Heaven's Point of View

The Gift Of Interpretation

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Hal Steenson (Host)

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Series Code: HPOV

Program Code: HPOV000005


00:01 Hello and welcome to Heaven's Point of View.
00:03 We're teaching a new series on the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit
00:05 and today we start with the gift of the interpretation
00:08 of tongues. We will see in today's study the truth
00:11 of the gift of interpretation and we'll examine several of the
00:15 other errors associated with tongues and interpretations.
00:19 So get your Bibles, settle down, and we'll be right back.
00:45 Today I'll be teaching on the gift of interpretation
00:47 of tongues. Using only scripture as our foundation we will see
00:52 that this gift is not only misused but it is also
00:54 grossly misunderstood. Now keep this thought in mind,
00:58 whenever you hear what is considered to be an "angelic"
01:02 tongue in a church service or setting, what always follows
01:07 is a false, FALSE interpretation of that tongue.
01:12 We must be conscious of a vital foundational truth
01:15 about the gift of interpretation of tongues.
01:18 Without this crucial truth, people in bondage to this error
01:21 may never be set free. This gift is found in:
01:31 This is not the same gift as the gift of tongues.
01:33 Some people think it is. It's clearly given to what
01:36 scripture says is another. This is a gift given by God
01:40 through His Holy Spirit and is not a learned ability such as
01:45 someone who is bilingual by lifestyle or education.
01:48 The word for gift first used other than in italics is in
01:52 I Corinthians 12:4 is CHARISMA,
01:56 and the meaning of it is a spiritual endowment
02:00 or a divinely-conferred gift or power.
02:04 There is not a person on the face of this earth
02:06 that can either learn or earn this gift or any other
02:10 God-given gift. For anyone to believe or even say
02:14 that the gift of interpretation is anything other than a
02:17 divinely-given gift from God would be speaking heresy.
02:22 It would be the equivalent of someone saying:
02:25 "If I practice long and hard enough, I'd be able to learn
02:28 the gift of miracles or the gift of healing.
02:30 If this were true, then by learned patterns of behavior
02:33 people would be able to open blinded eyes or raise the dead
02:37 by their self-taught ability. As Christians professing to know
02:41 the truth of God's Word, we must recognize this
02:45 interpretation gift as a gift acquired only as a gift given by
02:51 the Holy Spirit. If the gift of interpretation can be learned,
02:55 then it follows with this line of reasoning that any of the
02:59 spiritual gifts could be learned.
03:02 This is also unscriptural. Once we understand the truth
03:06 about the gift of interpretation and natural interpretations,
03:09 it should be obvious to us how they function.
03:14 You see, first there's the gift of interpretation bestowed
03:18 on the recipient by no means other than the Holy Spirit.
03:22 It's similar to the gift of tongues in that the individual
03:25 does not previously know the speaker's language.
03:28 Stay with me now! The receiver of this gift
03:31 is able to interpret a known language he or she may have
03:36 never spoken before. Now let me illustrate this.
03:39 This may be someone who speaks English is sharing the Gospel
03:43 with a group of people in India who speak Hindi.
03:47 They can't understand the speaker because he doesn't speak
03:50 their language-but God wants them to hear the message of
03:53 the Gospel. The Holy Spirit endows one of those Indians
03:57 present with the gift of interpretation.
03:59 This gift would allow the recipient to understand
04:03 what is being spoken in English even though he or she has never
04:07 spoken it. Then he or she would be able to translate
04:11 this message for the others in Hindi.
04:14 Now get a picture of this, OK? Can you imagine...
04:16 the person speaking in English here is Jim standing there
04:21 that does not speak English and everybody in the entire
04:24 village knows he doesn't speak English-and all of a sudden
04:27 he starts interpreting what the speaker is saying.
04:32 Do you not think that they would have ears to hear
04:36 and realize that this is a gift from God?
04:38 Now some people have asked, "Do the gift of tongues and the
04:41 gift of interpretation ever work together?
04:44 There is no scriptural evidence that the gift of tongues
04:46 or the gift of interpretation ever working in concert.
