One of the images used in his presentation is the German swastika, which before Hitler’s reign of terror, was a symbol that meant quality and people or companies who made items of quality would place the symbol on their wares to indicate the quality built in. The meaning of the symbol changed dramatically though when Adolf Hitler chose to use the symbol for his political movement. The question is, “If God is trying to speak to this age with stammering lips and another tongue, what is He trying to say?” Whatever it is, it was important enough for God to issue a warning about how His word should be interpreted seven hundred years before hand.
Hanks, playing professor Langdon, shows a picture which appears to be the Madonna and child but after the picture is identified by the audience as such goes on to state the picture is actually of a statue depicting a heathen deity and its mother. This illustrates an important possibility. If God intended to speak to this age with stammering lips and another tongue, what if the people of this age have totally misidentified the symbol God is using.
I am talking about the gift of tongues. That there is a gift of tongues, a gift of God, given to the Church for the Church age is without question, or, should be, yet even that fact is disputed by some New Testament scholars and beyond the question of the validity of the gift, the fact that God might be trying to communicate some larger truth using the gift of tongues as a symbol has not even entered into the hearts of Christians. Seven hundred years before the Church existed, God warned the Church concerning the interpretation of His Word.
First, let’s consider the gift itself. As previously stated, the gift of tongues is unique to the age of the Church. In that it is true that the gift of tongues did not exist before Jesus’ resurrection and that Jesus commanded His fledgling Church to wait until after they had been saturated (baptized) with the Spirit before going out to witness of Him, speaks of Jesus’ high regard for the gift and its usefulness to the Church. The gift of tongues is not just a gift of God; it is specifically a gift of the Christ, the Messiah. Plus, those who first attempt to yield to the gift as it flows from the very heart of their being, stammer, while trying to yield their tongue to the Holy Spirit’s words. Moreover, the foreign language flowing out of the heart of one who never took the time to learn to speak it, not to mention the fact they don’t know what language they speak, is a powerful message to the Church; but what message? What message is it the captain of our salvation is trying to communicate to us?
The gift of tongues, as it flows out of the heart of those who receive it, is a supernatural event and perhaps the supernatural aspect of the gift is supposed to communicate the supernatural aspect of our God, but more specifically, the supernatural aspect of the Christ, the one who suffered and died to save us. As such, each and every believer in Christ should strive to receive the gift the Christ gave the Church. This is without considering Jesus issued this commandment as Lord of Lords and King of Kings to those first believers. That Jesus issued this commandment as the blessed only Potentate, after being highly exalted by the Father and Holy Spirit, and given a name that is above every other name, must be considered carefully. The importance of this commandment, to be saturated with the Spirit of God daily, should not be overlooked or failed to be considered. In order for flesh to take on the nature of God, the nature of the supernatural, it must be saturated with God regularly.
Allow me to restate this. In order for mortality to take on immortality, mortality must be saturated with immortality. Now, the question is, “Are those who are washed from their sins saturated with immortality; Are they saturated with the supernatural?” There certainly is no indication to suggest such is the truth. While the gift of tongues flowing out of the mouths of those who have received the gift acts as an exclamation point to the truth that their sins have been washed away, the gift being supernatural and commanded by Jesus, the lack of this exclamation point is in itself an exclamation point. While those who have received Jesus’ death under penalty of sin as payment for their sin have certainly received unto themselves a life changing experience, the lack of outward manifestation of Jesus the Messiah, speaks volumes and Jesus is a supernatural being.
Now, let’s return to our original premise, “With stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people.” It seems pretty obvious this verse is speaking of the gift of tongues, a gift given specifically to the Church for the Church age, a gift commanded by the Lord of the Church for the Church to receive, a gift receivers stammer while trying to understand how to yield their tongues to the Holy Spirit’s words; the question is, what is the Lord of the Church trying to say to the Church by the sign of the gift of tongues? What was it the Lord of the Church intended to convey to the Church, using the gift of tongues?
Perhaps we need to back up to consider our terms. Christian is defined as a follower of Christ. So, anyone who follows the Christ is by definition a Christian and the Church then is made up of Christians. Since there are many denominations of the Church, there are certainly many streams of thought concerning Jesus, and to follow these many streams of thought might and might not end in salvation. Jesus, Himself said, “Many will attempt salvation but few will succeed” (Matt7:14). Just tune your television or radio to any number of the Christian stations and listen to what is being preached as the message of salvation. There is great variety in the message being taught. Many will instruct you to believe in Jesus and you shall be saved; a phrase so nebulous it could have any number of meanings. Jesus was a Jewish man, a great teacher and compassionate soul; who lived two thousand years ago; who suffered and died under rule of the Roman government. If we believe this; we are believing in Jesus but are we then saved? According to some “ministers of the gospel,” that’s all it takes. Others say we must believe in His death but provide no further information.
