📘 The Apostolic Faith, 1906–1907: Selections on the Spirit and His Gifts

1. Rivers of Living Water: Tongues, Humility and a Free Gospel

The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles), Vol. I, No. 3, November 1906: from the opening report, “Bible Pentecost,” through W. J. Seymour’s sermon “River of Living Water,” the unsigned teaching on sanctification and power, and “The Character of Love.” Primary source; the claims are those of the editors and participants. Signed or first-person contributions by authors whose rights are not cleared in Mexico have been left out, and other items have been left out for length; each omission is marked […].

CTS note: This is a primary source from the revival’s seventh month. Reports of healings, of tongues recognised as known languages, of visions and of numbers converted are the claims of participants and editors; they are not verified medical, linguistic or statistical findings. Notice what the editors themselves stress as signs of the Spirit: humility, love, unity across race and language, and a gospel given “freely” without collections or advertising. Notice too the first marks of discernment: a correction of a printed prophecy, a warning against pride (“if we begin to get puffed up, God will set us aside”), and the reassurance that those who walk in the light need not fear receiving “the power of the devil.” The paper names women as evangelists, missionaries and leaders of prayer bands; Christian traditions read such ministry differently (complementarian, egalitarian and team-ministry views), and CTS presents the record without settling that question. The paper uses terms of its time that are now dated, such as “colored” (Black or African American) and “natives.” Its statement that all the signs of Mark 16 except raising the dead were following is the editors’ claim, not a CTS judgement.

“Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”—Jude 3

Vol. I. No. 3 Los Angeles, Cal., November, 1906 Subscription Free

BIBLE PENTECOST. Gracious Pentecostal Showers Continue to Fall.

The news has spread far and wide that Los Angeles is being visited with a "rushing mighty wind from heaven." The how and why of it is to be found in the very opposite of those conditions that are usually thought necessary for a big revival. No instruments of music are used, none are needed. No choir—but bands of angels have been heard by some in the spirit and there is a heavenly singing that is inspired by the Holy Ghost. No collections are taken. No bills have been posted to advertise the meetings. No church or organization is back of it. All who are in touch with God realize as soon as they enter the meetings that the Holy Ghost is the leader. One brother stated that even before his train entered the city, he felt the power of the revival. Travelers from afar wend their way to the headquarters at Azusa Street. As they enquire their way to the Apostolic Faith Mission, perhaps they are asked, "O, you mean the Holy Rollers," or "It is the Colored Church you mean?" In the vicinity of a tombstone shop, stables and lumber yard (a fortunate vicinity because no one complains of all-night meetings) you find a two-story, white-washed old building. You would hardly expect heavenly visitations there, unless you remember the stable at Bethlehem.

But here you find a mighty Pentecostal revival going on from ten o'clock in the morning till about twelve at night. Yes, Pentecost has come to hundreds of hearts and many homes are made into a sweet paradise below. We remember years ago, when a bright, young missionary was dying in Bombay, India, in his last hours, unconscious with the fever, he kept crying, "Pentecost is coming! Pentecost is coming!” It seemed prophetical. Pentecost has come and is coming in India, and thank God in many other places.

A leading Methodist layman of Los Angeles says, "Scenes transpiring here are what Los Angeles churches have been praying for years. I have been a Methodist for twenty-five years. I was a leader of the praying band of the First Methodist Church. We prayed that the Pentecost might come to the city of Los Angeles. We wanted it to start in the First Methodist Church, but God did not start it there. I bless God that it did not start in any church in this city, but in a barn, so that we might all come and take part in it. If it had started in a fine church, poor colored people and Spanish people would not have got it, but praise God it started here. God Almighty says He will pour out of His Spirit upon all flesh. This is just what is happening here. I want to warn every Methodist in Los Angeles to keep your hands off this work. Tell the people wherever you go that Pentecost has come to Los Angeles." As soon as it is announced that the altar is open for seekers for pardon, sanctification, the baptism with the Holy Ghost and healing of the body, the people rise and flock to the altar. There is no urging. What kind of preaching is it that brings them? Why, the simple declaring of the Word of God. There is such power in the preaching of the Word in the Spirit that people are shaken on the benches. Coming to the altar, many fall prostrate under the power of God, and often come out speaking in tongues. Sometimes the power falls on people and they are wrought upon by the Spirit during testimony or preaching and receive Bible experiences.

The testimony meetings which precede the preaching often continue for two hours or more and people are standing waiting to testify all the time. Those who have received the baptism with the Holy Ghost testify that they had a clear evidence of sanctification first. Hundreds testify that they received the Bible evidence of speaking in a new tongue that they never knew before. Some have received the "gift of tongues" or "divers tongues" and the interpretation.

The demonstrations are not the shouting, clapping or jumping so often seen in camp meetings. There is a shaking such as the early Quakers had and which the old Methodists called the "jerks." It is while under the power of the Spirit you see the hands raised and hear speaking in tongues. While one sings a song learned from heaven with a shining face, the tears will be trickling down other faces. Many receive the Spirit through the laying on of hands, as they did through Paul at Ephesus. Little children from eight years to twelve stand up on the altar bench and testify to the baptism with the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues. In the children's meetings little tots get down and seek the Lord.

It is noticeable how free all nationalities feel. If a Mexican or German cannot speak English, he gets up and speaks in his own tongue and feels quite at home for the Spirit interprets through the face and people say amen. No instrument that God can use is rejected on account of color or dress or lack of education. This is why God has so built up the work.

In the testimony meetings, they report from cottage prayer meetings where perhaps a number were baptized with the Holy Ghost or saved or sanctified and those who have been seeking at home report what God has done for them.

The singing is characterized by freedom. "The Comforter has come" is sung every day, also "Heavenly Sunlight" and "Under the Blood." Often one will rise and sing a familiar song in a new tongue.

Seekers for healing are usually taken upstairs and prayed for in the prayer room and many have been healed there. There is a larger room upstairs that is used for Bible study. A brother fittingly describes it in this way, "Upstairs is a long room, furnished with chairs and three California redwood planks, laid end to end on backless chairs. This is the Pentecostal upper room where sanctified souls seek Pentecostal fullness and go out speaking in new tongues."

The sweetest thing of all is the loving harmony. Every church where this has gone is like a part of the family. This description is given for the benefit of the many friends who write in and who would like to be present. So many letters are received in the Apostolic Faith office, which is in the same building as the mission. We cannot but weep as we read these letters and pray for those who are seeking.

The Lord is saving drunkards and taking the appetite for liquor and tobacco completely away. Reports come from Denver that forty souls have received the Pentecost and are speaking in tongues. A young man saved from the morphine habit has no more desire for the stuff and gave up his instruments.

Four workers from Texas, Bro. and Sister Oyler and Bro. and Sister Quinton have arrived in Los Angeles lately. God has been using them in Whittier.

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"Cartoons in the newspapers were my first introduction to this meeting," said a brother, "and I said, this is what I have been praying for, for years. I was warned by leaders that it was of the devil, but I came and got a touch of heaven in my soul." Before the fire broke out in Los Angeles a brother had a vision of fires springing up and then gathering together and advancing in a solid wall of flame. A preacher was trying to put it out with a wet gunny sack, but it was evident there was no use fighting it. Our God is marching on. Hallelujah. The man with the wet gunny sack is here also, but his efforts only call attention to the fire. The blind man who was saved and had his sight restored was saved because of hearing a few praying in tongues in a cottage meeting. He was a sinner; a very profane man, and was convicted because of tongues. Praise God for His marvelous works to the children of men.

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A sister who was very hungry for the Pentecost prayed for the Lord to strip her of everything, but give more of Himself. Then shortly afterwards when her house was in flames, she went out and knelt down in the weeds and prayed, "Lord, you said all things work together for good to them that love you. Give me more of God." And He answered prayer and gave her a mighty baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire and she is shining for God.

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VISION AND MESSAGE.

A sister who has been healed and baptized with the Holy Ghost related the following vision, "Two days ago the power of God came over me and He said. 'Whatsoever ye ask in my name believing, ye shall receive.' I said 'Give wisdom to speak to the people.' Immediately I was in a great hall with tables spread all about, and the Lord was the waiter, and I saw His beautiful, smiling face. He spoke to me and said, 'I have called my friends and they did not come, therefore go out and ask everyone you find to come to the wedding.' As I looked around to see something beautiful, the scene changed and I was in a hospital and saw poor creatures dying, looking like skeletons. I thought my call was to the hospital and telephoned to know when it was open for visitors, but the Lord revealed to me that it meant all those who are sick in their souls."

A CORRECTION.

In our last issue, there was a prophecy by Sister Mary Golmond of an earthquake coming to Los Angeles. She stated that the Lord had not showed the time, but that it would NOT come on Sunday. The word "not" was accidentally omitted.

HIS BANQUETING HOUSE.

"He took me into his banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." A brother says the Lord gave him a vision of the banqueting house. He passed under the great arches. Each one had a name upon it. The first was love, then there was joy, peace, and among others he saw, "Independence." He asked what that meant. The answer was, "Is it not wonderful to be free?" Dear saints, this is one of the sweetest arches in the banqueting house. This bondage to love sets me perfectly free.

UNUSUAL NOISE.

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When the word came to Azusa street, fifteen workers rallied to take the place of the four and meetings have been going on there with victory and power ever since.

The band that was arrested is rejoicing in the Lord that they were permitted to go through the trial. The judge gave them the choice of leaving town or going to jail. They consulted the Lord about it and He said: "When they persecute you in one city, flee ye to another." So the sisters obeyed but Bro. McLain preferred to stand a few days in jail and working on the chain gang. When the judge gave sentence, Sister Mayo raised her hands to heaven and prayed for him and for Whittier.

PENTECOST IN INDIA.

News comes from India that the baptism with the Holy Ghost and gift of tongues is being received there by natives who are simply taught of God. The India Alliance says, "Some of the gifts which have been scarcely heard of in the church for many centuries, are now being given by the Holy Ghost to simple, unlearned members of the body of Christ, and communities are being stirred and transformed by the wonderful grace of God. Healing, the gift of tongues, visions, and dreams, discernment of spirits, the power to prophecy and to pray the prayer of faith, all have a place in the present revival." Hallelujah! God is sending the Pentecost to India. He is no respecter of persons.

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SPREADING THE FULL GOSPEL.

A number of Spirit filled workers have been going out of late. Bro. Adolph Rosa and Bro. Harmon Clifford went to Oakland and God has been using them there. Then a band of seven left on the steamer for the north, for Oakland, Salem and Seattle. They were, Sister Florence Crawford, Bro. and Sister G.W. Evans, Bro. and Sister Thomas Junk, Sister Ophelia Wiley and Sister Lulu Miller, Bro. Post went to Santa Barbara, Bro. T. Hezmalhalch to Denver, Sister Potter and Violet Price to Fresno, Bro. F.W. Williams to Alabama a Spanish brother, Brigido Perez, to San Diego. Sister Elsie Robinson to Onawa, Michigan. Bro. Seymour has been called for a short time to Oakland, but expects soon to return to headquarters at Los Angeles. We wish to keep track of the workers in the field and be united together in prayer for each other and the work in the different fields.

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The meetings have been going on now for about six months at Azusa Street day and night. How long are they going to continue? We expect them to keep on till Jesus comes, by the grace of God. The religion of Jesus Christ is no more popular now than it was when Jesus was here. Many are rejecting the truth and are not going to receive it. The word not only says that signs shall follow them that believe, but that "They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." This also is being fulfilled.

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Sister Florence Crawford says she had a vision of a beautiful bouquet of flowers all in the bud, and the Lord said to her, "This movement is just in the bud."

Sister J. W. Hutchins writes from Chattanooga, Tenn., that they are stopping there in a meeting. People are hungry for the truth. They are on their way to Africa.

Interpretation of a message in tongues: "Oh Jesus is such a wonderful God. He will reveal Himself to us in many wonderful ways. Jesus is surely with us. O praise Him.” The brother who was healed of asthma from which he had been suffering twenty years has received the Pentecost. He is rejoicing in the perfect healing of soul and body.

Sister Jennie Jacobson, a Swedish sister who had been only two months in this country, was given the gift of the English language with the understanding of the words. She also received another tongue.

You who are baptized with the Holy Ghost must die daily that Christ may abide in you. If we begin to get puffed up, God will set us aside, but if we give Him all the glory, He will use us to scatter this light.

Blessed are the pure in heart. We do not get this purity till we are willing to let Him have His way to the fullest extent of the word. We are clay in the Potter's hands. We must have the self will removed in order to receive Him. As long as we have something to say, "I don't like this or that," we cannot receive the Holy Ghost.

We find some who are superstitious about seeking the Holy Ghost. They are afraid they are going to get the power of the devil instead of God, but men and women that are walking in the light can quickly see that this is of God. It is easy for the Lord to show them that, This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. We are living in the last days when He is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh.

RIVER OF LIVING WATER.

In the 4th chapter of John, the words come, "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of Him and He would have given the living water." Praise God for the living waters today that flow freely, for it comes from God to every hungry and thirsty heart. Jesus said, "He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his inmost being shall flow rivers of living waters." Then we are able to go in the mighty name of Jesus to the ends of the earth and water dry places, deserts and solitary places, until these parched, sad, lonely hearts are made to rejoice in the God of their salvation. We want the rivers today. Hallelujah! Glory to God in the highest!

In Jesus Christ we get forgiveness of sin, and we get sanctification of our spirit, soul, and body, and upon that we get the gift of the Holy Ghost that Jesus promised to His disciples, the promise of the Father. All this we get through the atonement. Hallelujah!

The prophet said that he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed. So we get healing, health, salvation, joy, life—everything in Jesus. Glory to God!

There are many wells today, but they are dry. There are many hungry souls today that are empty. But let us come to Jesus and take Him at His word and we will find wells of salvation, and be able to draw waters out of the well of salvation, for Jesus is that well.

At this time Jesus was weary from a long journey, and He sat on the well in Samaria, and a woman came to draw water. He asked her for a drink. She answered, "How is it that thou being a Jew askest drink of me who am a woman of Samaria, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans?" Jesus said, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given thee living water."

O, how sweet it was to see Jesus, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, that great sacrifice that God had given to a lost, dying, and benighted world, sitting on the well and talking with the woman; so gentle, so meek, and so kind that it gave her an appetite to talk further with Him, until He got into her secret and uncovered her life. Then she was pricked in heart, confessed her sins and received pardon, cleansing from fornication and adultery, was washed from stain and guilt of sin and was made a child of God, and above all, received the well of salvation in her heart. It was so sweet and joyful and good. Her heart was so filled with love that she felt she could take in a whole lost world. So she ran away with a well of salvation and left the old water pot on the well. How true it is in this day, when we get the baptism with the Holy Spirit, we have something to tell, and it is that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. The baptism with the Holy Ghost gives us power to testify to a risen, resurrected Savior. Our affections are in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. How I worship Him today! How I praise Him for the all-cleansing blood!

Jesus' promises are true and sure. The woman said to Him, after He had uncovered her secret, "Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet." Yes, He was a prophet. He was that great prophet that Moses said the Lord would raise up. He is here today. Will we be taught of that prophet? Will we hear Him? Let us accept Him in all His fullness.

He said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall ye do, because I go unto my Father." These disciples to whom He was speaking, had been saved, sanctified, anointed with the Holy Spirit, their hearts had been opened to understand the Scriptures, and yet Jesus said, "Tarry ye, in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." "John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." So the same commission comes to us. We find that they obeyed His commission and were all filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, and Peter standing up, said, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." Dear loved ones, we preach the same sermon. "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. * * * The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." That means until now and to last until Jesus comes.

