TONGUES THE

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TONGUES THE QUESTION

by

Herbert W. Armstrong

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This booklet is not to be sold. It is a free educational service in the public int erest , published by the Worldwide Church of God.

Printed in U.S .A .

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Is "speaking in tongues

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the Bible evi- dence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit?

Just what IS the baptism with the Holy Spirit? What about "tarry meetings"? Are there people "speaking in tongues" to- day? Here is the PLAIN TRUTH about this

burning question plainly stated.

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I

s "SPEAKI NG in tongues" the BIBLEevidenceof the bapti sm with the HolySpirit?

Is this "baptism" for us today? What is the biblical teaching about "TARRYMEETING S"?

The Most Important Business of This Life

The most important business of this life is the receiving of the true baptism with the HolySpirit.

Buthowfew, today, understa nd what that bapti smreally is!

Youreternalsalvation dependsonit! Let us come very humbly, prayerfully,to a study of thisall-importantsubject.

It is one fraught with prejudices on both sides. Let us remember that the Holy Spirit is, first of all, the Spirit of LOVE-of PATIENCE-of TOLERANCE. SO let us, if possible, come to this study, each admitting that he may have been wrong, and very humbly,prayer fully,seeking instruction from GOD out of His Word. And let us see thisstudy through to the end.

Salvation means, simply, the indwelling presenceof the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very LIFEof God. Jesus said:

"Thatwhich is born of thefleshis FLESH .. .Ye must be BORN AGAIN"-bornof God's Spirit!

"But yeare not in the flesh,butin the Spirit,IFso be that the Spiritof God dwell INYOU.Now if anyman have nottheSpirit of Christ, HEIS NONEOF HIS...But IFtheSpirit of him that raisedup Jesus from the deadDWELLIN YOU, he that raisedup Christ fromthe dead sha llALSOquick en your mortalbodiesBY HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLETH INYOU" (Rom.8:9, 11).

Unless,then, we have received the HolySpirit, God's Spirit, God's LIFE, to dwell within us, we are LOST-utt erly withou t hope of eternal life! Surely, then, the receiving of the Holy Spirit is the most important business of this life! But what is the difference between "receiving" and being "baptized by" the HolySpirit'?

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2 The "TONGUES" Questi on

Is PENTECOST Repeated in This Day?

Let us, then, look prayerfully and without prejudice into God's Word.

Are the accom pa nying MANIFESTATIO NS that took place on the day of Pentecost-immediately following Jesus' ascension to heaven-for us toda y ? Many people assu me that they are- and that the method of receiving this experience or

"b lessing" is to attend modern "tarry meetings." And that the only"Bible evidence" of the "baptism of the Holy Spiri t"

is "speaking in tongues." On this assumption many would stake their lives!

So let usEXAMINE the original manifestations of that day, as described in the Bible,and SEEwhether they are being repeated today. Perhaps a real surprise awaits us. Let us not ASSUM E- let us PROVEALL THINGS as God's Word instructs.

The onlyrecord of that tremendous occasion is preserved in Acts 2: 1-13. Let us carefully examine every incid ent that occurred that day.

1) "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with oneaccord in one place." Are the "Pentecostal"

people of today who believe in "speaking in tongues" in harmo- ny and "one accord"? No, they are split up into many frag- ments and segments, over dispu tes among themselves.

2) "And SUDD ENLYthe recame a SOUNDfrom heaven as of a rushing mighty wind." Not ice that on THAT day there was a SOUND. Not a sound made by the people, but th is sound came FROM HEAVE N.It sounded like a violent windstorm. Have you ever seen THIS part ofthe manifestations repeated today? Then notice, too, that this sound-the Spirit which caused them to speak with tongues-cameSUDDEN LY.Bu t today we see these peoplesta rt to"work it up"GRADUAL LY.Sometimes they twist, and jerk, and chatter and mutter, repeating certain phrases over and over, until they work themselves into it. But on THAT day, the Spirit that filled those disciples came FROM HEAVEN, and SUDD ENLY!

3) "And it [the sound]filled all the housewhere they were sitting." Do sounds coming, not from people's throats,bu t from heaven , fill THE WHOLE HOUS Ewhere people are assembled today?

4) "And thereappearedunto them CLOVE N TONGUESlike as of fire, and it SAT UPON EACH OF THEM ." Divided, flaming tongues APPEAR ED-they sa w them! They came and sat upon

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The "TONGUES" Question 3

each of the disciples! Has any man living witnessed such a manifestation in this day?

5,) "And they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit." Surely no one has ever heard of a modern "Pentecost" meeting where ALL were filled,all at once, at the same time,SUDD ENLY ,when the Spirit came with a great SOUND from heaven!

6) "And began to speak with other tongues,as theSpirit gave them utterance." Ah! Here, at last , some will be sur e to say,is a manifestation repeated today! But wait!On this original day of Pentecost, ALLbegan SUDDEN LY to speak in these OTHER languages. Now what kind of tongue-speaking was this ? Was it UNKN OWN tongues ? Was it the kind that needed an interpreter? Was it like we see demonstrated today? Let us examine and see!

Verse 5 tells usthere were dwelling in Jerusalemat thattime devout Jews out of every nation on earth.Word of thismomen- tous experience went like wildfire over the city.A multitude of these Jews camerushing to the place. Theywere amazed. They marveled. Why? Because that:

7) "EVER Y MAN HEARD THEM SPEA K IN HIS OWN LAN- GUAGE"! TheseJews,from all nations, UNDERSTOOD what was said! Some were Parthians.SomeMedes, Ela rnites, dweller sin Mesopotamia , Rome, Arabia , etc. And they said, "And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we wer e born

r:

Now notice carefully. Ever y man heard THEM(Acts 2:6) speak in HIS own language!These disciples were all speakingin tongues-oTH ER languages-the languages of EVE RYNATI ON under heaven. And EVE RY MANwho came rushing in heard THEM-thedisciples-speak in HIS OWN LANGU AGE! The Par- thian heard THEM, ALL of them, spea k the Parthian lan gu ag e.

But the Mede heard theSAME disciples spea k the lan gu a ge of the Medes. Those from Greece heard the ent ire number of THEM-spe aking Greek.THEY UNDERSTOO D what was said !

The giftof"tongues"spoken of in the Bible is theability to spea k of God in other languages-languages that are for eign and previously unknown to the speaker.

A Differ e nt Kind of Tongues!

Have you ever witnessed an experience like this? Have you ever heardTHIS kind of "to ngue-spea king"? Ca nyouevenfind a description,inall the Bible,where this same kind of mani fes- tation occurred at anyother time?

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4 The "TONGUES" Quest ion

True, they spoke wit h other tongues when the Holy Spirit first cam e upon the Genti les at the hou se of Cornelius (Acts 10). And in telling the apos t les of it, Peter sa id, "The Hol y Spir it fell on them, as on us at the beginning,"and, "God gave them the likegift as He did unto us" (Acts II:IS, 17 ).

But it is not recorded, nor did Peter say.thatthe HolySpirit at that time cameSUDD ENLYfrom HEAVEN, liketheSOUNDofa windsto rm, appea ri ng asdivided ton gues offire,or thatmen of different langu ages eac h understood all of them in HIS own languag e. Aside from being filled with the Spirit and speaking in tongues,the nature of whic his nothere described,thereisno sim ilarity between these twoexperiences.