Some men follow the teachings of Jesus, but do not believe He was the Christ. They believe He was a great man, a great teacher, who taught meaningful truths applicable to life today. As such, they are Christians and members of the Church. Others believe He was God, who came to earth as a man and took on Himself the penalties of mankind’s sins, dying under their penalties, but believe each sin must be repented of, forgiven, and washed by His blood individually. Some believe Jesus came to earth as God, while some believe He laid aside His godhood to come to earth as man and others believe He was fully God and fully man. Still others believe Jesus was God and came to earth as a man to live up to God’s law perfectly, then by dying under the law’s penalties for disobedience, delivers all from sin who accept His death as payment of their sins. These believe Jesus delivers from the need to repent of transgressions of old covenant law because they are clothed with Jesus’ righteousness, a righteousness they gained by faith in Jesus’ death, a righteousness having nothing to do with their righteousness or lack thereof but all these believe in Jesus and which belief produces eternal salvation; all of them; none of them?
Seven hundred years before Jesus was ever born, God said through the prophet Isaiah, “With stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people,” but what is God saying? I Corinthians 14:22 tells us, “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them who believe, but to them who believe not,” to which I would say, “Believe not what?” What is it the gift of tongues are supposed to be a sign of? And who are these unbelievers? We have already demonstrated some, only a partial amount, of the many beliefs concerning Jesus that can be exercised by mankind, but wait a minute the rest of Isaiah 28 reveals that whatever it is these unbelievers are supposed to get from the stammering lips and other tongues, they fail to understand. Verse 12 states, “To whom He said, This is the rest, wherewith you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the Word of the Lord was to them precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”
Whatever it is the Lord is trying to say to the unbelievers through and with the gift of tongues is extremely important and the gift was given to the Church, not the masses outside. Since the gift of tongues is unique to the age of eternal salvation; unique to the age of eternal life, one might surmise the gift of tongues illustrates salvation. Consider the end of Isaiah 28:13: “that they might go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” There are many people in the Church who believe in Jesus but are unbelievers when it comes to whatever the stammering lips are supposed to convey. The gift of tongues is offensive to the flesh of men and the flesh of men is offensive to God. Still, faith can be exercised concerning Jesus a thousand different ways while avoiding tongues all together. Is there still any question who these unbelievers are?
Look at verse 13 again. The Word of God should be taught “precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Precept should be laid upon precept. In other words, the word of God should be studied by subject matter. It is as with this study. If we want to know what stammering lips and another tongue is, we just pull verses with the same subject matter from all over the Word of God and consider them together. We pull a line of words from one place and a line of words from another place, keeping our subject matter congruent, and build up the understanding greater and fuller until we have our conclusion. The unbeliever doesn’t accept the conclusion though the argument is incontrovertible.
The unbeliever thinks his own wisdom into the understanding of God’s Word greater than that of the author and superimposes the wisdom of man over the thoughts of God. Yet, it is God who is trying to speak to us and we have no use for the wisdom of man in seeking God’s salvation. Why would any man think himself smart enough to discern what God means and why would any man think to interpose his wisdom over God’s when we have such a large volume of God’s wisdom to draw from? The Word of God requires faith. It is inappropriate to interject the wisdom of man over God’s Word.
This is what God warned the Church not to do in Isaiah 28. God said, “With stammering lips and another tongue will I speak to this people (the Church). He pleaded with them, saying, The stammering lips is the rest wherewith you may cause the weary to rest; it is the refreshing: but they would not listen to me. I gave them my Word; precept upon precept; line upon line; here a little, and there a little; and still they failed to grasp my meaning. At the stammering lips they fell backward, and were broken, and snared, and taken” (my paraphrase).
Thus, many begin a path forward through faith in Jesus but are offended at the gift of tongues and the commandment of the Lord. They go forward but then fall backward, refusing to believe, and are broken by their unbelief, snared by their arrogance, and taken by their disobedience, Isaiah 28:13. The thing that should be understood by the gift of tongues is lost on the unbeliever. The rest and refreshing is the knowledge that he who keeps Jesus’ commandments (the ones He issued as Lord) will be loved of the Father and loved by the Son and will receive the manifestation of Jesus, John 14:21. He that daily saturates himself with the Spirit of God has no need to strive against sin; He is made into the image of Christ by His obedience of the Lord’s commandments, 1John2:5.