04:50 It's not scriptural. However, the question is:
04:53 "Why would there ever be a need for this to take place?"
04:56 When the gift of tongues is given, the speaker is able to
04:59 speak in the hearer's own language, and there is no need
05:02 for the gift of interpretation or of natural interpretation.
05:06 If I heard somebody speaking to me in English,
05:09 why would I need an interpretation
05:12 or an interpreter? Likewise, the gift of interpretation
05:15 is always used to translate a present-day known language
05:20 of a speaker to the hearer in his common language.
05:25 On every occasion in the Word of God when people received
05:29 the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they spoke in the language
05:32 of those present. There is no scriptural evidence
05:36 that anyone ever spoke in unknown, incoherent
05:41 words or sounds. Now:
05:56 Act 2:8 reads: "Behold, are not all these who speak Galileans?
06:00 And how then do we hear each of them speaking in our own tongue
06:04 wherein we were born?"
06:16 Acts 10:43-46 says: "While Peter yet spake these words
06:21 the Holy Ghost fell on them which heard the word.
06:23 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished
06:27 as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles
06:30 also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
06:33 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. "
06:37 Peter heard them in his own language and did not need
06:41 an interpreter.
06:53 Acts 19:1-6 says: "And it came to pass that while
06:56 Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the
06:58 upper coast came to Ephesus and finding certain disciples
07:02 he said unto them have you received the Holy Ghost
07:04 since you believed? And they said unto him,
07:06 we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
07:09 And he said unto them, unto what then were you baptized?
07:12 And they said: unto John's baptism.
07:15 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of
07:19 repentance saying unto the people that the should believe
07:22 on Him which should come after him - that is on Christ Jesus.
07:26 When they heard this, they were all baptized in the name of the
07:29 Lord Jesus, and when Paul had laid his hands on them,
07:32 the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with tongues
07:36 and prophesied. " There is no Biblical evidence
07:40 to believe that those disciples manifested the gift of tongues
07:44 in any manner different from the others in scripture.
07:48 The majority of Christianity is not against the gifts of the
07:52 Holy Spirit, but we do insist that the only way the gifts
07:55 are to be used is in line, in concert, with God's Word.
07:58 The enemy of our soul has promoted and encouraged
08:02 the incorrect use of tongues to cause confusion among
08:05 the believers. Now by doing this, he has managed to put
08:10 all the other gifts of the Spirit in question.
08:14 Many sincere Christians have rejected all of the gifts of the
08:18 Spirit because of the misuse of this one gift...
08:21 the gift of tongues.
08:23 The next type of interpretation is the natural interpretation
08:28 of tongues. The second type of interpretation Paul speaks of
08:32 to the church at Corinth is pertaining to a common language
08:36 someone has learned and is able to translate into the language
08:39 of the hearer. This IS NOT a gift of interpretation.
08:43 I will say it again. It IS NOT the gift of interpretation.
08:47 It is a learned ability. We are all familiar with this
08:51 type of interpretation because we see it almost daily
08:54 in Christiandom and on secular programming, bilingual people
08:57 are examples of what Paul is addressing here.
09:00 On television we see Americans who can't speak the language of
09:05 a country, preaching the Gospel to the people in that country
09:09 and they are accompanied by what we call a translator
09:13 who understands their English language and then translates it
09:17 into the native language of that country.
09:19 This is not the gift of interpretation.
09:22 It doesn't matter how skilled you are, it doesn't matter how
09:24 good you are at it, a gift can't be earned or learned.
09:28 What this is, is a learned ability by the person
09:31 doing the translating-although a translator is someone who
09:34 actually converts written words, it may help you to refer to this
09:38 person as a translator rather than an interpreter.
09:42 Were the true gifts of the Spirit ever used in the
09:46 Corinthian church? Well, there's no reason to disbelieve
09:49 that all the gifts of the Spirit were manifested at some time
09:53 in the church at Corinth. That early church was zealous
09:57 for the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and really
10:00 welcomed His presence. There is no reason to believe
10:02 that the true gifts of the Spirit
10:03 such as the gift of tongues, the gift of healing,
10:06 and the gift of interpretation and others were not present
10:10 in their services. However, the main emphasis
10:13 is that the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation
10:17 could not have been used to compliment one another.