It istrue,too,that inoneot her reco rde d case, andoneONLY, men spoke with tonguesupon beingfilled with the HolySpiri t.

That was when Paul had baptized the Ephesian believers and laid his hands on them (Acts 19:6) . But there is nothing to ind ica te similar accompanyingmanifest ationsas upon the original da yof Pentecost.

Sowhat must we concl ude? The Pentecost al acco m pa ny ing manifest ati on s are not being repeat ed tod a y?

But ifnot, WHYnot ?

Are theynot ava ilable for us today? No, theysurely are not!

We have no word of condemnation for these "Pentecost al "

people, as they call themselves, because they are unabl e to repeat the sameacco m pa ny ing manifestation sasdescribedfor the da y of Pentecost in 31 A.D. That will NEVER be repeat ed aga in!It never occurred before,and it never will again !

Uniq ue in Histor y

It was an EXPERIENCEunique in all hist or y. It was the wel- com in g mani fest ati on of the adve nt of the Holy Spirit-the

"ot he r Com fo rte r"- to earth FRO M HEA VEN.

During His ministry, Jesus said: "He that believet h on me, as the sc ri pt ure hath said , out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spa ke he of the Spirit,which they that believe on him sho u ld receive:for THEHOLY SPIRIT WAS NOT YET GIVEN; because that Jesu s was not yet glorified) " (Jo h n 7:38,39).

"T he Holy Spirit wasnot yet given." How could men receive theGIFTbefore theGIFT had been GIVEN? TheSPIRIT couldnot come untilJesu shad beenglorified.Speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesu s told His disciples, on the eve of His cru cifixion:"If Igo not away,the Com forter WILL NOTCOME

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The"TONGUES" Ques tion 5

unto you;but if I depart,I willsend him unto you. And WHEN he iscome ..." (Jo hn 16:7, 8).

The HolySpirit had not yet been given! It had not yetcome from heaven!Unless Jesuswent toheaven, and was glorified, it could notcome!

Again,that same memorable night,Jesus said,"He dwelleth WITH you, and shall be INyou" (John 14:17). He was WITH them,in the person of Jesus, but was, after theday of Pente- cost ,to be INthem,through the HolySpirit. And so,today, as the Scriptures say, "Christ INus,the hope of glory."

What happened on the day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Joel 2:28-29) -the advent of the OTHER Comforter, the Holy Spirit to earth FROM HEAVEN, as Peter clearly and plainly explained on that very day (Acts 2:16- 21).

And it was on that day of Pentecost, 31 A.D., eleven days after Jesus had ascended to heaven to be glorified , that the HolySpirit, the "other Comforter," cam e from heaven!

AND THIS ADVENT FRO M HEAVEN WAS ACCOMPAN IED WITH MIGHTY MANI FESTATI ONS! The Spirit of God came with a SOUNDasof mighty rushing wind! It came with the APPEAR- ANCEof divided tongues of fire!And on that occasion,it filled all the 120disciples, and spoke through them insuch manner that every man from every nation onearth HEARD in his own language!The miracle on tha t occas ionwas in the HEARI NG, as

well asthe spea king! /

Let us realize the truth, and not try, in our human fleshly power, to COpy and imitate that one tremendous welcomin g manifestati on! For trulywesha ll produce onlyacount erfeit!

"Praying Down Pentecost"

Today we frequently hear those who do not understand speak of "prayingdown anotherPentecost."They exclaim,"It took Peter and theapostlesten days to pray down Pentecost ,"

and they urge usto"ta rry," and to "seek," and to begand to agonize,and toplead with God to send down ANOTHE R Pente- cost-to send His HolySpirit from heaven aga in!

But theHolySpiritCAMEFROMHEAV EN to earthon the day ofPentecost,31 A.D.and-let usunderstand thiS-H AS BEE N HER EEVER SINCE!

All we havetodo nowisto OPEN UPOUR HEARTS, and tolet the blessed HolySpirit in!Toda y you need not plead and beg and agonize for God to giveyou thisgreate st ofall gifts.God

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6 The "TONGUES" Question

needs no begging! The Holy Spirit is HER E-andGod tells us in His Word He is more WILLING to give us this gift than we are to give bread to our hungry children (Luke 11:13). Today the Spirit of God is HERE-knocking on the door of your heart (Rev. 3:20), and the way to OPEN the door is to REPENT (Rev.

3:19), and it will come in, and abide with you forever!

The Great Mistake

Do you know the great mistake so many earnestpeople have been deceived into making? They are pleading with God to GIVE them something that He is pleading with them to RE- CEIVE!

This is their mistake:

THEYARE TRYINGTOCOPYAND TO DEMONSTRATETHE PEN- TECOST MANIFESTATIONS, INSTEAD OFFOLLOWINGTHE TEACH- INGS GIVEN THAT DAY!

The manifestations of that day were unique in all earth's history. The manifestations of that day were the welcoming manifestations of the advent of the "other Comforter" to this earth from heaven. But the inspired teaching of Peter on that day isthe teaching for this whole church age.

And Peter said, "REPE NT,and BEBAPTIZED! "and then, "ye SHA LL receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts2:38). Baptism in water is a demonstration of your repentance and belief.

"REPENTand BELI EV E"are the two conditions-and the ONLY conditions, to receiving the great blessing of the baptism with the Holy Spirit! Paul went "testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks,REPENTANCEtoward God,and FAITH toward our Lord Jesus Christ." And all who repented, and received Christin faith, being baptized, DID receive the gift of the Spirit!

And so will we, today!

None can receive the preciousSpirit of God without coming to that place of self-abasement, self-mortification, full and unconditionalSURREN DE R, entire willingnessto give up ALL for Christ-to come ALL the way out of the world and its ways, custom s, beliefs-to be willing to keep ALL of God's Com- mandments-to have the faith that will let the Holy Spirit in!

God gives His Holy Spirit ONLY to THEM THAT OBEWHIM!

(Acts5:32.) . . . .

No, we need not pray down another Pentecost!But:we do need to SURR END ER, and that is where we fall down. We still want our own way!

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Thisisnotto saythatnopra yer at all isnecessa ry,in orde r to rece ive the gift of God 's HolySpirit. On the contr ary, MUCH PRA YERisusually necessary.But it must be the RIGHTKINDof prayer- not the persi stent, na gging, plead ing of a self-w illed child tohavehis ownway, but the earn est prayer ofa broke n and contr ite and repentant heart, that confesses its own utter depravity, itsown helplessness, itsown deceit and wickedness, and, like David , plead s with God to "crea te in me a CLEAN heart, 0 God ; and renew a RIGHT spi ri t within me" (Psa lm 51:I 0) , con fessing that ou r heart is not clean, nor our spirit right.

It maytake a greatdeal of pra yer-s-ofearnest su pplica tion and prayer- tobringone to the place whereheCAN surre nde r fu lly to God- to have revealed to him the things he must surre nder, which perhaps,he himselfdoesnotfully realize- to be made thoroughlyWILLINGto give up ALLfor the blessed gift of life eternal thro ugh the HolySpirit of God.

The Devil's COUNT ERFEIT

Much ha sbeen written-thousandsof sermo ns preach ed - on the NEED for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Much abo ut

"tongues," and "ma ni festa t ions," and the "signs followin g."

BUT LITTLEIS EVERSAIDABOUTTHE MANNERORMETHO Dof receiving thisgift!

That is because people have had their eyeson the MANI FES- TATIONS,and not on the TEA CHI NGof the da y of Pentecost!

