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Another FALSE DOCTRINE that seems to have run rampant in today's "gatherings" in buildings called "Churches". (In case you hadn't noticed, the "Church" is us...not a building made with hands).

I remember way back in the "old days", Christians called what is now called a "church", a "Sunday-go-to-meeting" place, but never a "church". But today our definitions are getting further from the truth.

WHAT ABOUT THE PRACTICE OF "SPEAKING IN TONGUES"?

How many times have all of us heard, at some time or other, a Pastor say that we all MUST HAVE the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with initial evidence of speaking in tongues!!" Because if we don't, we are not really saved.

This caused many hours of grief for me when I first was drawn by the Father to see what Jesus Christ had done for me..and I believed it! Joy turned into sorrow because no matter how hard I tried, I could not speak the "gibberish" people around me in church were speaking. Then, in a way, I was ostracized because I couldn't do it.

So, I studied the phenomenon...."if in doubt, check it out!


Here is a link by John McArthur which has a superb teaching on "talking in tongues".

http://royalheir.blogspot.com/2011/07/false-teaching-speaking-in-tongues.html


This is another one that I found that has a great write-up on the errors of those believing in extra-biblical manifestations....especially "speaking in tongues"


http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/tongues.html


I DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, ENDORSE ANY OTHER DOCTRINES OF THE AUTHORS OF WHOM I SELECT TO USE AS TEACHING TOOLS....I HAVE NO SPECIFIC "RELIGIOUS" BELIEFS. I CONSIDER MY SELF SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD ALONE, AND I HAVE FAITH TO BELIEVE IT AND LIVE IT ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE ALONE.


Piece of an article written by Dr. Lorraine Day:

Pentecost in the New Testament


Pentecost was to be a Feast using Leavened bread, as opposed to Passover when the Israelites were to use Unleavened bread! Leaven represents sin. The Passover was about Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for the whole world. He is/was without sin, so the Feast was to be with Unleavened bread.

Pentecost, on the other hand, was the time when God would put the "earnest" of His Spirit in His followers, the "earnest" meaning a beginning of Jesus' Spirit of Holiness, a disposition that would grow from "glory to glory" as the follower, through extensive trials and tribulations, learns to obey the Word of God. Eventually this process leads to the development of the mind and disposition of Christ in the true believer.

We cannot do this on our own. Jesus does it ALL by leading us through whatever trials and tribulations are necessary for us to realize our need for Him. The eventual outcome of this process is a follower of Christ who exhibits the same character, disposition and mind of Christ.

"You shall be perfect (literal translation), even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matt 5:48

"Be ye holy; as I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16

Finally, fifteen hundred years AFTER God's first attempt at putting His Spirit into the Israelites [she is speaking of the FIRST Pentecost at Mt. Sinai], God finally accomplishes His work in the disciples in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

The Day of Pentecost in Acts, Chapter 2:

The Book of Acts, Chapter 2, gives us an account of what happened at Pentecost. Unfortunately, the Bible translators have mistranslated major portions of this passage, but we will sort it out from the original Greek Scriptures.

This is the passage in Acts 2:1-6 as it appears in the King James Translation and many other Bible versions:

"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."

However, the translators have taken liberal license with the translation of this passage. There are many serious mistranslations. The following are some of the most offensive.

Incorrect Translation.......... Correct Translation

Spirit and Ghost..... Breath

cloven.......... Being distributed

utterance......... To enunciate plainly

tongues.......... Languages

language.......... Dialect

violent.......... Vital, life-giving



"Spirit" (as in Holy Spirit):

The English word "Spirit" is a mistranslation of the Greek word pneuma (the Greek root word from which we get the English word "pneumonia!"). It means BREATH! Physical BREATH is what God breathed into Adam's nostrils in Genesis 2:7. (God did NOT breathe a Ghost up Adam's nose - God breathed BREATH into Adam's nostrils) that allowed Adam's body (that God made from the earth - dirt) to come alive. Here is the equation: a body of dirt + God's breath = a living soul (a living person who has the five senses: taste, touch, hearing, sight, and sense of smell).

