Today, we continue our series about the linguistic thread in scripture. This series is based on an exploration of the issue in a book Jerry Rankin and I wrote Spiritual Warfare and Missions: The Battle for God's Glory Among the Nations.
In part 1, I talked about the need for more speaking in tongues. In part 2, we touched on the Old Testament, watching God relentlessly pursue his people so they might praise him in the tongues of all the nations.
In part 3, we begin to see clearer pictures of what God wants through the thread in the New Testament.
The nations, scattered at Babel, were supposed to come up to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh. That was God's call to the Old Testament believers-- to go to the nations and bring them to Jerusalem. It was a centripetal mission: to take the scattered nations and gather then in Jerusalem for worship.
As I explained in the last post:
Between Babel and Pentecost we see Israel as the missionary to the nations. Yes, God called missionaries before the New Testament. He always wanted His people to make His name known among the nations. God's Old Testament agenda was that people would come up to Jerusalem, the city on a hill. Isaiah explained, "In the last days the mountain of the LORD's house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it." (Isaiah 2:2).
So, God scattered that at Babel so he could later bring them up to Jerusalem. The people of God in the Old Testament were to be on mission, going to the nations, to bring them with them to Jerusalem to worship him in the tongues of the nations.
Yet, something unique happened when people gathered for a Jewish festival called Pentecost. It is important to notice that there was, to some degree, that nations present at that Jewish agrarian festival. Some tongues, tribes, and nations were represented. However, this celebration took a surprising turn. Pentecost contained a surprise -- tongues. Acts 2:5-11 explains:
There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were astounded and amazed, saying,[a] "Look, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages."
Why all the detail? Why the list? Why the names? Because God cares about the nations-- he cares that He be praised in the tongues of the nations.
When the people of God did not bring all the nations to Him, he supernaturally brought the tongues of the nations to Jerusalem for a supernatural moment-- a fulfillment of His prior command a picture of his future victory.
The linguistic thread was evident again through the speaking of multiple tongues heard in one voice. Pentecost, and its tongues, were a sign. Regardless of your view on the gift of tongues today, and people have different views, you cannot miss the importance here. This moment was a spiritual fulfillment of the unfulfilled Old Testament mission command and a picture of the completed task.
So the Jerusalem tongues moment (combined with Acts 1:8 preceding the coming of the tongues of fire) is essential to gain an understanding of the mission of God and the linguistic thread. In the Old Testament, the nations came up to Jerusalem. In the New Testament, Jerusalem represented a turning point for the centrifugal (outward) mission. Now, the mission of God goes out from Jerusalem.
In Revelation 7, every tongue, tribe, and nation reunites for the last (and forever) time. The linguistic thread is seen complete around the throne. The mission of God is accomplished. God wins.
Missionary commissioning services and special offerings will no longer be necessary. In a sense, the mission age has ended and the worship age begins. God uses the fruit of earthly mission efforts populates the ethnolinguistic celebration. A few thousand went out from Jerusalem after Pentecost. Billions will surround the throne in one voice though with many tongues.
Every tongue and every language will celebrate His greatness-- as was always God's desire and plan.
Don't miss my next post-- I will continue to address why all this matters and talk about a lesson from the thread.
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