Friday, October 21, 2016

A short course in Isaiah, chapter 14 verse 3-23. A taunt against the king of Babylon.

If you recall, this all started with a video I reposted on Facebook. In that video, the Pope was portrayed as having used this passage about someone. I realize this is very vague, but so is my memory, and I don't feel like looking up the video to be precise. I, as usual, had re-posted that video without fact checking. But, here is the clincher as far as I am concerned. A response came, from an acquaintance who has a Masters degree in Theology, and he attempted to excoriate me,by telling me that the Prophet Isaiah was quoting a mythological tale about a mythological Babylonian king, and therefore has no reference to Lucifer/Satan the enemy of God, Jesus, and the church.
So what did I do? I looked at the 45 commentaries I have collected to see what they say, and many agree with what the acquaintance said. However, they added something he failed to mention; there is no factual, or written evidence to validate their claims, and the boldest, like IVPBBC, will tell you that.
There is another problem with this twisted interpretation that the subject is someone other than Lucifer/Satan. In pitching your case, you are asking me to believe that the Prophet Isaiah would stoop so low as to quote mythology, effectively adapting the worship of the gods of the Gentiles, and pass it off as from the Lord. I don't think so!
Maybe we would have more respect for Isaiah and his words if we knew a little more about him. Much of the following comes from the IVPBBC.
  • Isaiah, the son of Amoz, ministered in and around Jerusalem as a prophet to Judah during the reigns of four kings of Judah: Uzziah (called "Azariah" in 2 Kin.), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isa_1:1), from c. 739-686 B.C.
  • He evidently came from a family of some rank, because he had easy access to the king (Isa_7:3)
  • His writing style has no rival in its versatility of expression, brilliance of imagery, and richness of vocabulary. The early church father Jerome likened him to Demosthenes, the legendary Greek orator. His writing features a range of 2,186 different words, compared to 1,535 in Ezekiel, 1,653 in Jeremiah, and 2,170 in the Psalms.
  • Second Chronicles 2Ch_32:32 records that he wrote a biography of King Hezekiah
  • The prophet lived until at least 681 B.C. when he penned the account of Sennacherib's death (cf. Isa_37:38).
  • Tradition has it that he met his death under King Manasseh (c. 695-642 B.C.) by being cut in two with a wooden saw (cf. Heb_11:37).
  • Isaiah is quoted directly in the NT over sixty-five times, far more than any other OT prophet, and mentioned by name over twenty times.
  • According to Gill's commentary, “it stands first of all the prophets; though the order of the prophets, according to the Jews (a), is, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the twelve. But it is here placed first, not because Isaiah prophesied before the other prophets; for Joel, Jonah, Hosea, and Amos, begun before him, namely, in or before the days of Jeroboam the Second; but because of the excellency of the matter contained in it.”Last
That is quite the resume, and, it could have included much more. There isn't a single thing here that promotes the idea that Isaiah would have pursued such a foolish idea, one that slaps God in the face by using an undefined mythological character.
So, that being said, let's dissect this thoughtfully. Sorry if I repeat things previously covered in posts, but that was several months ago. I will try to be concise (like that is going to happen.)
Isaiah 14:3-23 MKJV
3) And it shall be in the day that Jehovah shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear, and from the hard bondage which was pressed on you,
      • Jehovah shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear, and from the hard bondage which was pressed on you,”
Has that day come? Some might say, looking at the narrow view and saying, sure, when Israel was released from Babylonian captivity. Sadly, that was not the end of it, and, as you know, Israel was not a nation again until when, “On May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years.”
Now, just because they became a nation, did all fear and sorrow end? Hardly. Even though Israel has only grown stronger since their inception, they have been in a continuous state of flux, violence, and threats. One of the most recent has come from Iran.
I am surprised, but I shouldn't be, as Pastor John MacArthur succinctly states, The future earthly kingdom of Messiah is in view. Cf. Act_3:19-21.
and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being, he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be.” Acts 3:20-21 MSG)
4) you shall take up this song against the king of Babylon and say, How the exacter, the gold gatherer has ceased!
If that day is the day that Jesus returns physically to earth, it will be at the end of horrendous tumult and death, not only at God's hands but from the violence of man as well. When Jesus comes, he comes conquering. If we could assume that the enemy is Islam with ISIS as its front man, then it would easy to see Jesus slaughtering all of them, but that is not the case, as He only kills off those who choose to fight against him.
Anyone who watches the less than prime time news, knows that Islam happily trains children as young as age seven to handle an AK47. Fortunately for us, Jesus is the judge, and He judges in a perfect way.