10:21 They are NEVER in concert. There is a likelihood
10:24 that the gift of interpretation was often present because Paul
10:28 instructed them not to speak in a language others didn't
10:31 understand unless there was an interpreter.
10:33 This may have included both the gift of interpretation
10:37 and the natural interpretation. They could have also had the
10:41 gift of tongues in their meeting along with natural tongues.
10:45 Now see, this should be where we should put THE END
10:51 to this series. By all that's right, and fair, and true
10:55 this should be where we put THE END to this study on tongues
11:00 and the interpretation of tongues.
11:02 See bringing the correct use of the gift of tongues to light
11:05 should immediately expose all the errors about tongues.
11:08 We should be able to say God's Word is true
11:11 and anything that's contrary to it is a lie.
11:14 Jesus gave us the formula for freedom in John 8:32
11:19 when He said: "And you shall know the truth,
11:21 and the truth shall set you free. "
11:25 The United States Treasury Department does not train its
11:28 counterfeit force by having them to study counterfeit money.
11:31 They study genuine money and become so acquainted with the
11:35 genuine that they immediately recognize any counterfeit bills.
11:38 You know, I am concerned about many articles, books,
11:41 and programs available on tongues that focus on the
11:46 counterfeit and never really explain the authentic.
11:48 The time has come for the body of Christ to stop singing
11:53 to the choir and start ministering to God's people.
11:56 We must somehow get past the mindset of producing
12:00 material of a particular denomination
12:03 for that denomination to use to tell other denominations
12:08 they are wrong. If we would just present the truth,
12:12 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,
12:15 in the humility of Jesus Christ, it would allow people
12:20 out there space enough to admit that they could be wrong
12:25 about what they believe. My mother always said:
12:28 "A pinch of sugar will get you more than a pound of salt. "
12:33 Some of you know what I mean.
12:34 Well, next we will examine the error surrounding tongues.
12:38 First, the majority of tongues heard in this present age
12:41 are truly unknown languages unknown to everyone,
12:46 even God, and therefore do not line up with scripture.
12:53 Please recall the fact that the word unknown is not scripturally
12:57 based, Biblically sound. The unknown tongue speakers
13:01 believe that they are speaking in an "out-of-this-world" or
13:04 "angelic" language. The scriptures used for these errors
13:08 are a paradox because they are in the heart of Paul's first
13:12 letter to the church at Corinth and in this letter Paul is
13:15 CORRECTING the tongues error in the Corinthian church.
13:19 He is NOT promoting it, encouraging or endorsing
13:23 their use of tongues. We read in:
13:39 Here Paul is using a hyperbole an exaggeration
13:43 for EMPHASIS. The unknown tongues speakers
13:46 believe this scripture confirms that Paul spoke in an "angelic"
13:49 language. Questions must then be asked: Why are there never
13:54 any of these tongues that sound alike?
13:58 You see from eighteen years of experience I have never heard
14:01 any two that ever sounded the same.
14:03 Are there thousands upon thousands upon hundreds of
14:07 thousands of angelic languages?
14:09 Do all the angels have an individual language
14:12 and if they do how do they communicate with one another?
14:16 If the tongues of angels is true, then why don't we have
14:20 one-just one-just one single example of this language
14:26 in the Word of God? Why aren't there any God-given
14:29 Biblical examples to confirm these beliefs?
14:32 On every occasion where angels appeared to people in the Bible
14:36 the angels spoke in earthly languages and the hearers
14:39 present clearly understood what they were saying.
14:43 We have many examples in the Old and the New Testament
14:46 where angels spoke to people such as Hagar, Abraham,
14:50 Jacob, Moses, Joseph, the virgin Mary,
14:53 the apostle John, and many, many others.
14:57 Every one of those angels spoke without the use
15:00 of an interpreter or any other gift of the Spirit.
