Speaking in Tongues - What is the real truth about tongue

Speaking in Tongues - What is the real truth about tongue? Foreign language, Heavenly language or both?

Dear Christian,

I was listening to your audio message about speaking in tongues. I believe it was a month ago I want to share few thoughts from the word of God.

I don't want to judge any particular group, but the bible warns us to be careful of false teachers and doctrines.

1 Timothy 1:3

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer

There is a lot of ignorance and emotionalism when it comes to issues of tongues.

After studying the Bible about this issue I came to the following conclusion.

So what is the real truth about speaking in tongues ?

Can we go by experience and feelings or do we go by the Word of God? The only way to find the truth to these questions of course has to be the Bible and the Bible alone. There is no other way. Everything we need to know for our Christian life can be found in the Word of God , and if it is not clearly taught in God’s Word, then we should not follow it lest we be deceived. The Bible warns us often of this fact.

In this document we will cover pertinent aspects of speaking in tongues from the Bible alone. We will not be going by experiences, feelings or so called “physical evidence.” We cannot afford to adopt an interpretation which demands a change in God’s Word. It is our interpretation that should change if necessary to fit the Bible – not the Bible changed to fit our interpretation. Since the enemy can and does counterfeit miracles of God we must follow the scriptures only.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

Many Christians that practice speaking in tongues as we see it today exclaim it is not possible for this feeling not to be from God. They make this statement with absolute confidence as if it is totally impossible for them to be deceived despite the fact that Jesus Himself warns us ever so clearly that even the elect can be deceived.

Matthew 24:24 says, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

We must also heed the following warning;

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God…”

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”

It was this very prophecy you will recall, that Peter quoted on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21) but its completed and final fulfillment still awaits us when God cuts short His work in righteousness in “a short work” (Romans 9:28) in the last days when in tremendous power the whole earth will be “lightened with his glory” and the message of God is represented as crying “mightily with a strong voice.” (Revelation 18:1-2)

The people that spoke in Acts 2:1-12 they all spoke in known tongues and people understood and praised God. In Acts chapter two we have the first and most significant mention of speaking in tongues.

How were the Apostles to preach the Gospel to every nation?

It was by one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit – the gift of speaking in tongues. This is the entire purpose of the gifts of the Spirit – to benefit all for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

It is obvious from this passage, in Acts chapter two, that all of these people from many different countries were hearing the Gospel in their own language for their nation. The languages in which the disciples were speaking were known foreign languages and dialects, not unintelligible mutterings. And they were amazed that these Galileans, uneducated in the “proper” schools, and all from a lower class of society, could speak these foreign languages.

Luke is emphasizing to the reader that the miraculous gift of speaking in other languages at Pentecost was the ability to speak, articulate, intelligible, foreign languages which had not been learned previously and were not learned at that time.

The gift of speaking in tongues (languages) was instant and spontaneous and not “learned.” As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:7, the gifts of the spirit were for the benefit and growth of the whole Church and here we see no better demonstration on how speaking in tongues not only benefited the Church, but made it grow at a phenomenal rate and no assumptions are required.

Acts 2 – The Holy Spirit comes to Jews

Acts 8 - The Holy Spirit comes to Samaritans (half Jew/half Gentile)

Acts 10- The Holy Spirit comes to Gentiles

Acts 19 - The Holy Spirit comes to believers from the OT economy (some of the Baptist's followers).

Therefore, all four groups in the world already received the The Holy Spirit. From then on it is all one way people receive Him - by faith through belief. Transition period it was, and now there is only one way to receive Him by faith at salvation.

When I hear today people speaking in tongues in their meetings, the first question we should ask, do we need to speak in tongues when all the people that are gathered speak the same language i.e Armenian, Arabic, English,…and easily can communicate the message of the bible in their own language.

Take this example:

If someone is in China and does not speak Chinese yes God is willing to give him the gift of tongues at that moment to witness in the known tongue Chinese. Saying this we can see today missionaries going to schools and learning languages before becoming missionaries in different countries. why? Because the gift of tongue had a purpose when the church was born and started growing.

There were many languages and God wanted these people to hear the message in their own languages.

Mark 16:17 “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”

This statement made by Jesus to His Apostles on the gift of speaking in tongues is in the context of the Great Commission, to preach the gospel to the whole world, to every creature. Jesus' disciples were to receive the power of the gift of the Holy Spirit and they were to proclaim the Good News of what Jesus had achieved for all mankind, first in Israel, and then to all nations, tongues (foreign languages) and peoples. Note how the signs were to confirm the Gospel message.

Mark 16:20 “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”

Hebrews 2:3-4

3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

God used world tongues (unknown to the speaker and even most of times to hearers which needed interpretation), along with sign, wonders, and miracles to substantiate the proclamation of the gospel during the church's infancy and subsequent growth - Heb. 2: one of the first verses in that chapter.

Therefore, once the church got going, there is no more "dependent" need for such gifts in the same way they were needed in the first century.

If you notice verse 4 in Heb 2 it is in past tense God also testified to it by signs,. It is important to know this. Today there are different translation of the bible in this way people can understand and see who Jesus is and come to salvation.