There are so many people today like the woman. They are controlled by the fathers. Our salvation is not in some father or human instrument. It is sad to see people so blinded, worshiping the creature more than the Creator. Listen to what the woman said, "Our Fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." So many people today are worshipping in the mountains, big churches, stone and frame buildings. But Jesus teaches that salvation is not in these stone structures—not in the mountains—not in the hills, but in God. For God is a Spirit. Jesus said unto her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh and now is, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father." So many people today are controlled by men. Their salvation reaches out no further than the boundary line of human creeds, but praise God for freedom in the Spirit. There are depths and heights and breadths that we can reach through the power of the blessed Spirit. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love him."

The Jews were the religious leaders at this time, and people had no more light upon salvation than the Jews gave them. The Jews were God's chosen people to evangelize the world. He had entrusted them to give all nations the true knowledge of God, but they went into traditions and doctrines of men, and were blinded and in the dark. Jesus came as the light of the world, and He is that light. "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Let us honor the Spirit, for Jesus has sent Him to teach and lead us into all truth.

Above all, let us honor the blood of Jesus Christ every moment of our lives, and we will be sweet in our souls. We will be able to talk of this common salvation to everyone that we meet. God will let His anointing rest upon us in telling them of this precious truth. This truth belongs to God. We have no right to tax anyone for the truth, because God has entrusted us with it to tell it. Freely we receive, freely we give. So the Gospel is to be preached freely, and God will bless it and spread it Himself, and we have experienced that He does. We have found Him true to His promise all the way. We have tried Him and proved Him. His promises are sure.

----W. J. Seymour.

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CAME FROM ALASKA.

Bro. H. M. Turney, an evangelist who was in Alaska when he heard of the outpouring of God's Spirit in California, struck out immediately for Los Angeles, and he has received the baptism with the Holy Ghost and gift of tongues. About five minutes before he received the Holy Ghost, while kneeling at the altar, he whispered to Bro. Oyler that the devil was tempting him that the speaking in tongues was not for him. Bro. Oyler replied, "The devil is a liar from the beginning." And immediately the Holy Ghost fell on our brother and he spoke with tongues. Since then he says the Lord waked him up at night speaking and singing in tongues, as He has so many others.

A brother from Redlands, seventy-nine years old, came for Divine healing. He was deaf and used ear trumpets. The Lord opened his ears immediately. Then as he arose to go, a brother asked him, "Where are your glasses?" He looked around and said with astonishment, "Why, I can see as well as I ever did." He had had poor eyesight. The Lord also healed him of rheumatism at the same time. "With his stripes we are healed."

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God is solving the missionary problem, sending out new-tongued missionaries on the apostolic faith line, without purse or scrip, and the Lord is going before them preparing the way.

O how precious His words are. "Let not your hearts be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." So Jesus is coming back again, and He wants us, His bride, to be watching and waiting with the garments of righteousness on, ready to enter into the marriage supper. Glory to our God. Hosanna to His omnipotent name, for He has risen in our hearts. O it is so sweet to live this Holy Ghost life. Many church members are paying their way to hell. They are paying preachers to preach against the baptism with the Holy Ghost. They are getting poisoned against the truth and it is damning their souls. People need the baptism with the Holy Ghost that they may know God. "It is not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord." If we do not get the Spirit in our hearts, how can we know about the deep things of God? We cannot be His witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth till we speak in new tongues. He gives us power to lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover, and to speak with new tongues and cast out devils. Dear ones, we need the baptism with the Holy Ghost.

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A sister in Pasadena who was living a holy life before God and was honestly desiring all God had for her, arose in a Pentecostal meeting and said, "I do not ask for tongues but I want to love God with all my heart and soul and my neighbor as myself," and immediately she began to speak with tongues.

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THE LORD LED HER.

Sister Malone went to Redlands as a worker from Los Angeles. In a meeting there, an old lady eighty-six years of age came in. She had not been taught of man about the Pentecost, but arose and testified that years ago she took her Bible alone and said, "Lord, lead me." And He gave her the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and the gift of tongues. Sister Malone asked, "Can you speak with tongues?" And immediately she began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave utterance and to interpret. This is no new thing. It was begun on the day of Pentecost, but has been hidden for centuries except here and there as some humble soul has been taught of God and received His word without question.

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UNDER THE BLOOD.

We can only have life in our souls as we live under the blood. We live in the Word, then the blood flows. The blood is the life. If we stay in Jesus, we have life flowing in us. How watchful we must be to feed on the word and keep under the blood, or else we shall become sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. We may retain the gifts for a time but not the life.

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SIGNS FOLLOW.

The signs are following in Los Angeles. The eyes of the blind have been opened, the lame have been made to walk, and those who have accidentally drunk poison have been healed. One came suffering from poison and was healed instantly. Devils are cast out, and many speak in new tongues. All the signs in Mark 16:16-18 have followed except raising the dead, and we believe God will have someone to receive that power. We want all the signs that it may prove that God is true. It will result in the salvation of many souls.

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BIBLE SALVATION.

The object and end of all the precious Scripture is that a definite work may be wrought out in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. God's design through the ages and through all His work with the children of men, has been to implant His own nature—love, in a fallen race. Oh how sweet to feel the tender thrills of that love, going through every part of our being. This is real Bible salvation—not a mere theory or contention over different passages of scripture.

SANCTIFICATION AND POWER.

Have you accepted Jesus? Will you accept Him? Have you accepted Him as your sanctifier? In John 17:15-17, Jesus prayed, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. * * * And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they might also be sanctified through the truth." Also in 1Thess.1:4, "This is the will of God even your sanctification." Bless His dear name. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in unto him and sup with him and He with us. Praises to our God. Hosanna to His omnipotent name! If we are sanctified and have clean hearts, living pure, holy lives and having perfect love in our souls, O, let us receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost, the promise of the Father, that we may be able to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. For Jesus gave this great commission in His resurrection power, after He rose from the dead. "Go, ye, into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world."

O, dear loved ones, we must preach and teach and practice all that Jesus has commissioned us. If we have not received all of the fullness of our blessed Christ, let us continue till we shall be filled with all the fullness of God. Let us press forward to the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. O dear loved ones, this means the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire upon our souls. It is heaven in our souls here. O, let us get down before God and humble ourselves until we can hear Him speak. He desires to speak with His people today as He did in the early morning of the church. The Holy Ghost wants to speak to the people. We praise God for the instruments He has raised up to bring to us light, but far above all, we admire the great Teacher of teachers that never makes a mistake, that loved us even to the throbs of death when He hung on Calvary from the sixth until the ninth hour and there was darkness over the face of the earth, proving to a lost and benighted world that He was the Son of God. Infidels were compelled to confess that this was the Son of God, for they heard His words on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." His great desire on the cross was for the salvation of souls.

Dear ones, have we got that burning passion for souls of the lost? When we are persecuted and tried for the word of God, can we say in our hearts, Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do? This is what it means to have the faith that was once delivered unto the saints, faith such as Stephen had when he was being stoned to death. He could look up into heaven and see Jesus at the right hand of God. It seems that he could not feel the stoning he was so wrapped up in Jesus. There was a smile on his face like an angel when he fell asleep in Jesus.

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THE CHARACTER OF LOVE.

It is sweet to have the promise of Jesus and the character of Jesus wrought out in our lives and hearts by the power of the Blood and the Holy Ghost, and to have that same love and that same meekness and humility manifested in our lives, for His character is love. Jesus was a man of love. The people flocked to Him to hear His words. Women lugged their babies in the hot sun and spent days listening to the words of Jesus. Men got into boats and went across the sea to see Jesus and hear His precious words. While there were many that followed for the loaves and fishes, many followed Him for healing. Yes, He was a man of love. He was the express image of the Father, God manifest in the flesh.

Dear loved ones, we must have that pure love that comes down from heaven, love that is willing to suffer loss, love that is not puffed up, not easily provoked, but gentle, meek, and humble. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter day by day. We are crucified to self, the world, the flesh and everything, that we may bear about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that our joy may be full even as He is full.

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2. The Enduement of Power: Sanctification, Tongues and Counterfeits

The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles), Vol. I, No. 4, December 1906: the editors’ account of how the work began, then the teaching series from “The Enduement of Power” to “Counterfeits” (signed W. J. Seymour) and “The True Pentecost,” the testimony of G. B. Cashwell (d. 1916), and “The Sin Against the Holy Ghost.” Primary source; the claims are those of the editors and participants. Signed or first-person contributions by authors whose rights are not cleared in Mexico have been left out, and other items have been left out for length; each omission is marked […].

CTS note: This issue sets out the mission’s doctrine in its most systematic form. It teaches three experiences: justification, sanctification as a “second and last work of grace,” and the baptism with the Holy Ghost as a “gift of power” evidenced by tongues. That three-stage scheme came from the Wesleyan holiness movement; within a few years other Pentecostals (notably W. H. Durham from 1910) taught a two-stage “finished work” view, and many evangelical and Reformed Christians hold that every believer receives the Spirit at conversion. The editors’ break with Charles Parham, their insistence that “the Lord should be our leader,” and Seymour’s teaching on counterfeits, on testing claims to the baptism, and on the unpardonable sin are early Pentecostal attempts at discernment. Their lists of “demons” (Christian Science, Theosophy, Spiritualism) reflect the polemics of 1906. The claim that the disciples already had eight of the nine gifts before Pentecost is the writer’s reading. Readers may weigh these teachings against Scripture and their own tradition.

“Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”—Jude 3

Vol. I. No. 4 Los Angeles, Cal., December, 1906 Subscription Free

PENTECOST WITH SIGNS FOLLOWING

Seven Months of Pentecostal Showers.

Jesus, Our Projector and Great Shepherd.

Many are asking how the work in Azusa Mission started and who was the founder. The Lord was the founder and He is the Projector of this movement. A band of humble people in Los Angeles had been praying for a year or more for more power with God for the salvation of lost and suffering humanity. They did not know just what they needed, but one thing they knew, people were not getting saved and healed as they desired to see. They continued to hold cottage prayer meetings for several months.

Then they felt led of the Lord to call Bro. Seymour from Houston, Texas to Los Angeles, the saints in Los Angeles sending his fare. It was as truly a call from God as when He sent His holy angel to tell Cornelius to send for Peter. He came and told them about the baptism with the Spirit, and that every afternoon at three o'clock they would pray for the enduement of power. He told them he did not have the Pentecost but was seeking it and wanted all the saints to pray with him till all received their Pentecost. Some believed they had it, and others believed they did not have it because the signs were not following. Hardly anyone was getting saved.

There was a great deal of opposition, but they continued to fast and pray for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, till on April 9th the fire of God fell in a cottage on Bonnie Brae. Pentecost was poured out upon workers and saints. Three days after that, Bro. Seymour received his Pentecost. Two who had been working with him in Houston came to Los Angeles just before Pentecost fell. They came filled with the Holy Ghost and power. One of them had received her personal Pentecost, Sister Lucy Farrow, and said the Lord had sent her to join us in holding up this precious truth. She came with love and power, holding up the blood of Jesus Christ in all His fullness.

And the fire has been falling ever since. Hundreds of souls have received salvation and healing. We can truly say that the revival is still going on. The Lord God is in Los Angeles in different missions and churches in mighty power, in spite of opposition. This revival has spread through the towns about Los Angeles and through the state and all over the United States in different places, and across the ocean. The blood of Jesus Christ prevails against every force and power of the enemy. Glory to God.

Some are asking if Dr. Chas. F. Parham is the leader of this movement. We can answer no, he is not the leader of this movement of Azusa Mission. We thought of having him to be our leader and so stated in our paper, before waiting on the Lord. We can be rather hasty, especially when we are very young in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are just like a baby—full of love-and were willing to accept anyone that had the baptism with the Holy Spirit as our leader. But the Lord commenced settling us down, and we saw that the Lord should be our leader. So we honor Jesus as the great Shepherd of the sheep. He is our model.

The Lord adds here daily such as should be saved, and plants them in the body to suit Himself, and all work together in harmony under the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no pope, Dowieism, or Sanfordism, but we are all little children knowing only Jesus and Him crucified. This work is carried on by the people of Los Angeles that God has united by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bro. Seymour is simply a humble pastor of the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made him overseer, according to Acts 20.28, "Take heed therefore, unto yourself and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseer, to feed the church of God which He hath purchased with His own blood." And as missionary workers and teachers go out from this place, they have the same privilege of being pastors over the people the Lord puts them over by the Holy Spirit, and of feeding them with the pure Word of God. Each mission will be united in harmony, having its own pastor simply that the Holy Ghost shall appoint.

We believe in old time repentance, old time conversion, old time sanctification, healing of our bodies and the baptism with the Holy Ghost. We believe that God made Adam in His own image, according to Gen. 5: 1; Ps. 8: 4; and Matt. 19: 4. We do not believe in any eighth day creation, as some have taught, and we do not believe in the annihilation of the wicked.

We stand on Bible truth without compromise. We recognize every man that honors the blood of Jesus Christ to be our brother, regardless of denomination, creed, or doctrine. But we are not willing to accept any errors, it matters not how charming and sweet they may seem to be. If they do not tally with the Word of God, we reject them. This is the year of jubilee when God is sending the latter rain, and the refreshing times have come. He has raised up a nation in seven months’ time that will preach Jesus and Him crucified in all His fullness, in spite of what it costs.

“The long, long night is passed, The morning breaks at last.”

It seems that God is sweeping things. He is running right over the devil here—not paying any attention to him – saving, sanctifying, and baptizing souls, bringing them out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Son of God. Hallelujah! Glory to God!

PENTECOST AMONG THE YOUNG PEOPLE.

A band of spirit filled boys went down to Anaheim, a town near Los Angeles. They testified what God had done for them and it made the people hungry. The second night the altar was full. In two nights, eight were sanctified, six converted and five received the baptism. One night at about one o’clock in the morning, the Holy Ghost spoke words in Spanish through one of the young men, and a girl who was seeking her Pentecost understood that language and joyfully interpreted it, “Keep awake, do not sleep, and I will come to thy house.” This same girl in about an hour and a-half received the baptism with the Holy Ghost. The work among the children was very touching. The power of God fell the second night as at the house of Cornelius. Little children had their hands up shouting. The first to get the baptism was a little boy of ten years. He began clapping his hands and singing, “Jesus Savior, pilot me” in an unknown tongue in clear distinct words, also “Nearer my God to thee.” Four in the same family inside of twenty minutes got the baptism with the Holy Ghost. It was heaven there. The work is going on and other little children are being filled with the spirit.

The band of young men that the Lord is using there and in Whittier are all in one accord and keep in the unity of the Spirit. They do not preach big sermons, but simply testify and sing and pray in the spirit. Their names are Henry Prentiss, Curtis Nichols, Orly Nichols, Tom Anderson, Wm. Millson and Isaac Berg. One night recently, seven were slain under the power of God and several received their Pentecost. Many of the people in Anaheim understand German and the workers were permitted to speak and pray in that language. Some words spoken by the Spirit in German were, “God is in our midst.”

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THE ENDUEMENT OF POWER.

The first thing in order to receive this precious and wonderful baptism is to have a clear knowledge of justification by faith, according to Rom. 5:1, "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that all our sins, guilt and pollution are washed away. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. We have eternal life in our souls and the Spirit witnesses with our Spirit that we are the children of God. Now since we are justified by faith, we have access, through the precious blood, to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice for sanctification, which is the second work of grace that cleanses us from inbred sin, inbred disobedience and rebellion. The old man is crucified, the body of sin destroyed. Rom. 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. We are made holy by the blood of Jesus, for we have a witness by the Holy Ghost, Heb. 10:14, 15, "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us." But yet this is not the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Many people have taken the promise of the Father to be sanctification, but if we carefully read our Bibles and our references in our Bibles, we will find that sanctification and the baptism with the Holy Spirit are altogether different. We are sanctified through the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost is a witness. Jesus died for us—not the Holy Ghost. Praise our God. They were not to tarry in Jerusalem till He should pour out His blood upon them, but tarry for the promise of the Father. John truly baptized with water, but the Lord Jesus was coming to baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire. Jesus said, "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence," and "ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."

