see that he doesn't --- we'll see that he doesn't."

Then the doctor reached the front of the pack, and his voice could still be heard: "I think I can. I----- think-----I-----can. 
I -----think----- I----- can." 
Higher and higher he climbed in the polls, and his voice
grew bolder and bolder as his words came to his own defense: 
"I -------think --------I-------can."


He was almost to the top.


“I ---------think"


He was at the top.


"I ---------can."


He passed over the top of all the rest and began 
speeding down the rest of the campaign.


'I ------think------- I------ can------I----- thought------I-------could I----- thought----- I----- could. I thought I could. I thought I could.
 I thought I could."


And singing in triumph because the smashers failed to smash him, he rushed on down 
toward the election where the good doctor finished his surgery. He cut the cancer right out of the media. He washed their slime from the slope. He succeeded in spite of their stone-throwing.

This man so spick and span CAN!

The Evidence of the New Creation

Acts 2:44 "And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."

Acts Chapter 2 is the source of two different Christian perspectives. All genuine bible-believing Christians acknowledge the Holy Ghost, even those who fail to understand the trinitarian concept! Of course those "Christians" who fail to believe that scripture is God's word, and those whose theology is in vogue with the world, would have no way of knowing nor understanding the Holy Ghost!

The two Christian perspectives are "holiness" churches and traditional. Let me first explain the "holiness" movement. That term includes pentecostal beliefs, traditionally those who practice "speaking in tongues", but the holiness movement is much more than that!

John Wesley is the progenitor of modern holiness. He recognized that, although he was a believer, he was missing something; even after being a propagator of the gospel in the mid-eighteenth century in Georgia. As such Wesley  recognized the scriptural teaching of "entire sanctification".  Basically, that's the belief that what happened to believers at Pentecost, still happens today. Wesley believed that Christians indeed had the Holy Ghost at salvation, but with a second "miracle", called a "second act of grace" that Christians are filled with the Holy Ghost and as such are "sanctified" or set apart for God as a righteous person.

Sanctification was an instantaneous work of the Holy Ghost and is the "new creation", one of righteousness. It's the belief that sin is a choice and that Christians don't have to sin. They will never be perfect, but are called to live their lives as close as possible as to how Jesus lived. We are to seek "entire sanctification".  Holiness is not accompanied by speaking in tongues by most holiness people, that miracle being a sign for the times.

Ephesians 5:26 "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word..."
1 Thessalonians 5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In a nutshell most evangelical Christians believe in "sanctification".  The issue is the "when".  Some claim it's at the time of salvation, others at baptism and even others a second act of grace subsequent to salvation and baptism. Those in the holiness movement rightfully claim a "second wakening" as exemplified in Acts Chapter 2 . Those gathered there were already Christians and were in one accord. Then they received an added "thing". They were filled with the Holy Ghost.

Those most opposed to the holiness movement are those of reformed theology; Calvinists. Most churches who identify as "baptist" have remnants of Calvinism. The most prominent being sola gratia, by grace alone. It's this concept which minimizes our own actions. Obedience is taught as desirable, but a mere means of showing gratitude and love. Holiness adherents believe that righteousness in a Christian is a reflection of the Holy Ghost residing within.

For a moment, let's ignore holiness and reformed theology and look at what happened after the coming of the Holy Ghost. (Refer to the scripture at the top of the page).

There was unity (verse 44), they had charity and love (verse 45), there was no dissension among them (verse 46), they communed together in love and peace (verse 46), they were joyful and with a single-purpose (verse 46), they praised God (verse 47) and were a witness to those around them! (verse 47). And guess what? They grew. They multiplied! Old persons died off and they were amply replaced with a new creation! God said "be fruitful, and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) and with his double entendre, he meant more than having babies. He meant growing Christianity!

With the advent  of the Holy Ghost, things changed. The change witnessed with the previous scripture is sanctification. Of course there was peace among them (in one accord) to prepare a time for the Holy Ghost, but with the Holy Ghost, things became rosy for spirit-filled people. Acts 2:44-47 describes the rosiness of the spirit, or sanctification of the Holy Ghost. There were spiritual gifts:

Hebrews 2:4 "God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?"

It's a shame! Among Christians we all want salvation. With that said, this act is basically the preservation of our own "idol" for eternity. The focus on salvation is to keep the "self" from destruction! That's ironic, but true; we turn to the One True God (Jesus) to keep our little god "the self" alive forever!

Then what makes us Christians if we are "born again" to create new everlasting idols? We become vessels for the Holy Ghost and with that, our idol becomes a temple! The temple, filled with the Holy Ghost, topples the little idol "the self". Yes, idols fall in the presence of God:

 1 Samuel 5:2 "When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 3b ...behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again."