What about “unknown languages”

Now that we saw from the bible that these languages that the first century Christians spoke was known to the hearers, Charismatic/Pentecostal groups claim that the language that they speak is ‘unknown’ so they don’t need to translate, they claim it is prayer language or Angelic language. They base their argument on such verses as I Cor 13:1; I Cor 14; and Rom 8:26.

Let us look at this argument:

1 Corinthians 13

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1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

Human and angelic languages are known languages (1 Cor. 13:1). Please notice the use of the plural for both groups of beings. Keep also in mind that each time the angels spoke in the Bible , it was a known world language to the hearers.

The bible states the tongues is a sign for the unbelieving, not the believing. Tongues is not a heavenly language, tongues is plural meaning more than one language, if it was heavenly it would be only one language and it would be called the gift of tongue. And the apostles were given this gift to preach to other foreign language speaking areas without having to learn them for a sign and testament of them being commissioned by God.

Rom 8:26

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26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:26 is not a reference about praying in tongues since it is the Holy Spirit who is doing the intercessory praying on our behalf, and not us doing the praying. Then what about the "groanings which cannot be uttered?"

Tongues are uttered the groanings are the Holy Spirit's and not ours.

Many associate the word utterance with uttering, as in quiet mutterings as seen in much of the tongue speaking today. But the word translated “utterance” in Rom 8:26 actually means “to speak out loudly and clearly” or “to speak with emphasis.” Strong’s gives this definition: “apophtheggomai” pronounced “ap-of-theng'-om-ahee” From G575 and G5350; to enunciate plainly, that is, declare: - say, speak forth, utterance.

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1 Cor 14

2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.

As we can see here tongues are unknown languages to the speaker but not to the hearer.” he utters mysteries with his spirit.”

He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

You see here speaking in tongues is plural (Armenian, Arabic, Hindu…)

Unless he interprets these tongues which can be interpreted and should be interpreted according to this verse.

Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.

13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

The conclusion of this verse is for this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Notice it is plural here many tongues languages.

22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers;

Today some Christian groups speak in tongues in their prayer meetings.

All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter; the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

Interpret what is spoken in a known tongue.

39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

Notice it is plural here many tongues languages.

So was the gift of speaking in tongues for the benefit of the Church? Was it a sign to unbelievers as Paul said? Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:22

“Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not…”

What Paul is saying is that tongues are a sign to unbelievers who are moved when they hear the gospel spoken in their tongue by men who had never learned or understood it. This is exactly what happened at Pentecost. They were all amazed when they heard these unlearned Galileans speaking in their own native tongue. So did the gift benefit the Church? We find the answer revealed towards the end of chapter two.

Acts 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

Note the word “gave” in verse Acts 2:4 denotes a gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of speaking in tongues is not a learned experience. This is in contrast to the common practice in Pentecostal and the Charismatic meetings where they are taught or instructed how to receive the gift of tongue speaking. When the true gift of tongues is given, no prompting or teaching is required, it just happens naturally by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion:

In the very book we see the Church established, we also see the first use of speaking in tongues and being used for that very purpose. Every mention is a known language for the purpose of taking the Gospel to every nation. It is never introduced as a personal communication language with God.

Bible Tongue Speaking and Modern Impostors!

Tongue Speaking of today is not the tongue speaking of the Bible.

Compare the genuine in the Bible with the fakes of today!

First century	Today
Spoke a known language. Acts 2:8	Today don't even claim to use known languages.
Were understood. Acts 2:6; I Cor. 14:19	Don't claim to understand today.
Were edified. I Cor. 14:26	No such claim today.
Confirmed the word. Acts 10:46;Heb. 2:3-4	Today, they don't accept confirmed word today. Add to and deny it.
Spoke by turn. I Cor. 14:27	All speak together today in Mass confusion.
No interpreter? - Silence. I Cor. 14:28	Don't want to be interpreted today.
Sign to unbelievers. I Cor. 14:22	Used today for excitement.
For use of edifying I Cor. 14:26	Show, entertain.
Spirit subject to speaker. I Cor. 14:26-31	Today - "Don't stop me, I'm getting a revelation.
Spoke to profit the church I Cor. 14:6	No profit today.
Prayed for interpretation. I Cor. 14:13	Today - pray for tongue speaking.
Spoke to instruct. I Cor.14:13	Revel in confusion - no instruction.
Believed Gospel. Mark 16:16	Deny gospel because getting new revelation.
Spoke to benefit hearers. I Cor. 14:9	No so today. Benefit in glory of speaker.
Interpret so unlearned understand.; 1 Cor. 14:16	Interpretation not done today.
No accusation of madness. I Cor. 14:23	Today confusion rampant.
No confusion allowed. I Cor. 14:33	Today, all in confusion.
Women kept silence. I Cor. 14:34	All speak today. In regulating usage of gifts, women had not abilities.
Holy Spirit Baptism audible. No mistake in knowing H. S. came upon them. Acts 2:2	None will say so today.
Holy Spirit baptism visible. Not mistaken in seeing. Acts 2:3	None will say so today.
Holy Spirit baptism heard. No mistake in hearing. Acts 2:4	Not so today.