The method , unfortuna tel y, has been taken for granted by thousands- a modern methodthat hasnot beenquest ion ed , or checked or proved accord ing tothe BIBLEteaching .

Is it not a self-evidentfact that ifwe seek ita wrongwa y,we sha ll receive a wrong thing?

Do yousuppose the devil would be content todeceivemen on all other questi on s, and then neglecttodeceive theman y tho u- sands of seekers after the baptism with the Holy Spirit intoa clever, false, spurious MANNER and METHOD of rece ivin g this most preciou sgift of all- a nd therefor e into act ua lly receiving a COUNTERFE IT instead of the genuine ?

God'sWord WARNSusthatSatan isgoing about , tod ay , asa roaring lion,seeking whom he ma ydevour, KNOWI NGHEHAS BUT ASHORT TIME. The church is aslee p (Ma tt. 25:5) but Sat an, the adve rsa ry, is on the job ! Jesu s warn ed us of false doct rinesthat would appea r in theselast days, and tha t would DECEIVEmany.

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"Oh,butSata ncould never deceive ME,"yousay! Why,are

YOUnot seekingafterthe deeper SPIRITUALexperienc es? Per- ha ps spea king in "tongues"? You think YOU could not be deceived-it is only those who are not "spiritua l" tha t are deceived.

Can' t we see thatSat anisa SPIRITUAL being? (Eph. 2:2.)He doesnot come as a red demon with horns and tail ,but as "AN ANGEL OF LIGHT." He appea rsas anANGEL- aSPIRIT,andas bringing LIGHT. Thosedeceived THINKtheyhavereceivedmar - velous new LIGHT.They THINKthey have adva nced and been elevated to a HIG HER SPIR ITUAL PLANE.

And Sata n has man y MINISTERS. And theydo not all come preaching modern ism, or cold spiritless doctrines. They, too, come as SPIRITUAL minist ers, and are "tra nsformed as the minist ersof RIGHTEOUSNESS" (II Cor. II: 14, 15).

It is those searching for "deeper SPIRITUALexperiences"

whom Satan willtempt and try the most, and WHOAREMOST SUSCEPTIB LE tohisdeceptions!Thatis,unless we areconsta ntly ON GUARD, and unless we refuse to followany but the TRUE SCRIPTURAL TEST.

You cannot trust your EXPERIENCES, becau se Sata n,a spirit being, cangive counterfeit spiritua lexperie nces,and bythem

deceive any human being! .

"Beloved, BELIEVE NOT every spirit, but TRYthe spirits whether they are of GOD: becau se man y false prophet s are goneout into the world " (I John 4: I).

What is TRUT H? Jesus said, "T HY WORD is truth!" The BIBLE!So, when the Spirit of Truth iscome,it merelyguidesus into a RIGHTunderstanding of theBIBLE! TheBIBLE, and the BibleALONE, isthe test.

"And when they sha llsay unto you, SEEK unto them that have fam iliar spirits, and unto wiza rds that peep. and that mutter: should not apeople seek untotheirGod ? for theliving to the dead ? To THE LAW AND TO THE TESTIMON Y: if they speaknotaccording to THISword,it isbecau se thereisnolight in them "!(lsa.8:19-20.)

The "Law and the Test imony" are the Old and the New Testa ments- t he Bible. TRY the spirits ! By what standard ? The BIBLE!

Sata n today is misleading, fooling, and cleverl y deceiving thousa nds by giving "impressions," or dream s or "visions,"

until people say,"TheLord told me" this or that , and calltheir impressions "leadings of the Spirit." Remember , Sat an is a

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spirit who can lead, as well as God. We wrestle not against flesh and blood,but against WICKEDSPIRITSin high places,and consequentlyGod warns us that we need to put on the WHOLE ARMOROFGODthat we maywithstandthe WILES OFTHE DEVI L (Eph. 6:I 0-18). And that armo r includes the shield of FAITH, and the sword ofTHE WORD OFGOD. Every spirit is not the HOLYSpirit. Thereare man y fal se, sed ucing, unclean spiri ts .

What About "TARRY Meetings" ?

Are "ta rry meetings" scriptural? Is this the BIBLEmeth - od?

It must be rem embered tha t the re are man ydiffer en t types of"Pentecosta l" peopl e. Andso their wa ysdiffer.

But perhap swith themaj ority ofthesepeople ,themeth od is as follows:The "seeker," as he is called,must atte nd a "ta rr y meeting" along with ot her "seekers" and with those, wher e possible , who alrea d y "have their baptism" as it is expresse d . The seeke rs are told to say suc h phrases as "Glory! Glory!"

over and over. Consta nt ly they are urged to "say it a little fast er. " Variat ions of this phrase are "Ha lleluja h" or "Pra ise you Jesu s!" Consta ntly the"seeker" istold tokeep it up,fast er and faster,not to becom ediscouraged.Some t imesthey are told to lift thearms abovetheir head s, and hold them there. When theybecome sotiredthey are unable toholdthem longerin the air, others will com e and support theirarms .

In othe r forms of the "tarry meeti ng" a gro up of seeke rs assem ble together, with, whe re possible, some who already have "receive d thei r baptism. " Chi ld re n must be left at home.

Only "seeke rs" are permitted.All pra y aloud at once, begging Godtogivethem the "blessing." For hou rs, ofte nlasting until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, they cont inue to beg, plead, and agonize.

Occasionall y,perh ap s afte r man y of these "ta rry meet ings,"

oneor more of acompan ywill beginto "speak intong ues," and are then acknowledged by all as ha ving received "thei r baptism ." Not hing but "spea king in tongues" will be accepted as the evidence of "thebap ti sm ."

Does the Bible Command the "TARRY Meetings"? Is thismodern "ta rry meeti ng" the true scri ptura l WAY, or heathenism ?

Those who defend the"tarry meet ing" with, perha ps, a grea t deal of heat, will quote thescripture to the effect that Jesus

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COMMANDE DUS to "TARRY UNTIL ye be endued with power from on high."

This command of Jesus to "ta rry" is found in Luke 24:49. Pentecostal people invariably read this text thus:"TarryUNTIL ye be endued with power." Then they construe the word "tarry" to mean the kind of meeting described above.

But that is not what this text sa ys at all!

RIGHTLY quoted, Jesus' command to His disciples was:

"TarryyeIN THE CITY OF JER USAL EM,untilyebe endued with power FROM on high."

Jesus told them to tarry, not in a certain MANNER ,but in a definite PLAcE- in theCITY OFJER USAL EM.Why do Pentecos- tal people always omit the words "YE," expressing TO WHOM this command was addressed, and the words "INTHE CITY OF JER USAL EM, " telling WHERE they were to "ta r ry"? And why did Jesus ask them to remain in the city of Jerusalem?

Because the "other Comforter" had not yet come FROM HEAV EN-from "on high." And Jesus knew that WHEN IT came,it would come first to the cityof Jerusalem.And so Jesus was merely instructing His disciples to wait, or remain, in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost , when, it had been ordained,the HolySpirit was to come from heaven- "from on high"-to earth.

Now "tarry" is an English word, translated over 300 years ago. It isan old English word, formerly in popular usage, now seldom used. Today many mistake its meaning. What does it mean? It does not mean "pray." Itdoes not mean "supplicate."

It doesnot mean beg,or agonize, or repeat words over and over.