The baptism with the Holy Ghost is not a work of grace but a gift of power. Sanctification is the second and last work of grace, but the baptism with the Holy Ghost is a gift of power. It is a free gift without repentance. No consecration to be made in receiving the Holy Spirit. Consecration is all made in sanctification. The Lord Jesus is dwelling within, and you have an unction from the Holy One which teaches you all things. The baptism with the Holy Ghost makes you a witness unto the uttermost parts of the earth. It gives you power to speak in the languages of the nations. So everyone that is really sanctified with a clean heart, and seeks the baptism with the Holy Ghost according to the 2nd chapter of Acts, receives the witness of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. You may not receive the gift of tongues when you receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost, but you receive the witness of tongues, that is to say—you will speak in tongues when you are baptized with the Holy Spirit.

In seeking the baptism with the Holy Spirit do not ask the Lord for tongues. Just pray the Lord to give you the baptism with the Holy Ghost as He gave his disciples, according to the second chapter of Acts, and wait before Him till the Lord verifies His promise in your precious soul.

It is one thing to be filled with the Holy Ghost, and it is another thing to be baptized with the Holy Ghost. It is one thing to fill a glass with water, and another thing to baptize it with water, that is to hide it out of sight. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb but not baptized. The Holy Ghost had been in the world all the time. "Holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." He was with Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Enoch and many other men of God, but He was not poured out upon all flesh till the day of Pentecost.

"Wherefore, Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore, unto Him without the gate bearing His reproach. Dear loved ones, in order to get sanctification, we have to go without the gate. We must leave the beautiful city, the precious temples, fame, honor, position, and go out of the gate. There we will find Jesus, the despised one, hanging between two thieves. It is so sweet to live this sanctified life. Very few people have sanctification in its fullness, which means crucification to self according to Gal. 5:24-25, "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Hallelujah. A Pentecostal revival has commenced in the Altamont Bible Institute of South Carolina and one girl received the gift of tongues.

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THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST FORESHADOWED.

We read in Ex. 25:8, 9, that God spoke to Moses and said, "Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them, according to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it."

Dear loved ones, the Lord Jesus is the true tabernacle that God pitched and not man. The tabernacle in the wilderness was made after the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle which God showed Moses in the holy mount. We now have the true pattern which is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

We first come to the court of the tabernacle where we find the brazen altar, where whole burn offerings are made. When we first came, we were dead in trespasses and sins and could make no offering for we had no life in our souls. But we found Jesus as a sacrifice upon that altar. He pardons us of our sins and plants the new birth in our souls. We are justified and saved and our names written in the Lamb's book of life.

Then we go on to the Holy Place to consecrate ourselves. There we find the believer's altar which is the golden altar. We sanctify ourselves and consecrate ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, and we find the precious blood in the Holy Place that sanctifies and cleanses us from all sin, crucifies the old man, the body of sin and carnality, and makes us holy. We had to have eternal life in our souls in order to consecrate ourselves. Here we feed upon Christ, for the bread in the Holy Place typifies the bread of life. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Here also is the golden candlestick that sheds its light continually day and night, supplied by the holy oil. We are now the sons and daughters of God and entitled to the earnest of our inheritance, which is the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Then we enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. There is the ark of the covenant overshadowed by the wings of the cherubim, and over the ark the great Shekina glory, a pillar of fire by night and of cloud by day which represents the baptism with the Holy Spirit. There is no altar in the Holy of Holies for our consecration is all made in the Holy Place when we are sanctified. But we find the ark of the covenant covered with pure gold and within Aaron's rod that budded, which stands for justification in Christ Jesus, also the pot of hidden manna which Moses took and hid in the ark, which represents sanctification; and the tables of stone on which God wrote Himself in the mount, which stands for the baptism with the Holy Ghost, for when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit we are sealed in the forehead until His coming. Here the great Shekina glory rests upon us day and night, and we are filled and thrilled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The incense is going up continually from our souls. In the Holy Place, the oil was renewed from day to day, but when we get the baptism with the Holy Ghost it oils us up continually, from the throne of God. In the Holy Place we had the streams of salvation but in the Holy of Holies, we have the rivers, for Jesus said, "Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water, and this spoke He of the Spirit for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

There are two works of grace plainly shown in the tabernacle by the two altars—the brazen altar and the golden altar, the Holy of Holies, is the gift of power upon the sanctified, cleansed life. Glory to our God. The ark of the covenant represents our Lord Jesus Christ and in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In the Lord Jesus, we receive all of these gifts and graces. We must build according to the divine plan.

SANCTIFIED BEFORE PENTECOST.

By reading the Bible carefully, you can see that the disciples were saved and sanctified men, and had received the unction of the Holy Spirit, before the day of Pentecost.

Jesus said in John 15:3, before He was crucified, "Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." And in John 17:15-17, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth." Jesus is the word and the truth, so they were sanctified through the truth that very night that He prayed for them.

He told Peter that Satan desired to sift him as wheat, but He had prayed the Father for him that his faith fail not. So Satan could not go beyond the Lord's prayer. "And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." This did not mean that Peter was not converted, but Jesus knew the great temptation that Peter was to be confronted with, and He meant when he should have been delivered, to strengthen the brethren.

Peter did deny the Lord Jesus, but as soon as he denied him, he went out and wept bitterly, and God pardoned him. So when our Lord Jesus rose, He told the angel to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee, "and Peter." When Peter heard that, he was very happy to know that the Lord had taken him back.

We find in John 20:21, 22, Jesus said to the disciples, "Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." This was the power the Lord Jesus gave the disciples before they received their personal Pentecost.

We find by a careful study of the Word, that they had all eight of the nine gifts of the Spirit before Pentecost, except the gift of tongues. They had the gifts of healing, discernment, wisdom, prophesy, etc. The gift of tongues was reserved for the day of Pentecost to be a sign and evidence of the baptism with the Holy Ghost.

The disciples were filled with the unction of the Holy Spirit, the anointing, before the day of Pentecost when Jesus breathed on them. This sustained them till they were endued with power from on high.

So in the first chapter of Acts, Jesus taught His disciples to wait for the promise of the Father. This was not to wait for sanctification. His blood had been spilt on Calvary's cross. He was not going to send His blood to cleanse them from carnality but His Spirit to endue them with power. They went up to Jerusalem praising and blessing God with great joy. They all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication. They had perfect faith and perfect obedience to Jesus' command and no divisions among them. They were not on their knees but sitting when the Holy Ghost fell upon them, simply waiting for the gift of power.

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance."

Then Peter arose and said to the multitude that came running together, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." He did not say God would cleanse their hearts by His blood from carnality, but pour out His Spirit. Amen. That is what He is doing in Los Angeles, pouring out His Spirit upon sanctified souls and the same signs are following.

COUNTERFEITS.

God has told us in His precious word that we should know a tree by its fruit. Wherever we find the real, we find the counterfeit also. But praise God for the real. We find in the time of Peter, when men and women were receiving the power of the Holy Ghost, the counterfeit appeared in Ananias and Sapphira. But God's power was mightier than all the forces of hell, so their sin found them out. Be careful, dear loved ones, for your sin will surely find you out. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

In our meetings, we have had people to come and claim that they had received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, but when they were put to the test by the Holy Spirit, they were found wanting. So they got down and got saved and sanctified and baptized with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues by the Holy Spirit. And again people have imitated the gift of tongues, but how quickly the Holy Spirit would reveal to every one of the true children that had the Pentecostal baptism, and put a heavy rebuke upon the counterfeit, in tongues, until the counterfeits were silenced and condemned. God's promises are true and sure.

People are trying to imitate the work of the Holy Ghost these days, just as they did when the Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh in Ex. 7:8, and gave him a miracle or sign to show before Pharaoh, that when Aaron should cast his rod before Pharaoh, it should become a serpent. So when Pharaoh saw that Aaron's rod had become a serpent, he called for his wise men and the counterfeit sorcerers and magicians of Egypt. They also did in like manner with their enchantments, for they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. So the power of the Holy Ghost in God's people today condemns and swallows up the counterfeit. It digs up and exposes all the power of Satan—Christian Science, Theosophy, and Spiritualism—all are uncovered before the Son of God. Glory to God.

Spiritualists have come to our meetings and had the demons cast out of them and have been saved and sanctified. Christian Scientists have come to the meetings and had the Christian Science demons cast out of them and have accepted the blood. Every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up.

People have come to this place full of demons and God has cast them out, and they have gone out crying with loud voices. Then when all the demons were cast out, they got saved, sanctified, and baptized with the Holy Ghost, clothed in their right minds and filled with glory and power.

Dear loved ones; it is not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." These were Jesus’ departing words. May you tarry until you receive your personal Pentecost. Amen. -W.J. Seymour.

"SIGNS SHALL FOLLOW."

Jesus said in Mark 16:17, 18, "These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." He told them to, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." What did this mean? It meant to preach healing, preach casting out of devils, preach that these signs shall follow them that believe, preach all the doctrine of Jesus. If they had preached only a part of the Gospel, would the signs have followed? These signs shall follow them that believe—not them that doubt or believe a part but those that are simple enough and honest enough to believe every word of Jesus. We must believe it all, for if only a part is true, or if anything is changed in His commission of the Gospel to the world, it would not be a perfect Gospel. So a return to the full Gospel brings a return of the signs following them that believe.

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THE TRUE PENTECOST.

In Acts 2:4, we have the Bible standard and sample of what Pentecost is. It was the first Pentecost that ever came to the world. "They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." So this is the Bible standard till Jesus comes.

Then we have another example of Pentecost when Peter preached the first sermon to a Gentile congregation at the house of Cornelius. It was like the first Pentecost. "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God." Acts. 10:44-46.

Again we have the account of Pentecost being poured out at Ephesus and again it was like the first Pentecost. "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied." Acts 19:6. In all three cases of the outpouring of Pentecost above mentioned the same evidence was manifest, the speaking in tongues. The Holy Ghost gave us these three incidents, of companies that received the Holy Ghost all at once, and besides this we know that the Apostle Paul had the gift and that others in the Corinthian church had the gift. Now the question is asked why did not all in the Corinthian church speak with tongues?

Paul in the 12th of First Corinthians, was setting the church in order, that there should be no schism in the body of Christ. Here is a brother who is justified and there is a brother who is sanctified. Now neither of them speak in tongues. In our body here, we have some justified who have just been saved. The next thing we do is to teach him he needs a clean heart, to be sanctified in the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He goes on and gets that. Then we show him he needs his Pentecostal baptism and speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. When he receives his Pentecost, he will speak in tongues.

So concerning prophesying, Paul says, "Greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues." We can have all the nine gifts as well as the nine fruits of the Spirit, for in Christ Jesus, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Paul is simply teaching the church to be in unity and not to be confused because all have not the same gifts. We are not confused because one has his Pentecost and another has not been sanctified. We do not say that we do not need the justified or the sanctified brother simply because he does not speak with tongues or does not prophesy; but we realize that it takes the justified, the sanctified and the Pentecost brother all to make up the body of Christ. You may have the gift of wisdom, healing, prophesy, etc. But when you get the Pentecost, the Lord God will speak through you in tongues.

"He that prophesieth is greater than he that speaks with tongues, except he interpret." So the brother that prophesies is no greater than the brother that speaks in tongues, if the brother interprets as he speaks. We have a good many here that interpret as they speak and it is edifying to the body of Christ. You can have all the gifts if you will only ask the Lord for them.

In the 14th of 1Corinthians, Paul is setting us in order that have the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the speaking in tongues, that we should not get puffed up and think because one is justified or sanctified and does not speak with tongues he has not as much religion as we have. People in getting into deep spiritual things, and into the hidden mysteries of God, have to keep very humble at the feet of the Lord Jesus, for these precious gifts can easily puff us up, if we do not keep under the blood.

Paul is speaking to people that had been carried away with dumb idols, but now the Holy Spirit was being poured out upon them, and it was so sweet to their souls that they almost commenced worshipping the gift instead of the Giver. Instead of magnifying the blood, they were all after the gifts. The Lord wants us to seek the Giver and the Blesser instead of the gift and the blessing. So we can truly say that we believe that everyone that receives their personal Pentecost has a witness in speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives them utterance, as the 120 received on the day of Pentecost. That was a lesson to the church and a sample to the church what the baptism with the Holy Spirit means to prepare us to be witnesses unto all the world. Glory to our God. Amen. When we receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, we may sing in tongues, because the Lord drops down sweet anthems from the paradise of God, electrifying every heart. Many times we do not need these song books of earth, but the Lord simply touches us by His mighty Spirit and we have no need of organs or pianos, for the Holy Ghost plays the piano in all our hearts, and then gives the interpretation of the song and sings it in the English language. It is so sweet. It is heaven below.

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CAME 3,000 MILES FOR HIS PENTECOST.

About two months ago, I began to read in the Way of Faith the reports of the meetings in Azusa Mission, Los Angeles. I had been preaching holiness for nine years, but my soul began to hunger and thirst for the fullness of God. The Spirit led me more and more to seek my Pentecost. After praying and weeping before God for many days, He put it into my heart to go to Los Angeles to seek the baptism with the Holy Ghost. My wife prayed and wept with me till we both got the witness that it was the will of God for me to go. The devil fought me and laid the hand of affliction on my wife, and I felt it almost impossible for me to come. The night I left home, wife and I prayed and wept before the Lord and God gave the victory, and we both consented on our knees that if we died we would be in the order of the Lord and that God would take us home. I immediately rose and took my valise in hand, went to the depot, and started for Los Angeles. Glory to God. I was six days on the road, was fasting and praying to the Lord continually. As soon as I reached Azusa Mission, a new crucifiction began in my life and I had to die to many things, but God gave me the victory.

The first altar call I went forward in earnest for my Pentecost. I struggled from Sunday till Thursday. While seeking in an upstairs room in the Mission, the Lord opened up the windows of heaven and the light of God began to flow over me in such power as never before. I then went into the room where the service was held, and while Sister Lum was reading of how the Holy Ghost was falling in other places, before I knew it, I began to speak in tongues and praise God. A brother interpreted some of the words to be, "I love God with all my soul." He filled me with His Spirit and love, and I am now feasting and drinking at the fountain continually and speak as the Spirit gives utterance, both in my own language and in the unknown language. I find that all has to be surrendered to God, our own language and all, and He speaks through us English, German, Greek or any other tongue in His own will and way.

The Lord also healed my body. I had been afflicted with rheumatism for years, and at a healing service held here, I was anointed and prayed for and was immediately healed of rheumatism and catarrh, and have a sound body and clothed in my right mind. -G.B. Cashwell, Dunn, N.C.

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Dear loved ones, if you are seeking your personal Pentecost, do not get discouraged, but pray until you are filled to the uttermost. For the Lord Jesus says, "Men ought always to pray and not to faint." Do not stop because you do not receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit the first time you pray, but continue until you are filled. The Lord Jesus told His disciples to "tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." He did not say how long they were to tarry, but He did say, "until ye be endued." Many are willing to tarry just so long, and then give up and fail to receive their Pentecost that would measure up with the Bible.