Notice John 14:21, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me and he that loves me will be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” There are two requirements to this promise. One must have Jesus’ commandments and keep them. Then, the promise to be loved by the Father in John 14:21must be understood differently from the love of God expressed by John 3:16. Although God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, the Son is coming back to earth in judgment and only those who have had Jesus’ commandments and kept them will be loved of God in that day. This is eternal life.
By all indications, we are nearing the end of this age. Moreover, each of us lives out our lives and passes on, only to be resurrected and be judged. Each one of us will stand before the Lord and answer the question, “Did you possess the Lord’s commandments and did you keep them.” It will be the only questions asked of you. “With stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people.” Are you listening to the message of tongues? Are you considering what God is saying to this generation by the gift of tongues? The Lord is speaking loudly. He is shouting from the rooftops, “Saturate yourselves with my Spirit, for by it, you make yourselves creatures of eternity, supernatural beings, people who belong to eternity.”
“Yet they would not hear. They made a decision, a decision to disregard the sign God gave them. But the Word of the Lord was to them precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. To every follower of Christ, the Word of God is to them, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little, and every time another follower of Christ receives the saturation of the Spirit for the first time and every time thereafter the gift of tongues is manifest, God is screaming from the top of His lungs, “This is eternal life, this is salvation!” time after time after time after time after time …
Do not be deceived, those who receive Jesus’ death for righteousness have not received eternal life, they have received salvation from sin. The Lord of the new covenant issued commandments after the cross, commandments that if not kept, can erode away the righteousness of faith in Jesus’ death. We live in a new age. Jesus’ death signaled the end of the old covenant era and the beginning of a new era. We must be in covenant with the Lord of the new covenant and Jesus is the one who has been highly exalted in this era; given a name that is above every other name, and called the blessed only Potentate. Keeping all the laws of the old covenant will not make one righteous in the new covenant era. It is the commandments of the Lord, Acts 1:4-8, commandments the Lord issued before His ascension, followers of Christ must keep. The gift of tongues is speaking to you. God is screaming from heaven, putting His exclamation point on the faith that produces eternal life. Are you listening?
Can I be honest with you? Every single person who follows Jesus on whatever level; every single person who has the least bit of respect for the Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the World, should take a minute to consider the exclamation point Jesus has placed on the Church for all the Church age. Look beyond yourself, your own feelings and impressions and all you think you know about the stammering lips to consider the simple truth of the supernatural aspect that anyone can speak a language never learned, never studied, without knowing what language it is they speak. If the scripture is to be believed, it is the mighty Holy Spirit that flows from deep within these believers manifesting Himself as words as they flow out of the innermost heart of the speaker. Is it not reasonable that our old adversary, the Devil, would do everything within his abilities to cast a poor light on the exclamation point of God? The gift of tongues is a beacon in the sky, a bright star, showing the way of salvation. Please don’t heed the warning of Satan and avoid the gift of tongues.
“Wherefore tongues are for a sign to them who believe not.” Are you heeding God’s sign? When Jesus was born some two thousand years ago, the sign of his coming was a star placed in the east. Only a handful of people recognized the sign and followed it. Are you one of those people? In John 16:14, Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it to you.” The gift of tongues is the Holy Spirit glorifying Jesus, receiving of the eternal salvation that Jesus authored and showing it unto us. Do we have the wisdom to see it? Are we brave enough to embrace it?
God forms His sentences differently than I do and differently than many other people. One way to look at Isaiah 28:11-13 is a type of anagram. Thus, to borrow from “The Davinci Code” again, “With stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people. To whom He said, This is the rest, wherewith you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the Word of the Lord was to them precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken,” becomes; God said; I will show the way of salvation in the Church age through stammering lips and another tongue. I will say, This is the rest of God, this is the refreshing of heaven but they will not hear (Heb3:11-4:11). I will present to them my argument precept upon precept; line upon line will I will lay out my truth and implore them to listen but they will not heed me. They will devise their own path, a path that leads to destruction.
And is this not what has happened? The gift of tongues has been marginalized, pushed aside, in favor of a more appealing path to life. Mankind has rejected the gift of tongues as having anything to do with eternal life and yet it is at the manifestation of the stammering lips that the Holy Spirit is manifested. There is no manifestation of God when one accepts Jesus' death on the cross for sin as payment of their sins but all the Church recognizes this faith as the one that produces eternal life. The rest and refreshing is assigned to belief in Jesus' death in spite of God plainly stating the rest and refreshing of God would be associated with the stammering lips. How can anyone attain to eternal salvation when God's Words have been so twisted, so distorted in meaning?