Itdoes not mean a prayer meeting.

.The dictionary says "tarry" means "to put off going or coming:linger. To remain in the same place;abide;stay. To await;

to delay; sojourn, stay."

The literal Greek,word for word,from the Interlinear Greek text is: "But REMAINYE IN THECITY OF JERUSAL EM, till ye be clothed with power from on high." How can we conceive the idea of these modern "tarry meetings" from the scriptural command:"REMAI NYEIN THECITY OF JER USAL EM"?

But, protests the "tarry meeting " defender, it says in Acts I:13, 14, that the disciples "went up into an upper room," and

"these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplica-

tion." The assumption is that the disciples met at a certain

house for this purpose-that theywere holding a "tarry meeting"-that they begged and pleaded with God until He finally

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sent them the"blessing" from on high -andthatweshould do the same thing.Often the statement is made that "it took the disciplesten da ys to praydown Pentecost!"

The MEANING of "Pe ntec ost"

Onedifficulty is that fewknow the mean ing of the type s of Leviticus 23. There we find instruction regarding the seven annual festival s,occurring at the three different times of the year.

Thefirstis the Passover,on the 14thof Abib,the first month of thesacredyear. On this day a lambwas alwaysslain.Andso thecru cifixionoccurredon this very day. Itwa supon the 14t h of Abib, 31 A.D. that Christ ,the Lamb of God , our Pa ssover , was sla in for us!

The second of these set feast s is the Festi val of Unleav ened Bread, seven daysbeginningon the 15th ofAbib.Thispictures obedience to God-commandment keeping-putting sin com- pletelyout ofour lives. The firs tand sevent hoftheseda ys are Holy Da ys- annualSabbaths ofGOD.

The third festiva l is "the Feast ofFirs t fruits," known as the da y of Pentecost. This always had typ ified the "Firs tfr ui ts" of the New Test ament Church. And, accordingl y, when the

"other Comforter" came from heaven -from "on high "- to bring forth theFIRSTFRUITSof the New Testament Chu rch, this tremendous event, to occur but once in all eternity, was orda ined to take place ON THE VERY DAY OFPENTECOST, 31 A.D.!

Jesu swell knewthe HolySpirit would com e fro m heaven on that very day.SoJesu stold Hisdisciples they sho uld be "ba p- tized with the HolySpirit notman yda yshence" (Acts 1:5) .In the first chapterof Acts we find the same instruction of Jesu s asrecorded in Luke 24:49 ,thistimein wordsmore plainl ytobe understood: "And... commanded them that THE Y SHOULD NOT DEPARTFROMJER USALEM,butWAIT fortheprom ise ofthe Father" (A cts 1:4) .

Sothediscipl esdid not "pray down Pentecost.""Pe ntecos t"

isaDAY,not an experience. And since it wa s orda ined that the Holy Spirit was to come from heaven TOJERUSAL EM, and on that veryday ,do yousu ppose that,if the disciples had prayed and begged just a little hard er , they could have "prayed it down" a day or two soone r? Certa inly not ! Not even an hour sooner !

"But," arg ues the tarry-meet ing advocate,"di dn't the disci-

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pies all meet in an upper room, and continue there in prayer and supplication? "

Most assuredly.But WHY?

Notice the Scriptures! "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, WHER EABOD Eboth Peter,and James, and John, and Andrew,Philip, and Thomas, Bartholo- mew, and Matthew, Jame s the son of Alpha eus, and Simon Zelotes,and Judasthe brother ofJame s.These all continued with oneaccord in prayerand supplication" (Acts I: 13-14), as they naturallywould havedone, atsosolemnatime.

Is there evena hint, in thistext, that theywere BEGGI NG or PLEADI NG with God to give them the promised Comforter ? Rather, we know they were merely WAITI NGthere. as Jesus hadcom manded ,in complete FAITH that God would keep His promise!Is there so much as a HINTin this passage that they were saying words over and over, like the modern "glory, glory, glory"?

Now not ice,WHENthe day ofPentecostwas fully come (and remember Pentecost was a DAY, not an experience) , did they haveto plead and agonize?'No,but rather when thisDA Y had arrived, "SUDDENLY there came asound from heaven as ofa rushing mighty wind," and instantly "t hey were all filledwith the HolySpirit."

Once the "ot her Comforter" had come from heaven,there wasno waiting-theywere all filled ATONCE!

Experience AFTER Pentecost

Now that the HolySpirit had COME to earth,did those who honestly repented, and believed, have to beg and plead and agonize, and "tarry" before they could receivethe full baptism here with the Holy Spirit ?

Thereare just four ot her experiences recorded ,subsequent

tothe day of Pentecost,31 A.D., of receiving the baptism with

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the Spirit. Let us examineeach.Let us see if there were any

TARRY MEETI NGS .

t

The next experience recordedisfound in the 8th chapter of Acts.Philip had gone to Samaria .When they BELI EVED Phil- ip's preaching of the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of JesusChrist, they were bapti zed (verse 12).

Peter and John came to Samaria from Jerusalem (verse 14) and prayed for them, that they might receive the HolySpirit (verse 15). Then they laid their hand s on them AND THEY RECEIVEDTHE HOLY SPIRIT (verse17).There is no evidenceof

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any "tarrymeeting"here. No tongue-speaking mentioned. The people believed, were baptized, the apostles prayed for them, laid their hands on them, and they received the Spirit.

In the 10th chapter of Acts we find the experience at the Gentile house of Cornelius.Peter was preaching to them. They alread y had repented, and merely wanted to beshown thewa y of God. Was there a "ta rry meeting" here? ^0, while"Peter yet spa ke thesewords, the HolySpirit fell on all them which heardthe word" (Acts 10:44).The HolySpirit had come from heaven on the day of Pentecost, 31 A.D.Cornelius and his house did not have to "pray down another Pentecost." Theydid not have to beg or plead or agonize. They had surrendered fully and unconditionally. When Peter came to reveal to them the Truth, and the Way, they did not begin to argue, or try to refute God's Word. They accepted it. And so, their hearts being ready and subdued "while Peter yet spake," they received the baptism with the Holy Spirit!

And so canyou,just as quickly and suddenly, IF, and WHEN, you are as surrendered as they were. There was surely no

"tarry meeting" here. No repeating words over and over. Just real repentance and faith, the only TWO CONDITIONS.

The next experience is found in Acts 19: 1-7. Paul came to Ephesus. He found a dozen disciples there. Paul asked them if theyhad received the Holy Spirit. The literal translation isnot

"since ye believed," but,"Did ye receive the Holy Spirit WHEN ye believed?" Paul well knew God had promised we should receive the Spirit WHENwe have yielded to the conditions.

They knew nothing of the Holy Spirit. What was wrong? Paul immediately determined to find out. Did he ask them how long they had "tarried"? Did he tell them the difficulty was that they had not "tarried" or agonized enough? No.

Paul began at the very LAST condition,water baptism, to find out what was wrong. And there he found it! They had been baptized only with John's baptism. That was baptism into the FIRST condition, repentance. They had not been baptized INTO CHRISTfor the remission of sins. And so Paul at once told them how to be baptized. When they heard this, they did not argue or rebel. They humbly did as directed, and were baptized.

And WHEN they were baptized, and WHEN Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them. WHENthe CONDITI ONS of God's Word were fulfilled, they received God's Spirit! And in this case, they spoke with tongues, and prophe-

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sied. The rewas notarrymeetin ghere. No agoniz ing , or mean- ingless repeati ng of words. Just yieldi ng toGod, and conform- ing to GOD'Scond itio ns.

