I am so very blessed in the Lord to share this blog and its insights with you. I pray that you are even more blessed than I have been in bringing this project to fruition. Here are a few behind the scenes events that led to Jesus the Baptist.
Ever since I was a young boy, I have seen the supernatural hand of God at work. I was saved at a very early age, maybe seven and grew up in the ministry. Growing up I was privileged to hear of miracles and witness countless supernatural manifestations. One of the most awesome experiences I had was a personal one. It was when the Lord Jesus baptized me in the Holy Spirit while on a youth Ambassadors in Missions trip to Puerto Rico in 1993.
Words can not even describe the power of the Holy Spirit I felt as the Lord immersed me in His Spirit. The evidence of that experience flowed out of my belly and onto my tongue and lips as I began to speak in a tongue unknown to me as the Holy Spirit enabled me to speak it.
Seven years later, the Lord began a new supernatural chapter in my life. The latter half of the year 2000 was marked with several breathtaking and unbelievable supernatural visitations and workings in my life and that of my young family. That Summer, the Lord imparted a new gift upon my life. It was the gift of different kinds of tongues. Prior to that experience, I had spoken only in a single unknown tongue, which sounded a lot like Chinese. About a week or two later, the Lord complimented the gift of different kinds of tongues with another one, the gift of interpretation1.
For some strange reason, I had delayed baptism in water all my teenage years up until the age of twenty-six. I had been saved for almost twenty years and had been baptized by the Lord in His Holy Spirit for eight. Interestingly, no one ever "pushed" me into doing it, not even my parents. The Lord had already gifted me with the gift of different kinds of tongues and the gift of interpretation that previous Summer. The one remaining thing I had yet to experience was baptism in water. It was not that I had been consciously delaying it, it just seemed as though it was not the appointed time for me. It really was never a matter of if but when.
While on leave from Naval Air Station Pensacola, I flew with my wife and then only son to my hometown of Douglas, Arizona. My father who is an Assemblies of God pastor, baptized me in water in our backyard swimming pool. It was a very special day for me and my family. I was joined that day by several young adult friends who had been a part of our youth ministry in Douglas. Three of the guys were baptized that day along with me. One of them could only be partially immersed in water because of his diabetic condition and dialysis intubation. I felt so fulfilled that day as if a day that had been written in the womb had finally come to pass.
Four years after my baptism in water, the Lord began to move at my work and in my home. This may not seem too unusual, but when your workplace and home are properties of the United States Navy it does get a little interesting.
The Lord began to bring people into my office seeking spiritual guidance. One sailor, who happened to be raised a Catholic, literally came in, shut the door behind him, and told me that he was looking for God and didn't know where to find him. If there had been a camera behind me, I would have looked at it and shrugged in disbelief. I smiled and chuckled as I told him that he had come to the right place. Right there in my office he accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. His life was radically changed in an instant. After praying he was practically glowing. A few months later, before he was transferred to Japan, my wife and I were privileged to see him get baptized in water at Harbor Christian Center in Wilmington, California (my wife's home church and where her sister and our brother-in-law pastor a Spanish congregation). Since then, my good friend has been involved in ministry. He is now out of the Navy and is pursuing a Christian education at Biola. Now this is American tax dollars at work!
Ministry opportunities at work were coinciding with a new move of the Spirit at home. At that time, my wife and I were serving as youth leaders in a Spanish Assemblies of God church and as secretary and assistant to the youth representative over the youth ministries of seven churches in what we call a "Section" in the Assemblies of God.
While driving the return leg of a trip to take one of our youth from the Section to the Latin American Bible Institute in La Puente, the Lord visited me powerfully in the car. I will post this experience at length in our Light the Fire blog, but for now I will say that it was the beginning of a new supernatural chapter in my life and in the Morales home.
When I arrived home in Monterey, I was still shaking from the experience. I told my wife that a change was coming and that we needed to prepare for it.