Compare the truth with the fake:

Simon The Fake Vs Apostles the truth: Acts 8:5-13

Purpose of the gifts
Bible	modern Pentecostals
To confirm God's word	Word confirms gifts
Bring About Unity Of Faith	Many Different Churches Claim To Have Gifts Confirm False Teachings
Miracles
Bible	modern Pentecostals
Dependent On Faith Of Healer Acts 3:7	Dependent On Faith Of Person Healed If Not Healed- "No Faith"
Truly Supernatural Acts 3:7	Scientific Explanation
Healings Were Instant Acts 3:8	Healings Usually Take Months
Healings Total Acts 3:8	Partial Improvement, Remission
Person Healed Known By All Acts 3:10	Person Often Unknown
Miracle Known By Miracle (Obvious)	Miracle Accepted By Personal Testimony
Even Enemies Accepted Acts 4:16	Highly Questionable, Always Internal and unseen
Tongues
Bible	modern Pentecostals
Real Human Language Acts 2:8	Total Gibberish And Nonsense
Max Of 3 In Church 1 Cor 14:27	More Than 3 Speak (visitors view as madness: 14:23)
Each Must Speak In Turn 14:27	Many Speak Simultaneously
If No Interpreter Keep Silent 14:28	Rarely Any "Interpreter"
Only One Interpretation Possible	Often Interpretations Vary
Emphasis On Public Demonstration	Emphasis On Private Devotion
Considered a childish gift of lesser importance 14:5	Stressed As A Sign Of Spirituality
A Sign To Unbelievers 14:22	A Sign To Believers

Modern Day Tongue Speaking Is Not From God!

In the Los Angeles area which consists of about 12 million people, every kind of religious cult that can be imagined is here. One of the churches, called the Rainbow Revival Church, located at 890 Crenshaw in Los Angeles, sent out an instruction sheet a number of years ago giving instructions as to how one may receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Listed below is the sum and substance of the instruction.

Words Of Praise To Receive The Holy Ghost. Jesus who baptized 120 believers with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost 10 days after He ascended to heaven, is still baptizing Christians with the Holy Ghost today Acts 2:1-4. Usually Jesus baptizes believers with the Holy Ghost while they are praising the Lord, and their words change from words of praise to unknown tongues, which is proof that they have received the Holy Ghost. We suggest these words of praise to use while seeking the Baptism. To try to say words of praise too perfectly hinders the Holy Ghost from speaking in His Heavenly languages through you. SAY THE WORDS OUT LOUD! As you praise God, do NOT try to stop stammering. In fact the more you get the words of praise mixed up, the easier it is for the Holy Ghost to take control of your tongue and speak in unknown tongues through you. Isa. 28:11: "For with stammering lips and another tongue will I speak to this people." To Start Seeking, say the words of Praise in a paragraph below over and over very rapidly for 2 or 3 minutes, then go to the next paragraph, repeating the words of Praise in each paragraph about the same length of time. After you have repeated the words in all of the paragraphs, you may start at the beginning, and use these words of praise over and over. 1. Glory To God, Hallelujah Glory To God Hallelujah Glory To 2. Praise Precious Jesus, Prince Of Peace, Praise Precious Jesus 3. I Love You Jesus, I Love You Jesus, I Love You Jesus, 4. Jesus Savior Save Sinful Souls, Sanctify Saints To Serve Thee 5. Praise God The Father, God The Son, And God The Holy Ghost, 6. I Beseech Blessed Baptizer Bestow Bountiful Baptismal Blessings 7. Glory To Jesus Glory To Jesus Glory To Jesus Glory To 8. While Wholeheartedly Worshipping, Willing Waiting, Jesus Baptize Me With The Holy Ghost. While Wholeheartedly Worshipping 9. Glory To God, Gracious Generous Giver Of Good Gifts. Glory To Rainbow Revival Church, 890 Crenshaw, Los Angeles CA So what Happens? The individual commits a few phrases to memory and begins to say them over and over. His tongue gets twisted, but he must keep on trying. Finally he is muttering, stammering and stuttering and he blames it all on the Holy Spirit ... HOW SHAREFUL! Now I wonder if Peter and the rest of the apostles had this list in Acts 2 while they were waiting in the upper room for the Holy Spirit? Do you reckon that they were practicing all that time? Of course, the above is IGNORANCE GONE TO SEED. But a very remarkable thing happened soon after I received this list. I was in Pampa, Texas in a meeting and watching a religious program from Amarillo. They had a Catholic nun on the program who claimed to have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Her "testimony" was that she had not been able to speak well because she DID stutter. But, when she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, SHE QUIT STUTTERING. So, to stutter or not to stutter-that is the question. I hope that we all understand that those who were baptized with the Holy Spirit in the days of the apostles were given languages that could be understood as the Bible reveals in Acts 2:8 -1 1; and they were not the kind of gibberish that would be produced by one who practiced according to the "Rainbow Revival formula." (Contributed by J.T. Smith) J. Hurt, Steve Rudd

SHOULD BELIEVERS SPEAK IN TONGUES?