All that being said, there will be peace and those established by God will be the peacekeepers. With the advent of the Messiah, judges set up to rule, and the end of wars for a thousand years, this would be the point at which Israel, at least the remnant thereof, will take up this song against the king of Babylon.
Apply a little logic here. Has there been a king of Babylon lately? NO, unless you want claim Saddam Hussein might have been held this title.
5) Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers 6) who struck peoples in wrath, a blow without turning away, ruling the nations in anger, a persecution without restraint.
Jeremiah 25:33 "Those slain by the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground.
Jeremiah 39:17 "But I will deliver you on that day," declares the LORD, "and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread.
7) All the earth is at rest and is quiet; they break out into singing.
There is only one point in time in which this can happen. We see an example of that in Revelation 19 where Jesus comes riding back to earth upon a white horse. The land will be ruled by judges that God sets up, and there will be peace for a thousand years.
Verse 8 is where is the passage gets personal.
8) Yea, the fir trees rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since you have fallen, no woodcutter will come up against us.
  • "the fir trees rejoice at you,"
    To whom are the fir trees speaking? That will become apparent momentarily, and since we have no known written references to this mythological character we will have to go with what we can ascertain, perceive, and understand by letting scripture interpret scripture.
  • "Since you have fallen,"
    In Luke 10:18 Jesus told the disciples that He beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
    There is another, somewhat cryptic description, in Revelation 9:1, as it describes a star falling from heaven. “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” Since we understand that Jesus stripped the keys to death, hell, and the grave, from Satan, then it is possible that Satan and this star are one in the same. Since a star gives light, and verse 12 of Isaiah 45 also speaks of the "shining star of the morning," then we are probably on the right track.
9) Hell from below is moved for you, to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, all the he-goats of the earth. It has raised from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
The statements I made concerning verse 8 can also apply here.
10) All of them shall speak and say to you, Are you also as weak as we? Are you like us?
  • "all the kings of the nations."
    These are the ones doing the talking here. They do not make these comments until Jesus returns to earth as the Messiah and shows Satan for who he is. (As a side note; the angels are enormous and powerful, so I do not think we are talking about size here. Consider how we love to portray Satan as a red horned monster when he is probably just the opposite.)
  • "Are you also as weak as we? Are you like us?"
    Since they - "the kings of the the nations," are allowed to see what happens to Satan and how he is taken captive and made a prisoner, then perhaps this speaks to their fate.
11) Your pride is brought down to the grave, and the noise of your harps. The maggot is spread under you, and the worms cover you.
  • Pride – runs the gamut of expression: exaltation: - arrogance (3), eminence (1), excellence (1), glory (1), majestic (1), majesty.
How could it be that Satan could be both arrogant and filled with an excellence and majesty? It can't, unless at one time he held a position of supremacy once, but no longer.
12) How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
We gained a little more clarity when we use another translation. Isaiah 14:12 KJV “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
      • O Lucifer, son of the morning!”
        Lucifer is from the Hebrew word helel and means a shining one: - star of the morning. Based on this alone I can understand verse 11 better. However, the word helel is a derivative of the word, hâlal / pronounced haw-lal', meaning to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color)
        • hâlal is where we get our word hallelujah.
        • So, Lucifer was not only the shining one but the angel of praise.
13) For you have said in your heart, I will go up to the heavens; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.
If you were to have doubts as to what caused Satan's fall, here it is.
14) I will go up above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
It was Satan's intent to assert himself above God. How would you do that without first stripping God of his authority? You don't, however, this is what you see in the fall of man, deception with the intent of stripping the man of his dominion over the earth, as well as the rights to the earth. If this sounds far-fetched, then consider the how and why of Satan offering Jesus all the power, riches, and kingdoms of the earth. Satan seized control of them all through deception, for God had given it all over to the man and told him so.
15 ) "Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the Pit."
I believe we have established that this is Lucifer, thrown down from heaven, but we have some problems that may affect our understanding.
  • Does what Jesus said in Luke's gospel, indicate that Satan was thrown into the pit, where he is incapable of moving about or causing us any trouble?
    At this point, NO! I believe that what Jesus expressed either represents Satan being removed from his place, or it is speaking of a time to come.
    Because Satan was trying to offer Jesus the kingdoms of this world, then it proves that Satan had control over them. Was there a time when Satan was stripped of his authority? YES, and that happened during the time Jesus body was in the tomb. We see God, in Hebrews chapter 1, restoring all power to the Son, and more. Since Jesus stripped Satan of the keys to death, hell, and the grave, then we can safely conclude that ALL power has been restored.