A couple weeks later, we attended a birthday party for one of my son's kindergarten friends. I was surprised to find out that her father was a weather officer just like me. Out of the blue, I started telling him about the Lord's baptism in His Holy Spirit. Now normally I don't go to birthday parties and discuss deep theological truths with total strangers, especially when it is over cookies and punch. But there was something special about this guy. I came to find out that he was from the Church of Christ. He was not sure about the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit but was very interested about the subject.
I told him that I had a book called Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit that he should look into. It was written by a former Dallas Theological Seminary professor who came to literally be surprised that the power of the Holy Spirit is still active today as it was in the Book of Acts (hence the name). That same night, I walked over to his Navy apartment unit and dropped off the book for him to read. That same night, unknown to me until months later, he read the entire book in one sitting and began to speak in unknown tongues!
I began to sense a calling to start a short-term Bible study in our home about the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I felt led to invite several Navy friends and colleagues, who like me and my wife, were all young adults. The thing that set this group apart from all the others we had ever been a part of was that they had been raised in non-Pentecostal churches.
This was uncharted territory for us. To be continued...
Sunday August 6 2006:
Before the study began in our home, I fasted, prayed, and sought the Lord's face for the study. In my meditations before the study, I felt that I should be absolutely firm in every angle of the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I felt somewhat comforted in the fact that I could draw from my background in Pentecostal teaching and experience.
Growing up in a traditional Pentecostal denomination, I was well-versed in the New Testament basis for the present-day work of the Holy Spirit. I had lived and experienced it from the womb as the son of a deacon (Douglas First Assembly) and then Pastor (Templo Betel). My paternal grandmother had been a pillar of the first Pentecostal church in Agua Prieta, Sonora just across the border from her residence in Douglas, even laying its cornerstone. As a young minister, my dad had been influenced by Pentecostal giants H. C. Ball, Demetrio Bazan, and the father of Paul Finkenbinder. Years later, he was pastor to a woman by the name of Chonita Howard, another great hero of the Pentecostal faith.
These stories spanned years because the early days were filled with awesome stories of God's supernatural power. The stories also spanned several states because my parents had pastored in Nebraska and had traveled long distances for camp meetings and youth conferences (they had also been Sectional Youth Reps in the days when sections covered whole states and crossed state lines). These cherished stories even crossed the Atlantic from Germany where my father had been stationed. I also heard of the persecution that my parents and their families endured for converting to Pentecost. One story etched in memory is of my aunt Esther who was one of the first Pentecostal martyrs in Mexico. She was burned alive by a militant mob of Catholic youth. It was said that she died singing her favorite Sunday School song.
As a teenager, I had been well-discipled in the foundations of my fellowship's faith and had been involved in Pentecostal ministry as a team leader in children's church at the age of 16, a youth missionary at 18, a youth leader assistant and youth worship singer at 19 (Worcester First Assembly of God). In my early twenties, I attended Oral Roberts University, well known for its Pentecostal foundations and birth out of the healing revivals of the 1950s. A couple years later I transferred to the University of Arizona where I briefly became involved with Chi Alpha. While enrolled at the U of A, I ministered as a worship leader at my father's church in Bisbee, Templo Estrella, a church rich in Pentecostal revival history.
Two years after this, my wife and I would become leaders of the very youth group in which we first met. The church was First Assembly of God in Douglas. This was yet another church steeped in Pentecostal lore. One such story is how the Douglas Fire Department had once been called to the church by frantic neighbors who saw fire emanating from her rooftop. The firefighters arrived only to discover that it was a supernatural fire! Adding to this mystique is the fact that the church is home to the piano of the old Azusa Street Mission - a church synonymous with Pentecostalism.
With all this in the back of my mind, I felt secure in giving the study. There was one big problem, however. God was leading me down an entirely different path from which to draw my teachings. In fact, He was about to lead me to a place some distance from my experiences and the book of Acts, the virtual safe harbors of every Pentecostal.
He was about to open up a whole new world in Scripture. To be continued...