We recommend that this article is studied alongside The Truth About 'Speaking in Tongues' At Last

It has been claimed that Mark 16: 17 indicates that today's Christians should be expected to speak in tongues. But is this what this Scripture is really saying? Lets read it:


"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues" (NKJV throughout)

Certainly, on the face of it, that appears to be clear enough. However, a cardinal rule of good scriptural exegesis is that all Scriptures on any given subject must be taken into account before there can be any sound attempt at establishing doctrine. This means that verses like this one should only be considered alongside any other Scriptures which discuss not only tongues but the Gifts of the Spirit in general. Moreover, since - without question - the apostle Paul wrote the bulk of New Testament theology, we especially need to check any relevant references from his writings. But the starting place must be context; we need to fully take into account the verses surrounding any Scripture which is to be scrutinized!
Now, in looking at this particular Scripture, the first thing which we need to do is to get the whole quote! To get the full sequence, we need to start in verse 15:

"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover"(Mark 16: 15-18)

Now we have the full sense of this quotation we can start to consider it a little more deeply. The resurrected Christ was about to be taken up into heaven (the very next verse) and the final verse of this book states that the disciples did indeed go out and commence their post-resurrection ministry of preaching the gospel with,
"...the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen"

So the signs appeared immediately at that time.

Now please let us notice that there are three distinct sections to this:
1.The gospel is to be preached to every creature. (Verse 15)
2.Those who believe will be baptized and saved, but those who reject the message will be condemned. (Verse 16) (Incidentally, as an aside, please notice that those to be condemned are those who reject the message, not those who never hear it, i.e, the unevangelised. Modern evangelicalism has unwisely insisted on glossing over this difference).
3.The signs will - please note - follow- believers. The classical Pentecostal position actually turned this on its head by picking on just one of these signs (tongues) and by claiming that this sign identified true believers. So this one sign attained a paramount importance which is not the case in the Scripture. It tended to say, 'No sign - no believer'. But in Mark 16: 15-18, tongues are just one thing which would tend to follow believers (at least at that time). The Scripture already establishes the believer's presence; it does not say that if the believer does not do this or does not do that, then they are no believer! Moreover this one sign (tongues) is apparently no different to the other ones, so if one should say, 'Today the believer will be found to be speaking in tongues' - I could answer, 'Today the believer will be found to be drinking deadly substances and surviving', or, 'Today the believer will be found to be getting bitten by venomous snakes and surviving' . But any attempt to do any of these things would plainly amount to tempting God. (Matthew 4: 7). Indeed, let us also note that none of these things are things which one would necessarily seek, rather, they are things which would be evidenced among believers! In an ideal scenario, who would choose to cast out demons? No. It is best not to encounter them (in our day we witness the sad spectacle of ministers apparently affected by spiritual vanity who ignore biblical advice and develop "deliverance ministries" going out of their way to seek confrontations with demons). Who would choose to encounter sick people who are in need of healing? No. It is best not to encounter sick people. We don't like to see sick people. Who would wish to be bitten by a venomous snake? Who would wish to take poison? No.The whole point is: these things will be evidenced among God's people! To 'evidence' something, or to notice it, is not the same as to seek it.

We have a very good example of the protection against venomous snakes which was granted to the apostles in Acts 28: 3-6;

"But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, 'No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.' But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead; but after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god"

Now did Paul actively seek this encounter with the viper (adder)? Of course not. To have done so would amount to tempting God. And of course exactly the same principle would apply to the drinking of deadly substances. We begin to see, then, that there is a big difference between things evidenced among believers and things to be sought after.

So, at least in the day of the apostles, tongues would be one of the things which would tend to be denoted among the followers of Jesus. In other words, there would be times when - in a less than ideal situation with people from several nationalities present - God would miraculously grant the Gift of being able to speak/understand 'other tongues.'

Do we begin to understand why Paul would place tongues at the bottom of a list of desired Gifts? (See 'Tongues'). It was an important Gift in some situations, but not as important as prophecy, for example, as Paul clearly shows.
This is why Paul could say;

"Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe." (1Corinthians 14: 22)

Hopefully the reader is beginning to understand how absurd it is for any to insist that one should 'seek a tongues experience' in our day. Is that saying that tongues experiences no longer occur? Not necessarily. But to say that one should seek a tongues experience in order to 'prove' that one is a believer is - from what we have seen - a bit like insisting that one should seek a poisonous liquid experience. No, I am not saying that they are the same. Tongues - if it is of the Holy Spirit - would be a wonderful Gift of God. But the point is, these were things which would be evidenced - not sought after!

Tongues, then, would tend to attract the attention of unbelievers, while prophecy (the broad Greek word 'prophetes' includes inspired preaching) would be of more interest to those genuinely walking with God.

Why, then, do we usually not see these 'signs to follow' today?
The testimony of the early 'church fathers' is important here, since they obviously lived very close to the time of the apostles. They remarked on the diminishment of these signs during their day and an 'age of miracles' which was then passing away.

If one looks very closely at the Bible one finds that God has mostly only used an abundance of miracles to mark out important biblical eras, and the coming of Jesus and the ministry of the apostles was paramount among these.

