[OVERVIEW: Pentecostalism is only one more of Satan’s well orchestrated detours from the truth in Christ.
(A) Satan is a liar and a deceiver, and he is in the religious business.
1. Religion is Satan’s natural area of interest.
a.) He’s trying to get the whole world to obey him as god, instead of God.
Isaiah 14:14 “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
b.) He doesn’t need to deceive atheists: they are already deceived at the most fundamental level.
Psalm 53:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”
2. Satan’s interest is in deceiving the whole world, but particularly necessary for him is to deceive those who, without his intervention, would believe the truth, and thereby be protected from his lies.
a.) He doesn’t care what lies you believe, as long as they keep you occupied and ignorant of the truth.
b.) He is ingenious at providing religious avenues (“denominations”) to suit everyone’s tastes.
(B) There are two basic approaches in achieving Satan’s agenda:
1. Buy off those who are willing for a price (as Baalim) to work with your agenda, or
2. Deceive those whom you cannot buy off. (You ask yourself occasionally, “Which category is this guy in?”)
a.) Satan can do this by corrupting God’s word as its heard from the pulpit, or
b.) Provide some authority other than God’s word as the standard for truth, as for example:
i.) Phoney bibles, “Greek texts,” new revelations
ii.) Religious Councils, Synods, Experts, Professionals, high profile personalities
iii.) Science falsely so called,
iv.) Voices,
v.) Feelings. (Satan easily provides all of these.)
(C) The human race is emotional, gullible, stubborn, fleshy, self-centered, and naive.
1. They naturally tend to love the world and the things of the world.
a.) This makes it easy for Satan to buy them off, because they want the things that the world can offer.
b.) This makes it easy for Satan to deceive them (if Satan can not buy them off) because,
i.) There is natural RESENTMENT against God’s word, which appears to withhold from deceived men the “good” things in this world that they want.
Compare Genesis 3:3 with 2:17 [This is pure resentment, and Satan knew it.]
ii.) There is the ever-present tendency to want to compromise so they can have both the Lord and also worldly things that the Lord hates.
Luke 6:46 “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
2. They are suckers for whatever thing appeals to their emotions, regardless of how harmful the thing.
(drugs, “fast food,” cigarettes, booze, tattoos, movies, sexual perversion, religion, religious traditions, etc.)
EXAMPLE: “Well, Saturday is just YOUR sabbath!”
QUESTION: Is the seventh day of the week “your sabbath”?
ANSWER: No! It is the Lord’s sabbath.
Exodus 20:10 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God. . . .”
3. Just as there is a natural reluctance in the world to believe that the Jesus Christ is “the Truth” and the only way to spiritual life, so also WITHIN THE “CHURCHES” there is natural reluctance to believe that the Lord’s word is “the Truth.” (Many “denominational” religious people strenuously deny this when confronted on the issue, even though they are lying to themselves and to you.)
1st Peter 2:6-12 (8) “. . . a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence. . . .”
Matthew 7:13 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. . . .”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
4. Truth is not perceived as especially valuable when compared to things like personal comfort, religion, tradition, money, and such commodities.
Proverbs 23:23 “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”
Matthew 15:8-9 “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
EXAMPLES:
A.) Satan has two basic routes to follow in deceiving the “churches” concerning the Holy Spirit and the true worship of God (“in spirit and in truth”) that God seeks:
1. DENY (or take away from) the Holy Spirit in some way, or to some degree as “the Watchtower Society” that denies the Holy Spirit altogether, or
2. EXAGGERATE (or add to) the Holy Spirit in some way or to some degree (“Pentecostalism”), just like the Mother of Harlots (Catholicism) takes away from Christ by EMPHASIZING “Mary.”
[Pentecostalism, is a Satanic religious detour that ADDS to the word of God with corrupt doctrine that is particularly designed to appeal to the senses and flatter the religious imagination of effeminate men. (Satan has something for everybody!) Emotions, excitement, entertainment, fleshly urges, and showbiz are the main focus in this strategy. Pentecostalism takes away from the word of God the central and foremost position of Jesus Christ and his doctrine.]
Revelation 22:18 “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
General And Basic Preparation Verses for this Study
2nd Thessalonians 2:13 “. . . God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. . . .”