Wednesday September 6 2006:
Before starting our Bible study in mid-January 2004, I spent hours praying and researching the Word of God with the hope of giving the best possible study on the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I looked up resources online that I could use to hand out and foster discussion and even ordered one set of booklets that I found to be quite informative and concise. But the more I studied and the more I prayed, the more I felt compelled to demystify the Lord's Baptism and tongues and to center the Pentecostal experience clearly on Jesus. I also felt strangely drawn to the Old Testament and obliged to give it equal treatment in the study.
At the outset, I never even considered teaching at any length from the Old Testament when it came to the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit, let alone give it equal treatment. It was a forgone conclusion that the only Old Testament Scripture I would probably mention would be Joel Chapter 2 and that was it. But I could not escape the pull to paint a complete and much larger picture that somehow I knew had to exist in Scripture.
I prayed and re-prayed for guidance, at times crying out to God to fill in the blanks. Finally, I began to discern a direction. Little clues in the New Testament began to pop out that there was more to the story. One set of clues included references to the Lord's Baptism as "the promise of the Father" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 2:33). It seemed that Jesus had much to draw from Scripture in preparing the disciples from the impending Baptism. Of course, the only Scripture that existed at the time was the Old Testament. The fact that He referred to it as a Promise of the Father told me that it could never have been just a footnote in Scripture. Other clues included references to "baptisms," in a larger sense of the word, involving Noah and Moses (1 Peter 3:20-21; 1 Cor 10:2). With these clues in mind, I knew that there had to be at least proto-types and maybe even prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to the promise of the Lord's Baptism.
I began to leave what I call "the comforts" of the New Testament and poured over the Old Testament for proto-types and prophecies that would foreshadow the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Throughout this whole process I kept an open mind about tongues and their relation to the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I felt that if I really wanted to learn the full truth that I had to let go of any pre-conceived notions about tongues. This meant that I was prepared to drop them as evidentiary signs of the Lord's Baptism if in fact my research showed otherwise. Truly, this was uncharted doctrinal territory for me. In the back of my mind I prayed and dreamed of the day that God would give me a clear revelation from Scripture that would finally answer of all my questions.
I decided the best course of action was to incorporate the many ceremonial washings, sprinklings, and manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament that resembled and foreshadowed the events in the Book of Acts and the experiences of the early church in particular those addressed by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians. I began to see these as "elements," in the Chemical sense of the word, of a larger pattern that involved the Holy Spirit and His workings.
I consolidated as many references as possible and called the lesson module "Elemental Charisma." It would directly follow an introductory lesson module. I called the entire Bible Study "The Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Study for Those Seeking the Face of God."
The first night of the Bible Study was held at our home and drew together the expected audience of my friends and associates who all came from non-Pentecostal traditions. I passed out several resources and the outline of the study. We prayed, sang worship songs and discussed the direction of the Study. Even though I hoped to delay mention of tongues, questions came right away about their connection to the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I tried my best to assure the group that these questions would be answered fully in the course of the study, even though I maintained an open mind and search for clear answers. In the days after the first meeting, I cried out to God in absolute desperation for wisdom and clear-cut evidence in Scripture. I took solace and exhortation from the words of James:
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." (James 1:5-6)Then it came, not in my desperate prayer sessions, but while quietly studying the Word of God. What came would not only answer questions about the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit and tongues, but to my surprise even larger theological issues concerning salvation and baptism in water. The answers came in what I can only refer to as a "progressive revelation" that started one night while reading one of my favorite passages of Scripture - the account of the Exodus. As I was studying for the second Bible study, I began to see a pattern emerging from the storyline in Exodus, from the Passover, to the Red Sea Crossing and then on to the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.
While cross-referencing with the Gospels, I clearly began to see the Passover in terms of salvation and the Red Sea crossing as a baptism in water. But then when I got to the account at Mount Sinai, something all of a sudden hit me. I had fasted and prayed before starting out on this Bible Study, asking for the Holy Spirit's guidance, and now here before me, right there on the pages of my Bible, was the answer to my prayers. The only thing though was that the answer came in a totally unexpected manner.