A sister in Pueblo, Colorado who has the gift of tongues was on her way to the mission when she met a man and invited him to the mission. He said, "What is the use of speaking in tongues, when you do not know what you are saying?" Immediately she began speaking in a tongue she had never spoken in before. The man turned white, and seeing a street car coming, he left her and caught the car, endangering himself by so doing. They learned afterward that the Holy Ghost was telling him in a language which he understood, the wicked life he was living and crimes he had committed. So he found out one use of the gift of tongues. Several incidents of this kind have come to our knowledge. If we ask our Father for bread, He will not give us a stone; if we ask Him for a fish, He will not give us a serpent; if we ask for an egg, He will not give us a scorpion. We would not treat our children that way, and how much more will our Father in heaven give good things to them that ask Him. Never let the hosts of hell make you believe that while you live under the blood, honoring the blood, and pleading through the blood for blessings from the throne, that God will let Satan get through the blood and put a serpent into you. There is no way for Satan to make his way through the blood. "And they overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." The devil cannot act through you and talk through you, if you are God's child and baptized with the Holy Ghost. Many endorse Jesus, they fancy Him, but they cannot believe His doctrine. To them Jesus says, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?" He has gone to prepare a place for us and He is coming again to receive us unto Himself, that where He is there we may be also. But the only way to meet Him and be with Him is to believe His doctrine. We that are not sanctified, if we hear the truth and reject it, will not be able to be with Him and reign with Him.

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The messages spoken in tongues in Azusa Mission, as far as have been interpreted, have always been spiritual and according to the Word, Scripture passages, praises to God, exaltation of Christ, warning, etc. Never anything of a foolish or irreverent character, and often of a highly exalted and intensely practical import and tremendous meaning, especially for the individual for whom the message was intended.

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THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST.

The sin against the Holy Ghost cannot be forgiven. For the Lord Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto men and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme; but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation because they said He hath an unclean spirit. Mark 3:28-30.

People that have a real knowledge of the Holy Ghost in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, and then go and say this work is of the devil, and people are speaking in tongues by the devil, after they have the knowledge of the truth, such people are in danger of sinning against the Holy Ghost.

"Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven." Luke 12:10.

When men sin against the Father, they are forgiven, when they sin against the Son, they are forgiven, but when they sin against God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, they have sinned against them all, so there is no more forgiveness. There is no fourth person to do any interceding for them. People can harden their hearts till God will leave them as He did Ephraim of old.

The devil may tell people that they have sinned against the Holy Ghost when they have not sinned willfully. They have not sinned against the Holy Ghost unless they have willfully denied the blood of Jesus Christ and trampled it under their feet, "for if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins," Heb 10.26. Some have been ensnared by the enemy and have lost the Pentecost and lost sanctification and lost justification, and it has brought sadness, and they can repent because they did not do it willfully. They were overpowered by the enemy, and not understanding, they yielded to it. They may be tempted to despair because the devil may tell them that they have sinned against the Holy Ghost, but the Bible says, "If we sin willfully." So we have not committed the unpardonable sin, if we have not sinned willfully. We still have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

But it is a very dangerous thing for us to go back after we have received light. Paul warned the Hebrew church, those that had come to Christ and had a real knowledge of the Spirit and then were turning back to the old sacrifices and fought against the Spirit of God. He says, "It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open shame." Heb. 6:4-6

After we have been made a gazing stock for Christ and took part in the reproaches and afflictions of Christ, and after we have tasted of the heavenly gift and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost, we cannot afford to go back. But if we really deny the power of God and turn back into the world, there is no possible way for us to get back. "He that despised Moses' law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Heb.10:28, 29

[…]

3. Gifts of the Spirit: Order, Interpretation and Peace among the Churches

The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles), Vol. I, No. 5, January 1907: the New Year report, G. B. Cashwell’s letter from North Carolina, the articles signed W.J.S. (“Behold the Bridegroom Cometh!”, “Receive Ye the Holy Ghost,” “Gifts of the Spirit”), “The Church Question,” “God Is His Own Interpreter,” and “The Heavenly Anthem.” Primary source; the claims are those of the editors and participants. Signed or first-person contributions by authors whose rights are not cleared in Mexico have been left out, and other items have been left out for length; each omission is marked […].

CTS note: By January 1907 the mission is already correcting its own early excesses. Seymour admits that “we all used to break out in tongues” but that the saints have “learned to be quieter with the gift,” so that worship is done “decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). He calls prophecy “the best gift to the church,” ranks uninterpreted tongues below it, and warns against worshipping the gift. “The Church Question” forbids attacks on other churches and pastors and calls all denominations “our brethren”; the unsigned warning that fanaticism comes from setting aside the Word is a basic rule of discernment. The statement that “the mission people never take medicine” describes the mission’s practice; CTS does not give it as medical advice, and no reader should stop medicine or medical care except on a qualified health professional’s advice. Seymour’s reading of the parable of the ten virgins, in which only the Spirit-baptized enter the marriage supper, and his detailed scheme of rapture, tribulation and millennium, are his own; Christians hold several views of the last things. Cashwell’s report shows the revival crossing racial lines in the American South in 1907.

“Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”—Jude 3

Vol. I. No. 5 Los Angeles, Cal., January, 1907 Subscription Free

BEGINNING OF WORLD WIDE REVIVAL

We are expecting wonderful things from the Lord for 1907. The closing up of the old year and beginning of the new found us on our knees at Azusa Mission. And as the New Year was announced, such a wave of glory, and divine love and unity came over us. The meeting went on till morning and all the next day. It is a jubilee year. May we all spend it at His feet, learning of Him. The Lord did great things in 1906. Pentecost first fell in Los Angeles on April 9th. Since then the good tidings has spread in two hemispheres. Many are rejoicing in pardon, purity, and the power of the Holy Ghost. Wherever the work goes, souls are saved, and not only saved from hell but through and through, and prepared to meet the Lord at His coming. Hundreds have been baptized with the Holy Ghost. Many of them are now out in the field, and some in foreign lands, and God is working with them, granting signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the full Gospel.

People all over the land have heard that the oil of the Spirit is being poured out in Los Angeles, and they are coming for oil—coming thousands of miles. And they are being filled with the holy oil, the baptism with the Holy Ghost, and wherever they go, it is being poured out.

From the little mustard seed faith that was given to a little company of people waiting on God in a cottage prayer meeting, a great tree has grown, so that people from all parts of the country are coming like birds to lodge in the branches thereof. (Matt. 13:31-32.) The faith is still growing, and we are still just in the beginning, earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints.

It is a continual upper room tarrying at Azusa Street. It is like a continual camp meeting or convention. All classes and nationalities meet on a common level. One who came for the first time said, "The thing that impressed me most was the humility of the people, and I went to my room and got down on my knees and asked God to give me humility."

The altars are filled with seekers. Sometimes the meetings go on all night. People are slain under the power of God and sanctified or rise up speaking in new tongues. In the meetings, you see the holy joy of the Lord in the countenances, and people are melted in the presence of the Lord, filled with His praise.

The Lord is graciously healing many sick bodies. People are healed at the Mission almost every day. Requests come in for prayer from all over. They are presented in the meeting and the Spirit witnesses in many cases that prayer is answered, and when we hear from them they are healed. Handkerchiefs are sent in to be blest, and are returned to the sick and they are healed in many cases. One day nine handkerchiefs were blest, another day sixteen. A man came with a broken arm and was healed. The mission people never take medicine. They do not want it. They have taken Jesus for their healer and He always heals. There is a very sweet spirit of unity among Pentecostal missions in Los Angeles and workers in suburban towns. Every Monday morning, the ministers and workers from these different points meet together for prayer and counsel. The missions in Los Angeles are at 327 1/2 S. Spring, of which Bro. Fisher is pastor; 8th and Maple Ave., of which Bro. Pendleton is pastor; and 1321 E. 51st St., where Bro. and Sister Kent have charge. Workers from Long Beach, Pasadena, Clearwater, Anaheim, and other nearby places also come in. All are in one accord.

[…]

We stand as assemblies and missions all in perfect harmony. Azusa Mission stands for the unity of God's people everywhere. God is uniting His people baptizing them by one Spirit into one body.

[…]

PENTECOST IN NORTH CAROLINA.

Dunn, N.C., Jan. 2.

To the Saints in Azusa Mission, and through all California, greeting in Jesus Name!

O praise Him! It is wonderful. Last week I held a few services in the country in one of the Holiness churches, and two received their Pentecost and spoke in tongues. The languages were as perfect as I ever heard. One was a Sunday school superintendent and the other an elder of the church. I had to leave that meeting to fill my appointment here, but the meeting is still going on there. This is only the third day, here, and already about ten have received their Pentecost. Five preachers received the baptism and some of them have two or three languages already and can preach sermons and pray in the tongues. The church is filled to overflow and people come from all over the country. Sinners are being converted and others repenting. This town of about 2,500 has never seen Pentecost before, but praise God, it has come and the town is stirred from center to circumference. People have laid aside eating and business to a great extent and are going down before God in earnest. How I praise God for this wonderful salvation. All the signs follow me since I received Pentecost. O let us trust only to the still, sweet voice of Jesus. He does it all. O how I praise God for sending me to Los Angeles, and for you all. Jan. 17—Our God is fulfilling His promise and His Spirit is being poured out here in Dunn as never before. Many have come from South Carolina and Georgia and have received their Pentecost and gone back, and there some have received the baptism. The fire is spreading. The meeting continues here in greater interest. Nearly every service, someone receives their Pentecost and speaks in tongues. Some of our preachers have preached, sung and prayed in unknown tongues, and without speaking a word of English, have awakened sinners.

Several colored people have received their real Pentecost and speak in tongues. God has wonderfully blest some of the people with the gift of song. One colored sister, a school teacher, received the Pentecost the other night and spoke in tongues for some time. She has manifested a call to foreign fields. All the people of God are one here. I prayed much that God would give me access to my brethren, and thus I might convince them of His blessed truths. And not one of them has taken issue against me as yet, but come forward and have received their real Pentecost and are going forth in the power of the Lord. Some of the people are getting ready for the foreign fields now. O how I praise God!

Brothers, pray, and spread the tidings around wherever man is found. I may never see you in the flesh any more, but I am coming up bringing in the sheaves.

Many are getting their Pentecost at home and abroad. I go from here to High Point, N.C. Have more calls than I can fill in six months. Your brother and servant of God, -G.B. Cashwell.

[…]

"BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH!"

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight, there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom: go ye out to meet him. "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. (R.V. Going Out.) But the wise answered saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. "And while they went to buy the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh." Matt. 25:1-13.

You know virgin in the scripture is a type of purity. Christ is speaking in this parable about the church and its condition at His coming. Many precious souls today are not looking for the return of their Lord, and they will be found in the same condition as the five foolish virgins. They started out to meet the bridegroom, and had some oil in their lamps but none in their vessels with their lamps. So when the cry was made to go forth, they were found wanting in oil, which is the real type of the Holy Ghost. Many of God's children are cleansed from sin and yet fight against getting more oil. They think they have enough. They have some of God's love in their souls, but they have not the double portion of it. The thing they need is oil in their vessels with their lamps. It is just as plain as can be.

Dearly beloved, the Scripture says, "Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev. 19:9. So they are blessed that have the call. Those that will be permitted to enter in are those who are justified, sanctified, and baptized with the Holy Ghost—sealed unto the day of redemption. O may God stir up His waiting bride everywhere to get oil in their vessels with their lamps that they may enter into the marriage supper. The Holy Ghost is sifting out a people that are getting on the robes of righteousness and the seal in their foreheads. The angel is holding the winds now till all the children of God are sealed in their foreheads with the Father's name. Then the wrath of God is going to be poured out.

"Behold the Bridegroom cometh!" O the time is very near. All the testimonies of His coming that have been going on for months are a witness that He is coming soon. But when the trumpet sounds, it will be too late to prepare. Those that are not ready at the rapture will be left to go through the awful tribulation that is coming upon the earth. The wise virgins will be at the marriage supper and spend the time of the great tribulation with the Lord Jesus. They will have glorified bodies. For we which remain unto the coming of the Lord will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

Many precious souls believe today that in sanctification they have it all, that they have already the baptism with the Holy Ghost or enduement of power; but in that day, they will find they are mistaken. They say, Away with this third work. What is the difference, dear ones, if it takes 300 works? We want to be ready to meet the bridegroom. The foolish virgins said to the wise, "Give us of your oil." This thing is going to happen. Many that are saying they have enough and are opposing, will find their lamps going out and ask the prayers of God's people. God is warning you through His servants and handmaidens to get ready; but many are going to come back to get the oil from others. Dear ones, we cannot get more than enough for ourselves. You can grasp the saints' hands but you cannot squeeze any oil out. You have to get the vessel filled for yourself. Many are going to be marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, and the cares of this world are going to get in the way. Above all, we want to get the oil, the Holy Ghost. Every Christian must be baptized with the Holy Ghost for himself. Many poor souls in that day will be awfully disappointed. May we seek Him today, the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire. Now is the time to buy the oil; that is by tarrying at the feet of the Lord Jesus and receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

It seems that people will be able to buy oil during the rapture. It seems that the Spirit will still be here on earth and that they could get it, but it will be too late for the marriage supper. So the Lord warns us to be ready, for we know not the day nor the hour. Those that get left in the rapture and still prove faithful to God and do not receive the mark of the beast, though they will have to suffer martyrdom, will be raised to reign with Christ. Antichrist will reign during the tribulation and everything will be controlled by him and by the false prophet, when they have succeeded in uniting the whole world in acknowledging the antichrist. Those that acknowledge him will be permitted to buy and sell, but those that stand faithful to the Lord Jesus and testify to the Blood will be killed for the word of their testimony. But by proving faithful to death, they will be raised during the millennium and reign with Christ. But we that are caught up to the marriage supper of the Lamb will escape the plagues that are coming on the earth.

May God fit everyone of us for the coming of the Lord, that we may come back with him on white horses and help Him to execute judgment on the earth and make way for the millennial kingdom, when He shall reign from shore to shore, and righteousness shall cover the earth as waters cover the sea.

That is the time that Enoch prophesied of, "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints," Jude 14. "Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against these nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives," Zec. 14:3, 4. The mountain shall be parted in two. Then shall the antichrist and the false prophet be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and Satan shall be bound a thousand years. Rev. 19:20 and 20:2.

We shall be priests and kings unto God, reigning with Him a thousand years in a jubilee of peace. Our Christ will be King of kings and Lord of lords over the whole earth. We shall reign with Him over unglorified humanity. Some will be appointed over ten cities and some over two, and the twelve apostles will be over the twelve tribes of Israel. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in His throne." Rev. 3:21, 22.

W.J.S.

THE CHURCH QUESTION.

You cannot win people by abusing their church or pastor. As long as you preach Christ, you feed souls; but as soon as you jump on the preacher, you grieve the Spirit. Preach Christ, and you will feed the flock and have fat sheep; but if you get to preaching against churches, you will find that sweet spirit of Christ that envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, thinketh no evil, suffereth long and is kind, is lacking and a harsh judging spirit takes its place. If you feed them from Christ, you will find the same Spirit burning in their hearts.

The main thing is, Are you of Christ? It is too late in the day for us to go to work and tear down some other man's building and build up one of our own. The thing to do is to get the truth into the people. The churches are not to be blamed for divisions. People were hunting for light. They built up denominations because they did not know a better way. Now if they want to live in families, let them get the truth. Jesus will settle the rest when He comes. He wants people feeding on Christ and letting the Spirit be their leader. We follow human leaders as far as they follow Christ, but we keep our eyes on the great Shepherd.

We do not have time to preach anything else but Christ. The Holy Spirit has not time to magnify anything else but the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Standing between the living and the dead, we need to so bear the dying body of our Lord, that people will only see Christ in us, and never get a chance to see self. We are simply a voice shouting, "Behold the Lamb of God!" When we commence shouting something else, then Christ will die in us. If Christ be lifted up, He will draw all men unto Him.