  • The other point of contention arises when we see Satan, before the seat of God, mixed in among the other sons of God.
    This is only a problem because we have improperly taught that Satan was exposed of immediately. His day will come soon, but not yet.
16) "Those who see you shall stare and closely watch you, saying, Is this the man who made the earth to tremble; who shook kingdoms; 17) who made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed its cities; who did not open the house for his prisoners?"
Again, tradition and expectation, cause us to think that Satan looks like this.our-idea-of-what-satan-looks-like
In reality, he stills retains his original form and quite probably his beauty. Considering that the damage (our propensity to miss the mark that we love to call sin,) seems to be built into us likes to center itself upon lustful, selfish desires. And, how the majority of those wants are extremely attractive, wouldn't it make sense if Satan, formerly Lucifer, the bearer of light and the song leader of heaven, was beautiful also?
Another reason we might be surprised is the overwhelming destruction he has caused.
Isaiah 14:16-17 MSG People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, 17) turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?"
  1. All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house. 19) But you are cast out of your grave like a hateful branch, and like the clothing of those who are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trampled under foot. 20) You shall not be joined with them in burial, because you ruined your land and killed your people; the seed of evildoers shall never be famous.
    Eugene Peterson's, "The Message" translates this segment in this manner: "Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated-- no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion!”
At this point it appears that Christ has forcefully taken Satan captive and apparently held him up for all to see.
21) Prepare slaughter for his sons, because of the iniquity of their fathers, so that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
  • Prepare slaughter for his sons,"
    Why are we the children of God? Because we engrafted ourselves through acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Son. In contrast to our being accepted into the kingdom and life with the Father, Satan's followers have a slaughter prepared for them. In a strange way, this can be equated to the Walking Dead, and these are the zombies that cannot die. Humans are all created/born with an eternal spirit. One can attach that spirit to God, or to Satan. God, on the one hand, says He will never leave you nor forsake, while Satan, it seems, could care less. I suppose some would choose not to believe that, but there is nothing he will do to save you or protect you from what is to come. Since you will not die, then you will spend eternity following the leader of your choosing.
22) For I will rise up against them, says Jehovah of Hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and son, and grandson, says Jehovah. 23) I will also make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the broom of ruin, says Jehovah of Hosts.
  • "For I will rise up against them, says Jehovah of Hosts,"
    • Whom will Christ rise up against?
      The sons of iniquity, otherwise known as followers of Satan.
  • " and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and son, and grandson, says Jehovah."
    • What does that mean?
      Perhaps another translation will help.
Isaiah 14:22-23 MSG "I will confront them"--Decree of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies-- "and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren. 23) " GOD's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.
  • I will also make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the broom of ruin, says Jehovah of Hosts."
    Again, another translation and another passage bring clarity.
Jeremiah 51:37 NET. Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives.
Let's end this here. We are not talking about a mythological person who has no written evidence to validate using him as an argument, but a fallen angel who had his name changed. It is evident that Lucifer/Satan has had an adverse impact on the world. Something that caught my attention, and I have never heard a teaching that includes this detail, is that this descriptive of Satan transitions into BabylonIsaiah 14:21 tells us that God considers the followers of Satan to be his sons and they will be punished along with Satan. While Babylon carries a number of meanings, the one that impacts us, the church, is the “spiritual” one that overshadows all the ruling bodies of the world. In the book of Daniel, it is referred to as a fourth kingdom, different from all the rest. See Daniel 7:23. As my girlfriend stated, there must be a shadow government that runs our government, that, and all the other governments of the world.
As my girlfriend stated, there must be a shadow government that runs our government, that, and all the other governments of the world. Theory/assumption was proven today 10/21/2016, as WikiLeaks published President Obama's personal email, which talked about former President Bush speaking to now President Obama, establishing that he would become the current President. This has nothing to do with a single man, but an organized, upper echelon group of people who actually are trying to run the world. Scripture describes these people and their modes of operation as Babylon and the Harlot that rides the beast, in the book of Revelation. 
It is time to wake, but it may be to late for many.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

A particular prophetic word to an individual. 1 Corinthians 12: 10b - 11. An end to my comments/teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

English: Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Dove of the Ho...
English: Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, stained glass, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Once again, I give you the entire passage for context, though we are only focusing on the last half of verse 10 and finishing with verse 11. 
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NET. 7) To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. 8) For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9) to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10) to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11) It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things.
No matter the gifting God promotes in your life, keep one thing in mind, this is not about you. The actions and words resulting from your gifting are meant to build up the body of Christ. To do otherwise puts you in error and falsehood. While you may end up rich, with your own television show, you will still be in error and held responsible for your actions. 
