This is the Truth Network. Acts chapter 2 tells us that on the day of Pentecost, there was a sound of wind from heaven and then cloven tongues of fire appeared over everyone's heads. What in the world was this?
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to Until He Comes, a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hinnett, author of The Second Coming of Christ, His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation. And now, author and teacher Greg Hinnett. Welcome to the program, my friend.
Today we begin a new series on tongues of fire.
Now our text is Acts chapter 2. Verses 1 through 4. I'm sure you're familiar with this. Christian. But let's read it again.
And note some important points in the text. Press One And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly the Suddenly there came a sound from heaven. As of a rushing, mighty wind. It was not a wind, but it sounded like one.
And it filled all the house where they were sitting and it was the Holy Spirit. And he filled the house, where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them, that is, they could see with their eyes, cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon Each of them.
So as I looked around that room, Oh, my goodness, it looks strange They could see flames of fire over every one's head. I'm sure they were shocked. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. That is, their bodily temples were filled to the full. And then The Bible says And they began to speak with other tongues.
As the spirit gave them utterance or the fanatics of the particular languages. that they were speaking.
Well, friends, this is an amazing experience. This is how the church started. Oh, my goodness, what a strange experience! Beginning Jesus said said they should expect certain signs, but I'm sure none of them, not one of them, including Peter and John and James, had a clue. that this would happen.
It was illogical, it was unreasonable. But it was of God.
Now The word tongue ser that's used in the Greek is gylosa, which means one's physical tongue, Or A language.
So these tongues of fire that we're going to discuss Refer to speech. as they spoke in other tongues, but This word is highly symbolic and is very meaningful, and we will explore. the meaning of this word thoroughly in this series. We will begin by giving you eight biblical facts about these tongues of fire. First of all, These tongues of fire came from heaven.
Heaven that's in the text, verse two. From heaven Oh, my goodness This tells us. that everything that happened in this very strange incident was straight. from heaven.
So it was all not part. of God. We can't dissect this. Cut it in half. and say, well, we'll take this part, but not this part.
I like this, but I don't like that. Not if you're a true evangelical. An evangelical is one who accepts the word of God as the final authority. For their belief? They're living.
and their teaching. or doctrine. And they believe that we must have a born-again experience if. We are to be saved. These are the two essentials of and evangelical.
And, my friend, if you're not born again to day, If you've never had a born again experience, let me tell you something. That Jesus Christ came from heaven to die for you, to pay a penalty you could not pay for your sin. We were all born in sin, separation from God, and the inclination to disobey and disbelieve Him. And in that condition everything we did, nothing was acceptable to God, because we were disjointed and separated from Him. Due to Adam's fall.
thousands of years ago. And we're born in sin, we live in sin, and we die in sin unless we have a new birth. Jesus said in John chapter three to the learned Jewish theologian Nicodemus You must be born again. Oh, he was religious. He kept all the Jewish rules and regulations, all the traditions of the fathers and the rabbis.
But He was a lost soul. He stood there in his own self-righteousness. And Jesus, the only righteous one, said to him, Sir, you must be born again, showing that even the best human beings. Fall short. As the book of Romans tells us, all have sinned that comes short of the glory of God.
My friend, if you do not know Jesus as your personal Saviour, to day is the day to be saved. I would encourage you at this moment You know your sins. Pray right now. And confess your sins to God. and that you are a sinner.
And you cannot save yourself, and ask him to save your soul and to give you a new birth, a spiritual rebirth. Rebirth. And he will do it. Please Ask Jesus to come into your heart. John chapter 1 says to as many as received him.
gave you the power to become. The children of God Because they're born not of the flesh or the will of man, but of the flesh. Spirit of God.
So ask him to come into your heart. Believe that He died on the cross for your sin, paying the penalty that you could not pay. to appease the wrath of God. For breaking of the law, and the penalty of the law. For sin was death.
Without shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.
So he shed his blood, Jesus did, for you. Yes, for you. Believe that. Receive him, And be born again today and enter a new life. and seek out Godly Christians who love God and love the Bible.