When people run out of the love of God, they get to preaching something else, preaching dress, and meats, and doctrines of men, and preaching against churches. All these denominations are our brethren. The Spirit is not going to drive them out and send them to hell. We are to recognize every man that honors the Blood. So let us seek peace and not confusion. We that have the truth should handle it very carefully. The moment we feel we have all the truth or more than anyone else, we will drop. We must deal patiently with the Lord's people. The Lord shows us in the parable of the ninety and nine, that we should not take the little lamb and beat it over the head; but lift it up into our bosom, just as the Shepherd did. We do not want to stamp out the little spark of life in one of God's weak ones, who has the Blood of Jesus Christ in their heart.

It is wonderfully blessed to receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire. He sings through you His own songs. It is so sweet when you are lying down on your bed, and the Lord drops a song from Paradise into your heart, a song you knew nothing about, and puts an organ of sweet music into your soul.

[…]

"RECEIVE YE THE HOLY GHOST."

1.—The first step in seeking the baptism with the Holy Ghost, is to have a clear knowledge of the new birth in our souls, which is the first work of grace and brings everlasting life to our souls. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God." Every one of us that repents of our sins and turns to the Lord Jesus with faith in Him, receives forgiveness of sins. Justification and regeneration are simultaneous. The pardoned sinner becomes a child of God in justification. 2.—The next step for us is to have a clear knowledge, by the Holy Spirit, of the second work of grace wrought in our hearts by the power of the Blood and the Holy Ghost. Heb. 10:14,15, "For by one offering, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us." The Scripture also teaches (Heb. 2:11), "For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." So we have Christ crowned and enthroned in our hearts, the tree of life. We have the brooks and streams of salvation flowing in our souls, but praise God, we can have the rivers. For the Lord Jesus says, "He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. This spake He of the Spirit, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given." But, praise our God, He is now given and being poured out upon all flesh. All races, nations, and tongues are receiving the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the prophecy of Joel.

3.—When we have a clear knowledge of justification and sanctification, through the precious Blood of Jesus Christ in our hearts, then we can be a recipient of the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Many people today are sanctified, cleansed from all sin, and perfectly consecrated to God, but they have never obeyed the Lord according to Acts 1:4, 5, 8 and Luke 24:39, for their real personal Pentecost, the enduement of power for service and work and for sealing unto the day of redemption. The baptism with the Holy Ghost is a free gift without repentance, upon the sanctified, cleansed vessel. II Cor.1:21-22, "Now He which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God, who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." Praise our God for the sealing of the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption.

Dearly beloved, the only people that will meet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and go with Him into the marriage supper of the Lamb, are the wise virgins-not only saved and sanctified, with pure and clean hearts, but having the baptism with the Holy Ghost. The others we find will not be prepared. They have some oil in their lamps but they have not the double portion of His Holy Spirit. The disciples were filled with the unction of the Holy Spirit before Pentecost that sustained them until they received the Holy Ghost baptism. Many people today are filled with joy and gladness, but they are far from the enduement of power. Sanctification brings rest and sweetness and quietness to our souls, for we are one with the Lord Jesus and are able to obey His precious Word, that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," and we are feeding upon Christ.

But let us wait for the promise of the Father upon our souls, according to Jesus' Word, "John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. * * * Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:1, 5, 8. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! O worship, get down on your knees and ask the Holy Ghost to come in, and you will find Him right at your heart's door, and He will come in. Prove Him now. Amen.

—W.J.S.

GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.

"Now concerning spiritual gifts brethren, I would not have you ignorant."

Paul was speaking to the Corinthian Church at this time. They were like Christ's people everywhere today. Many of His people do not know their privileges in this blessed Gospel. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. And in order that we might know His power, we must forever abide in the Word of God that we may have the precious fruits of the Spirit, and not only the fruits but the precious gifts that Father has for His little ones. Dearly beloved, may we search the Scriptures and see for ourselves whether we are measuring up to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. If we will remain in the Scriptures and follow the blessed Holy Spirit all the way, we will be able to measure up to the Word of God in all of its fullness. Paul prayed in Eph. 3:16, "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge; that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Many people say today that tongues are the least gift of any that the Lord can give, and they do not need it, and ask What good is it to us? But by careful study of the Word, we see in the 14th of Corinthians, Paul telling the church to "follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts." Charity means Divine love: without which we will never be able to enter heaven. Gifts all will fail, but Divine love will last through all eternity. And right in the same verse he says, "Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy," that is to say, preach in your own tongue, which will build up the saints and the church.

But he says in the next verse, "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto God, for no man understandeth him, howbeit in the Spirit, he speaketh mysteries, (R.V., hidden truth.) But he that prophesieth speaketh unto man to edification, exhortation and comfort." He that prophesies in his own tongue edifies the church; but he that speaks in unknown tongues edifies himself. His spirit is being edified, while the church is not edified, because they do not understand what he says unless the Lord gives somebody the interpretation of the tongue. Here is where many stumble that have not this blessed gift to use in the Spirit. They say, What good is it when you do not know what you are talking about?

Praise God, every gift He gives is a good gift. It is very blessed, for when the Lord gets ready, He can speak in any language He chooses to speak. You ask, "Is not prophecy the best gift?" Prophecy is the best gift to the church, for it builds up the saints and edifies them and exalts them to higher things in the Lord Jesus. If a brother or sister is speaking in tongues and cannot speak any English, but preaches altogether in tongues and has no interpretation, they are less than he that prophesies, but if they interpret they are just as great. May God help all of His precious people to read the 14th of 1 Cor., and give them the real interpretation of the Word. May we all use our gift to the glory of God and not worship the gift. The Lord gives us power to use it to His own glory and honor.

Many times, when we were receiving this blessed Pentecost, we all used to break out in tongues; but we have learned to be quieter with the gift. Often when God sends a blessed wave upon us, we all may speak in tongues for awhile, but we will not keep it up while preaching service is going on, for we want to be obedient to the Word, that everything may be done decently and in order and without confusion. Amen. -W.J.S.

[…]

GOD IS HIS OWN INTERPRETER.

People may say it is no language the Spirit is speaking through you. It matters not what they say. They do not know, any more than Belshazzar knew about that hand writing on the wall. It took God to interpret that. The natural man cannot understand the secrets of God. It takes a born child from heaven to understand. Bless God. He has taken this out of the king's hands. The devil is shut out of the mysteries of God. He can be a clairvoyant, a Spiritualist, a hypnotist and understand all the works of darkness, but in Divine miracles he is a fool. It took Daniel to receive the interpretation of the writing on the wall. The wise men were dumb. It took one who walked with Jehovah to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The astrologers said that no one could show the king's matter but "the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh." But Daniel's God could interpret. He is His own interpreter today. Leave it with him. The Lord is giving many the interpretation of what they speak.

You do not have to strain to interpret. You do not use your mind at all. The Lord God uses your vocal organs and the words come out without your having anything to do with it. When God is speaking, no flesh can take a part in it. Often the Lord sends someone that understands the tongue to verify the interpretation.

When we are speaking in unknown tongues and no one comprehends or interprets, it is speaking in communion with the Lord our God and it is joy and happiness to our soul. Others cannot understand but in the Spirit we speak mysteries. But when we interpret, it is edifying to the whole body. "Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue, pray that he may interpret." 1 Cor.14:13. Someone says that it takes little "thimble-brained" people to accept this Gospel. We have so much unbelief—been fed upon it and saturated in it—that we must be emptied out before we can be filled. The one that does not know any more than just to believe God, gets down and takes Him at His Word and the witness comes that the Blood of Jesus does save, and sanctify from all sin; and he takes the promise of the Father, the baptism with the Holy Ghost and receives the Bible evidence of that. It is now as in the time of Christ, “the common people heard Him gladly.” The Greeks required knowledge and the Jews a sign, but the simple hearted people just believed Jesus. The Lord has such people today that are following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. May God help us to humble ourselves. "Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

[…]

It was not till Jesus received His baptism that He met His greatest temptations. The more spiritual we get the more subtle are the temptations of the enemy, so the greater need we have to get deeper into the Word of God. Some have thought that the people who get the Holy Ghost baptism do not need the Bible, but that is the greatest lie of the devil. Always keep in the Word. The deeper we get into the mysteries of God, the more we need the Word. The way people get into fanaticism is to put aside the Word and go to following the Spirit. If you do this, you will get full of spirits—you will get into Spiritualism. But if we keep close to the Word of God, there is no danger of going into fanaticism.

The devil hates the spiritual body of Christ as much as he hated the literal body. He thought he had killed Christ when he killed His body, but, hallelujah, he did not do it. Christ arose on the other side of the cross and we affirm that He is alive and does save, sanctify, and baptize with the Holy Ghost. We are also seeing His promise fulfilled in some of the persecutions that attend the preaching of the full Gospel.

This Bible becomes a new book to those baptized with the Holy Ghost. You absolutely lose your own judgment in regard to the Word of God. You eat it down without trimming or cutting, right from the mouth of God. You live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

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THE HEAVENLY ANTHEM.

One of the most remarkable features of this Apostolic Faith movement is what is rightly termed the heavenly anthem. No one but those who are baptized with the Holy Ghost are able to join in—or better, the Holy Ghost only sings through such in that manner. Hallelujah!

[…]

On Sunday night, Dec. 9, a sister sang in the Gujerathi language of India, the first four verses of the 8th chapter of Solomon's Songs. It was a song such as a bride might sing of the bridegroom. "Awake not my beloved." It was most blessed and beautiful to notice as the Holy Spirit sang through the dear sister; it brought a great wave of heavenly fire and blessing to those present.

Again a beautiful song was sung in tongues: "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." (Matt. 21:9). This was the greeting given our Saviour at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The brother who understood the language said in the foreign tongue it was the sublimest poetry. At the same time, the room was filled with the glory of God.

We afterward learned of a remarkable coincidence. The same song was being sung at the Pentecostal Mission at 327 1/2 S. Spring St. and was interpreted there the same. The saints worshiping in these two places were in perfect harmony of spirit, and the Holy Ghost witnessed to it. At the all-day meeting on Christmas, a day never to be forgotten, we had a Christmas carol in tongues. It began with one voice, just as on Bethlehem's plains, and a chorus of voices joined in. It was interpreted by one who knew the language: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to men." This was very sweet and heavenly. It followed the reading of the Scripture.

People are melted to tears in hearing this singing. It is the harmony of heaven and the Holy Ghost puts music in the voices that are untrained.

[…]

4. Try the Visions by the Word: Durham’s Pentecost and the Promise of the Father

The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles), Vol. I, No. 6, February–March 1907: the opening news, short editorial teachings on visions and the Word, the purchase of the mission and the April 9 jubilee, G. B. Cashwell’s report from the South (d. 1916), the testimony of W. H. Durham (d. 1912), A. S. Worrell’s “Work Increasing” (d. 1908), and the article signed W.J.S., “The Baptism with the Holy Ghost.” Primary source; the claims are those of the editors and participants. Signed or first-person contributions by authors whose rights are not cleared in Mexico have been left out, and other items have been left out for length; each omission is marked […].

CTS note: This double issue contains one of the clearest statements of discernment in the paper: “We must put all visions and dreams on the square of God’s Word and try them. The Word must prove all things.” Read the reports of visions, angels and tongues beside that rule. W. H. Durham’s testimony is a classic early Pentecostal account and a historical witness to Seymour’s character (“the meekest man I ever met”); from 1910 Durham taught a “finished work” view of sanctification, and in 1911 he broke with Seymour, so the unity described here did not last. A. S. Worrell, a Baptist scholar and Bible translator, writes as a sympathetic outsider who refuses to call the work Satanic. Cashwell’s report shows a leader discerning that a group had made a fast into a bondage, and gently leading them out of it. The trustees, the property purchase and the plan to keep April 9 as a jubilee show the mission becoming an institution. Seymour’s instruction not to seek tongues but the promise of the Father reflects the mission’s teaching; Christians differ on whether tongues must accompany Spirit baptism.

“Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”—Jude 3

Vol. I. No. 6 Los Angeles, Cal., February–March, 1907 Subscription Free

PENTECOST BOTH SIDES THE OCEAN

God is still manifesting His power in Los Angeles * * *

The Pentecost has crossed the water on both sides to the Hawaiian Islands on the west, and England, Norway, Sweden, and India on the east.

* * *

A brother in Honolulu received the Pentecost, by hearing of God's work through the paper. He said when he got down to seeking in earnest, the Lord baptized him with the Holy Ghost and he spoke in two languages.

* * *

We rejoice to hear that Pentecost has fallen in Calcutta, India, over ten thousand miles away on the other side of the world: Praise God. We have letters from China, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, England, Ireland, Australia, and other countries from hungry souls that want their Pentecost. Some of these letters are in foreign languages. Missionaries write that they are hungry for this outpouring of the Spirit which they believe to be the real Pentecost. The world seems ripe for the Pentecost in all lands and God is sending it. Amen.

* * *

One of the missionaries from Los Angeles in Liberia, Africa, had been able to speak to the people in the Cru tongue. Another sister there wrote in an unknown language under the power of the Spirit, and it was understood and read by one of the native kings there.

* * *

Requests for prayer from hungry souls are coming in from all over. They want salvation from sin, and sanctification, and the baptism with the Holy Ghost, and healing of their bodies. So the requests are presented and handkerchiefs are blest and the power of God comes upon us in praying for them; and we receive letters saying that they are receiving their Pentecost and being healed. Praise God.

* * *

March 19th was a wonderful day at the Mission on Azusa St. Three ministers from Tennessee received the enduement of power from on high and the glory of God filled the upper room. Others received the anointing of the Spirit and some were slain under the power of God.

* * *

Bro. Stewart from Phoenix, Arizona, came to Azusa Mission and sought the baptism with the Holy Ghost, and God laid him out under the power of the Spirit and took complete control of him, speaking through him in tongues. He was filled and overflowing with the Holy Ghost when he returned to Arizona. And Mother Griffith, also from Phoenix, has come and received her baptism. * * *

The work at Azusa Mission is growing deeper and more powerful than ever. Praise God. Meetings continue every day with seekers at every service, and the three meetings run very near together. All day meetings on Sunday. Three other Apostolic Faith Missions continue in the city and God's blessing is upon them. The workers from these missions and from suburban towns meet together for conference on Mondays to study the Scriptures and get deeper into the things of God and for conference in the work of the Lord. The spirit of unity, love and power is manifest. Other like missions are being established in a number of towns.

* * *

Bro. Andrews and wife, Gospel workers from Tennessee, came to Azusa Mission for the express purpose of receiving their Pentecost and Bro. Andrews has been baptized with the Holy Ghost and is filled and overflowing with the Spirit. He and his wife were so hungry and had such faith that the Lord wanted them to come, that, not having the means, they started and walked quite a distance, till the Lord gave them the fare, and He is abundantly rewarding them.

* * *

Bro. W.H. Durham of 943 North Ave., Chicago, Ill., and Bro. H.L. Blake of Ruthton, Minn., who are both preachers of the Gospel, came to Los Angeles to see and investigate what God was doing. They both were baptized with the Holy Ghost and went back filled and saturated with the power of God, speaking in tongues and magnifying God. It was a great blessing to us to have them with us and see what great things the Lord did for them and the blessing overflowed upon all God's children. They are members of the World's Faith Missionary Association.

* * *

Sister Rees from Oakland visited Azusa Mission recently. She brought a report from the saints in Oakland that a leader was needed there in the work, one called and prepared of the Lord. We prayed for God to call someone. Bro. Irwin received the call and went with his wife.