The teaching that frequent spectacular miracles marked the 'signs of an apostle' (an apostle being a direct witness to Jesus' earthly ministry), has good biblical authority. Look up; Acts 5: 12-16, Acts 14: 3 Acts 19: 11 2 Corinthians 12: 12 and Hebrews 2: 3-4.
However, recognising this fact should not then lead us to the extreme position of cessationism (cessationism would say that no spectacular Gifts/miracles should be expected between the completion of the biblical canon and the events immediately preceding Christ's return to earth). In fact, there is abundant evidence that while the age of the apostles has now obviously past, God has occasionally revived some of these spectacular Gifts, especially during some of the great Revivals, and also (apparently) where the gospel has gone into areas of the world formerly completely closed to it.

Cessationism is a very biblically dubious position to adopt and I have occasionally been concerned to note that some cessationists even, at times, seem to doubt examples of clear and outstanding answers to prayer. They are sceptical of anything which could be miraculous; this is a position which is seriously close to the scepticism of unbelievers!

So Mark 16: 17-18 should not necessarily be seen as a 'norm'; these signs tended to follow, or be noticeable around, the preaching of the gospel in the first century and have occasionally been apparent since. To insist that these (and other spectacular signs) must follow is not a prerogative which is ours to take! That is in God's hands alone. What we must do is the first part; preach and publish the gospel to every 'creature.'

If the reader has not already done so, I would now also recommend the reading of my other article on this topic; The Truth About 'Speaking in Tongues' At Last!

Robin A. Brace http://www.ukapologetics.net/tongues2.htm

More About Tongues

1- Biblical Tongues are known world languages, and only known languages, as evidenced in and by Acts 2.

2- God used world tongues (unknown to the speaker and even most of times to hearers which needed interpretation), along with sign, wonders, and miracles to substantiate the proclamation of the gospel during the church's infancy and subsequent growth - Heb. 2: one of the first verses in that chapter.

3- Therefore, once the church got going, there is no more "dependant" need for such gifts in the same way they were needed in the first century.

4- God sovereignly grants Spirit-gifts (1 Cor. 12:8 I think). You never ask for a gift to receive. This verse alone should put an end to all unnecessary confusing teachings about tongues being ecstatic utterances. We can never ask for a gift since He distributes them to us as He wills. No one can "learn" how to speak in tongues. There are no steps or prayers of request that can be said to "receive it." We desire to have gifts, and nothing wrong with that, but that does not mean our desires will eventually match what God sovereignly bestows.

5- God can still use miracles, signs and tongues if and when He wanted to, even though it is clear that such gifts are not normative anymore. I mean, such gifts does not necessarily mean that they have fully stopped, but that they have stopped in the sense of not being as common as the other gifts. If they occur, they are rarities.

6- 1 Corinthians is the only place outside of the narratives of Acts where this gift is mentioned. These Corinthians were mostly carnal. Therefore, speaking in tongues was not necessarily a sign of spirituality as far as they were concerned, though Paul spoke too in tongues. Emotionalism should not to interpreted as spirituality.

7- Jude 1:20 does not mean you may pray in tongues. To do so is an exegetical violation of the text. It simply means to pray in line with the will and leading of the Spirit. Otherwise, if praying in the Holy Ghost were to mean praying in tongues as a private prayer language, then what does the command "walk in the Spirit" in Eph 5 mean? Walking in tongues?

8- Romans 8:26 is not a reference about praying in tongues since it is the Holy Spirit who is doing the intercessory praying on our behalf, and not us doing the praying. Then what about the "groanings which cannot be uttered?" Tongues are uttered!!!

9- There is no such a thing in the Bible as prayer in tongues being a private prayer language. 1 Cor. 14 does not teach anything like that, neither the preceding verses above in points 7 and 8.

10- We know Paul said it is better to speak 5 words in normal language than to speak 10,000 in tongues.

11- Human and angelic languages are known languages (1 Cor. 13:1). Please notice the use of the plural for both groups of beings. Keep also in mind that each time the angels spoke in the Bible, it was a known world language to the hearers.

12- Tongues were always at the foot of the gifts-list, as evidenced by Paul's writings.

13- Tongues as related to the Baptism of the Spirit were the sign of the Spirit's being officially received by different groups (Acts 2 Jews, 10 Gentiles, 19 OT saints - John's followers - who had not yet believed in Christ). In fact, in chapter 8, when the Spirit was inaugurated among the Samaritans (half-Jews, half-Gentiles), there no indication of speaking in tongues.

14- The Baptism of the Spirit is a deposit in the believer at the moment of salvation or else he is not Christ's (Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14). In 1 Cor. Paul mentions that we were all baptized in or by the Spirit - 12:13 I think. To teach otherwise is to bring in a teaching which divides believers into two categories, something foreign to scripture.

15- Tongues were meant for unbelievers only 1 Cor 14:22, spoken as a reminder of the coming condemnation if they do not believe, and meant for Jews especially, as foretold by Peter in Acts chapter 2:14-40 where he quotes from Joel 2:28-32 in the partial fulfillment of this prophecy at Pentecost. God used the tongues of different nations to rebuke in particular His own Jewish nation whose Messiah they had rejected, and to call them to repentance before the great judgment day of the Lord comes (Joel 2:31-32).