God IS all about grace. He is patient with us! Just as he was patient with those who placed the "ark of God" in the presence of Dagon, Jesus is patent with those who bring our own little idol in his presence! He does that so that he can topple "the self". Dagon was left a stub. He was dismembered. The Holy Ghost emits from Jesus and dismembers that "self" and we become a new creation. That's grace! The Holy Ghost topples our Dagons!

There is a point to all this holiness "madness". Regardless of when we receive the Holy Ghost, all true Christians have him! On the other hand, it's difficult to look at Christians and see any manner of the gifts of the Spirit at all! The most important is missing! Among Christians there appears to be no true Christian love. Yes, people love their friends, unless they are wronged; or even perceived that they have been wronged! Why?

That idol of "the self" is not yet toppled. Regardless of what they got when they were saved, they need another dose! Perhaps those Christians without the love of others are believers, but their belief is to the extent that they save their own god for eternity. Their idol of "self" hasn't been sacrificed yet. Dagon yet stands right there alongside God!

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

The way to sanctification is being of one accord in God. We prepare ourselves to be toppled by being obedient. Those in dissension unite for the purpose of magnifying God. When we present our temple for the single-purpose of magnifying God, the Holy Ghost will clean that temple, topple our idol and fill it with God's own Spirit. With the Spirit of God residing within us, we have sacrificed our living god, our little idol, and are filled with God's goodness!

Then why do Christians still hate, lack charity, are divided, have dissensions, are unforgiving, self-preserving, and frankly, without joy? It's because they haven't sacrificed their "self' yet. Dagon still stands in the presence of God! That's called syncretism! Christians believe in God, but yet haven't abandoned their other god yet! The Jews were continually guilty of that, and so are we!

If you can't love your neighbor, God protect your enemy because Dagon is a dirty god, and he still fills part of that temple within Christians who fornicate with other gods. Yes, Christians without Christian love fornicate with their own god of "the self". That's disgusting in God's eyes! For those without joy, they still live for the self, and their god needs to be toppled! That old creature still has a personality inside that new creature. Let the Holy Ghost drive him out!

Note: Don't think the term "Holy Ghost" is pentecostal. It's in the King James version. We're more refined now. He has been renamed by modern scholars. He's now the Holy Spirit. (Smile!)

Always Was by the Grace of Jesus

Acts 2:20 "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Greek sozo)."

Acts 2:26 "Therefore did my (David quoted) heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption."

Acts 2:32 "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 47b And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (Greek sozo)."

First off, David had an even more profound belief in Jesus than even you or me! David knew that he was "safe"  because he said "my flesh shall rest in hope" and "because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell". David's hope was because he had faith that God "would raise up Christ to sit on his throne". David knew that Jesus would be resurrected, implying David knew that Jesus would die and that he would die for him! David, as with any of the Old Testament prophets, had the "hope of salvation" because he knew that Christ was coming and would die for his sins!

Psalm 51 is David's belief in Christ, remorse, repentance and his hope in salvation by the cleansing from sin.

Psalm 51:12 "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation (Hebrew: yesha'); and uphold me with thy free spirit."

The "free spirit" is grace and "thy salvation" is "safety". David was saved by grace; the same grace of Jesus that we are saved. The words of David in Acts 2 are from Psalms 16:9-10. Luke, when he wrote the Book of Acts, used David's own words to describe his hope in salvation through Christ!

David referred to his "hope"! Hope for what? "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" through the perfection (not suffering corruption) of Jesus Christ.

What is "salvation"? It's deliverance from the soul's torment in hell! Who saves? God "through the  fruit of his loins"! Salvation, even to David, was through Jesus Christ. David had the "hope of salvation" from afar. However, his salvation came sooner than ours. Although Jesus had yet to die, David was saved by his faith in the atoning blood of Jesus!

As David referred to his "hope", Paul did too!  (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Prophets and apostles have the same "hope". There is one way to salvation. That is by the name of Jesus: "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved". That includes David, Luke, Paul, you and me!

David spoke Hebrew. David spoke of the joy of yesha'. To be kept "safe". Safe until when? Until he dies! It's at the moment of death that a believer is "saved from hell". Until then a person who is born-again is made "safe". Because "salvation" does not occur until hell is eminent with death; until then the believer is kept in safety by the blood of Jesus. Just as Job had a hedge of protection around him (Job 1:10) and Satan could not physically harm him (Job 1:12), Christians today have the same "hedge" providing safety which Job had.