[…]

* * *

A number from Winnipeg, Canada, have come to Los Angeles and are now rejoicing in the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Others have come from the Atlantic coast and from Colorado and different states and they have received a Bible Pentecost, evidenced by speaking in tongues, and from other centers workers are going out to the ends of the earth, till we cannot keep track of them. The Lord is speedily preparing His people for His coming. * * *

We cannot give a report of all that have gone out into the work since the last paper, for they are going almost every day. Bro. and Sister H. McLain have gone to San Jose, Cal., to take charge of the work there and Sister Agnes Jacobson and Bro. Harmon Clifford are also in the work in San Jose. See report from there of how God is working. Bro. Turney and wife who were at San Jose are now in Honolulu. Bro. and Sister E.W. Vinton from near Boston, Mass., who received their Pentecost in Los Angeles, have returned to tell the glad tidings. Their address is 12 Leyden St., Medford, Mass. Bro. C.E. Marsh expects to join them there in preaching this Gospel. Bands of workers have gone out to other places and started the work.

* * *

Since the last paper, Bro. Seymour visited San Francisco and San Jose and reported that God had some of the most precious saints there filled with the Holy Ghost and shining for God that he had ever seen and that the power of God was wonderfully manifest.

* * *

There are a number of papers on the Apostolic line that are springing up. We cannot tell how many there are, because we hear of new ones we have not seen. But there are three clean cut papers besides Apostolic Faith, out and out for a Bible Pentecost according to Acts. 2:4 and with subscription free. They are the Apostolic Light, Portland, Ore., The New Acts, Alliance, Ohio (which now includes Pentecostal Wonders) and The Apostolic Evangel, Royston, Ga. (formerly Live Coals.) These papers are all about the size of the January number of this paper and they are filled with the wonderful works of God, and are spreading the glad tidings of another Pentecost all over the world. They are all supported entirely by free will offerings.

[…]

If you get the light on your soul, you will go forward or else backslide.

The more of the Holy Ghost you have, the more love, the more humility, the more praises. This is not a "do, do" religion, but it is the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Man has got to be born again. You cannot get it through moral culture, refinement, or giving up, but you must be born into it. It is through God's beloved Son who washes you, cleanses you, and makes you a fit subject for heaven.

Every sanctified person has the abiding anointing in their soul, and they know His Blood cleanses every moment, but you need the baptism with the Holy Ghost which is the enduement of power, that will make you a witness to the uttermost parts of the earth.

This Gospel cost us too much to run off into fanaticism and be led by visions and dreams. When we get spiritual, there is greater temptation to get puffed up. We must put all visions and dreams on the square of God's Word and try them. The Word must prove all things. When we throw down God's truth, the plummet of His Word, shows up the counterfeit.

People receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost while about their work. One sister in Whittier received hers while she was baking a cake. The Holy Ghost is a real living Person that comes down upon you in great and mighty power. Dear loved ones, when He comes upon you, you know it. When He comes in, He comes talking. Your jaws will be unloosed, and He will commence speaking through you.

We are Christ's spiritual bride now, but there is to be a real wedding take place and a real marriage supper. Those that sit down to this supper will be His queen, the ones that have made their robes white and have the seal of God in their foreheads. O let us not miss this supper. We are listening now for the sound of His chariot wheels.

The Lord has taken Spiritualism and Christian Science out of people in this mission, and filled them with the Spirit, and they are sitting at the feet of Jesus. We teach against Theosophy, Christian Science, Magnetic Healing, Spiritualism, Hypnotism and all works of the devil.

[…]

"He will guide you into all truth." We ought to take the Holy Ghost before any other teacher. We should have no teacher between us and the Holy Ghost.

[…]

THE PURCHASE OF THE AZUSA MISSION.

The lot and buildings at 312 Azusa Street have been purchased by the Apostolic Faith Mission, and five Holy Ghost men have been elected as trustees, who hold the property.

We believe the Lord chose this spot for His work, for He has wonderfully poured out His Spirit in the mission, which started about a year ago from cottage prayer meetings where the Pentecost first fell. Now, through Spirit baptized ones who have gone out, and through papers published here, there has been raised up a mighty host. Praise God! The property was purchased for $15,000, and $4,000 has already been paid down on it. Any friends wishing to have a share in buying this Mission for the Lord may send offerings to Bro. Reuben Clark, who is secretary of the board of trustees. Address 312 Azusa St., Los Angeles. It was necessary to buy this mission as a headquarters for the work, in order to hold it, as it would soon have been sold for other purposes. The situation is favorable, being centrally located and in surroundings where no one will be disturbed by prayers or shouts going up sometimes all night. Praise God! The Mission building was formerly a place of worship where souls had been saved years ago, and the spot thus made sacred; and during the past year, hundreds have been saved, sanctified, healed, and baptized with the Holy Ghost.

APRIL NINTH A JUBILEE DAY.

To the Apostolic Faith People, Saints, and Friends; the ninth of April is the birthday of Pentecost to us, for the Pentecost fell here on April 9, 1906. May all that have received this precious gift, the baptism with the Holy Ghost, honor that day as a jubilee feast, in praise and thanks to God for sending the old time Pentecost back to earth again.

We pray God that a great revival of salvation may flow in all missions on that day, and that we may all get in one accord; and we believe that the fire of God will fall in every mission, and that many will receive the baptism just as they received it on the day of Pentecost, according to the second chapter of Acts. Praise God! We have much to praise God for; in a year's time, He has spread this work over the earth. Hallelujah to His holy name! God is still working here in Los Angeles. Souls are receiving their personal Pentecost. Bless His holy name! We expect to hear from all the missions where this wonderful Gospel is preached, great victory on that memorable day.

[…]

HEAVENLY VISIONS.

Thirteen saints met in a cottage prayer meeting in Los Angeles and all were in the Spirit and of one accord. They knelt in prayer expecting the Lord to manifest Himself. The power of God fell and every one was caught up in the Spirit and saw visions from God. Bro. McLain says he saw a beautiful white dove for some time on the back of his chair. One sister saw an angel come into their midst with a golden harp in her hand. Several had the same vision of the Savior. He held a book in His hand. They saw the nail print and the blood trickling down while He wrote their names in the book with His finger with the blood that ran from His pierced hand. He stood on the other side of a river. The waters of the river looked bloody. An angel about the size of a child twelve years of age stood in front of the Savior. It went about the room and hovered over the heads of all in the room. One brother had not yet received his Pentecost, and a star was seen to come and light on his forehead, while he was testifying. The brother that was healed of blindness by the power of God some time ago saw an angel with a golden candle stick about three feet high. Praise God. He is wonderfully fulfilling His Word in His children. Acts. 2:17.

[…]

"Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you." Jesus has given us the Word, and if we live in the Word, the Word will be in us, the Blood will flow and we will always be white and clean; but the moment we get out of the Word we become unclean and wander into dangerous paths.

HUNDREDS BAPTIZED IN THE SOUTH.

High Point, N.C., Jan. 24.

To the Saints at Los Angeles and all over the world, Greetings in Jesus name!

The work at Dunn, N.C., still continues in His name. In the three weeks I was here, about fifty received the baptism with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues, which is the witness of the baptism as on the Day of Pentecost; and about fifteen of the fifty were ministers of the Gospel. Some are from Georgia, some from South Carolina, and some from North Carolina. Some are called to China to preach this blessed truth. God has blest me in casting out devils, healing the sick and in discerning of spirits.

Bonneau, S.C., Feb. 11. – I came here last Friday by invitation of the holiness people in this section, known as the saints or Church of God. They claim not to belong to any organization and have been keeping the feast of unleavened bread for three or four years and worshiping in upper rooms.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were three days set apart for service to tarry and wait for Pentecost, eating nothing but unleavened bread and drinking cold water. I saw at once that they had brought themselves under bondage to keeping the feast and that there was danger of their feeling that God was under obligations to them to send the baptism with the Holy Ghost, because they kept it. But I never met sweeter sanctified people in all my life. I prayed to God to show them that it was not keeping the feast that brought the Holy Ghost. I did not mention it to them at all, but joined them in the feast. Saturday, dear Bro. Britton, their leader, came to me and said he felt that the Lord would be pleased for them to dismiss the keeping of the feast. So he announced it to the people. Some had already received the baptism, but after that I have never seen the power of God manifested as I saw it here. Twenty-three received the baptism with the Holy Ghost and all spoke with tongues.

On Saturday, one very old sister came in who had never heard anyone speak in tongues, and no one was speaking in tongues when she came in. She began to shake hands with the saints, and before she sat down, the power fell on her and she was baptized with the Holy Ghost and commenced speaking in tongues, a perfect language.

Bro. Bridgers, an evangelist of the M.E. Church, now at Marion, S.C., came to the meeting and was baptized with the Holy Ghost and power and spoke in tongues for some time, a perfect language. Praise God for Bro. Bridgers.

Royston, Ga., Feb. 27. – Hundreds of precious souls in the South have received the baptism with the Holy Ghost and speak in other tongues. Closed a series of meetings at Taccoa, Georgia, Sunday night. God was with us in great power from start to finish. I did not keep an account of how many received their Pentecost, but they all spoke in tongues, and all that receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost will speak in tongues. All do not have the gift of tongues as taught in 1 Cor. 12, but they all spoke in tongues on the Day of Pentecost and at Cornelius' house, and those that Paul laid hands on at Ephesus, and all that I have heard and seen receive the Holy Ghost have spoken in tongues. I am receiving letters every day from north, south, east and west from people that have attended my meetings, saying that they have received their Pentecost and speak in tongues.

People have been gulled here by take it by faith, reconsecrate, baptism of fire, "dynamite," and "lydite" till the faith of the people is almost gone. Praise God for Pentecost. Get your justified experience all in good shape, then get the sanctified experience of a clean heart. Then when your faith takes hold of the promise of the Father and Son, and the Word of God, you will have great joy as they did that went up from Olivet to Jerusalem. Then you can praise and bless God and the Holy Ghost will come in and praise God Himself in unknown tongue, and you will never doubt it any more, if they burn you at the stake or behead you. He will bear witness of Himself. Let us not come short of the promise. -- G.B. Cashwell, Address, Dunn, N.C.

[…]

A party of seven workers from Azusa Mission, all baptized with the Holy Ghost, went to Bonsoll, a country place about a hundred miles distant, to carry this blessed Gospel. The first night they had a cottage prayer meeting, and the second night had thirty people in the little school house. Before closing the meeting, they gave the altar call and there was such a rush to the altar that some fell over the seats and one woman nearly knocked the stove down. Twenty-seven in all came to the altar and 22 of them got saved. They held meetings the rest of the week with good attendance. Souls were saved and sanctified every night. On Sunday they had water baptism and 14 were baptized in the creek by immersion. One lady fell under the power of God just after she came out of the water. In these meetings there was no preaching. God Himself did the work. All but one of them were young workers and they just let God use them as channels.

A CHICAGO EVANGELIST'S PENTECOST.

943 W. North Ave., Chicago, Ill., March 19. Dear Readers of the Apostolic Faith:

I desire to give my testimony for the glory of God, and in the hope that it will prove a blessing to many that read it.

Nine years ago I was deeply convicted of sin, through the Bible and the Spirit moving upon me, which He continued to do till I truly repented of my sins, and earnestly sought the Lord, finally yielding all to Him, and pleading His mercy. He revealed to my heart Christ dying on the cross, and His voice whispered to me, "Christ died for your sins." Instantly my heart believed, and His peace flooded my soul, and the joy of His salvation was wonderful to me. Later I saw and grasped by faith the truth of sanctification, and the Spirit witnessed to my heart that the work was done, and the Holy Ghost wonderfully wrought in my life.

Five years ago I was called into the ministry, and all these years the Spirit has been with me in a wonderful way. Sometimes I would be overcome by His power. In brief, I honestly believed I was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and testified to it. God had done so much for me, that it was hard for me to believe that there was more for me, except of course, development as I went on with God. And still there was a longing in my heart for something. I traveled as an evangelist from coast to coast, and preached the Gospel in almost every large city in the United States, speaking to as high as 1,000 people at a time, often seeing from twenty-five to one hundred at the altar in a single service. And many were saved, sanctified, and many healed. But some way all this did not satisfy me, and for a year the heart hunger has increased. Like all holiness people I have met, I kept praying for love, power, etc.

Finally I heard of the work of God in Azusa Street Mission, Los Angeles, and said to my people, That is the work of God. Later I heard someone preach that the speaking in tongues was the Bible evidence that we had received the baptism in the Holy Ghost, and not understanding it I rejected it. But I saw those who were speaking in tongues had something that I did not have, and I finally became a seeker. And the Lord impressed me to go to Los Angeles, and attend the meetings, and seek the baptism in the Holy Ghost. Finally on Feb. 8, I arrived there, and Sunday, Feb. 10, I attended my first all-day meeting. The first man I met on entering the building was Bro. H.L. Blake of Ruthton, Minn., who still believed he had received the baptism with the Holy Ghost in sanctification, and the anointings and fillings that followed; but I told him I was convinced that what I had was not the baptism.

The first thing that impressed me was the love and unity that prevailed in the meeting, and the heavenly sweetness that filled the very air that I breathed. I want to say right here, that I have attended many large holiness camp meetings and conventions, but I never felt the power and glory that I felt in Azusa Street Mission, and when about twenty persons joined in singing the "Heavenly Chorus," it was the most ravishing and unearthly music that ever fell on mortal ears. It seemed and still seems to me, I could not sing in that chorus. I know it came direct from heaven. I at once became an earnest seeker, and day after day, I went down before the Lord, and He was true to me. He showed me myself as He saw me. I can never forget the state of utter helplessness to which He reduced me. He even took away the spirit of prayer, my testimony was removed from me, I saw myself apart from Christ as it were, and it made me desperate. I can never forget the faithfulness of Sister Good, and others, in dealing with me. Next to God, I am indebted to them, dear faithful souls, laying down their lives for others; and all the reward they receive so far as I can see, was the plain clothing they wear and food they eat. After I had been there a little over two weeks, devoting the entire time to seeking my Pentecost, on a Tuesday afternoon, when very much disheartened, suddenly the power of God descended upon me, and I went down under it. I have no language to describe what took place, but it was wonderful. It seemed to me that my body had suddenly become porous, and that a current of electricity was being turned on me from all sides; and for two hours I lay under His mighty power, and yet I knew I was not baptized yet, though I literally felt transparent, and a wonderful glory had come into my soul. Again on Thursday evening following, His power came over me, and I was prostrate on the floor for two hours, and still I knew I was not baptized, though I received a great spiritual uplift.

But on Friday evening, March 1, His mighty power came over me, until I jerked and quaked under it for about three hours. It was strange and wonderful and yet glorious. He worked my whole body, one section at a time, first my arms, then my limbs, then my body, then my head, then my face, then my chin, and finally at 1 am Saturday, Mar. 2, after being under the power for three hours, He finished the work on my vocal organs, and spoke through me in unknown tongues. I arose, perfectly conscious outwardly and inwardly that I was fully baptized in the Holy Ghost, and the devil can never tempt me to doubt it. First I was conscious that a living Person had come into me, and that He possessed even my physical being, in a literal sense, in so much that He could at His will take hold of my vocal organs, and speak any language He chose through me. Then I had such power on me and in me as I never had before. And last but not least, I had a depth of love and sweetness in my soul that I had never even dreamed of before, and a holy calm possessed me, and a holy joy and peace, that is deep and sweet beyond anything I ever experienced before, even in the sanctified life. And O! such victory as He gives me all the time.

Almost three weeks have passed, and all this is with me, and is deepening all the time. My soul is melted over and over again, and many times I feel as if there were, and I believe there is a dynamo of power in me; there is nothing selfish about this, but it is fathomless, real, literal, blessed, grand. O that all the world would seek and find this wonderful gift of God! It is something that speaks for itself. I have not had to witness to the saints I have met for when they hear me speaking in tongues and praising the Lord, they just exclaim, "Brother Durham has got his Pentecost." Glory to God!