One ot he rexper ie nce is mentioned-that of Paul. Read it in Acts 9:1-22. Again there is no hint of anything like a modern

"tarr y meeting," just complete surrender, self-a bas eme nt, a willi ng, sub miss ive con forming to the CONDITIONS. The Bible makes nome nti on of spea king in tongues at this time, alt ho ug h lat er Paul told the Cori nt hia ns he spoke in mor e langu ag es than any of them.

And so there is not one example in Holy Scripture of a modern "ta rry meeting" ! Let us have a BIBLEREASONfor all tha t we do!

One time a "Pentecost al " preacher was urgin g someo ne to att e nda seriesof these so-ca lled"ta rry meetings,"wherewords were muttered repeatedly over and ove r, and where the people deliberat ely worked up their emotions, shouted, and went throu gh allthe usu al form ula. Thisper son replied hecouldfind no Bible tea ching or exam ple for suc h a for m u la or kind of meeting ,and he wante d to doever yth ing the BIBLE WAY .

"You 'llnever get 'your baptism ' anyotherway,brother,"he asse rte d.

"Well ," he replied ,"whatever yo u people areget ting inan unscrip tural way contrary to the Bible is not the true Holy Spirit PRO MISED in the Bible, but a counterfeit spir it I don 't want."

Hear the warn ing through Isaiah:"Whenthey shall sayunto you, SEEK unto them that have fa m iliar spirits [counterfeit spiri ts of demon s], and untowizards that peep, and that MUT- TER ...To THELAWANDTO THETESTIMON Y [Old and New Test am ents-the BIBLE]: if they spea k not acco rd ing to this word , it is because there is no light in them"! (Isa . 8:19-20.) Yes, be sure you have a BIBLEreason for allyou do!

What IS the "Bapti sm With theii ol ySpirit "?

Just wha t is this "ba pt ism"? The ve ry crux of the who le ques tion -t he basis of theerro rso manyhave been led into-is a MISUN DERSTAN DINGof what thetr ue"ba pt ism with the Holy Spirit" reall y is!

The whole error comes fro m one erroneo us idea which is gene ra lly ASSuMED- careless ly taken for granted- never so muc has QUESTIONED, let alone bein g PROVED!

It is the gene ra l idea that one is firs t con verted, throu gh

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which hereceivesthe Holy Spirit-actuallyhas the HolySpirit within. And then, AFTERWARD, as an entirely separate and later special act or blessing from God, if he "seeks" it diligently enough, he may receive "the baptism" with the Holy Spirit.

This "baptism" is supposed to be a special enduement with POWER. This power is supposed to be "power to witness for Jesus." Actually it is regarded in practice as a sort of loosening of the tongue.

The teaching is that one always "speaks in tongues"-that is, unknown languages, at the time this "baptism" is received. Often thrills and sensations are felt surging in overpowering waves through the body. From that time all timidityand bash- fulness in "witnessing for Christ" is gone. The tongue is loos- ened. The recipient now testifies in open meeting bodily,loudly, often in a jazzy manner and with a fluency and flippancyof speech never before possible.

Peter, James,John, and the other apostles, they believe,all were CONVERTED, and received the Holy Spirit either when first called by Jesus, or during His ministry and before "Pen- tecost." Then, having already received "the gift of the Holy Spirit," these disciples, so it is believed, had to "tarry," and

"pray down Pentecost," until, finally on Pentecost, they "got their baptism." That's the common belief.

BUT THAT IS NOT THE TRUTH!

And this error causes thousands to SEEK and SEEK and SEEK this supposed ADDITIONAL experience called "the baptism."

Worse,it leads people by hundreds to become discouraged and to decide there is no hope for them, and to give up even trying to live a Christian life!

Was Peter Converted Before "Pentecost"?

Let's not ASSUME this idea. Let's not take it carelessly for granted. Let's look into the Scripture for the TRUTH!

The TRUTH is that neither Peter, James,John, nor any of the disciples of Jesus had ever so much as RECEIVEDthe Holy Spirit at all until that day of Pentecost!

Under the Old Covenant, God had a CHU RC H. Israel was both a nation, called the "Kingdom of Israel," and a CHURC H, called "The Congregation of Israel. " But that church was a FLESH-bornchurch. It was wholly MATERIAL, fleshly, physical.

It was not spiritual. One became a member by FLESH-birth.

Now here is the point so many have never realized. Under the Old Covenant THERE WAS NO SALVATION! The people of

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16 The"TONGUES" Question

thatchurch were NOT CONVERTED. They did nothavetheHoly Spirit! Tha t is, none except the prophets specia lly called of God. David, Elija h, and Jeremi ah had the Holy Spirit. They werecalled for very specia l missions.

But the rank-and-filemembers of the Old Testament Con- gregation NEVER HAD THE HOLY SPIRIT. You can't find any placewherethe Holy Spiritwasprom ised IsraelundertheOLD COVENANT. Or wheresalvation and eterna l life waspromised.

Theiranima lsacrifices did NOTta ke away their sins."For it is not possible that the blood of bulls andof goat s should take awaySINS" (Heb . 10:4).But rather , asexplained in Hebrews, the anima l sacrifices of the Old Covenant were merely a rem ind er ofsins! There was noremission of sins,and therefore no salvation possible, UNTIL the one and only grea t sacrifice was mad e when Jesus Christ was cruc ified.

DuringJesus'ministry HetoldHisdisciples:"It isexpedient for YOUthat Igo away:for if Igonot away,theComforter [Holy Spir it]willnot come unto you; butiff depart ,Iwillsend himunto you" (Joh n 16:7).Notice, it was expedient for THEM.He was talking to Peter and the ot her disciples on thevery eve of His crucifi xion, at the Passover mea l, commonlycalled the "Last Supper." IfPeter and the otherapostlesalrea dy had the Holy Spirit, Jesus would nothavetoldthem,His very lastnight aliveon earthwith thembeforebeingcrucified, itwas needful forthem thatHedepart , gotoheaven, inorde rtosendt he Holy Spirit.And this was onlysome 50 daysbeforePent ecost!

Aga in, Jesus said thatsamenight: "But when the Comfort er is come,whom f will send unto you from the Fa ther [FR OM HEAVEN].. . He sha ll test ify of me" (John 15:26). Again the same night He said:"Ifyeloveme, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.

And I will pray the Father, and he sha ll give you another Comforte r, that he may abide with you for ever ; EVEN THE SPIRITof truth ...for he dwelleth WITH you [in the person of Chris t]' and SHALL be in you" [the Holy Spirit which the Father wouldsend from heaven] (John 14:15-17 ).

Notice itcarefully! It wasn' t thediscipleswho prayeddown the HolySpirit. ItwasJESUSwhoprayed, and the Fat hersent them the Holy Spirit which wastobeIN THEM- a nd the Spirit CAMEon theday of Pentec ost AFTER Jesushad GONEAWAY,to heaven!

Earlier,on the Last Great Day-theday after the Feast of Tabernacl es,"Jes usstood andcried,saying, Ifany man thirst, let him come untome, and drink.Hethat believeth on me, as

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the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.(But this spake he of the SPIRIT, which they that believe on him should [in the future] receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given;because that Jesus was not yet glorified)" (John 7:37-39).