Ephesians 5:7-13 “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. . . .”
Luke 10:16 “He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me. . . .”
[The fruit of the Spirit of God in you will be, among other things, that the world will despise you and will not hear you; Pentecostals included. (Don’t take it personally.)]
[Pentecostals are taught to believe and say things which have a religious ring to them, but which are based in lies and half-truths that contradict biblical doctrine.]
EXAMPLE: The following slick and Satanic tract was given to Anthony’s friend, Eva, which she passed along to us as it is reproduced here: observe how slick sounding this is.
“Why is it important to study the Holy Spirit? . . . to counteract widespread ignorance of the Holy Spirit and Knowledge of the Holy Spirit will increase our desire to know Him more.”
[The Facts are these:
(A) It is stated by this tract as if it were a fact that we should WANT to increase our desire to know the Holy Spirit.
(B) This might seem reasonable to someone ignorant of the bible, but:
(C) The word of God NEVER directs us to know the Holy Spirit more; HOWEVER:
i. You SHOULD want to know the SCRIPTURES more.
Mark 12:24 “And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?”
ii. You SHOULD want to know the Lord more.
John 8:19 “Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.” [This is the problem in the world!]
(D) The word of God clearly reveals WHY it does NOT direct us to want to know the Holy Spirit more:
John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
[According to the Lord, “the scriptures . . . testify of” the Lord Jesus Christ.]
15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. . . .”
QUESTION: What do the scriptures and the real Holy Spirit have in common? (This is a very important question.)
Λ ANSWER: They both testify of Jesus Christ!
v. 27 “. . . and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”
QUESTIONS: What is understood here? What is it that we “also shall bear witness” of? What are we being told?
ANSWER: We have something in common with the scriptures and the Holy Spirit: we testify of Jesus Christ!
John 16:13-14 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself. . . . He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
[Pentecostals occupy themselves in always talking about “the spirit,” but their “spirit” is NOT the “Holy Spirit.”]
(2nd Corinthians 11:3-4 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”)
Colossians 2:8-10 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. . . .”
Ephesians 3:17-21 (19) “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
QUESTION: What is wrong with perpetually babbling on about the wonderfulness of the Holy Spirit?
ANSWER: Laying aside for the moment all the lies and inventions of the Pentecostals, their worst doctrinal error is the misplaced EMPHASIS that robs the Lord of what is due him!
[Pentecostals have bought into “another spirit” and “another gospel”.]
[As Catholicism raises “Mary” above Jesus Christ (as “Our Lady,” “Mother of God,” “Queen of Heaven”, etc.), in its subtle contempt of the Lord (which would not mesh well with “Protestant” sensibilities), the Jesuits simply put a different slant on the same strategy to accomplish the agenda within the daughter “harlots.” The Lord is brought down by raising up something else in his place, in this case, the “holy spirit.” (It’s so simple, people don’t see it!)]
[The continually repeated mantra of “experiencing the Holy Spirit”justifies the Pentecostal emphasis on phoney “gifts” and practices which to a large extent are not scriptural, and are, in fact, anti-scriptural.]
EXAMPLE: (as given to Eva by “Joy”) “10 Reasons WHY every believer should speak in tongues. . . .” [Ten Lies]
[Surely, someone might think, if you can come up with ten reasons for something, it must be true, right!?]
“1. Speaking in tongues is an initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4)” [This is a half-truth!]
(A) speaking in tongues was NOT “the” initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.
i. The “initial evidence,” given in verse 2, was “a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind”;
ii. then, in verse 3, “cloven tongues like as of fire” which “sat upon each of them”;
iii. and, only lastly, they “began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”;
iv. and, further, these “other tongues” given to them by the Holy Spirit were “KNOWN” tongues.
a.) They weren’t speaking in an “unknown tongue” as the Pentecostals are always lying about and trying to equate with Acts 2.
b.) A comparison of the definitions in 1st Corinthians 14:2 with Acts 2:5-11 shows this difference.
1st Corinthians 14:2 “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him. . . .”
Acts 2:5-11 “Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.”
c.) At Pentecost, the disciples didn’t need to rehearse it, “learn” it, practice it, or fake it; because: “the Spirit gave them utterance”.