After receiving the baptism, I remained a few days in the home of Bro. and Sister Osterberg, to whom I am deeply indebted for their great kindness to me, and left for Colorado Springs March 6. Sunday the 10th, preached three times in the G.A.R. Hall to a crowded house, and the power of God was on the people. About fifty came to the altar, and several came through and spoke in tongues. I also spent two nights in Denver, preaching to large audiences, and full altars, and a number came through and spoke in tongues. From there I came to Des Moines, Iowa, and preached twice in Mrs. Judge Ladd's Mission, which was crowded, and the altar was so full I could not get to all of the seekers to deal with them.

Saturday, March 16, I reached home, and found that the Lord had taken good care of my dear wife and baby during my absence, and Sunday, March 17, we had the largest attendance in the history of the Mission, and again the altar was so full, that it was hard to deal with the people. And so the work goes on, the Spirit falls like rain wherever I preach His word, and it seems there is no effort on my part. I will close my testimony by saying to all who read it: This work is of God, there is no doubt of that. And I would advise all my friends to seek the baptism in the Holy Ghost, till they get the evidence in tongues, for it always follows; I know of no exception.

Now just a word concerning Bro. Seymour, who is the leader of the movement under God: He is the meekest man I ever met. He walks and talks with God. His power is in his weakness. He seems to maintain a helpless dependence on God and is as simple-hearted as a little child, and at the same time is so filled with God that you feel the love and power every time you get near him. -- W.H. Durham.

[…]

Bro. Paul says, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself." I tell you I would rather speak in tongues when I want to speak for my own edification. I would rather quit using my own tongue and speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. There is a power, a glory, bless God, that comes down from heaven that passes all understanding. No wonder the Corinthian church all wanted to speak in tongues edifying themselves. Paul wrote them telling them how to use those precious gifts. It was just as when we first received the gift, we all wanted to speak at once. Paul says, "Let him pray that he may interpret." Greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret." So many prayed and received the interpretation. On the day of Pentecost, they were immersed into the Holy Spirit. The Spirit "filled all the room where they were sitting." It is one thing to be filled as a glass filled with water and another thing to be submerged as when you plunge the glass out of sight into the fountain.

[…]

Holy quietness does not mean to hold your mouth shut and not praise God. It means that the Spirit hushes all the flesh. The Lord is in His holy temple and let all flesh be silent before Him. This quietness will let the Spirit speak out in praises and shouts and song. It is holy quietness in heaven, when the praise is like the voice of "many waters" and "mighty thunderings." (Rev. 19:6) We want this holy quietness all the time, so we will get used to heaven before we get there.

When we are sanctified, we have the Holy Spirit witnessing that Christ is crowned and enthroned within. We have Him bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit; but when we are baptized with the Holy Ghost, He comes in with His gifts.

[…]

WORK INCREASING.

This work seems to be increasing in power, despite all the efforts of self-appointed critics and antagonists. The writer has not a single doubt but that Brother Seymour has more power with God, and more power from God, than all his critics in and out of the city. His strength is in his conscious weakness, and lowliness before God; and, so long as he maintains this attitude, the power of God will, no doubt, continue to flow through him. We tremble for some of our friends, who claim that God has revealed to them, that "this whole work is of the devil."

We cannot, dogmatically affirm that these persons have not received a revelation; but we are perfectly sure that such a revelation was not from God. The Almighty doth not pull down with one hand, what He buildeth up with the other. Satan is not in the rescue work; nor does he lead his followers to magnify the atoning blood of Christ, nor fill people with a desire and a passion for saving souls. We have never known Christ more magnified than in Azusa Mission. To ascribe this work to Satan, appears to us to be very much like ascribing the work of Christ, done in power of the Spirit, to Beelzebub. We tremble for all those who have made any such rash decision. May God in his great mercy help them to reverse such decision, and get to the place where he can give them the equivalent of what He is giving many in Azusa Street Mission. -- A.S. Worrell in Gospel Witness.

The Blood conquers all the forces of hell. After we get the power of the Holy Ghost on our souls, we need the Blood just as much, because the Blood brings life and sweetness. As long as we live under the Blood, we will have life and be preserved and the very sweetness of heaven will be sprinkled upon us, but the moment we get from under the Blood, we will be a different person altogether. You can tell when people are living under the Blood. There is sweetness, quietness, joy, happiness, rest, and all the fruits of the Spirit, but leave the Blood out and the works of the flesh are sure to manifest themselves.

[…]

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST.

Dear one in Christ who are seeking the baptism with the Holy Ghost; do not seek for tongues but for the promise of the Father, and pray for the baptism with the Holy Ghost, and God will throw in the tongues according to Acts 2: 4.

We read in Acts 1:4,5, "And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."

This promise of the Father was preached unto the disciples by John the Baptist. And Jesus reminded the disciples about this baptism that John had preached to them in life. Math. 3:11. John, after warning the Jews and Pharisees against sin and hypocrisy, preached the doctrine of the baptism with the Holy Ghost. He said first, "Bring forth therefore, fruits meet for repentance." God is sending out His precious ministers to preach repentance to the people and turn them from their sins and cause them to make restitution according to their ability, and to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Glory to God!

And then they must get sanctified through the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, for He says in John 17:15-19, "I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." God wants His people to be sanctified, because He says again in Heb. 13:12, "Wherefore Jesus also that He might sanctify the people with His own Blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach."

Then Jesus taught the disciples to tarry at Jerusalem. They obeyed Him and waited for the promise of the Father. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1-4.

Wind is always typical of the Spirit or of life. "And it filled all the house where they were sitting." The rivers of salvation had come and had filled the whole place, and they all were immersed or baptized in the Holy Spirit. Praise God! "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire." Beloved, when we receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire, we surely will speak in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. We are not seeking for tongues, but we are seeking the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire. And when we receive it, we shall be so filled with the Holy Ghost, that He Himself will speak in the power of the Spirit.

"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Now, beloved, do not be too concerned about your speaking in tongues, but let the Holy Ghost give you utterance, and it will come just as freely as the air we breathe. It is nothing worked up, but it comes from the heart. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation." So when the Holy Ghost life comes in, the mouth opens, through the power of the Spirit in the heart. Glory to God!

"There were, dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, 'Behold, are not all these which speak, Galileans. And how hear we every man speak in our own tongue wherein we were born?" Acts. 2:5-8.

Beloved, if you do not know the language that you speak, do not puzzle yourself about it, for the Lord did not promise us He would tell us what language we were speaking, but He promised us the interpretation of what we speak.

In seeking the baptism, first get a clear, definite witness in your soul that you have the abiding Christ within. Then there will be no trouble in receiving the Pentecostal baptism, through faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for it is a free gift that comes without repentance. Bless His holy name! —W.J.S.

[…]

MESSAGES IN TONGUES INTERPRETED.

"The Spirit comes in mighty power upon His people. Look up unto Jesus now and receive from Him. O Jesus is my Almighty King. Look up into the face of Jesus and see this great Savior. He is more than all the world to me. Jesus is altogether lovely. Glory and honor crown Him. Be in adoration unto this wonderful Savior."

"They that sat in darkness saw great light, and to them that sat in the valley of the shadow of death, a light is sprung up. Jesus is the same today as He was in old times. He will heal the body, cleanse from sin, and give the baptism with the Holy Ghost. He leads on to a life of light. There is freedom for all who would escape the power of the enemy. Seek Him now. O come. God came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. He has redeemed us by His own precious Blood."

[…]

5. Many Witnesses: Tongues Interpreted, the Mukti Revival and Seymour’s Farewell

The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles), Vol. I, No. 7, April 1907: “Missions in Los Angeles,” an anonymous shorthand report of services that includes W. J. Seymour’s farewell address; Albert Norton’s letter from Dhond, India (d. 1923); “Type of Pentecost”; G. B. Cashwell’s “Pentecost in the South” (d. 1916); and “Pentecost in Denver.” Primary source; the claims are those of the editors and participants. Signed or first-person contributions by authors whose rights are not cleared in Mexico have been left out, and other items have been left out for length; each omission is marked […].

CTS note: The shorthand report lets students hear an Azusa service almost word for word: testimonies, messages in tongues with interpretations, a hymn, and Seymour’s farewell sermon on Isaiah 1 before he left to visit Texas and the South. Note the reporter’s claim that the interpretations were “recorded in shorthand” but not given at the time; that is the reporter’s account, not a verified record. Albert Norton, a missionary in India for decades, describes the revival at Pandita Ramabai’s Mukti Mission, which began among Indian women in 1905, independently of Los Angeles; it reminds readers that the early twentieth-century revivals had several centres and were not led only by Westerners. Norton’s report that women spoke English they had not learned is a claim of “xenolalia” (speaking a real language one has not studied); later Pentecostals mostly ceased to expect tongues to serve as ready-made missionary languages. The paper again uses dated terms (“colored,” “natives”). Women here testify, preach and interpret; CTS presents this neutrally, noting that complementarian, egalitarian and team-ministry traditions each read it in their own way.

“Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”—Jude 3

Vol. I. No. 7 Los Angeles, Cal., April, 1907 Subscription Free

Many Witnesses to the Power of the Blood and of the Holy Ghost.

[…]

In Bellingham, Washington.

In Bellingham, Wash, the Pentecost has fallen, quite a number have received the baptism and they have a mission of their own. Fourteen converts have been baptized in the bay.

[…]

MISSIONS IN LOS ANGELES

A Visitor Who Has the Gift of Interpretation Reports Services in Shorthand.

The power of God came down in a marked manner on Monday, April 29, at Azusa Mission, beginning especially in the ministerial meeting held during the day and culminating in the evening service, while testimonies were being given by baptized witnesses. To a returned missionary from China upon whom the Pentecostal power is now resting, the message was given in tongues by one brother and interpreted by another, "Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it, wait not for the words to be formed in your mind, but give out just what the Spirit puts within and let Him control." * * *

A sister who had been attending the meetings some time, testified to having received liberty only recently, and said that on visiting a sick woman during the day the Lord had convinced an unbelieving girl. Upon this the husband of this witness arose and spoke in tongues very forcibly, but the interpretation was not given until the brother in charge of the meeting had told how this sister had received liberty by going and for the first time seeking to help the unsaved in a meeting, after which the message in tongues was translated with even more power as: "Oh how we praise the Lord for the way He works; when we go to do a work for Him He will work another by His Spirit through us. He wants to teach us that His ways are not our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts, but as the heaven is high above the earth so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts."

* * *

A little later in the evening, as a young colored brother was testifying, he began to sing in another language: "O Jesus, Thou wonderful Savior." After a few more words of praise to God in his own language he sang in another beautifully: "Oh, see how the King comes in triumph," upon which the power was so great that many baptized believers arose one after another and joined in a mighty chorus in the Spirit, while the young brother went on with his testimony and then sang: "Oh pour out your hearts before Him and bend yourselves in obedience." Whereat the leader of the meeting arose and, although he had not heard the interpretation of these messages, cried out: "Come to the altar! come to the altar!" And the young messenger continued in a tongue: "Oh seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near to you," and another brother spoke forcefully in another language to the hearts of the people: "Oh turn to Him while it is called today and seek Him while He may be found." The interpretation of these messages was not given out at the time but recorded in shorthand. The effect of the manifestation of the Spirit's power was, however, immediate and very marked, for the people came forward to the altar and fell all around under the power of the Holy Spirit, demons being cast out in the name of Jesus, saints being quickened, and four receiving the baptism with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

To those who ask why we should speak in tongues and what use it is unless understood by those to whom the message is given, this report is sufficient evidence that it is not by the understanding of mind or by great intellect that God would speak to the children of men, but in the mighty power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost.

The Pentecostal Assembly.

At the Pentecostal Assembly, 327 1/2 So. Spring St., in the Metropolitan Hall, an earnest band of Christians hold services every Tuesday and Friday afternoon and evening and all day Sunday of each week. These witness in the liberty of the Spirit, those who have received the baptism in the Holy Ghost often speaking in tongues, the interpretations edifying the church. On Tuesday evening, April 30, a drunken man was brought into the hall and before the meeting started the power of God had sobered him in readiness for the Gospel. More workers went out, and each brought in another poor victim of intoxication, one brother capturing three, two of whom tried to restrain their mate but followed in. The Word of God was read by the brother in charge, from the passage in Luke 19, centering in the words: "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (v. 10), the exposition being to the point and given by the Spirit. With songs of victory interspersed, the saints got to their knees and dealt with each case separately as they manifested an earnest desire to be saved; and thus encouraged, these poor men themselves lifted their voices to God, some of them really crying to Him from their hearts for pardon and power. Before they received deliverance in some cases the demon of drink had to be cast out, and all had to be encouraged like children to pray to their Father in heaven, but we believe a work was done which will be seen through all eternity. The names and addresses of most of these men were taken by a brother in the Assembly, who will call upon them in the day and encourage them to look to God.

Azusa Mission, Thursday Evening, May 1.

After some hearty singing and earnest prayer, a converted Jewish brother testified. Then a little boy mounted the altar and said plainly: "I thank the Lord for saving me, and now I am seeking the baptism. I want you to pray for me that I may get it. Tonight I had the toothache and I prayed for the Lord to take it away, and He took it away." * * *

A sister said: "Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice always; and again I say rejoice. I am rejoicing in the Lord; I am rejoicing in His salvation, I am rejoicing in His life, I am rejoicing in His presence with me, I am rejoicing in His faithfulness, I am rejoicing in His unchangeableness, I am resting on His promises, and looking and expecting Him moment by moment. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise our God for ever."

* * *

A colored brother arose and sang the verses of a hymn, the people joining in the chorus: "The Blood, the Blood, is all my plea; Hallelujah, it cleanseth me." He then said: "Hallelujah! I am so glad I can testify that the Blood cleanseth me. Oh, the sweetness! My heart is full of love for Jesus. I am so glad I can take up the cross and work with Him now and follow Him. Oh, I know I am leaning on the Almighty's arms."

* * *

An old gentleman who has recently received the baptism said: "Just take the blessings that God sends down to us. Oh I thank God that He has found an old man, a sinner like me. I was not worthy of anything, but He gave Himself to me. O glory, O glory! (Then he spoke in another language, the interpretation being): "Glory to Thee my great Redeemer for Thy great love towards me. O how I praise Thee. (He continued in English:) Oh glory to God for the gift He has given me. Now if there is any sinner here tonight, seek Him. Now we all may have it without money."

* * *

Another testified as follows: "I praise God tonight that I am under the Blood; Jesus' Blood covers me and cleanses me from all sin."

* * *

Someone else said: "I know that the Blood of Jesus saves me and sanctifies me and keeps me from day to day. He is my Healer, I praise Him and thank Him for the way He is increasing my faith and instructing me today. The Lord gave me a verse since I have been standing here; 'Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart.' I am just standing on His promises. With His stripes I am healed. I praise Him and thank Him with all my heart. He saves me and sanctifies me and baptizes me with the Holy Ghost."

* * *

A new song of much power was then sung through in the Spirit by all:

Jesus Christ is made to me All I need, all I need; He alone is all my plea, He is all I need.

Chorus— Wisdom, Righteousness and Power, Holiness forever more, My Redemption full and sure, He is all I need.

* * *

A brother testified: "There is power in my soul tonight because God put it in there; it is the power of the Spirit that came down from the throne of God, from the Everlasting Father, before whom we must one day stand and give an account of the deeds done in the body. Oh how careful we as professing Christians ought to walk before this ungodly generation. The Lord showed me a few years ago that out of California would come a movement that would startle the world, and here is this prophecy fulfilled. Praise God for this personal Pentecost." He then said in another tongue: "Jesus died that you might be saved. Oh be saved tonight and seek Him with all the heart, and let Him have His way."