O.B

The Truth About 'speaking in tongues'

The subjects of 'Speaking in Tongues', 'Baptism of the Holy Spirit', 'Glossolalia' and questions on that momentous Pentecost come up regularly. If you have ever wondered about some of these subjects, the following article is essential reading!

The subject of speaking in tongues has probably caused more debate in the Church during the last 50 years or so, than any other subject.
Pentecostals (and charismatics too) have sometimes claimed that if one does not speak in 'tongues' there is no evidence that one has been 'baptized by the Holy Spirit'.
Is this really true? Let us consider the matter of 'tongues' in this article.

I propose to approach this article from the general viewpoint of the Pentecostal/Charismatic (assuming that 'tongues' is a supernatural gift and that the modern phenomenon of 'tongues' conforms to what we see in the Book of Acts, however, many deny this and there is no question that the relevant texts could be explained differently, for instance in Robert Zerhusen's fascinating approach).

But before we even look at the New Testament we need to remind ourselves that a manifestation of 'tongues', or, speaking in an unknown language, has not been confined to the Christian religion. The phenomenon has also - quite widely - occurred among other religions. It is said, for instance, that when the priestess, or, Oracle, of Delphi became 'divinely inspired' she would speak in tongues. This signalled - to those present - the presence of a supernatural spirit which was giving her guidance.
I think that this fact alone should warn us to proceed with caution. From the presence of tongues in other religions we should begin to realise that tongues are not necessarily a sign of the presence, and guidance of, the Holy Spirit of God!

I would hope that the article reader would actually read all the Bible quotes in this article. After all, my intention here is to bring you clear biblical teaching.

In the New Testament, the arrival of tongues was a sign that God was about to start working with the Gentiles, Isaiah 28: 11-12, as well, of course, as being partly a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2: 28-29.
But let us, first of all, stand back for just one moment and consider the Gifts of the Spirit in general;

The four primary lists of the Gifts in the New Testament are in
Romans 12: 6-8, 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10, 1 Corinthians 12: 28 and
1 Corinthians 12: 29-30. Yes, they are mentioned elsewhere too, in
Ephesians 4: 11 and in 1 Peter 4: 11, but these do not appear to be the same sort of organised lists. It is important to notice that the section in 1Corinthians 12: 29-30 is actually another list, as the apostle Paul asks a rhetorical question about the list which he had just delivered. The first list of Gifts in Romans 12 does not mention tongues at all. The second three (all in 1 Corinthians 12) appear to list the Gifts in some sort of order of importance. The intelligible communication Gifts (how else is the Gospel ever received except through clear communication?) are now at the top of the list, with Prophecy having an important place (In the Greek, prophecy is a broad term, yes, it might include the clear interpretation of a tongue, but it would certainly include passionate preaching). But the important thing to note is that in these 3 lists of the Gifts - with an apparent descending order of importance - tongues comes last on all occasions! This really sets the scene for Paul's approach to tongues. I am continually very disappointed that many of those who shout the loudest about the importance of tongues, have never closely studied the writings of the apostle Paul in detail. Here, after all, is the New Testament writer who gives consideration to the subject in some detail!
While Paul makes it clear that he himself had spoken in tongues, in general he appears somewhat less than enthusiastic about this particular Gift. We should note his comments in 1 Corinthians 14, for example;
"Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy (again, the Gk for 'prophesy' is broad and would include powerful and persuasive preaching; my insert) For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues but EVEN MORE (my emphasis) that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification" (Verses 1-5).

So Paul also makes it clear that God alone decides which Gifts go where and that we cannot demand any particular one! Carefully read 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11 !!
Now, we have to ask, how does this square up to the claim by some that if one has not spoken in tongues there is no sign that one has received the 'Spirit's Baptism'?? Indeed according to the New Testament it is the FRUITS of the Spirit, rather than the Gifts, which are a better indicator of ones standing before God! According to several Scriptures, it is only those who produce fruit who will enter God's Kingdom! But no similar promise is ever given with regard to the Gifts! (See Matthew 7: 15-19, Matthew 12: 33-37, Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43, Mark 4: 26-32, Luke 8: 5-8, 11-15, Luke 13: 6-9, John 4: 34-38, John 15: 1-8, 16. Romans 7: 4-6, Galatians 5: 22-23).

So we begin to learn the real place of the Gifts in the New Testament which places tongues at the bottom of 3 descending lists.
Paul then sets a limit of no more than 3 being involved in tongues during any worship service (1 Corinthians 14: 27). Moreover, these 3 are to make their contribution in sequence and not all together (1 Corinthians 14: 27,30). But before any worshiper decides to speak in tongues (this is something which the speaker has complete control over in the New Testament) he is to ensure than an interpreter is available. Quite obviously, if you are going to be able to secure an interpreter, you know that you are going to be speaking a human language. The miracle being that the congregation will be aware that this is a language which the speaker had not learned, and in this language, God is being praised. But the rule is: No interpreter - no tongue! If there is a tendency for too many to want to speak in a tongue, some of those who would speak should, instead, pray for the power to interpret (1 Corinthians 14: 13).
When the tongue has been interpreted it becomes a prophecy, but it must then be evaluated by the leaders who are able to 'discern between spirits'. Since God is not the author of confusion, it would follow from this that where a congregation's leaders are not present, tongues should not occur!
From all of this, and from the occasions of tongues recorded in Acts, especially the first Pentecost manifestation - see Acts 2: 1-10 - the conclusion starts to become pretty inescapable that these were definite human languages in just about every case! Notice how often these tongues occurred in a scenario in which 'Gentiles' are mentioned. Several languages could have been involved here.
In fact, only two things (although, I agree, they are not necessarily minor things) suggest that they might occasionally not be recognisable human languages:

a. The modern pentecostal/charismatic phenomenon.