(B) Anyone can fake “unknown tongues,” but it’s HARD TO FAKE the “signs” given to the Apostles at Pentecost:
i. “a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind”;
ii. “cloven tongues like as of fire” which “sat upon each of them”; and
iii. “other tongues” which were clearly understood by others; NOT “unknown tongues”.
(Anybody can fake an “unknown” tongue, and who can say it’s fake, if it’s “unknown”?) At Pentecost, the Apostles spoke in “other tongues” which were “KNOWN” languages spoken by men of other countries who had come to Jerusalem and witnessed it.
iv. It was a positive proof and a witness to those who heard because the hearers KNEW the languages!
(C) Acts 2:4 is used as a proof-text by Pentecostals, who apply this scripture to “unknown tongues” when, in fact, Acts 2:4 has nothing to do with “unknown tongues”. The absurd claim is made that the “Pentecostal” (phoney) “unknown tongues” are “like what happened at Pentecost” while ignoring the real issue, that these impossible-to-fake “other tongues” were accompanied by equally impossible-to-fake “signs” at Pentecost for the apostles, but NOT NOW for the “Pentecostals.” [What “Pentecostals” do isn’t “like what happened at Pentecost” at all!]
(C) The “signs” which came upon the Apostles served a purpose, and it wasn’t self-indulgent phoney entertainment to titillate the imagination of phoney and spiritually anemic Christians, or line the pockets of Jesuit trained false ministers, whose main business is show business and “keepin’ ‘em stupid” while they lull the crowd into the waiting arms of the Roman Catholic institution through the ecumenical movement.
(D) These “signs” were given in Jerusalem as a witness to Israel, because Israel REQUIRED signs.
1st Corinthians 1:22 “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. . . .”
(E) When the gospel went out to the Gentiles, it was to be received of them by FAITH.
2nd Corinthians 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:). . . .”
2nd Timothy 3:12-15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
(F) When the Lord returns, he won’t be worried about a lack of spiritual gifts (which is in the Lord’s power to give or not give): the Lord’s concern is about a lack of FAITH.
Luke 18:1-8 “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
(G) The “initial evidence” of the Spirit of God coming upon men is not “tongues” but prophecy, regardless of the tongue in which it is spoken.
(Numbers 11:25 “And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.”)
(1st Samuel 10:6-10 “And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.”)]
“2. Speaking in tongues is a means of spiritual edification. (1st Cor. 14:4)” [Here is a bait-and-switch tactic.]
(A) 1st Corinthians 14:4 is deceptively used for scriptural support of Pentecostal doctrine, but refers to an “unknown tongue” (1st Corinthians 14:2) not “other tongues” (as in Acts 2:4) with which they opened their argument.
(B) These Pentecostals lift their proof-text from a passage whose primary purpose contradicts their assertion, plainly showing the limitations and weakness of tongues in comparison with the more important gift of prophecy.
EXAMPLE: Suppose that I lift 1st Corinthians 7, verse 2 (“. . . let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”) and verse 33, (“. . . he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.”) in support of my personal unscriptural doctrine that everybody in the church should be married – that we should have no single folks in the church over 18 years of age.
QUESTION: What is wrong with my quoting 1st Corinthians 7:2 & 33 in support of my doctrine?
ANSWER: I’m a liar and a deceiver, because 1st Corinthians 7 (vs. 1-2; 6-9; & 17-40) in fact declares exactly the opposite of my doctrine, and I am wresting scripture to support my obvious error. (Paul equates marriage, slavery, and circumcision in this regard, that they are minor issues in comparison with serving Jesus Christ, and that whereas one way may in fact be preferable over another way in any of these points, depending upon the circumstances, they are still minor points. Even so, although both cases are examined and considered by Paul, if a man can receive it, being single is better than being married!
(C) If Pentecostals really cared about anybody being “edified” they would be pushing the truth, not “tongues”.
1st Corinthians 14:all “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.”
[That is, real prophesy, not the fake garbage done in the Pentecostal palaces.]
“3. Speaking in tongues keeps me continually aware of the holy spirit’s [sic] presence. (1 Cor 6:19)”
[This is a complete fabrication. 1st Corinthians 6 says nothing about “tongues,” or about “speaking in tongues!” (First, a doctrine is invented, and then a conclusion is invented based upon the first invention.)]