15:04 How do you know? Because the gift was given to the church
15:08 not to the angels. The only examples we have of
15:12 angels speaking confirm that they never spoke in an
15:15 incoherent, out-of-this-world language.
15:17 How or where does anyone come up with an example
15:20 of an unknown angelic language? Now let me share this with you.
15:26 I pray, I do, I pray that after the resurrection
15:30 and we are there in the presence of God, I pray that I will not
15:35 have to use this English language.
15:36 I pray that there won't be any Russian,
15:38 that there won't be any Spanish,
15:40 that there won't be any Portuguese,
15:41 that there won't be any French.
15:43 And the reason why is the enemy of our soul has so corrupted
15:45 our earthly language that I pray that God will give us
15:48 a new language. But it will be a language that all of us
15:52 will understand, and I believe it will be one language,
15:55 and it will be a language that God has put His hand on
15:59 and His anointing on. You know, I wonder what scriptures
16:03 people use to prove these so-call "angelic" languages.
16:07 Moreover, how could anyone possibly know if their angelic
16:11 tongue was from God if they can't even understand
16:15 what they are saying themselves?
16:20 I pray that when we get to heaven's shore
16:23 that we will be able to lay aside every corrupt language
16:27 that has fallen upon this world and have a new language
16:31 that is undefiled. However, I am assured
16:35 should it be so, that it will be one that God has put
16:39 His anointing on, a language which we all will speak and
16:41 understand and not millions of different dialects.
16:49 You know, there are many historical instances of
16:51 the use of incoherent tongues by non-Christians?
16:54 According to history, the Oracle of Delphi began around
16:59 the 400 B.C. era when Greece was the most impressive force
17:03 in the world. At the time Paul wrote his first letter
17:07 to Corinth, the Oracle's teachings were practiced openly
17:11 and were well known by many in the Corinthian church.
17:14 They had to have been. The members of Paul's church
17:16 at Corinth would have been very familiar with how the Oracle
17:19 worked her deception. The Oracle of Delphi
17:23 was a mystical shrine dedicated to the Greek god Apollo.
17:27 This shrine had been built over an old cave. Local shepherds
17:31 who got too close to the cave opening, would go into a frenzy
17:34 and start speaking incoherently after breathing the fumes
17:38 that were seeping from the cavern. People would come
17:41 from all over the region to seek the Oracle's advice.
17:44 Someone would ask the Oracle a question, and she would inhale
17:47 the vapors emitted from the cave causing her go to into a fit
17:51 and start babbling incoherently in irrational tongues.
17:56 Afterward a temple priest would write down the Oracle's
18:00 so-called interpretation of what she has supposedly said
18:03 while babbling and then deliver the so-called interpretation
18:07 to the person that had asked her the question.
18:09 This usually involved the payment of money to the Oracle.
18:14 This type of ritual, well-known to the pagan populous of
18:17 Corinth, could have easily infiltrated the Corinthian
18:21 church and caused some of the confusion Paul is addressing.
18:24 Well, what about this? Did Paul say he spoke any
18:28 angelic languages? Some have asked this question.
18:32 Didn't Paul say that he spoke in the tongues of men
18:34 and the tongues of angels? The answer is NO.
18:38 He did not say he spoke in angelic tongues.
18:41 What Paul said in I Corinthians 13:1 was THOUGH
18:45 I speak with the tongues of men and the tongues of angels.
18:48 If you read this verse in context, in the context,
18:51 or in modern-day translations, you will see that the word
18:54 THOUGH means EVEN IF. THOUGH means EVEN IF.
18:58 Paul was saying "Even if I speak with the tongues of men
19:01 and the tongues of angels. " Then Paul states in verse 2,
19:05 Are you ready for this? "Though I have all faith. "
19:08 According to the Bible, the apostle Paul had great faith
19:11 but he did not have ALL faith.
19:13 In verse 3 he states: "Though I give my body to be
19:17 burned. " Paul didn't give his body to be burned.
19:20 He was beheaded while imprisoned in Rome.