b. Paul's highly enigmatic comment in 1 Corinthians 13: 1.
He said this;
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal" (By the way, all quotes from the NKJV).
What on earth did Paul mean? What are 'the tongues of angels'?
The short answer is; Nobody knows!
Now, of course, I am aware that some will be screaming at me here, saying something like; 'I know what Paul meant - he meant...' But wait; can you really establish that from New Testament Greek, or is it just the tradition of your denomination? I am always prepared to change how I explain things , but I need scriptural authority first! Museltof Countercult and Apologetics are non-denominational; we do not exist simply to 'rubber stamp' what denominations have said! We insist upon examining everything in the light of Scripture, indeed I have even been prepared to upset a few of my reformed friends by pointing out that we can now say that Calvin (great man that he was, and I remain his staunchest admirer) was nevertheless undoubtedly wrong in one or two areas. (As an example of this, the reader may wish to read our two hell articles on our OurChurch site).
But back to this tricky Scripture of 1 Corinthians 13: 1;
There are certainly strong advocates for the argument that Paul was simply using hyperbole here. That is, he was using an exaggeration in order to make a point. Its a bit like the wife who accused her husband of loving his 3 cars more than loving her. He makes an exaggerative response in order to assure her of his love; 'I not only love you far more than my 3 cars, but I love you more than every car in the universe!' The comment is only meaningful as a reassurance. The man is never going to be able to test every car in this world, never mind any imaginative cars of the universe! This comment by Paul comes at the start of the 'love chapter' - 1 Corinthians 13. He could have meant something like, 'Though I speak with all of the tongues in the world - and even any tongues outside of the world - if I do not have love, it would all be meaningless'. That is possible, though - to be frank - 'the jury is still out' on this one. We don't know exactly what he meant.

Of course, many claim that Christians should expect a 'second blessing' after an earlier committment to Christ and that this so-called 'second blessing' will lead to speaking in tongues. Some see this 'second blessing' or 'baptism with the Holy Spirit' occurring in Acts 2 on that momentous Pentecost. They argue that these people were not really commissioned to go forth with the Gospel until that Pentecost. In that much, they are right, since that is when the Holy Spirit first empowered the Church. But this was the starting of the mission of the Church under the New Covenant; this was always going to be a momentous occasion! This was no 'second blessing', which we must also seek today. We do not stand at the beginning of the New Testament Church era as they did! Others say that we see this need of the 'second blessing' in the Book of Acts where followers of John the Baptist had not yet received the Holy Spirit (The reader may wish to look up Acts 19: 1-6, as an example of this). But this is no 'second blessing'. These people had been disciples of John the Baptist and they had repented under his ministry of looking forward to the coming of Christ, but they were apparently ignorant of much of what had happened since. Paul decided to re-baptize. He undoubtedly explained all about Christ. They received the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist was something of a unique figure. He was both the final prophet of the Old Covenant and also the inaugurator of the New Covenant. (Although, of course, the New Covenant did not really commence until that curtain was torn). There was undoubtedly a problem among a few who had been John's followers, but who were somewhat ignorant of what happened later. This was the particular problem. Paul did NOT say, 'Oh, you just have to hang on for the second blessing' No. He explained what had happened since, undoubtedly talking about Jesus and the coming of the Spirit, and decided to re-baptize.
If advocates of the 'second blessing' teaching were correct, Paul would surely have carefully explained this point in his highly theological epistles. On the contrary, he says that there is 'One Baptism':
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4: 4-6).
There is only one body of Christians. These do not all belong to any one denomination, of course, nor do they need to. They are already genuinely unified through all being led by the Holy Spirit of God. None of them are perfect - yet they remain one group in the sight of God, since - at some time - they have committed themselves to God by personally appropriating Christ's sacrifice. There are not first class and second class Christians with the first class ones having received a 'second blessing' - a teaching which is nowhere upheld in Scripture! Those who may try to convince you of this will - of course - place themselves in the superior group, which already tells you that pride may well be a problem for some of them. The other thing I have noticed about this is that those who try to push this point are usually generally not very knowledgeable about the Scriptures in general. In other words, one can quickly perceive that they argue from a weak theological base.