* * *

A young colored sister then said: "I want to praise God tonight. He is all in all to me. Glory to Jesus. Dear ones, you do not know how sweet it is to trust Jesus. Do not sit back laughing and scoffing —oh you are laughing at Jesus, not at us. (In tongues.) He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. Oh why will ye not come unto Me that ye might have life? Oh why do you resist My pleadings with you at this time? Oh why do you not come to Me and turn to Me with thy heart? Dear ones, accept this blessed salvation. I do praise my blessed Redeemer for saving me from sin, for giving me a clean heart. When I was a sinner, I would go to church and look around laughing, but oh I did not know I was laughing at Jesus, but praise God, He is all in all to me now. He has taken all the laugh out of me, all criticism. He has given me a perfectly clean heart and filled me with love. Dear ones, oh it is precious to have a clean heart. He saved my soul and He has baptized me with the Holy Ghost. (In tongues:) O why do you resist the strivings of the Spirit? Why do you not turn to Him in repentance? Dear ones, it is so sweet to walk with Jesus. I take Him as my Healer. He heals all my diseases. O glory to God. (In tongues:) "Why do you not look to Him and live at this time?"

Bro. W.J. Seymour then started the congregation singing:

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Thee, How I've proved Thee o'er and o'er; Jesus, Jesus, blessed Jesus, Oh, for grace to trust Thee more,

He then said: "Glory! Beloved, I want to say 'Goodnight' to you all for a short while. It has now been over a year ago since I left Texas and came up in this portion of the country to labor and work for the Lord, and I am going back there through that old state where the Lord called me from a year ago. I am going to pass through there and see those precious children that prayed with me for Pentecost, and while I am gone I want you all to pray that God may use me to His own honor and glory.

"I want to read some of God's own precious Word in the first chapter of the book of Isaiah. (He read to verse 9 and then said:) I am so glad the Lord God has raised up a people right in Los Angeles, and [San] Francisco, they seem like Sodom and Gomorrah, but out of these cities the Lord God has raised up a people for His holy name. He has cleansed them from sin, He has sanctified them, and has baptized them with the Holy Ghost and sealed them unto the day of Redemption. Glory to His holy name! I can go and rejoice with the people in Texas, telling them of the wonderful things that God has done in Los Angeles. They said I should be back in a month's time, and now this is the first chance I have had to get back. (He then read to the end of verse 20). ‘But if ye refuse and rebel ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.' Every man, every church, every home, that rejects the full Gospel of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, shall be devoured. We are living in a time when the Holy Ghost is working—bless God— convincing men and women of sin and righteousness and judgment, and every man and every women that hardens their heart against the Word of God shall fall. If the men and women of this city will repent and turn from their sin and accept our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 'ye shall eat the good of the land.’ Glory to His holy name! God has fat things to feed all His hungry people. Oh, He will fill you tonight. Oh, the music will be singing in your soul and, oh, the love of Christ that passes all understanding will be dwelling in your heart. Just read what He says: 'If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land.' Jesus says: 'Abide in me, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me.' Oh, beloved, if we abide in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and feed off Christ, I'll tell you, we shall live off the good of the land,—bless His holy name. We will have the fat-bless God,—-we will have everything to cheer our heart, we shall have healing and health and salvation in our souls. Oh, glory to His holy name. Oh, do not refuse the Word of God; oh, accept it, accept all the doctrine of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and oh, beloved, it will fill your hearts with good things.

"But just listen to what He says: ‘If ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.' Beloved, if you reject Christ, if you reject His precious Blood, if you reject the Holy Ghost, ye shall be devoured with the sword; but if you accept Jesus Christ He will prepare a table before you, and the Lord God Himself will spread it and He will feed you Himself. When Jesus had gotten through feeding His disciples He told His disciples to feed His lambs and sheep. What are we going to feed them with? We are going to feed them with the precious Word of God; we are going to teach them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and as their Sanctifier to destroy the root of sin, and then we are going to teach them to accept the Holy Ghost. He shall baptize them with the Holy Ghost and fire, and when He comes in He is going to speak through them, and He says 'In the last days I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.' Glory to His holy name. I want to say 'Goodnight' to you." "God be with you till we meet again" was then sung as Brother Seymour shook hands with as many as possible and left for the train. Brother Anderson spoke a few words of encouragement to the saints on the necessity of our continuing faithful in the pastor's absence."

* * *

There is a Swedish Pentecostal Mission in Los Angeles at 8th and Wall streets. The power of God is falling there. The Swedish people have been among the foremost in accepting the doctrine of the baptism with the Holy Ghost and many are endued with power from on high.

* * *

Russians and Armenians in Los Angeles are seeking the baptism. The Armenians have a Pentecostal cottage meeting on Victor street, between 4th and 5th. Some have been baptized with the Holy Ghost.

* * *

At the Pentecostal Mission on Central avenue and 53rd street, in Los Angeles, meetings are going on in power. Conviction is on the sinners. Numbers are seeking Pentecost. Bro. Lyttle gave up half of his store for this mission and an unconverted man offered to do the work himself in putting up a partition. God is working there.

* * *

NATIVES IN INDIA SPEAK IN TONGUES.

Dhond, Poona, India, March 21.

About six months ago we began to hear of Christian believers in different places and countries receiving the gift of speaking in a new tongue, which they had never known before. Our hearts were much stirred by these accounts, some of them having come from those whom we had known for years as most humble, earnest and devoted servants of the Lord.

One week ago today, I visited the Mukti Mission at Kedgaon, 13 miles from here, which is under the superintendence of Pandita Ramabai. Miss Abrams asked me if I would not like to go in the room where about 20 girls were praying. After entering I knelt on one side, with closed eyes. Presently I heard some one near me, praying very distinctly in English. Among the petitions were. —"O Lord, open the mouth; O Lord open the mouth: O Lord open the heart; O Lord, open the heart; O Lord, open the eyes; O Lord open the eyes; O the Blood of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus; O, give complete victory! O, such a blessing! O, such a glory!" I was struck with astonishment, as I knew there was no one in the room who could speak English, besides Miss Abrams. I opened my eyes, and within three feet of me, on her knees, with closed eyes and raised hand, was ----- whom I had baptized in Kedgaon in 1899, nearly 8 years ago, and whom my wife and I had known intimately since, as a devoted Christian worker. Her mother tongue was Marathi, and she could speak a little Hindustani. But she was utterly unable to speak or understand English such as she was using.

When I heard her speaking English idiomatically, distinctly and fluently, I was impressed very much as I would have been, had I seen one whom I knew to be dead, raised to life. A few others, illiterate Marathi women and girls were speaking in English and some were speaking in other languages, which none of us at Kedgaon understood. This was not gibberish, but it closely resembled the speaking of foreign languages, to which I have listened but did not understand. Again I was at Mukti last Saturday and Lord's day, when some 24 different persons had received the gift of tongues. Quite a number had received the ability to speak in English, a language before unknown to them.

Just why God enabled these women and girls of India to speak in English, instead of Tamil, Telugu, Bengali or some other language of India, unknown to them, I cannot say. But I have an idea that it is in mercy to us poor missionaries from Europe and America, who as a class seem to be doubting Thomas’s in regard to the gifts and working of the Spirit, and are not receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, as we ought, and as we shall wish that we had done, when we are entered into the world to come.

On Saturday I was much impressed with the speaking of B--------, a Hindi woman, who was rescued in the famine of 1897. She was illiterate, but able to read the Bible in Marathi stumblingly. During the year of 1899 while my wife and I were living at Mukti, we saw much of B--------, and knew her as one capable and very faithful in attending to the secular duties entrusted to her. On Saturday she was praying in English. Among other things she was saying, "O, the love! the love! the love! the love! O, the love of Jesus! O, my precious Lord! my precious Lord! My precious child!" One not knowing her history would not see the force of the last sentence. She has an only child, from whom she has been separated for 10 years, and with whom she is not allowed to have communication. I was struck with the English which she used as being idiomatic, and the words which she spoke being of a class which she would not have used had she been learning by study. And I have no doubt from what I knew of her that she by her own powers could no more have spoken in English as she did then than she could have taken wings and flown. There was abundant evidence that God was working in a wonderful way. Those speaking in tongues gave evidence that their souls were flooded with blessing from God.

Those who are attributing the power of the Lord's servants, to speak in other tongues, to demons or evil spirits, seem to me to put themselves in the place of the Pharisees of old, who attributed Christ's supernatural power to the same source. See Matt. XII. 24-32; Mark III. 22-30.

Here at Dhond some of us are waiting on God for the bestowment of all the Spirit's gifts, which He has for us. And we have been already blessed by this spirit of waiting and prayer. We ask the prayers of our friends that we may know by blessed experience the uttermost of all God has for us, through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. — Albert Norton.

[…]

TYPE OF PENTECOST. II. CHRON.5.

A beautiful picture of Pentecost is seen in the precious Word of God in II Chronicles.

"All the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in all things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver and the gold, and all the instruments put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month."

That feast was typical of Pentecost. And all the men of Israel came and they brought up the ark of the tabernacle of the congregation and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle. All of this was typical of our consecration and sanctification unto the Lord.

“And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course; also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Hemen, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets.) It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house."

We read here that all the priests that were present were sanctified. This is typical of Christ's people being sanctified before they receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Dear beloved, we must get sanctified to receive it. Sanctification takes out the disobedience, rebellion and resistance out of our hearts and gives us a pure, clean heart that our Christ may come and dwell in. Amen.

Sanctification is the second work of grace that deals with our original sin. Sanctification destroys the root and breed of sin and makes us holy. We know these priests were sanctified, for the Word of God says so. Also the Levites which were the singers, were arrayed in white linen. Linen is a type of the robes of righteousness that we read of in Rev. 7:13, "And one of the elders answered and said unto me, What are these which are arrayed in linen. Whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb." So the white linen is typical of the precious robes which Jesus gives to us through the sanctifying Blood of the Lamb. We find that with these singers in white linen were 120 priests sounding with trumpets, typical of the 120 disciples that were sanctified and in the upper room waiting for Jesus to baptize them with the Holy Ghost and fire.

"And it came to pass as the trumpeters and singers were as one—" This is prophetical of the "one accord" which we find at Pentecost. O, beloved, I pray that you may wait in one accord for the promise of the Father upon the sanctified and cleansed life.

And when they praised the Lord in unison, the house was filled with the glory of the Lord. He will fill the room and you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire, and God will give you a new tongue as a trumpet in singing or speaking as He did the 120 on the day of Pentecost.

It is the Blood of Jesus that brings fellowship among the Christian family. The Blood of Jesus Christ is the strongest in the world. It makes all races and nations into one common family in the Lord and makes them all satisfied to be one. The Holy Ghost is the leader and He makes all one as Jesus prayed, "that they all may be one."

[…]

There was a time when we were fed upon theological chips, shavings and wind, but now the long, long night is past. We are feeding upon the Word which is revealed by the Holy Ghost — the whole Word and nothing but the Word.

PENTECOST IN THE SOUTH.

West Union, S.C., March 24.

To the Saints in Cal., and all the West: Greetings in Jesus.

Pentecost has come to the South. The power is falling from the Atlantic to the Mississippi river. The cities and country are filled with the glory of God, healing, working of miracles, divers kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues. O, how I praise God. The Falcon school near Dunn, N.C., has received Pentecost in full. Some of the students speak in tongues. Some interpret and write several languages and interpret it. The principal, Rev. J.F. Taylor, speaks in tongues, interprets, sings and plays in the power of the Spirit.

Our meeting at Taccoa, Ga., was a complete victory, at Royston, Ga., was the same, and there were miracles of healing I never saw before. Bro. King and myself anointed and prayed for a 72 year old sister that had not walked a step in eighteen months. She rose up and shouted in every room of the house, and went to the service on Sunday and exhorted and preached, and warned the people to make ready for Jesus was coming. She was of the Primitive faith, but now filled with the Holy Ghost. The power is falling at this place and people are receiving their Pentecost and speaking in tongues, for they all speak in tongues that receive the baptism as they did on the day of Pentecost.

I ask an interest in the prayers of all the saints that I may have physical strength to hold up in the work. Brethren, move on in the name of Jesus our King. He is coming soon, and the bride must be dressed and ready. She is to be without spot and wrinkle. Praise our God.

People are praying here in their homes and in the woods, and come to the service weeping and asking for help. O, Lord God, have mercy on this poor lost world.

Heaven seems nearer every day. I hear the music. I see the city. Glory be to God, praise Him. A brother went up on a hill to pray near this place the other day and an angel came to him and told him these words: "It will not be long." He said that the angel had long hair with streaks of gold in it and his face shone so brightly and was glorious. He could see the sparks of white light fly from the angel's face. O, praise God. This man seemed to be overflowing with the power and glory of God when he told it in a testimony service at this place last Saturday. He is well known in this country and believed. We remember Cornelius and have no right to doubt it. Your brother in Christ and servant of God, -- G.B. Cashwell.

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PENTECOST IN DENVER, COLO.

19th and Welton Sts.—The writer visited the Christian Assembly here on his way to California and enjoyed blessed fellowship with the saints at this place, the liberty of the Spirit being especially manifest and the Pentecostal work going forward steadily. It has been a surprise to the overseer of the work, Bro. G.F. Fink, to have the fire of the Holy Ghost descend in his assemblies in this way, and for a time he watched the manifestations of the Spirit with caution, only to be completely convinced that this is of God. Even as the Divine healing work which has characterized the Christian Assembly started in Colorado Springs, where Brother Fink had been a pastor, so the Holy Ghost baptism first fell at that place, when Los Angeles workers passed through. The fire spread to the Denver and other assemblies, and the headquarters is at Denver, where a large hall is used every day for the assembling of the people of God, some of whom have come long distances seeking God.

One sister recently came from New Mexico seeking healing, was converted to God and received sanctification, healing and the baptism with the Holy Ghost all in one day; whilst there are many other manifestations of the power of God constantly occurring here. The children, especially the school girls, have been speaking in tongues under the power of the Spirit, and the writer had the blessed experience of seeing one of these preach from the altar for some 15 minutes on three occasions, the whole appeal, including singing, being in a tongue. The interpretations of these messages and of many others given in different languages through several, was the work of the Holy Spirit through chosen instruments, and was uplifted towards God for all the saints assembled.

Many of the members of the Assembly at Denver have received their Pentecost, and although some, as in other places, have been hindered in their witness by those who failed to understand the workings of the Holy Spirit, some have continued to overcome through the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and all are now being built up in God. A few of the best workers have gone out to witness in other parts of the United States, a process which is constantly going on in every assembly where Pentecost has come, but which in the end is a mighty blessing to the saints who lose them, for they thereafter launch out into the work themselves. Only eternity will reveal the extent of the work that is done by those who go out to witness "in Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth," according to the Lord's command.

On Good Friday and Easter Sunday the power of God was especially manifest in Denver, reminding one of the word which says that "in that day the slain of the Lord shall be many" for those convicted fell under the power of the Holy Spirit as people used to do in Wesley's days and were lying on the floor. In this position they seem to commune with the Father, unconscious of their immediate surroundings, some are all broken up and cry to God with intense earnestness, many receiving the blessing they need at His hands and rising full of the joy of His presence and the assurance of their acceptance.

We visited the ranch which is connected with the Assembly, and here, in a pool formed by the creek which runs alongside, some eighteen received the ordinance of baptism by immersion, all rejoicing in the Lord and praising Him from the depths of their hearts in the beautiful sunshine. We find here, as in all the assemblies of the saints who have Pentecost, a spirit which connects us and makes us to realize that we are all one in Christ Jesus and are bound together with that blessed tie which binds our hearts in Christian love, the fellowship of the general assembly of the first born.

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God made your body out of the dust of the earth. It belongs to Him. When the devil stole it from Him, Jesus bought it back with His Blood. He ought to have your body. Give it back to Him. Praise Him, Praise Him! We deliver up everything to Thee. We turn over to Thee this tenement of clay. * * *

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Whatever we see in the doctrines of God's Word, we should receive, if we are God's people.