19:25 You see, Paul uses these statements as similes.
19:28 The word THOUGH simply means EVEN IF I COULD.
19:32 The New Living Translation says it well.
19:34 It says it like this:
19:47 If the apostle Paul spoke in tongues after receiving the
19:49 baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is no mention of it
19:52 in scripture. Remember the scripture where Paul states
19:55 he speaks in tongues in chapter 14?
19:57 And where he is dealing with the natural tongues not the gift
20:00 of tongues? I Corinthians 14:18 reads: "I thank my God that
20:05 I speak in tongues more than ye all. "
20:07 Take note that the word unknown was not added to this verse
20:12 because it was obvious to the King James translators
20:15 that Paul was referring to known languages.
20:19 Paul was not saying he spoke in the gift of tongues
20:21 more than anybody else did. He was saying he spoke in more
20:24 languages than anyone else did in the church.
20:28 Now, aren't tongues the only real evidence?
20:31 This is a big question. I hear this all the time.
20:33 If you don't speak in tongues then you're not even going
20:36 to heaven. Aren't tongues the only real evidence of
20:38 the baptism with the Holy Spirit?
20:40 You see many Christians are taught that if they do not speak
20:44 in tongues they are not baptized in the Holy Spirit.
20:46 Some even teach that if you don't speak in tongues
20:49 you won't go to heaven. In fact, so much emphasis is
20:52 placed on speaking in tongues as being the only evidence of
20:55 one's spiritual condition, that many that do not receive
20:59 this babbling, speaking in tongues, feel inferior like
21:03 second-rate Christians. Please note. Please note
21:07 that the Holy Spirit is not tongues, and tongues is NOT
21:09 the Holy Spirit. Tongues are a sign.
21:12 Well the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead.
21:15 Anyone who says if you don't speak in tongues you can't be
21:18 spirit filled will have trouble confirming that statement
21:22 scripturally. Paul clearly answers this question
21:25 in I Corinthians 12:28-30.
21:30 He says "And God has set some
21:32 in the church: first apostles, secondarily prophets,
21:35 thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then the gifts of
21:38 healing, government, diversity of tongues. "
21:41 Here it is right here. Are all apostles? NO!
21:44 Are all prophets? NO! Are all teachers? NO!
21:47 Are all the workers of miracles? Have all the gift of healing?
21:50 Do all speak with tongues? NO!
21:52 Do all interpret? The answer to all of Paul's above questions
21:57 are an obvious NO, not everybody.
22:02 You see in the beginning of this chapter Paul encouraged the
22:05 church at Corinth to not be ignorant concerning the gifts
22:09 that were given by God's Holy Spirit.
22:11 I Corinthians 12:1 reads: "Now concerning spiritual gifts
22:15 brethren I would not have you ignorant. " Paul writes
22:17 on a 12th grade level and can be a little wordy at times,
22:21 so you have to stay with him. He continues this thought
22:25 from verse 1 again in verse 8 of the same chapter.
22:28 I Corinthians 12:8-10 says: "For to one is given,
22:34 I will not have you ignorant brother concerning
22:36 spiritual gifts. For to one is given the spirit of the word
22:39 of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit,
22:42 to another faith by the same Spirit,
22:44 to another the gift of healing by the same Spirit,
22:47 and to another the working of miracles.
22:49 To another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,
22:52 to another diverse kinds of tongues,
22:53 to another interpretation of tongues.
22:55 But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit
23:00 dividing to every man severally as He will. "
23:03 Paul is endeavoring to educate the church on spiritual matters
23:05 and informing them that some may not receive all these gifts
23:08 and no one can pick or choose which gifts they would like
23:11 to receive. The Holy Spirit is the one that gives the gifts,
23:17 and He alone decides who receives them.
23:21 Although it is a common teaching that tongues are the one true
23:24 sign of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, Jesus confirms
23:27 the true sign of the believer in Matthew 7:20.
23:33 Jesus didn't say that you will know them by their gifts.
23:36 He said you will know them by their fruits.