On February 18th 2004, I suddenly realized that the day that the fire of God fell on Mount Sinai was the Day of Pentecost! I could not believe what I was seeing there in front of me. My heart began skipping as I cross-referenced Scriptures and re-worked the timetables of the journey from Egypt to Midian where Mount Sinai lay. Images ran through my mind of an account I read in a book by Bob Cornuke that had so affected me in the Summer of 2000. I was so moved by the account of finding evidence of fire on Mount Sinai that I quoted an excerpt on our youth website back in 2001. It now appears on our Fire Blog.
The cross-referencing, dividing the Word, and the timelines all matched up. It was the right month and around the right time. Then I started to carefully look at what happened that day. When I looked at the events on that mountain in light of Pentecost, I believe my life changed forever.
It was all the there. From the fire descending on the mountain to the thunders, from the mixed assembly of Jews and Gentiles, to the mountain trembling (a physical manifestation of God's glory), it was all there. Here before me stood an example of the Pentecost experience, but it wasn't to be found in the book of Acts. It was in Exodus!
I put my Bible down on my lap and sat with my mouth gaping trying to focus on what was happening to me. The next thing I did was take the shaking pen in my hand and write the date on page 125 of my Bible. But my shock did not end there. The next day, I went to work and during one of my breaks I "Googled" Mount Sinai and Pentecost. I would have never made any connection had it not been for the night before, but one after another all these Jewish sites started coming up one right after the other.
What was going on? To my absolute surprise the Day of Pentecost is commemorated by Jews everywhere as the day that Moses received the Law on Mount Sinai. It is the day that the fire of God fell on the mountain leaving its summit forever charred. I had never heard anything like this in all my Pentecostal experience and education.
The next couple days were filled with excitement as if I had come across a buried treasure field. Other exciting concepts began to appear in my mind and spirit. Another breakthrough came as I cross-referenced the covenant at Sinai with the other covenants in the Bible. All pointed to salvation, water baptism and Pentecost.2 One after the other, each one unfolded more and more information behind an emerging pattern and theme. All these ideas began to flood my mind so quickly that I became almost disoriented and afraid. The depth and the incomprehensible beauty and magnitude behind God's Word almost became more than I could bear. I look up and told my wife as she was preparing dinner, "Martha I am afraid, this is so deep that I am shaking. I can't believe what God is showing me!"
All of a sudden complex questions about the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit and unknown tongues became clear to me as I saw Pentecost for what it was - the Promise of the Father and a Covenantal act. Although, I had started my preparation for the study with an open mind about the significance of tongues and whether the Lord's Baptism was a separate work, all of it became as solid as gopher wood after February 18th.
There is now no doubt in my mind that unknown tongues are the lasting sign of the Covenant of Pentecost. Neither is there any doubt that the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a separate and distinct work, as can be seen in the triple play of the Exodus account (salvation, water baptism, fire). However, at the same time I began to see that all three concepts are unified, an idea that is equally mind-blowing.
I had always been taught that tongues were the initial evidence, but never the larger why's. When I looked at all the evidence, not just from the New Testament, but the whole Word of God, unknown tongues became the obvious choice even before appearing in Acts! Looking at the entirety of Scripture before the New Testament, the disciples should not have been surprised that tongues of fire would appear over their heads. Neither should modern-day Christians wonder if the Lord's Baptism is for today and whether unknown tongues are a necessary sign. God does not change! (Malachi 3:6)
Suddenly questions over when Salvation occurs, the significance of water Baptism, the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a second work, and unknown tongues as initial evidence begin to be answered. Much of the confusion over these issues stems from an inability to see a simultaneous distinction and union between them. It also stems from a failure to see these works from a covenantal perspective. Once you put on these "lenses," the answers to these questions become clear.Take for instance unknown tongues as the initial evidence. Pentecostals almost naturally fall back on personal experiences and the three witnesses in the book of Acts to prove that unknown tongues are the Biblical evidence. I know I did. Unfortunately, these arguments have never been enough to convince sincere believers who are skeptics. But what if the Bible is shown to be full of witnesses outside of the book of Acts? This is exactly what the covenantal model accomplishes.