I know how to walk with him. You go worship with them. And set under excellent teaching, and you will grow as a Christian.
Now We're seeing here, then, that this sound of a mighty wind, and these strange tongues of fire came from Heaven, let that sink in on your mind.
So they were entirely of God. We can't, again, dissect this situation here that we're reading about and say, I'll take one part but not the other. No, not if you're intellectually honest. before God. Not if you're a true evangelical.
So the fact that it did not come from earth, it didn't come from Athens, it didn't come from Alexandria or Rome. Or even Jerusalem itself, though they were in Jerusalem at the time. No, this wind and these. tongues of fire did not come from any earthly place, so this experience was not of men. It was not humanly Manufactured.
It was of God which makes it divine. Divine And it certainly didn't come from the nether world or from the abyss. It did not come from Satan. No, no, no Acts chapter nine tells us That during the tribulation period in the latter half. The abyss will be opened in strange demonic locusts.
will come forth. and sting and torment People who have taken the mark of the beast for five months, they'll wish they could die, but they can't. That's an experience from the devil. But not what we're reading about here. We're reading about the fantastic birth.
of the eclipse sail. What an awesome experience this was And again, no one there would have dreamed that this was going to happen to them, but it did. And it happened, as the text says, suddenly. from heaven.
Number two. These tongues of fire came accompanied by the rich, full, strong Penetrating and powerful presence. of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Jesus had told his disciples that he would send unto them a comforter, and he's keeping his word at this time. And the Holy Spirit's presence accompanied these tongues.
So That's what they indicated, that the presence of the Holy Spirit had filled each of the hundred and twenty. Then The tongues came.
Now, we'll discuss in this talk that every time that someone was baptized in the Holy Spirit, they didn't necessarily speak with tongues. Paul didn't, for instance. That's very clear from the record next time. Though later. He did.
And he actually said I thank by God I speak with tongues more than you all.
Now, if we accept Pauline theology, And if we admire Pauline experience where he overcomes as no one before or since. Why do we reject Pauline testimony? Ah, my goodness We'll get into that a little later, but I just want to Season your mind with that thought. If you're going to say I believe the Apostle Paul was sent by God and specially enlightened by Christ in Arabia, and came forth with the mysteries of the Church and the mystery of the Rapture, etcetera., etcetera., then don't deny what he says about his own experience. Accept it.
Receive it. It's from God. It's good for you and I.
So the second point here is that where these tongues of fire were, the presence of the Holy Spirit was also.
Now note this.
Now don't turn this don't turn that um radio off. And don't shut down this podcast. Continue to listen to me because I'm going to tell you God's word on this somewhat controversial subject. We know that the twelve at least, and probably more, maybe even all the hundred and twenty who were there present in the upper room on this day, Had been breathed upon by Christ, they had already received a measure or a limited amount. Of the Holy Spirit.
John 20, 22 tells us what happens on the evening. of the resurrection day. Then said Jesus to them again. He had just appeared to them, and now he's speaking. Peace.
Be unto you. or shalom As my Father has sent me, so send I you.
So he's commissioning them. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Ghost.
Now he breathed, that is, he exhaled. Yeah. And as he exhaled they inhaled. and received What he was releasing. He released the spirit, they received the spirit, but just.
A breath. You must notice this. Is similar yet distinctly different from what we read in Acts 2. The similarity is both Involved Christ ministering to his disciples the Spirit.
However, The Spirit is limited in John 20, 22 because He's just the breath. Just the breath. And let me explain to you also that if it were the full endowment of the Spirit, Wah Would he have added to it? on Pentecost Day. That would be redundant and Christ doesn't do anything.
Redundant. This month, for a gift of any amount, receive Dr. Hinnant's book, The Tribulation Story, a 242-page book that describes in chronological order the shocking, swift-moving, prophesized events of the seven-year tribulation period and offers practical biblical instruction on how to escape it and help others escape also. For a gift of $60 or more, we'll send you the complete four-volume Hinnant End Times Prophecy Collection, The Second Coming of Christ, The Tribulation Story, Revelation Notes, a verse-by-verse commentary on Revelation, and the Day of the Lord commentary, which interprets all Old Testament prophecies and foreshadowings of the end times. And if you are a Logos Bible software user, you may purchase all four of these books from the Logos Online Bookstore.