Let's pick back up with Prophecy. For some, this lends itself to excitement, as this means action and notoriety. To others, the word and the resulting activities associated with the gifting bring fear and disdain. Why? Because of bad teaching and outlandish behavior on the part of people (both from the person giving the word and those that receive it.) If you read my last post you know it ended, focused on the word Miracles (a gift,) and, I concluded with an example which used the apostle Peter, one of the many disciples gathered in the upper room that day, who waited for the Holy Spirit (the comforter that was to come.) 
If you read my last post you know it ended, focused on the word Miracles (a gift,) and, I concluded with an example which used the apostle Peter, one of the many disciples gathered in the upper room that day, who waited for the Holy Spirit (the comforter that was to come.) In that example, I stated that Peter and the others did not know what was going come or how. What they got were tongues of fire and an empowerment in the Holy Spirit of God. The word/gift of miracles also carries the implication of power, and that is certainly what happened with Peter that day. The results of the infilling of the Holy Spirit in Peter's life moved him to do what some would certainly call outlandish, and out of character for Peter.
Sadly, Pastor John MacArthur, preaches adamantly, that these power gifts were only temporary, and needed for the initiation of the church. We saw that Peter's effort brought over 3000 into the kingdom that first day. 
    • Prophecy
      This time, I went down the entire rabbit trail in pursuit of what the Greek word(s) were that made this one word.
[An explanation: A number such as this - G4394 represents a Strong's concordance reference for the word in the Greek language. If it has an 'H' before the number then the language would be Hebrew.]
Initially, we are given the Greek word propheteia, which carries multiple meanings and implications. As you can see propheteia is rather broad spectrum term covering: prophecy in general while including a particular prophetic word to an individual perhaps.
G4394 propheteia; from G4395; prophecy: - prophecies (1), prophecy (15), prophesying (1), prophetic utterance (1).
Because you are astute, you quickly pick up the fact that propheteia is a derivative word coming from propheteuo. So farther down the rabbit hole we go.
G4395 propheteuo; from G4396; to foretell, tell forth, prophesy: - prophesied (5), prophesies (3), prophesy (16), prophesying (3), prophetesses (1).
Strong's number G4395 propheteuo definitely covers the range I mentioned, as these words and phrases can be used to describe an oration from a stage; a pulpit; a word spoken privately to an individual; Or, even the speaking of God's word [This works because Jesus, in the Revelation, tells us that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, and you see this in Revelation 19:10.]
One more thing I noticed in here, the word prophetess. This would include then, the females giving forth words. Having been around this stuff for a while, it becomes clear that women are often more receptive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and his quiet nature. I suspect that we men are taught, or perhaps have shoved down our throats, the idea that God's voice comes across more like an army drill sergeant and therefore miss what He is saying to us. Maybe that is why God has had to invade our dreams, such as what we see with Abram and Jacob. Consider the reality of such a dream when it permanently disables you as it did with Jacob.
You can find the story of Deborah in Judges 4: 4-6.
Once again we are enticed down the rabbit trail because the word propheteuo has been derived from another word, which is itself a derivative.
G4396 prophetes; from a comp. of G4253 and G5346; a prophet (an interpreter or forth-teller of the divine will): - prophet (63), prophets (81).
The Greek word prophetes implies a prophet or many prophets. One of the most dramatic cases we have are the two prophets who stand in the streets of Jerusalem for 1260 days, declaring the Word of the Lord. They do other things as well, like: kill anyone who tries to harm them by shooting streams of fire out of their mouths, stopping the rain, and calling down plagues upon groups of people at their will. +I suspect this is the prophetic type we laypeople have come to fear.
Because the word prophetes is also a compound word then we need to ask what those words imply.
G4253 pro; a prim. prep.; before: - above (2), ago (4), ahead (2), ahead *(2), before (30), front (2), just outside (1), prior (1), right (1).
G5346 phemi; from a prim. root fa- pha-; to declare, say: - claim (1), mean (1), replied (1), said (57), say (4), says (2), stated (1).
So, the idea behind the prophetic is that it typically comes through a person, who often stands before you, but is not limited to vocalization alone, someone could write the words out and convey them through publication. My opinion is that the Word of God is free and those who charge you to hear a word, from the Lord should get whatever they deserve. Never, or least rarely, should you merely accept what someone says to you as being valid or from the Lord – we have this nasty habit of adding the "thus saith the Lord" garbage to the front end of the statement, which often gives it a false pre-qualifier. When, in actuality, they should say, thus says ME, because that is what is going on there. While what is personal to you may not be directly stated in scripture, scripture does speak personally to you about your circumstances in some form. Therefore, most of the time you can judge what is being said against God's word. If it lines up, then it is something you can probably accept. One other method of validating a "prophetic" word. God will have already been talking to you about and what they say at this point will not be a mystery.