For instance, who would argue that circumcision is not the lasting sign in the flesh mandated by the Abrahamic Covenant still adhered to by Jews everywhere? Who would argue that rainbows are not the lasting sign of the Noahadic Covenant? If the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a covenantal act on par with the covenants of Noah, Abram, Abraham and Moses, then it must have a lasting sign. Who would argue that God all of a sudden changes the rules when it comes to His covenants? Again, God does not change.
"He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case...What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise." (Galatians 3:14-15, 17)More harm has also been done by Pentecostals assigning attributes to the Lord's Baptism that are not Biblical. These theological "rabbit trails" have set up Pentecostals for failure. One such rabbit trail is arguing that the Lord's Baptism guarantees holiness. When one looks at the Lord's Baptism from a covenantal perspective this argument falls short. Were the Jews holy because of their circumcised bodies? Clearly not. Neither do the Lord's Baptism and unknown tongues guarantee holiness. Although they may help lead a person to greater holiness, this is not their intended purpose. The Lord's Baptism and tongues are part of a covenant of empowerment and edification for the purpose of witnessing to the world."For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 1:20)
"I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered." (Psalm 89:34)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)Two other theological rabbit trails are that believers without the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit can not be successful in evangelism or perform miracles. The first case confuses the office of an evangelist with the power to witness. This is why there are successful evangelists who do not have the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. They are operating in the great supernatural power of their specific office and not in the power to witness that is available to all believers through the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:11-12)The second case involves confusing either the power in the name of the Lord or the offices of a miracle worker again with the power to witness. This is why some believers are used of God in working miracles, first because the power to heal and drive out demons resides in the name of the Lord Jesus and second there is power in the office of a miracle worker appointed by the Lord Jesus.
"He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." (Matthew 10:11)
"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.' He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.'" (Luke 10:17-19)
The Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit with its accompanying lasting sign is in a category all its own. It is a personal encounter and personal covenant act between the Lord Jesus Christ and an individual believer. It is a singular moment when the Lord Jesus baptizes an individual believer on earth from His throne in Heaven. He did not baptize during His earthly ministry, but now that He has ascended He can do so for all His believers.
"The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee." (John 4:1-3)Viewing the Lord's Baptism and unknown tongues in this light I finally understand why the disciples accepted the Gentile believers into their fold in Acts chapter 10. I believe the disciples fully understood that the Lord's Baptism was a covenantal act and that tongues were its lasting sign. When sincere believers marginalize tongues they are actually taking a key moment in church history for granted. Had it not been for tongues, and the Pentecostal experience, the very Jewish disciples would never have accepted the ceremoniously unclean Gentiles into their fold. Here again, the covenantal model shows that it has always been God's plan to include both the "clean" and the "unclean" from the Flood, to Abraham, to Sinai, to Acts Chapter 10 and beyond.
"I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'" (John 1:33)
"But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'" (Matthew 3:14)
"Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 11:16)
"God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear." (Acts 2:32-33)
"The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:39)
As far as proving that salvation, Baptism in water, and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit are separate yet unified works, the covenantal model can be used again. Who would argue that the Flood, Noah's sacrifice, and the appearance of the rainbow were not three separate events? Who would argue against the Red Sea crossing being a different work from the Passover yet a part of a unified story?
Failure to see the simultaneous distinction and unification between these works explains why they are so often confused together. It explains why some sincere believers confuse baptism in water with salvation saying that it is necessary for salvation. It also explains why others confuse salvation with the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit saying that it too is necessary for salvation. It also explains why salvation can occur at baptism in water (if the person at that point finally understands the Gospel) and why the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit can occur at salvation or baptism in water (Acts Chapter 2). There is an intimate connection between all three, however, they are three distinct works. The same could be said of the Holy Trinity. There is only one God, however, He exists as three separate persons.