Not Yet Given

Study that! The Holy Spirit was not yet given. Why? Jesu s had not yet GONE AWAY-aScended to heaven-BEE N GLORI- FIED! It was expedient for them that He go away.Otherwisethe Holy Spirit would not have com e! Notice thefuturetense- out of his innermost beingshall flow the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit had never yet come from heaven to enter and dwell WITHIN converted Christians. The Holy Spirit had never been offered to the people during Old Testament times. But the Prophet Joel had prophesied: "It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out MY SPIRIT upon all flesh" (Joel 2:28).

And Jesusgave them the PROMISEHe would send the Holy Spirit from heaven,if and after He went toheaven.And, after His resurrection,on the very day and hourof His ascend ing to heaven, Jesus "commanded them that they shou ld not depart from Jerusalem, BUT WAIT for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me" (Acts 1:4) . Yes, the promises quoted above, that unless He went to heaven they could not have or be filled with the Holy Spirit. The promise that He would pray the Father and the Father would SENDthe Holy Spirit.

And then, on the day of Pentecost, THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME!

Thiswas itsfirst com ing from heaven! And on that day,the newly inspired Peter said, "THIS is that which was spo ken by the prophet Joel," quoting that prophecy. Now, at last, God had sent His Spirit,aspromised , for all flesh-all who would repent,and accept Jesus as Saviour, infaith believing!

Before receiving the Holy Spirit,Peter was weak. He lacked faith to cast out a demon, or walk on the water. He denied Jesus three times.He went fishing instead of attending to God's Work. At the Passover meal Jesus had told him, "WHENthou art converted, st rengthen thybrethren" (Luke 22:32).

Some believe Peter received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on him. "And when he had said this, he breathedon them,and sa it h unto them, Receive ye the HolySpirit" (J oh n

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20:22) . But He merely brea t hed the breat h of air-wind . Tha t's wha t breath is, always, in theScriptures.Afterbreath- ing on them Jesu s did not say, "You have now received the HolySpirit."

IfHisbreathingon the m is whatgavethem the Holy Spirit, they would alrea dy ha ve had the Hol y Spirit in them whe n Jesu s after wa rd s spo ke -but they did not , because He sa id ,

"RECEIVE YE the Holy Spirit." They were yet to receive the Spiri t, as He promised, after He went away-after He was glorified-after He went to hea ven, and the FATHER sent the Spirit fro m hea ven. And it was after this that Jesu stold them to wait in Jerusal em for the Spirit tocome.

The persona lexperiencesof some have led man y to acce pt thiserro neo usassumption thatonefirst receivestheHolySpir- it, and the n, AFTERWARD, as anenti re ly separa te experienc e, receives "the bapt ism of theSpir it." But experie nce is a poor guide, and these dear peopl e are interpreting the WORD OF GOD by their experience. All suc h experiences sho uld be explai ned by the Scripture,and not vice versa !

BIBLE DEFINITION of Spirit "Baptism"

The re is only one text in all the Bible that act ua lly defines th is"baptis m."

It is in I Corint hia ns 12:13:"For by one Spir it are we all BAPTI ZED into one body" -the BODY OF CHRIST, the true Chu rc h of God .

Let us underst an d this. What is the meani ng of the word

"baptize"? It is a Greek word, untran slat ed , in our Eng lish Bibles. Had the tran slator s rendered it into the Engli sh lan- gua ge, it would ha ve read "IMME RSE." For the Greek word baptiso mean s "to imme rse ." To "plunge into." The person baptized is plunged into the thing he is bap t ized in. Whe n bapt ized in water, the candi da te is plunged into,or im me rse d in, water.

Conse que ntly, thebapt ism wit h, or by,the HolySpirit isnot our im me rsion intotheHoly Spiri t, forthe Scri pt ures tellus it is the ent ra nce of the Spir it into us.

And in Rom a ns 8:9, Paul tells'us plainl y that unless the Spirit ofGoddwellsINus,weare none ofChr ist's ! Webecome Chris t's, the n,when theHoly Spiritcomes INTO US! And whe n we are Ch rist's, we are the n in the BODY OF CHRIST, the Ch urc h. The refore,it is therec eivi ng ofthe HolySpirit which plunges us, immer se s or puts us into the Church. And this

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immersioninto the Church BY the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures call "the baptism with, or by, the Holy Spirit."

The term "baptism OF the Holy Spirit" as "Pentecostal"

people say it, is not to be found inthe BIBLE.It is the baptism with, or by, the Holy Spirit, INTO the Church.

And so "BY one Spirit are we all baptized into one body."

Thus. the RECEIVING of the Holy Spirit is the BAPTISM with the Spiritl

"Receiving" the Spirit, and the "Baptism"

One and the Same

Let us carefully study this in the Word of God!

Before the day of Pentecost, 3I A.D.,Jesus said to His disciples, "Ye shall bebaptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence." Therefore we know that what the disciples received the day of Pentecost was the BAPTISM with the Holy Spirit.

Now let us notice the terms used to describe this baptism.

InActs 2:4, we read, "And they were allfilled with the Holy Spirit." And so beingfilled with the Holy Spirit is the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The thousands who came running to hear the apostles, pricked in their hearts, asked what they should do to receive this same baptism with the Holy Spirit. Peter did not say

"tarry," or "agonize," but he said, "Repent. and be baptized,"

and "ye shallreceive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). And so the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And three thousand received it that day! And there is no mention of their speaking in

"tongues," and certainly there was no "tarrying"!

Andnote itl-thiswas theirfirst receiving of the Holy Spir- it! These Jews were not previously converted-had not previously received the Spirit. This was theirconversion.

Ten years later, God, through a vision of the sheet and unclean animals, showed Peter he must go to preach Christ to the Gentile house of CORNELIUS.These people were Gentiles- unconverted.Peter went to preach Christ-to show them the way of salvation.Cornelius was a devout man; he and his house feared God; he gave alms and prayed. But he did not know the way of salvation, and was not converted.

, Peter went to his house and PREACHED CHRIST-His mes- sage, His crucifixion, resurrection; that "whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins." At that very point in his sermon, Cornelius and his house, already repentant and

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devout ,believed- and "while Peter yetspa ke theseword s,the Holy Spir it fell on all them which heard the word " (Ac ts 10 :44 ).

After Peter returned to Jerusalem from the house of Cor- nelius, he was taken severely to task by the other apostles for associa ti ng with Gentiles. In expl aining how God had led him to go, and of what had occ u rred at Ca esa rea, Peter expla ined how an ange l had told Cornelius to send for Peter,

"who sha ll tell thee word s, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved" (Acts 11:14). After hearing Peter's report, the apost les exclaimed, "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentan ce unto life" (verse 18) . This concl usively shows that wha t Corn elius and his househ old experienced was their origina l CONVERSIoN-t heir first receiving of the Holy Spirit- not a subse q uent "ba pt ism" as some specia l enduement of power.

In explainin g just what these Gentiles received, Petersa id:

"T hen remembered I the word of the Lord ,how that he said, John inde ed bapti zed wit h wat er ;but yesha ll bebaptized with the Holy Spirit. Foras muc h then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us.. ." (A cts 11:16-17 ).

Peter plainl ysays that what the Gentiles then received was the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And this baptism is also called, in ver se17,"thelikeGIFT." Andso "thegiftof the Holy Spirit" is the baptism with the HolySpir it.

