Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a New Testament event that was introduced on the day of Pentecost. It was a requirement for the early church because Jesus told the apostles that they were not allowed to leave Jerusalem until they received it.

“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” (Acts 1:4-5)

SEALED VS BAPTIZED
Most Christians equate being sealed by the Holy Spirit to the same as being baptized in the Holy Spirit. You are sealed by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation when you are born again. That is the not the same as being filled with the Holy Spirit.

“Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” (Ephesians 1:13)

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

The apostle Paul asked the Christians in Ephesus about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These men and women were born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, but they had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

“And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.” (Acts 19:1-2)

A lot of Christians are not baptized in the Holy Spirit because their  enomination denies its existence, stating it was only for the early church and no longer needed because we have the Bible. This is why there are no miracles taking place in such churches; their denial of Jesus’ words makes them weak.

FIERY BAPTISM
The only instruction Jesus gave to the 120 followers prior to ascending to heaven was that they remain in Jerusalem and wait. They hung out in the upper room, prayed, and talked about who was going to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle.

When the Holy Spirit showed up on the day of Pentecost, it was like an ambush as a wind ripped through the room and tongues of fire rested on each of their heads.

The quiet was replaced with a jolt of supernatural power as the Holy Spirit began to speak through them in languages that were unknown to them. Galileans knew how to read and write, but they were not known for their linguistic skills or mastery of the languages.

At the same time, an unseen power drove them out from the upper room and they ended up on the different streets of Jerusalem, speaking loudly in earth languages with which they were unfamiliar. Each of the 120 disciples had lost control over themselves and a force kept them speaking in foreign languages as they walked around.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together,
and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?” (Acts 2:1-12)

SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
There were more Jews living abroad than in Judea. During the wars and uprisings against their oppressors, many Jews opted to make a new life elsewhere. Some 3.2 million Jews lived in a foreign country compared to Judea’s population of 2.5 million.¹

The Jews in Rome were second or third generation settlers and the same held true for the diaspora in the other nations. The Jews in the old Babylonian empire were descendants of those forcibly deported in 587 B.C. following Nebuchadnezzar’s victory at Jerusalem. Together, these Israelites lived abroad, but they did not mingle and made an effort to preserve their culture and religion.

Most of the diaspora Jews were wealthy and males were mandated to attend the feast days of Passover, Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Pentecost was a time of thanksgiving for the wheat harvest with an offering of two wheat loaves of bread.

During these holidays, tens of thousands of the diaspora traveled to visit the temple and attend the festivities. Jerusalem was a tourist town and locals rented out rooms to the pilgrims.

Before the foundation of the world, the Godhead decided the Holy Spirit would arrive on the day of Pentecost. The disciples preached the Gospel to the foreign Jews in their own languages. These new Christians became the first missionaries when they returned to their respective nations.

BY DESIGN
When Jesus was delegated to be the Creator, the Son of God also designed the language that Adam and Eve were going to speak.

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)

The Godhead utilizes technology in the spirit realm and used it to create the language that Adam and Eve spoke. It served as a world language until the Tower of Babel when God scattered humanity and gave the different people-groups new languages. Each language is designed with its own alphabet to form words and grammar.

Languages are in a constant state of evolution due to the technological advances being made. For example, the disciples of Jesus had never seen an airplane, automobile, or a rocket for the launching of satellites. Thus, these words did not exist within the Hebrew language at the time of Jesus, but if you listen to a modern Jew speaking today, these words have been added to the language.

Thus, the Adamic language spoken by Adam and Eve was simple in comparison because the whole earth was agricultural. Using the genealogy and ages provided in Genesis, I estimate Noah’s flood took place 1,676 years after the fall of mankind. This means that everyone spoke the Adamic language up to this time period.

The Bible states that Noah begat Ham, who begat Cush, who begat Nimrod. Thus, Nimrod was the grandson (third generation) of Noah. He started building the city Babel with its infamous tower to heaven about 100 years after the flood.

“Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” (Genesis 10:1-10)

When the people began to build this gigantic tower, Jesus witnessed the people rebelling to His command to spread out over the whole earth. He divided the people into groups, gave them new languages, and scattered them all over the earth. This was a supernatural event on a large scale because the Adamic language was replaced by new languages. It is estimated there are more than 7,000 languages spoken today.

“And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” (Genesis 11:5-9)

DAY OF PENTECOST
There were 120 persons in the upper room when the Holy Spirit took control of their minds, turned off the Hebrew language and started to stream the message of Jesus as the Messiah in languages unknown to them.2 They spoke these languages fluently as they boldly walked the nearby streets preaching the cross and salvation. None of the 120 disciples understood the foreign languages they were speaking.

TYPES OF TONGUES
There are three types of languages used by the Holy Spirit when He moves upon a person who has received His baptism:

1. Earthly languages – Such as those described in Acts chapter two.

2. Any spoken language – Followed by an interpretation.

3. An unknown tongue – A special (heavenly) prayer language for which there is no interpretation.

EARTHLY LANGUAGES
The events of the day of Pentecost when the church was born in fire are an example of earthly languages. Galilean men and women began to speak in foreign languages to deliver the Holy Spirit’s message. No interpretation was needed because the listeners perfectly understood the men and women speaking.

ANY SPOKEN LANGUAGE
This is where an unknown tongue is spoken by an individual and it is followed by an interpretation for the congregation. Sometimes the person speaking in the unknown language also delivers the interpretation, but more often the case, a second individual is moved upon by the Holy Spirit to deliver the interpretation.

“Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?” (1 Corinthians 14:22-23)

UNKNOWN TONGUE
The third instance is when the Holy Spirit takes control of a person and begins to stream a message in a heavenly language and does not provide an interpretation. The Holy Spirit is using the born again spirit of the Christian to pray to God in a language that no man knows – including the Devil and his minions.

“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.” (1 Corinthians 14:2)

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)

SUMMARY
There are two prerequisites for speaking in tongues:

1. You must be born again.

2. You must be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

You will not receive the gift of tongues if these conditions are unfulfilled.
It is important to note that a Christian is not mandated to pray in tongues or speak in tongues. You have a choice.

When a man marries a woman, God wants them to be intimate with each other because their union produces children (fruit). But what happens if the husband is content to live with his wife, eat good meals, and enjoy a celibate life? What fruit is produced? This is the case with most Christians. They feel good living an empty life, doing nothing for God, and are not interested in trying to get closer to the Lord.

Many Pentecostals have spoken in tongues and memorized certain phrases. When they come to church or a prayer meeting, they start to speak in tongues, but a closer examination of their activities reveals the fact that they speak the same phrases over and over again. This is not from the Holy Spirit; this is from the flesh.

When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit early in 1970, I did not immediately receive the gift of praying in tongues. The first gift that showed up in my life was the interpretation of tongues. Unless I am moved by the Holy Spirit, I do not try to pray in tongues since I have not memorized what I have spoken in the past.

When the Holy Spirit moves upon me, it is like my brain is hacked as the Holy Spirit takes over and uses my mouth. When I am casting out demons, the Holy Spirit takes over and orders the demons to leave. Let me close this message with a quote from the apostle Paul:

“Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.

For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?

For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.

I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.” (1 Corinthians 14:12-18)