All these insights flowed together with this progressive revelation that began on February 18th, 2004 and has continued to the present day. From that day on, whenever I asked the Lord in prayer to lead me to more confirmation of the covenantal model, the inter-relationship between baptisms, and to even the significance of tongues, He would faithfully guide me to the passages of Scripture that I had never put together. The following instances provide examples of how I came to an understanding that was pre-formulated in Scripture:
One day I asked the Lord to confirm a connection to the sign of circumcision and tongues. In moments I was led to what to me was an obscure comment from Moses and God's response to Him:
"And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?" (Exodus 6:12, KJV)
"And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?" (Exodus 6:30, KJV)
"And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land." (Exodus 7:1-2, KJV)
Thus was I shown that God had enabled Moses through the power of the Holy Spirit to speak whatever He commanded Him. In this sense, his lips were circumcised just as the lips of the disciples on the Day of Pentecost and all disciples since then.
On another occasion, I asked the Lord to show a connection between the covenantal sign of the rainbow and tongues. I was shocked and excited beyond words when he led me to Chapter 10 of the Book of Revelation, which I quote in its entirety:
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down." Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets." Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land." So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."
There is so much within just this Scripture that time and space does not permit to elaborate, but what I was shown was that when Jesus baptizes people in the Holy Spirit, they are very much like this angel and even John when he eats the little scroll. Whether it is a rainbow or a tongue of fire overhead, the Seven Thunders speaks through His believers in a colorful multitude of tongues as He enables. The description of the angel, his unique cloud robe, the scroll, and its prophetic anointing are all significant types that are in line with the unchanging patterns of the Word of God.
On yet another occasion, I received clarification on tongues. The experience occurred when questions arose in the study about their significance. The questions originated from confusion over the Apostle Paul's teachings in First Corinthians. I knew my doctrinal understandings could only go so far and could not completely answer all the questions. I had been always been taught the gift of tongues was different from the evidentiary sign of tongues, but never in the way the Holy Spirit taught me after praying that night after the study.
After crying out to God for wisdom, I took another look at First Corinthians Chapter 14. Here is where I thank God for my studies in linguistics, because after a few seconds of re-reading the passage, linguistic markers began popping up all throughout Paul's words. These markers clearly differentiated what I now refer specifically to as the "unknown tongue" and the "gift of different kinds of tongues."
Then I came to 1 Corinthians 14:22, where it says in part "tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers." I became fixated on this verse reading it over again as if there was a larger story behind this one verse that I often passed over. I asked the Lord, "show me what you mean by a 'sign for unbelievers.'" Within a few moments, several ideas I had never considered began to formulate in my mind and jumped out from Scripture.
The first idea was that unknown tongues were intimately connected with worldwide evangelism - the languages of the world. Adding this to the self-edification purpose for tongues, the Corinthian error became two-fold. They were manifesting a gift that was connected to evangelism and self-edification in a corporate setting of people who were already saved. Thus, the unknown tongues they were manifesting belonged not amongst believers but to edify and empower them as individuals in their prayer closets outside of church for the purpose of winning unbelievers. This explained once and for all why the Apostle Paul said that unknown tongues edified the individual and served as a sign for unbelievers.
The second idea was to search for as many instances to tongues as signs. This time I bypassed the traditional "three witnesses" in Acts that linked tongues as signs for the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; 10:46, and 19:6) and the disputed witness in Mark 16:17. Instead, I found three other witnesses in the Book of Acts that I had never considered. These all involved references to the salvation of the Gentiles. The first was Peter's explanations to the council of Apostles and their verdict:
"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." (Acts 11:15-18)
Then, I found another explanation given by the Apostle Peter:
"After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: 'Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith . . ." (Acts 15:7-9)
And then came the response from James that ended the debate about the standing of Gentiles:
"When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself." (Acts 15:13-14)
These three witnesses two by the Apostle Peter and one by James, along with the two recorded responses of the circumcised believers all referred back to the events of Acts Chapter 10, when the Lord baptized the Gentiles with the Holy Spirit just as he had done with the circumcised believers on the Day of Pentecost. Just how did the Holy Spirit come on the Gentiles as He had come on the Jews?