According to 1Corinthians 14:22, the gift of tongues is a sign to the unbeliever. The unbeliever is one who doubts the gift of tongues is the way of eternal salvation and the gift of tongues is a sign to the unbeliever. The sign says, "This is the way, walk ye in it." It is God's emphatic "Amen," if there remained any doubt. It is a neon sign, flashing with all the glories of Times Square, New York. The problem is; the sign of God is just a bit too gawdy for self respecting Christians and they reject it. It seems that God may have gone just a bit overboard in His attempt to get all of the Church age into heaven. But, this is how God operates. Remember John 3:16? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Does this not seem a bit extreme? What better way to illustrate the path of eternal life than the manifestation of God when you’re on it?
Look, the old covenant saints were provided righteousness through the continual sacrifice of animals but God swore in His wrath “they will not enter into my rest” (Heb.3:11). New covenant saints believe in Jesus’ death to receive righteousness thinking they have entered into God’s rest thereby but if righteousness provided the rest of God, old covenant saints would have gained rest. The gift of tongues was not offered to old covenant saints, saints clothed with righteousness, but it is offered to new covenant saints and the rest of God is offered to new covenant saints. Coincidence? If God’s Word is there to teach us; if God is reaching out to us through His Word, there can be no coincidence. So what is God’s rest?
There should be no question the rest of God is eternal life. This rest was not offered to the old covenant saints because of their unbelief but it is offered to new covenant saints. Eternal life was not offered to old covenant saints either but it is offered to new covenant saints if they believe. Coincidence? No one who believes in a God who can create the world we can observe with the naked eye can believe in coincidence.
Notice Hebrews 3:12, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Before anyone can depart from the Living God, they must first approach, be washed of their sins, and become part of His Church. Those who came out of Egypt “were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them: and that rock was Christ, but with many of them God was not well pleased,” (1Cor.10:1-5) because they refused to enter the Promised Land.
The same is true today. It is those who have come to God through Jesus, the Christ, who are departing the Living God because of the gift of tongues. The unbelievers are people who have first believed. Notice Hebrews 4:2, “for unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” What gospel is the writer referring to? The “them” had already passed through the sea and eaten the spiritual meat and drank the spiritual drink. This was not the gospel of righteousness; it was the gospel of everlasting life, the gospel of the Promised Land. It is a gospel subsequent to the gospel of righteousness and it is preached by the gift of tongues. The gift of tongues is God’s sign to the unbeliever, 1Cor. 14:22, and God preaches it through every believer who believes. It is the supernatural passing through the natural; immortality passing through mortality. It is the evidence of God passing through human.
Only Christians, followers of Christ, believers in Jesus, can depart from the Living God (Jesus Christ, He that was dead but lives forevermore) (Heb.3:12); only Christians can fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken (Isa.28:13). Only Christians can have an “evil heart of unbelief” because to receive the benefits of Jesus’ death on the cross but then reject the commandments of the Lord is evil. To wrap yourself in the righteousness of the Christ but deny the gift of the Christ is evil. To respect and honor the Saviour but despise the Lord of Lord and King of Kings is evil. Every Christian is faced with a decision at the mere mention of the gift of tongues; to believe or believe not. To disbelieve that the manifestation of the Living God passing through human flesh has anything to do with everlasting life is lunacy. It is the very definition!
Remember Enoch? Enoch walked with God and was not; because God took Him, Genesis 5:24. When Jesus stood in front of the founding members of His Church and commanded them to wait for the baptism with the Spirit, the word, “baptize,” means, “to saturate.” The gift of tongues is not the evidence of the baptism with the Spirit; it is the baptism with the Spirit. When the gift of tongues is pouring out of your mouth, the Holy Spirit is pouring out of your mouth and you are being saturated with the Spirit of God. And what did John 16:14 tell us; “He (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and show it unto you.” He that saturates himself with the Spirit of God is saturating himself with Jesus and Jesus is God. He that daily saturates himself with the Spirit by allowing the gift of tongues to pour out of his mouth is walking with Jesus. And what did John 14:21 tell us? “He that has my commandments and keeps them will be loved of the Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.” Those who take up the commandments of Jesus to keep them will receive the manifestation of Jesus.