That was a huge sidetrack for the purpose of explanation, but let's get back to the verse at hand verse 10.
to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues."
    • the distinguishing, or discernment of spirits
      Vincent's Word Studies has this to say: Discerning of spirits, correctly, discernings. Distinguishing between the different prophetic utterances, whether they proceed from true or false spirits. See 1Ti_4:11Jo_4:1,2.
      1 Timothy 4:1 NASB "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,"1 John 4:1-2 NASB "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2) By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;"
      It's not meant to be mystical or something you cannot understand. Part of the toolset that we use comprehend is to allow scripture to interpret scripture. The two scriptures above tell us that there will be deceitful spirits roaming the earth. To say that there will be doctrines of demons move this falsehood into the church. John's writings tell us that we are to test the spirits. Sadly, you may not know you are dealing with a demon spirit that sounds like theology. John, fortunately, gives us another test, is this person delivering the word willing to confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh? The others I mentioned earlier are judging the word against what God has been speaking to your spirit, and, can you validate the word given with or against the word of God.
    • To another the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues
      Robertson's Word Pictures explains this rather nicely:
"Divers kinds of tongues (genē glōssōn). No word for “divers” in the Greek. There has arisen a great deal of confusion concerning the gift of tongues as found in Corinth. They prided themselves chiefly on this gift which had become a source of confusion and disorder. There were varieties (kinds, genē) in this gift, but the gift was essentially an ecstatic utterance of highly wrought emotion that edified the speaker (1Co_14:4) and was intelligible to God (1Co_14:2, 1Co_14:28). It was not always true that the speaker in tongues could make clear what he had said to those who did not know the tongue (1Co_14:13): It was not mere gibberish or jargon like the modern “tongues,” but in a real language that could be understood by one familiar with that tongue as was seen on the great Day of Pentecost when people who spoke different languages were present. In Corinth, where no such variety of people existed, it required an interpreter to explain the tongue to those who knew it not. Hence Paul placed this gift lowest of all. It created wonder, but did little real good.
The scripture passages included above and laid out in this manner, give a clear, instructional walk through, not for the purpose of discouraging the usage of tongues, but the impracticality of its usage in a congregation. If you are the great prophet that hears from God, then just speaks out your word to the body in whatever language you are fluent in, then the church body will be able to understand and benefit from it.
I will add one passage that gives a simple, one sentence admonition for the usage of tongues.
Jude 1:20 NASB But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
      • the interpretation of tongues
        Once again I draw upon Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament.
        The interpretation of tongues (hermēneia glōssōn). Old word, here only and 1Co_14:26 in N.T., from hermēneuō from Hermēs (the god of speech). Cf. on diermēneuō in Luk_24:27Act_9:36. In case there was no one present who understood the particular tongue it required a special gift of the Spirit to someone to interpret it if anyone was to receive benefit from it.
        You have to ask yourself, WHY? If you understood how much control you have and understand that the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, you might have refrained from giving the word in tongues. When you hear something like that you can typically assess that this person is still young in the Lord, but bold. I say that because you have to step outside of yourself to speak out like this.
        Another thing, if this is the church body where you regularly attend, how would you not know if there was someone willing to cover your enthusiasm with an interpretation? You probably would, but then there church organizations where tongues, as a prophetic instrument, are held in disdain. Then you would not know, would you?
    1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us, "It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things."


    The gifting placed in you is all about God, not you. As the commentary from the RWP asserts, in the Corinthian church body, “ There were varieties in this gift, but the gift was essentially an ecstatic utterance of highly wrought emotion that edified the speaker.” If this is the reason why were doing this, we have missed the point entirely, as it all about building up the body of Christ.
    I declare that the gifts of the Spirit are alive and well. And, because of the Prophet Joel, who in the second chapter of his prophecy about the final days and hours of the Earth, said:  "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." Joel 2:28-29 KJV
    These are an aspect and the main thrust of what Peter, now empowered, said as he addressed the crowd on the Day of Pentecost. He said this prophecy is fulfilled in your hearing. That is huge and if nothing else, opened the door for us to walk through and live in. Do you know anyone who lives this way.

    Featured Post

    Will we have to go through the tribulation?

    Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of...