"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God." (Acts 10:44-46)
Thus, three witnesses, two different Apostles, and two separate councils of circumcised believers were referring to the events found in Acts Chapter 10, one of the "three witnesses." What was the central fact that ended both debates? The fact that the Lord had baptized the Gentiles in the same manner as He had with the Jews, that is they spoke in tongues unknown to them.
All of a sudden what began as a search for the significance of tongues in First Corinthians ended in Acts, with a total of seven witnesses and a conclusion that left me stunned. For the first time, I realized that Gentiles owed their acceptance by the circumcised believers not to some invisible experience or declaration of faith, but to speaking in unknown tongues! The Lord answered my earnest prayers for wisdom that night by showing me just how significant unknown tongues were.
The last example of this progressive revelation was the ultimate jackpot. It occurred some time after I had completed giving the entire Bible Study. For some reason, I had been afraid to ask the Lord for more confirmation. But one day, I sought the Lord to give me clear a connection between a covenant and Pentecost. The Lord, ever faithful to those who ask for wisdom, led me to the Book of Isaiah, but for the first time, I was to combine portions of two separate chapters. From Isaiah 59:21 and 60:1-5:
"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come . . ."
I was absolutely stunned by the clear connection to a future covenant and tongues. Just like the events at Sinai, I had found another Day of Pentecost described not in the Book of Acts but in Isaiah. I processed the combined passage, taking the first part as prophecy and second part as fulfillment and excitedly compared it to passages from Acts Chapter 2:
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" (Acts 2:1-12)
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:37-39)
After I read this, just like the disciples two thousand years before me I finally understood. I had no further objections and just praised God.
I pray that the story behind Jesus the Baptist brings glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ, who along with the Father and Holy Spirit are unchanging players in this and all other covenants. I also pray that it gives honor due to His inerrant and infallible Word.
In closing, I encourage you the reader to ask for wisdom from the Lord and to not rely on the wisdom of man in your search for the truth. I have found that there is a veritable treasure trove of truth in Scripture that is awaiting more discovery. For my part, I discover new gems almost every day while I meditate on His Word and rely on its author the Holy Spirit for guidance in all truth. It is as if I have walked on the open diamond fields of Africa with the Lord for the last two years, long after the original Bible study ended. I pray that what I consider to be gems glow in their brilliance behind the pages of what is now the Baptist. What I have found has finally answered all of my questions and even the ones I never asked. I pray that your study of God's Word proves just as personally enriching if not more!
In the name of Jesus the Baptist - Amen.
Danny dj Morales
1. Only after writing Jesus the Baptist have I realized that the Lord showed me the relativity between prophecy and tongues back in 2000 when He blessed me with the gift of different kinds of tongues. Prior to receiving this gift, I had been asking specifically for the gift of prophecy. After receiving the gift of different kinds of tongues and the gift of interpretation I somehow knew that my prayers had been answered. Now I realize just how much the Lord was showing me this relativity by the manner in which He answered my prayers. My testimony about this experience appears in The Radiant Face of My Dad on our Light the Fire Blog.
2. Another exciting confirmation occurred when I researched the connection between all the days of Covenant. When I re-read the account of the Flood, I realized that Noah's Covenant had to have occurred in the third month corresponding again with Pentecost. As a side note, several days later as I was looking through an online version of the extra-canonical Book of Jubilees for the Days of Covenant, I discovered another startling connection between them. According to this source, all the major Days of Covenant in the Old Testament (Noah, Abram, Abraham, and Moses), four in all, fell exactly on the Day of Pentecost! Although its contents are disputed, this book was widely available and no doubt widely discussed during the Second Temple Period, which included the years of Jesus' earthly ministry. Thus, the inter-relationship between these Days of Covenant was a part of the Jewish consciousness of the day.
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