23:37 The real evidence that you are filled with the Holy Spirit
23:40 is the same evidence that you are born again.
23:42 You become a doer of the word and not a hearer only.
23:47 Don't go away. We'll be back in just a moment
23:50 and we'll conclude the rest of this teaching today.
23:55 If you've been confused about what the Bible says
23:58 about the Holy Spirit's amazing gifts for the church,
24:00 You'll want to order your very own copy of this 13-part series.
24:04 It's available on DVD or video cassette from 3ABN
24:08 at a very special price. This 13-part series
24:11 with Pastor Hal Steenson makes a wonderful gift
24:14 for a friend or a family member.
24:15 Just call us at:
24:21 you may also order it online at:
24:40 The gift of interpretation, to summarize this,
24:44 the spiritual endowments or divinely-conferred gifts
24:47 or power that cannot be earned or learned.
24:50 This gift is not someone who is bilingual.
24:54 This gift is always used to interpret a modern-day known
24:58 language. It's given by the Holy Spirit.
25:00 The next thing is that the gift of tongues
25:04 and the gift of interpretation are never used to
25:07 compliment one another. They are never used in concert.
25:10 There is no need for this to happen,
25:11 and there is no scripture to prove that it ever happened.
25:16 Now for 18 years while Mollie and I were pastors
25:23 in the charismatic movement, we were used to seeing
25:28 and hearing some things that weren't right.
25:30 They never did really bear witness,
25:34 and we tried to control a lot of it, and I think we did.
25:40 But what always happened is, and for those of you that are
25:43 not aware of it, this is what happens.
25:46 There is a supposed tongue that is brought forth
25:50 that is incoherent, babbling, that is not a known language
25:56 which is unscriptural, and then there is an interpretation.
26:00 Now we saw that the gift of tongues,
26:03 the real gift of tongues, never needs an interpretation.
26:08 So my question is this, now that I know:
26:13 and those of you that are watching that might be
26:15 charismatic or Pentecostal, search your heart,
26:18 if the gift of tongues nowhere in scripture ever needed an
26:20 interpretation or interpreter, why is there always an
26:23 interpretation for what is called "tongues"
26:27 in these services? They bring forth the "tongue"
26:33 and then here is the interpretation.
26:36 And the sad part about it: it's directed toward the people
26:38 not toward God. And on the Day of Pentecost
26:42 they declared the wondrous works of God. They didn't say
26:44 my little children come up higher, come up higher.
26:46 Praise me, praise me, praise me. I love you.
26:48 You are doing real good, and I'm real proud of you.
26:50 That's not what happened. At Cornelius's house,
26:54 Cornelius didn't say I would say unto you, Peter,
26:58 that so and so and such and such, and God really loves you.
27:02 That's not what happened. They heard them magnify God.
27:06 Well how do you magnify God? By talking about the goodness
27:09 and the greatness and the grace and the mercy of God
27:13 that God has shed abroad; His love in your heart.
27:16 At Ephesus they spoke in tongues
27:21 and prophesied. The word prophesied means they preached.
27:24 And what did they preach? They preached the goodness
27:28 of God, the Gospel of Christ.
27:29 They preached Jesus Christ crucified, in the tomb,
27:34 resurrected, at the right hand interceding for us
27:37 that we might come into the truth of God.
27:39 See, here's what we need to know.
27:41 The gifts are real. THE GIFTS ARE REAL.
27:47 And if we know the real and understand the real,
27:50 we won't have to concern ourselves with the error
27:53 and the fallacy. We can just allow the gift
27:56 to come into our lives and begin to work, and ask God
27:58 to use us and see people brought into the kingdom of God,
28:02 and see lives changed, people set free, miracles,
28:04 people delivered by the true gifts of the Holy Spirit.
28:30 On our next Heaven's Point of View,
28:32 we are going to explore some of the major issues surrounding
28:35 tongues such as: Didn't Paul say he prayed in the Spirit
28:38 and in the understanding? And what about prayer languages?
28:40 So check your 3ABN World for the dates and times,
28:43 and I'll see you there.


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Revised 2018-11-05