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Now again, Dr. Hinnant.
So, John 20 is telling us that these in the upper room had already been breathed, they had already received the Holy Spirit. And this was the part I would add an integral part of their commissioning. Notice he says: As my Father has sent me, so send I you. Receive the Holy Spirit.
So he links the commission. With a comforter. With the strength. Why? Because he had said in Acts 1.
Brush five. not many days hence you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit and he said, Tarry until you receive Powerful Monha. This is in both Luke 24 and in Acts 1. And he said, Ye shall receive. Power, and you shall be my witnesses.
Unto the end of the earth.
So we see that the witness for Christ is linked to the power of the Spirit. Wow. Simply, it's very easy to understand. We need his power. to fulfill his commission.
We need his power. to be effective witnesses. and his power comes. From the Holy Spirit. It doesn't come from excellent education.
It doesn't come from excellent diction. We speak well. or rhetoric We've studied the art of speech and writing. No, the power comes from the Holy Spirit's presence. That's what was happening here on Pentecost Day.
Now The difference in these two experiences, John 20 and Acts 2, is that now they were not merely breathed upon, they were filled, the text says this plainly. They were filled. With the Holy Spirit then they began to speak with these tongues of fire.
So, wherever He, the Holy Spirit, is present in His fullness, so also are these. Tongues of fire. The two are connected. They were filled, then they spoke with tongues. The two are connected.
the two are connected.
Now, I will make the point now. That This is not necessary to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, but it is a biblical sign of that.
Some go so far as to say that if you have not spoken with tongues, you have not been baptized or filled with the Spirit. I do not. I do not. Because simply the example In Acts chapter nine nine. Paul there is born again.
when he meets the Lord of the Damascus Road, within three days Pass.
So there's a distinct separation in his experience of conversion on the Damascus road, where he called Jesus Lord. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the experience when his brother Ananias, and Ananias would not have called him brother unless he had been regenerated. Laid his hands upon him and said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way. has sent me that you might Receive your sight and be filled.
With a spirit And at that moment, nothing is said about Paul speaking with tongues. Later, we know he did. But not in that experience.
So he received the fullness of the Holy Spirit and was healed, by the way. He could see again he had been blind for three days. But There's no mention. Of him speaking with tongues immediately. That's why I say that it is wrong.
to say that we must speak with tongues to be full of the Spirit. On the other hand, As we get later into this talk, I will point out to you that only good comes of that experience. Nothing harmful, only good. It is a It's a very good idea. Experience that is needed By the Christian, or else God, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, would not.
have granted the experience in the beginning.
So we see that these in the hunt in the upper room had received two distinct. Works of grace, regeneration. John twenty, when Jesus breathed on them. And the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 1, where they were filled. With the spirit.
Now Let's look at Acts 19, verses 1 through 7, and examine The experiments Off. Four.
Now Here He's arrived at Ephesus. Let me just read the text to you. Verses 1. Through Seven. 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 that in the Greek the word there is matetes which means simply student or pupil, a learner, He said to them, Have you received the Holy Ghost? Since He believed now here he was assuming they were Christian disciples. That they had already received Christ. And he said, Did you also receive the Holy Ghost? Since you believed, or when you believed.
And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard. whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Under what then were you baptized? Again, he's assuming that they're Christians and they had been baptized, but perhaps are confused on what had actually happened. And so they said, Unto John's baptism.
Now he understands they're not Christ's disciples, they're John the Baptist's disciples. The the message of the forerunner had come to Ephesus, and they had received that, and they were still looking for Messiah. But had not discovered that he had already come, and his name was Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. Then Paul said, John verily or truly baptized with the baptism of repentance. saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him that is on Christ Jesus.
When they heard this, They were all When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Now, this indicated saving faith. He would not have baptized them in water. had they not already accepted Christ, having heard the Gospel from Paul.