The entire Book of Job is about Job's faith. Did he have the faith to avoid trials and temptations from Satan and remain in good faith with God, or would be commit apostasy and deny God?  Because Job was a righteous man, God allowed Satan to test his faith. It is possible that Job could fail. However, God trusted his faith!

Just as Job could have failed his test by not persevering under the temptation and attacks from Satan, we too can fail. (Ephesians 6:18). Those born again, as did David, have the "hope of salvation" and being "saved" (sozo) is made "safe" until the time that we are "saved". The implication is that Christians are "safe" until they're "saved" from eternal death and that occurs at physical death. There is not "somewhere else" to wait. Upon dying it's either heaven or hell. Heaven is the place we're taken when we're saved from hell. When we're alive we're "safe" from eternal flames!

It's important to note from today's verses that there has always been one way to salvation. It's by faith in Jesus. The prophets of old believed in the atoning blood in the coming Jesus, and apostolic Christians believe it was by the blood of the arisen Jesus! Likewise, it's imperative to understand from "the hope" of salvation and being "safed" that we must live  a righteous life. Our obligation is to love Jesus for redeeming us from hell and loving others to demonstrate to Jesus that we love him. If we don't love, we fail the test! It's imperative that Christians befriend everyone!

Job was tested. Would he demonstrate his love for God by remaining faithful. Would he love those who were in league with the devil to tempt him to deny God? We have the same test as Job had. Paul spoke of persevering. We are modern day Job's. Our faith is tested every day. Shall we leave "safety" under the protection of Jesus, or do we relent to Satan? The coming of the Holy Spirit is the same Spirit which Jesus had. The Holy Spirit "comforts" us as we're tested. The Holy Spirit's role is to provide continuous safety so that we will remain safe until ultimately we are saved!

The Holy Ghost Assures Us

Acts 2:16 "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

First off when the New testament refers to prophecy in the Old Testament we must examine and compare. In this case we ask "What was spoken by the prophet Joel?"

 Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call."

There are a few differences between the former passages and the latter. Most obvious are the "end of days", referred to as the "great and notable day of the Lord" and in the latter "the great and terrible day of the Lord". It would appear that in those days after the Holy Spirit comes, miracles of the Spirit will comfort us in "the last days". As such we are now in the last days.

At that time many things will happen: There will be fireworks in the heavens, the sun shall be darkened and there shall be a red moon. These two descriptions refer to what has just occurred: four consecutive lunar eclipses without any partials in between ending with a "blood" moon; the red moon many of us just did witness on September 28, 2015. (For more on tetrads and blood moons see Earth Sky: What is a blood moon? ) In other words, we are now in the last days!

The last days culminates in a notable time: "A great and terrible day of the Lord"!  There are many references of what that day is; from the rapture of Christians to the destruction of the world to the "Great White Throne Judgment". Since scripture makes reference to all three as the last days, I take it as that! The "great day of the Lord", for me, commences with  the return of Jesus Christ to gather his people into the sky with him where the living and the dead who believe(d) in Jesus will ascend into heaven for their reward. That will be a great day!

On the other hand, after the rapture, many catastrophic things will happen beginning with the tribulation period and culminating in the destruction of the world, it's recreation, Jesus' thousand year reign (that's good), and then judgment day where all will be judged!

Many say that Christians won't be at the "Great White Throne Judgement". I say they will! God will say "well done good and faithful servant" to his children and they will be judged "innocent", not for what they have done, but in whom they believed! On the other hand, in that day, for those who never believed and trusted in Jesus, they will be judged guilty. It will be a day of God's wrath. Those who never accepted Jesus will be sentenced. Can you imagine the agony that day when lost sinners are sentenced to eternal torment?  Therefore the "day of the Lord" culminates on Judgment Day.

However, until that day, us Christians have hope. We are comforted by the Holy Spirit! Let's review who the Holy Spirit is. He's God's invisible presence here with us. He's the Spirit of Jesus. He is still Emmanuel, God with us! You see, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one and cannot be separated! We don't think of three different "people", but God manifested in three different ways, all appearing to us differently, but in essence, the same! (See my Daily Thought on the Trinity It's in the Math, for a more comprehensive explanation of just who God is.) Think in terms of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus with us still. He ascended in body (Acts Chapter 1), then descended in Spirit (Acts Chapter 2).

Now I did argue that "speaking in tongues" ceased (Cessationist) as the apostolic age ended with the church established: Summary of Speaking in Tongues. However, the Holy Ghost will continue to work all the way until the end of time as we know it. Evidence of it will be prophesies, dreams and visions. It would appear that those three gifts are the continual evidence of the presence of the Holy Ghost in Christians!