Inverse 15 Peter said, "The HolySpiritfell onthem ,as on us at the beginning." So the Holy Spirit "FA LLI NGon them"

was the baptism with the Holy Spir it-into the Chu rch!

In the IOthcha pter, verse44,wherethis actua lexperie nce is descr ibed ,welearn tha t "the HolySpiritfellonall them,"and inverse 45 we find that"on the Gentiles also wa spoured out the giftof theHoly Spirit" !And in verse47 they "received the HolySpirit."So thereceivingof the HolySpirit is the baptism with the HolySpirit.

All theseterms are used synony mo uslyand interch angeabl y by the HolySpirit todescribe the same experience.

Sowhat must we conclude ?That which isbornof the flesh is FLESH (John 3:6). When fleshly, sinning, mortal man repents and is baptized as asym bol of his FAITHin Christ,he receives the Holy Spirit-not as a result of "ta rrying," but through FAITH(Ga l. 3:14;John 7:37, 39).And thisreceivingofthegift of the Holy Spirit is the baptism wit h the Spirit INTO the Chu rch!

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He is the n a child of God. He has been begotten-thou gh therealrebirth mus tcomeat thetim e oftheresurrection .He is begotten fro m above -be go tte nof the Spir it. And thus he is baptized BYthe Spirit into thebody of Christ!

This bapt ism is not the end,but only the BEGINNING of his Ch rist ia n experien ce! He is merely a newborn BABEinChr ist ! He must now GROWin gra ce and knowled ge . He must live a life ofovercom ing.And hethat endureth untothe endshall be saved!

Do ALL Speak with TONGUES?

Is"spe aking in tongues" THEBibleevidenceof the"bapt ism with the HolySpirit" ?

Must ALL speak with ton gu es at the time they receive the Spirit, and are brought into the trueChu rch?

Theapostles did not teach it!

The EXPERIENCES recorded in the New Test a ment , subse - quent toPentecost ,donot indicateit. Ofall the expe rie nces of conversio ns recorded in theNew Test a men t, itis recorde d tha t there was ton gu e-spe aking in only two of them! Sha ll we ASSUM Ethereweretongues inall the othe r expe rie nces? Let us be careful abo ut ADDINGto God's Word what is not there.

ThereisNOSTATE MENT INSCRI PTUREthat you must speak with tonguestoprove you havereceivedtheHoly Spirit "bap- tism."

No SCRIPTU RE says, "by their TONGUES ye sha ll know them."

But the Scripture does say, "by thei r FRUITS ye sha ll know them"! (Ma tt. 7:20 .)Thelives welivearethe BIBLE EVIDENCE of whetheror not we have received the HolySpirit !

Jesu s said, "By this sha ll all men KNOW that ye are my disciples,

if

ye haveLOVE one to another " (Jo hn 13:35) .

But are not the "tongues" at least ANevidenceof thebaptism with the Spirit?

Read wha t the apost le Paul says: "T ho ug h Ispeak with the tongues of... ANGELS, and have not chari ty [LOVE], I am becom e as sound ing bra ss" (I Cor. 13:I). There are fallen angels, demons, and without a questi onmanytodayare spea k- ing in the "tongues" of these demons. Wou ld you say the cou nter feit tongues of demons are any evidence at all of the true baptism with the HolySpir it ?

All ad mi t "to ng ues" can be counterfei te d by Satan. If one has been careless about PROVING all things by the Word of

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God,and has unsuspectingly been lured into SEEKINGwhat the Bible nowhere tells us to seek-"tongues" and physical sensations and thrills pleasing to the SENSUALself-thenthat one is caught ofT guard and becomes an open channel through which an evilspirit mayenter and possibl ytake full possessionof the mind.

Yes, Satan can COU NTERFEIT "tongues." And do you sup- pose for one moment that the true BIBLE EVIDENCE could be somet hing that can be cleverly COUNTERFEITED? No, NEVE R!

The "tongues" gibberish as practiced today does not even resemble the gift of languages given on that day of Pentecost in 31 A.D.

But the FRUITS of the Holy Spirit-i-i.ova, JOY, PEACE, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, meekness (most

"tongues" people are not meek, but loud-mouthed and brag- ging), temperance, FAITH- these things in one's life cannot be

counterf eited. They are not natural. No one has sufficient

will-power to FORCEhimselftoshow always these fruits in his life.It requires the miracle of the LOVEof GOD shedabroad in our heartsby the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).Satan has no counterfeit for that!

That is the BIBLE EVIDENCE! "Tongues" are not even "an evidence." This is the PLAINteaching of the Bible.

Are There AnyGENUINE Tongues?

They DID speak with "tongues" at the house of Cornelius, and at Ephesu s,AFTER the dayof Pentecost.

While correcting the Corinthian church, Paul said, "I would that ye ALL spake with tongues" (I Cor. 14:5), and "forbid not to speak with tongues," in the church (verse 39).

We should banish all prejudice"a ga inst the true manifestation of tongues which is the ability to speak in real languages.

Butwe shouldget the"tongues" into the properSCRIPTURAL place of importance.

In the sa me 14th chapter of I Corinthians, above quoted, Paulsa id he would rather spea k justfive wordswith his understanding, that he might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknowntong ue.To those Corinth ians, becom ing fanatical on "tongues," he said,"Brethren, BENOTCHILDREN in understanding"(verse 20).The Holy Spiritis the Spirit of a SOUND MIND (11 Tim. 1:7) .

We should NOT seek tongues. "Pentecosta l" people loudly

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protest they do not do this, but in practice and in fact, they do, and they should not deny it.

One of Satan's Clever Pitfalls

The reason for this caution is found in the Scripture. "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue EDIFIETH HIMSELF" (ICor.

14:4). It is seeking for self-for self-blessings-for self- thrills-and is contrary to fulfilling the law of God which is loveaway from self and toward God and neighbor! And therefore it may easily degenerate into a most deceptive form of SIN.

One of the "fruits" of this "tongues" movement is that many seek nothing but "blessings," as they express it-whichin plain language means sensual FEELINGS and THRILLS that they themselves ENJOY as a PLEASURE. This often includes an unnatural, perverted, Satan-inspired SEX sensation. Deluded people are led to believe this is a spiritual blessing from GOD! It's time people knew the TRUTH!

Jesus said,"That which is born of the flesh is FLESH" (John 3:6).We must be BORN AGAIN-bornof the SPIRIT-toinherit eternal life. Now the flesh has its FEELINGS, its EMOTIONS, its five SENSES.

It is but natural that Satan's counterfeits are of the FLESH- even his counterfeits of spiritual things. So Satan the Devil gives to people FEELINGS, and EMOTIONS, and THRILLs-and induces many zealous seekers after the Holy Spirit to accept these pleasing sensations as "blessings" and "manifestations"

of the Holy Spirit!

The saddest thing is that Satan has beguiled many into continually lusting for SENSUAL FEELINGS,and for THRILLS of the FLESH, deceiving them into believing they are receiving

"blessings" from God!

Oh,WHY will so many honest people be misled, and fall into this satanic snare? God's Word warns us to TRY the spirits, WHETHER they be of God! For many false SPIRITSare gone out into the world!

This is not to say there is no EXPERIENC E,or nothing felt, when God pours forth His blessed Holy Spirit. There is a definite EXPERIENCE to real genuine conversion.But what a tragedy to see so many deceived into receiving the FALSE experience-theFALSE

"blessing"-because they have failed to heed God's warning to TRY the spirits-becausethey fail to have on the WHOLE ARMOR of God, whichisTHE WORD OFGOD!