So then at this point They're baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Now I want to point out to you that when one has heard the gospel and believed it and received Christ, and then been baptized, and the great apostle would never have baptized someone in water, Who had not received Christ? Remember the example of Stephen in Acts chapter 8. Excuse me, of Philip in Acts chapter 8. When the Eunuch from Ethiopia? Had heard the gospel and received the gospel.
and he wanted to be baptized and Philip told him, Are you sure? I'm paraphrasing here are you sure? That you believe on him? He wanted to be sure that he was a believer before he sealed that salvation experience by water baptism and. Of course, he affirmed.
He affirmed that he had. Therefore Philip went ahead and baptized him in water.
Now Using that same example It's clear here that when Paul baptized these Young man, In Ephesus. he was convinced they were believers. Or you wouldn't have done so.
Now look at the next verse. Verse six. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them.
So they were already saved, already water baptized. Then Paul, in his apostolic wisdom, Paul, who was specially enlightened about the mystery of the church, and many other New Testament doctrines. Saw that it was necessary to lay his hands on them. that they might receive something else, a second work of grace.
Now He laid his hands upon them, and when he did so, the Holy Ghost came upon them.
Now note what followed here, and They spoke with tongues, and They prophesied. They spoke under the inspiration of the Spirit to declare the glory of God.
Now, this would imply both in their known tongue and in other tongues, which with which they had not spoken. Before. Here we have a very similar incident, to Acts chapter two. Note here that this was approximately twenty years After Paul's conversion. This tells us, then, that he had already established a ministerial MO, or modus operandi.
And I'm convinced we're seeing that here. What am I saying? that the great apostle Understood there were two works of grace. If he didn't. Why did he lay his hands on these?
Men and prayed that the Holy Spirit would come upon them. They had already believed, they had already been water baptized. That is salvation. That is regeneration. Why would he have done this?
Was he in error? Dare we accuse the great apostle of being in heir? Or should we say, humbly, You know Paul did this. We should also. Paul understood there were two distinct works of grace.
Shouldn't we? Humbly learn from the great apostle. Shouldn't we let His experience shape our ministries? How we minister.
So this is to me a very important point. point.
So we see that number one. This experience of receiving the fiery baptism of the Spirit, is from heaven, number two. We see That the penetrating presence of the Holy Spirit is there. Let's handle one more point. in this podcast.
Number three, these tongues of fire came at the beginning and as a distinctive of the church age. That is When the church was birthed, this also was birthed.
Now it's as if The church had twins. And the Holy Spirit came on that day and filled them, and then these other manifestations or signs of the true Holy Spirit from heaven, from God, not from men, and certainly not from Satan, accompanied this awesome advent of the spirit.
So the beginning of the church. And the beginning of this Experimence of Tongues of Fire Go together.
So these things belong in the Church. They're neither odd, nor strange, nor weird, now I would be the first to admit. that it is not a logical experience when we are filled with the Holy Spirit it is not a reasonable experience, but it is wholly of God, wholly of Christ, entirely from heaven, absolutely and incontrovertibly biblical.
So the question is, am I and will you? Accept that fact.
Now, if you contend against that, that's all right, I won't argue the point. But I would just leave these thoughts with you that I have just Disgust. Since this was something that marked the beginning of the church. We should respect it, we should ponder it, we should study it. And the other four examples of baptism of the Spirit in the book of Acts, which are found in Acts chapter 8.
Acts chapter nine, Acts chapter two. 10 and 11 together, that's one experience, and then Acts 19, as we have read. Here. today. These tongues of fire are a normal, not abnormal, part of Christianity.
If you say they're abnormal, let me remind you that God must have made a mistake. Christ must have made a mistake. We're going to read it. This was his own experience, it didn't just happen. randomly.
The ponder. the implications of rejecting the tongue supply and choose rather To respect this that got the dough. It was and still is. illogical to our minds. That's all for today.
We will continue our discussion. With the next point, in the next part of this series. God bless you. If this message has blessed you, tell your friends and please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries. Also, remember, you may download the Until He Comes podcast from your preferred podcast app.
May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience Until He Comes. This is the Truth Network. Yeah.