Most of us think of prophecy as predicting future events. All prophecy has already been fulfilled. The Revelation of John tells us all things, not only until the end of time, but thereafter as well. No more can be said! What then can those inspired by God "prophecy"?

Ezekiel 33:1 "Again the word of the Lord came unto me..."

Prophecy is when God "speaks" to us. It was at one time audible,  but now the Holy Ghost makes God's word occur in our minds! It "occurred' to John Hagee that the darkened sun and the blood moon refers to the tetrads which just happened. He then published and taught what God revealed to him. If his revelation is true, then things will start to happen as described in Joel and Acts and elsewhere. Hagee believes September 28, 2015 was a turning point for spiritual things which were prophesied ages ago to start happening... and they are (Look at what's happening in the Middle East and the increasing acceptance of sin even in the United States!)

God speaks to some in dreams. For others, they have visions. I seldom dream anymore. I may have never dreamed of future events, but again, I  may have and not realized it! However, like Hagee, I prophesy because as I study God's word, God reveals to me what he is saying to the world. I also have visions. When scripture refers to the locusts coming from the earth, I see in my mind's eye helicopters which are swarming over Armageddon. It's an actual vision I can see, not just abstract thoughts! Likewise, I can see the atomic bonds melting the earth. Maybe the same vision which John had! If the Holy Ghost was not in me, I would not "see" these things! I would be blinded by Satan!

Now to be honest, I don't "feel" as if I have the Holy Spirit all the time! Sometimes I don't even "feel" that I have him at all! That's Satan making me feel unrighteous, although I am redeemed by Jesus. By making me "feel" bad about my righteousness, Satan undermines God and puts doubt in my mind (and the same for you). Having the Holy Spirit is not about feelings. It's about "work", one in particular: loving! Yes, that's an obligation, not a feeling. So that I know that Jesus is with me, I see those visions and prophesy what I read in scripture; not new prophecies, but the understanding and transmission of what has already been planned by God ages ago!

That's how we know that we have the Holy Ghost! No,we'e not alone! Oh, by the way, Joel spoke of salvation too! He even knew where it was to be! It is on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. Not only does Zion refer to that city, but traditionally it has been The Temple Mount; where Christ paid it all on the cross!

The Little Red Hen: The Little American Capitalist

Once upon a time, there was a little America Capitalist ("Amcap" for short)  who worked in a factory. She was friends with a lazy druggie , a sleepy hippie , and a noisy red socialist .

One day the little Amcap  found some cash on the ground. The little Amcap  had an idea. She would grow the cash .

The little Amcap asked her friends, "Who will help me grow this money?"

"Not I," barked the lazy druggie.
"Not I," purred the sleepy hippie .
"Not I," quacked the noisy red socialist .

"Then I will," said the little Amcap . So the little Amcap  grew the cash all by herself.

When the cash had grown, the little Amcap asked her friends, "Who will help me build a business?"
"Not I," barked the lazy druggie .
"Not I," purred the sleepy hippie .
"Not I," quacked the noisy red socialist .

"Then I will," said the little Amcap. So the little Amcap built the business all by herself.

When the business was successful, the little Amcap asked her friends, "Who will help me expand the business to provide jobs?"
"Not I," barked the lazy druggie .
"Not I," purred the sleepy hippie .
"Not I," quacked the noisy red socialist .

"Then I will," said the little Amcap. So the little Amcap expanded the business, grew a profit and returned an investment to herself.

The tired little Amcap asked her friends, "Who will help me build a beautiful home ?"
"Not I," barked the lazy druggie .
"Not I," purred the sleepy hippie .
"Not I," quacked the noisy red socialist .

"Then I will," said the little Amcap  . So the little Amcap built her beautiful new home all by herself.

When the beautiful home was finished, the tired little Amcap  asked her friends, "Who will share my wealth, live in my home and eat my food?"
"I will," barked the lazy druggie .
"I will," purred the sleepy hippie .
"I will," quacked the noisy red socialist.

"No!" said the little Amcap. "I will." And the little Amcap enjoyed her wealth, lived in her home and ate her good food all by herself.

However, Amcap loved God. She gave to the blind mother, the crippled vet and to the grandmother with cancer. She gave to the Salvation  army and many good causes.

But the lazy druggie, the sleepy hippie and the noisy red socialist marched on her home and factories croaking "Where is mine you greedy one-percenter?"

The little Amcap said "You had your chance to share in the wealth by motivation and hard work. You didn't lift a hand until the money grew. Now you want what I worked hard for!

The lazy druggie only barked. The sleepy hippie now roared, and the noisy red socialist quacked quite noisily. They all in their own manner screamed hatefully "I'll show you. I'll just vote Democrat! We'll redistribute what you worked for, you selfish Amcap!"