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God's way is the way ofCRUCIFYING the flesh, the sensual- of denyingthe SELF-ofLOVE toward God and toward fellow- man. Satan's counterfeit is SELF-SEEKING, lusting for fleshly thrills, and feelings, and "blessings" that bring pleasure through the five senses.

And the greater pity is that the veryones most deceived are the ones who RESE NThaving the Scripturesopened to them to CORRECT them,to REPROVE,and to set them right! Ifyou feel resentment of these words, it is thesu rest BIBLEEVIDENCEthat you are under the deceptive power of Satan the Devil, and you should flee the influence he has over you, and drop to your knees at once, and ask God to renew a RIGHTspirit within you .

Somany in this modern "tongues" movement do not seem to understand the real PURPOS Eof receiving the Holy Spirit. They look upon spiritual gifts as ornaments to decorate and embel- lish the PERSON.But the gifts of the Spirit are the TOOLS placed in our hands to DO THEWORK OF GOD.

After Jesus had receivedtheFULLNESS of the Holy Spirit,He said: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, BECA US E he hath anoi nted me topreachthegospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the cap- tives, and recovering of sight to the blind..." (Luke 4:18).

The object and purpose of the Holy Spirit is not to give feelings and thrills that are of the senses of the flesh, and thereforesensual-notto please the SELF-butto enable one to crucifythe SEL F-toendow with power to overcome sin, which is transgressing of God's Commandments (I John 3:4) -to cleanseus of all unrighteousness-to impart to us GOD'Srigh- teousness, so our light may shine and others may see Christ in us-to understandthe Word of God, so we may know how to live by its every word-to give us the FAITH of Jesus, making possible His righteousne ss-to give us POWER to be kind, patient, gentle, and of service to others-to preach the Gos- pel- to heal the sick.

Let Us Receive THIS Power

Jesus did not say,"Yesha ll fall helplessUNDER the power."

He did not say the Holy Spirit would ROB us of power, render us powerless. He said, "YESHALL RECEIVE POWER!"

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of POWER,and of LOVE,and of a SOUND MIND (II Tim. I:7). The Spirit of UNDERSTANDING (Joh n 16:13; I Cor. 2:10). And thatkind of power comesfrom

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just two things:SURRENDE Rand FAITH, along with much ear- nest PRAYER.

Letus YIELDto God,and His Word. Letus seekmore of His Love, more of His FAITH, a bett er UNDERSTANDING, more POWER FOR SERV ICE!Andlet usleave manifestat ionsand feelings to HIM!

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TheBible is

a NOW' Book

p

B

ELIEVE it or not,the Biblewas written for ourday, this age-this generation!The Bib le is the most up-to-date book you can read today.

In the pages of this "Book that nobody knows" are revealed the causes of all of today's ills - t he socialpro b lems,the economic problems,and even the threat of nuclear annih ilation hanging over mankind tod ay .

The Bible shows where world events are leading, and what the finaloutcome will be.

But ironic ally , this "Bo ok of all books" is the least understood of all books!

Why?

Simply because when most people try to read the Bib le , they can't understand it. Consequently, they assume it's out of date and irrele vant in our modern age.

But you can und erst and it . Here's how!

The Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course has been helping thousands to become

"Bi bl ic al literates" through a step-by -step study of

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God'sWord .Thisunique cours e ofBiblical understand- ing hasled studentsin nearlyevery country on earthto

a

greater knowledge and understanding of the Bible. This course has been designed to guide you through a sys t emat ic study of your own Bible-the Bible isthe only textbook.

A different major subject of vital interest in this fantast ic push-button age is thoroughly gone into and made clear wit h each monthly lesson.

This course is absolutely free ! Just writ e to the following address and ask to be enrolled. You'll be glad you did.

AMBASSADOR COLLEGE BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

Pasadena,California 91123

If you live outs ide the United States, please see the mailing addresses at the end of this booklet.

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MAILING ADDRESSES WORLDWIDE

UnitedStates:Worldwide Churc hofGod,PO Box 111,Pasadena,California 91123 UnitedKingdo m,rest01Eur o peandMiddleEast:ThePlainTruth,PO.Box 111, Borehamwood,Harts,EnglandW06 1LU

Canada:WorldwideChurch of God,P.O.Box 44,StationA,Vancouver,BC V6C 2M2

Canada (Fr e nc h language): Le Monde a Venir, BP. 121, Succ A, Monfreal, PO H3C lC5

Mexico:lnstitucionAmbassador,Apartado Postal5-595,06500MeXICOO.F.

South America:lnstitucionAmbassa dor,Apartado Aereo 11430,Bogota 1, 0E, Colombia

Ca ribb e an: Worldwide Church of God,GP O Box 6063,San Juan,Puerto RICO 00936

France: LeMondeaVenir,BY64,75662ParisCedex14

Switzerland:LeMonde aVenir. Case Postale 10,91ruede la Servette,CH- 1211 Geneve 7,Suisse

Germany:AmbassadorCollege, Postfach1129,0-5300Bonn1,West Germany Holland and Belgium: Ambas sador College, Postbus 333 , 3500 AH Utrecht.

Nederland

Belgium:LeMond ea Venir,B.P.31,6000Charleroi 1,Belgique Denmark:ThePlainTruth,Box211,OK-8 100Aarhus C Norway: The Plain Trufh,Box 2513Soli;' Oslo2 Sweden:ThePlainTruth,Box 5380,S-10246,Stockholm

Australia:Worldwide Churchof God,GPO Box345,Sydney,NSW,2001 India:Worldwide ChurchofGod,PO.Box 6727 ,Bombay 400 052,India Sri Lanka:WorldwideChurch ofGod,P.O.Box 1824,Colombo,SriLanka Malaysia: Worldwide Church 01God,P.O.Box 430 ,Jalan Sultan,Petaling Java.

Selangor,Malaysia

Singapore : Worldw ide Church ofGod , PO. Box 111, Farrer Road Posf Office, Singapore9128

New Zealandand the Pacilic Isl e s:AmbassadorCollege,PO Box 2709.Auckland 1,New Zealand

The Philippines:WorldWide ChurchofGod,PO.Box 1111,MCC,Makatr,Metro Manila,Phihppines3117

Israel:AmbassadorCollege,PO.Box 19111,Jerusalem

South Africa: Ambassador College, PO.Box 1060, Johannesburg2000 Zimbabwe:Ambassado rCollege,BoxUA30,UnionAvenue,Harare,Zimbabwe Nigeria :Worldwide Church01God ,PMB21006,lkeia.Lagos State,N,gena Ghana: Worldwide Church of God, P.O Box 9617,Kotoka International Airport.

Accra

Kenya:Worldwide Churchof God, PO.Box 47135,Nairobi

Mauritiu s and Seychelles: Ambass ado r College, P.O. Box 888, Port LOUIS, Mauritius

THIS BOOKLET IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE BY THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST.

Itis made possiblebythe voluntary,freely given tithes andofferings of the membership of the Church andothers who haveelected to support the work of the Church. Contributions arewelcom ed and gratef ullyaccepted,Those who wishto voluntarily aid and suppo rt this worldw ideWork ofGod aregladlywelcomed as co-work ersin thismajor effort topreachthe gospel to all nations, 16 74 3,830 6