“4. Speaking in tongues eliminates the possibility of selfishness in my prayer life. (Romans 8:26)”
[This is a complete fabrication. Romans 8 says nothing about “tongues,” “speaking in tongues,” “eliminating” anything, or “selfishness.”]
“5. Speaking in tongues builds my faiths [sic] and helps me to trust God more. (Jude 20)”
[This is a complete fabrication. Jude says nothing about “tongues” or “speaking in tongues,” whatsoever; nor even about trusting God more.]
“6. Speaking in tongues helps fill me and keep me free from the contamination of the world. (Eph. 5:14-19)”
[This is a complete fabrication. Ephesians says nothing about “tongues” or “speaking in tongues” in connection with contamination of the world or in connection with anything else.]
“7. Speaking in tongues provides a way for things to be prayed out which no one thinks to pray. or are unaware of. (John 16:13)”
[This is a complete fabrication. John says nothing about “tongues” or “speaking in tongues.”
“8. Speaking in tongues brings rest and refreshment to the believers. (1 Cor. 14:21 and Isaiah 28:11-12)”
[This is an utterly absurd fabrication, and perversion of scripture.
(A) 1st Corinthians 14:21 refers back to God’s prophesied intention to witness to Israel by “men of other tongues” (that is, “foreigners”) in bringing Israel to the knowledge of the truth.
(B) The explanation for this is given in the following verse, (v. 22), “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. . . .” (that is, unbelievers, which in the first instance was Israel, “this people”) but even this basically failed because most of Israel (like most Gentiles) is stiffnecked and would not hear the truth: “. . . and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.” (v. 21)
(C) Isaiah 28:11-12 as referenced by Paul in 1st Corinthians 14:21, declared the Lord’s intention to bring foreigners to preach to Israel, but the “rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest”, which was “the refreshing” was the thing preached that the Lord said Israel would not receive, even if it came from men of “other tongues. . . .” The prophets had said the same (and spoke their own language) and they killed them!
(D) These two passages (referenced by the Pentecostals) have absolutely nothing to do with, “Speaking in tongues brings rest and refreshment to the believers.”
“. . . tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. . . .” (1st Corinthians 14:22), but with Israel, even this did not work – exactly as the Lord said it wouldn’t.
“9. One who speaking in tongues [sic] gives thanks well. (1 Cor. 14:14-17)”
(A) This is a half-truth: they left off: “. . . but the other is not edified.” which is the drawback that Paul is referring to throughout chapter 14. Their half-baked conclusion is not at all a valid reason “why every believer should speak in tongues, because the point of chapter 14 is to show what’s WEAK about speaking in tongues, NOT why everybody needs to do it!
(B) The Pentecostals have entirely missed the point.
“10. Yielding my tongue to the Holy spirit [sic] is a big step toward being able to fully yield all my members to his service. (James 3:8)”
[Neither this statement, nor James 3:8, says anything at all about, much less supports, “speaking in tongues,” which is the supposed reason for making this statement.]
Fake Pentecostal “manifestations of the Spirit” (Satanic substitutes for true spirituality) are centerpieces of the various Pentecostal practices.
“holy laughing”
“holy barking”
“holy growling”
“holy screaming”
“holy rolling”
“holy jerking”
“holy falling down”
“being slain in the spirit” [For example, you get pushed from the front, while someone else trips you from behind, giving you a “spiritual experience” (until you get the hang of it and can do it on your own.)]
fake “prophecy” (“Thus sayeth the Lord, ‘I can’t do nothing [sic] till you raise your hands.’”)
[The Lord can do anything he wants (except lie – and he can send somebody else to do that).]
Deuteronomy 18:20 “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
[False prophets are to be put to death! (Pentecostals consider false prophecy, “stirring up the spirit.”)]
Ezekiel 13:3 “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”
fake “tongues” (claimed by Pentecostals to be “unknown tongues” “like at Pentecost”)!?!?
[The apostles didn’t speak in “unknown tongues” at Pentecost: they spoke with “other tongues” which were “KNOWN” languages! (Acts 2:6)]
name it and “claim” it [The word “claim” is nowhere in the word of God.]