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH of life: and man BECAME a living soul." Genesis 2:7

The term Holy "Ghost" is a TOTAL mistranslation of the word pneuma as well as a mistranslation of the word "Spirit." It is translated as "Ghost" to support the false doctrine that when a person dies, he or she becomes a "Ghost" - a "Spirit" and wafts off to heaven - - - or hell, as the case may be!

This is the BREATH (NOT "Spirit") that returns to God when a person dies. The body returns to the earth, from whence it came, and the BREATH returns to God who gave it.

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit (BREATH #7307 in Strong's Concordance) returns unto God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:7



This is also the spiritual BREATH of Holiness (Holy BREATH - NOT Holy Spirit) that God "breathes" into us to give us His "life," His disposition.



And Jesus "breathed" on them and said "Receive the Holy (Spirit) Breath (God's "breath" of holiness)."

("breathed" = #1720 in Strong's Concordance - emphusao - from which we get the word "emphysema" of the lungs. It means "to blow at" or "breathe on.")

("Breath" (mistranslated "Spirit" = #4151 in Strong's Concordance) is pneuma which means "a current of air" or "breath."

From this we learn that God breathes PHYSICAL breath into us so we then have PHYSICAL life. That breath must invade and keep alive every cell in our body for us to be physically alive and healthy.

God also breathes SPIRITUAL breath into us to give us SPIRITUAL "life" - this is Eonian life - consistently mistranslated "Eternal" life. The translators have confused "Eternal life" with Immortality. As shown in the study "Does "Forever" Really mean Forever?" (see www.goodnewsaboutgod.com) the words eternal, eternity, and forever NEVER appear in the Bible. These words are a mistranslation of the word "eon" or "eonian."

This "Holy Breath" (mistranslated "Holy Spirit") is the spiritual counterpart of Physical Breath, the breath that keeps us alive physically. The same was true of Manna - the Physical bread from heaven - that was the physical counterpart of Jesus - who was the Spiritual Bread from heaven!

The apostle Paul often speaks of Eonian (Not "Eternal") Life.



Eonian Life is the Life of Jesus that He puts into His true followers by giving them His "Holy Breath (NOT Holy "Spirit"). It is the Spiritual Life in us that must be maintained by the "nutrition" of both daily prayer and the reading of God's Word, just as the Physical Life must be maintained by eating the physical food God has given us.

Without physical food, the physical life dies. Without spiritual food, the spiritual life dies.

Eonian Life, the Life that Jesus puts in us so we can manifest His character, is a mandatory prerequisite for obtaining Immortality. One CANNOT live forever UNTIL he has the character of Jesus manifested in his life!

"Neither is their salvation in any other: for there is none other Name (Character) under heaven, given among men, whereby we MUST be saved." (Acts 4:14)

The word "name" in the Bible always refers to the character. God reveals His character by the names He gives Himself: El Shaddai, (Almighty - All Sufficient), Jehovah (Self-Existent), Jesus (Saviour), Emmanuel (God with us), etc.

God changed Jacob's name (meaning deceiver) to "Israel" when Jacob recognized his sins and confessed. "Israel" became Jacob's new Spiritual name which meant "for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

Names in the Bible, including the names God has given Himself, were meant to represent and define character.

Returning to Acts 4:14 (above), the reason there is salvation in "no other Name" other than Jesus Christ, is that no one is safe to save until he or she has developed the character of Jesus Christ. And the only way that can be done is to study God's word daily and pray daily, and keep looking at Christ continuously. Then, by "beholding" Christ, we become changed into His image. We can't do it. Jesus does it all!

Everyone will be saved - - - but only AFTER each person has been made a New Creature in Christ (by being taken through trials and tribulations to learn obedience). No one is ready for Immortality - living forever - until he exhibits the character of Christ.

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And, after this, if you hear any "preacher" (or anyone else) talking in "tongues" that sound like "gibberish".....maybe he just has a habit of "showing off" that he is more "spirit-filled" than you are. IGNORE HIM/HER because it's NOT A BIBLE DOCTRINE to do that! Believers, through the "Breath of God" began to spread the Gospel around the world, from then and onward, by speaking it in OTHER LANGUAGES.

Sadly, today, it is used as a mechanism to instill guilt and shame in the new believer (baby Christian), and those who SHOULD know better...should STOP IT!!

Arlene