(4) Fake Healings (There’s lots of money to be made with this.)
[One of the ways that something false can be detected is to compare it with the real thing.]
Acts 3:1-8 (6) “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” [Simple!]
Romans 12:8 “Or . . . he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity. . . .”
James 5:14 “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. . . .” [No fan fare, no cameras, no staged choreography, no red carpet, no show biz, no money collected.]
Matthew 10:8 “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
1st Corinthians 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”
(5) Love of Money (Pentecostals subscribe to the “Kingdom now,” or “Prosperity” doctrine.)
[Pentecostal leaders are in it for the money, promoting the “prosperity gospel” in order to get the contents of your wallet and justify themselves in their success at your expense. (50% of the sermons will be on tithing!)]
1st Timothy 6:9-11 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Ezekiel 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?”
(John 21:15-17 “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”)
Jeremiah 23:1 “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.”
(6) Holding Doctrine in Contempt (They raise up “tongues” as the greatest of the gifts, and, then, like all “Ecumenicals,” they say “Doctrine only gets in our way.” Of course, sound doctrine gets in their way, which is exactly what the Lord intended it should do.)
QUESTION: Is it written anywhere that speaking in tongues will save anyone?
ANSWER: No!
QUESTION: Is it written that doctrine will save anyone?
ANSWER: Yes!
1st Timothy 4:16 “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
2nd Timothy 4:1-5 “. . . reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers. . . .”
[That “time” has come!]
(a) [Pentecostalism can only be successfully taught where “Christians” are ignorant, which is not God’s intent.]
1st Corinthians 12:1 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”
(b) [Tongues is only one of many gifts of the Spirit: and it is the least of spiritual gifts.]
1st Corinthians 14:19 “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.”
1st Corinthians 12:8-10 “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. . . .”
(THINK: Who would be responsible for the kind of confusion that exists in the “Pentecostal churches” wherein the least thing is made to appear as the greatest?)
(c) [All the members of the church are not given the same gift, and they do not have the power to bestow spiritual gifts according to their own wisdom. The church functions properly when the prayer of the church is that gifts are distributed to the members of the body as God wills it.]
1st Corinthians 12:11 “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
(1st Corinthians 12:14-31 “For the body is not one member, but many.”)
(d) [Prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues because prophecy edifies the church whereas tongues does not.]
1st Corinthians 14:5 “I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.”
v. 22 “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.”
(e) [The preaching of doctrine is greater than tongues because by doctrine the whole church is edified.]
1st Corinthians 14:6 “Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?”
(f) [Fake tongues, as exercised by Pentecostals (everyone speaking at once), makes “Christians” appear insane.]
1st Corinthians 14:23 “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?”
Ephesians 4:11-15 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro . . . with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
(g) [It is just as wrong to, on one hand, raise up tongues as the all important gift, as it is, on the other hand, to forbid tongues.]
1st Corinthians 14:39 “Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.”
(h) [It is just as wrong to insist that all speak in tongues, as it is to forbid speaking in tongues.]
1st Corinthians 14:27 “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.”
v. 28 “But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.”
(7) Tempting God:
(A) Handling Poisonous Snakes as a Religious Ritual, Pentecostals convert scripture into a false proof-text of their “spirituality.” (Over a period of time, older members become immune to specific reptile toxins and use this condition as a badge of their spiritual power. Then, they coerce younger members without such protection into emulating them, as an initiation, or “rite of passage,” into their pagan belief system.
[A functioning atheist from Tennessee stated, “You wouldn’t believe how many people I know that are missing fingers after being bit by water moccasins in church.” (He’s talking about “Pentecostal churches.”)
(B) How many Pentecostals have driven down the interstate with their eyes closed, under the presumption and delusion that, “God will direct my path and steer my car for me!”? Besides being grievously foolish and immature in their doctrine (and killing a lot of other folks in the process), they are simply ignorant of scripture:
(a) [Satan suggested that the Lord throw himself off a building (and even quoted scripture), but the Lord didn’t buy it!]
Matthew 4:5-7 “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
(b) [A man says: “Well, there’s good people in the Pentecostal churches.” (But . . . that’s only his ignorant opinion.)]
Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.”
Revelation 18:4 “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”