But don't many - if not all - Christians have occasional incredible experiences of a sudden deep closeness to God, perhaps accompanied by an incredible feeling of peace and assurance, in short, do not many Christians have ecstatic experiences? Yes. They surely do. Even in his prison cell, Richard Wurmbrand the Lutheran Pastor imprisoned for his Christian beliefs in iron-curtain Rumania, shouted and jumped for joy and sang hymns when he realised that an angel was with him! These experiences of a sudden ecstasy of God's closeness are, in the light of the New Testament, best described as being 'filled' with the Spirit. We cannot legislate for such occasions. Sometimes they come suddenly and unexpectedly. Those present at Pentecost in Acts 2, were filled with the Spirit (Acts 2: 4), Peter was filled with the Spirit as he began addressing the Sanhedrin in Acts 4: 8, the apostles were filled with the Spirit when they prayed for boldness in the face of persecution in Acts 4: 31, Ananias prayed for Saul to be filled with the Spirit at the beginning of his work for God in Acts 9: 17, and Paul was suddenly filled with the Spirit when he confronted Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13: 9. And Paul certainly encourages us to seek to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5: 18. (Again, one would like to think that the reader is checking these scriptural references; after all - my opinion is unimportant, we seek to establish good New Testament doctrine here).
Surely fillings by the Spirit were especially prevalent during some of the great Christian Revivals of more recent centuries. I believe that fillings by the Spirit can account for certain things which pentecostals and charismatics have seen and experienced - but probably NOT for all of their experiences! These are not 'second blessings' which must occur if we are to be genuinely converted. Some deeply converted Christians don't seem to have them. During some of the great Revivals, some who apparently became filled with the Spirit had been Christians for many years!

A final point which I need to cover is the widespread belief among those who are opposed to the pentecostal and charismatic movements, that only what sounds like unintelligible gibberish occurs when speaking in tongues happens in their meetings. I have it on good authority that this is incorrect and that, quite often, recognisable human languages are indeed spoken by those who are known never to have studied those languages! Moreover, an interpretation does follow. This is promising. It is so easy for all of us to level criticism at others when that criticism is based on extreme and untypical behaviour. We all really should try to check our facts. Having said that, however, I am also informed that an ungodly bedlam of yelling and shreiking does also break out in some such meetings and the presiding minister, lamentably, allows it to continue! This only brings shame on any who would call themselves by the name of Christ!! Again, 1 Corinthians 14: 33 tells us that 'God is not the author of confusion'.
If you are a leader in such a congregation let me strongly urge you right now to read through the apostle Paul's guidelines regarding tongues; everything is to be done decently and in good order with only one such speaker active at a time! If nothing is being interpreted, an immediate halt should be called to the proceedings! I am here assuming, of course, that the tongues experience of today is always the same as the experiences which Paul was familiar with. But, most likely, it is often not the same!

A vastly experienced Pentecostal minister, now retired, had a very interesting conversation with me about two years ago. According to this man, tongues can take three forms and he had witnessed all three during his ministry;
a. Emotionally-induced tongues. (No, I don't have a clue what that means, I am simply quoting the man).
b. Tongues due to demonic activity.
c. The genuine Spirit-led activity.
This man was able to recount a clear example of class 'b';
During a service, a man had yelled out on odd accasions in a 'tongue'. It was assumed that it might have been a shout of joy or a praise of God in a tongue.
When the service had finished and the man had left, another man approached the minister and said, 'I think you should know that that man was yelling out in my own native language and he was cursing God for all he was worth!!'
Such instances should caution all of us to be careful. The very fact that tongues are not unknown in other religions should warn us that they could be due to demonic activity - yes, apparently even during a Christian service!
The above example also shows that a tongue in a recognisable human language is not necessarily of God!

So, in the light of the points raised in this article, let me attempt to draw some conclusions (though I fear in the case of this particular subject, that will not be easy).
I think that we can fairly confidently make the following 8 assertions;

1. 'Unknown tongues' is not a purely Christian experience; similar occurrences have also occurred in non-Christian religions, especially during periods of frenzy.
2.In the New Testament, tongues appear to signal both the arrival of the Holy Spirit to empower the Church, and the commencement of God's active working with the Gentiles.
3.There are strong indications that most (indeed, if not all) New Testament instances of tongues refer to definite human languages which a Spirit-filled individual could suddenly speak/understand despite (apparently) never having studied the language (obviously, some would question this).
4.Tongues were/are one of the Gifts of the Spirit, yet possibly quite low on a list of most desired Gifts, according to Paul.
5.We cannot claim or demand any particular Gift. God alone decides which Gift goes where.
6.While the various Gifts enable the Church to function, it is the fruits of the Spirit which are a better indication of one's walk with God.
7.A 'second blessing' or, second stage of conversion, accompanied by tongues, is not taught in the Scriptures, though a 'filling of the Spirit' during which Gifts could be more in evidence, does appear to be taught.
8.Any assertion that tongues were intended as proof that one has received the Holy Spirit is completely unbiblical.

These, then, are eight conclusions which one can surely draw from the scriptural evidence.
But what of the reader of this article who may be actively involved in tongues experiences right now - what advice would we give?
This part is simpler because the apostle Paul has given some good advice which should be followed. Does your minister scrupulously observe these guidelines?
Are there no more than 2 or 3 such speakers in any service? Do they only speak in sequence?
Are things done decently and in order and without confusion? If interpreters of the tongues are not active, is the whole thing immediately wound up?
Are tongues continually sought at the expense of preaching etc? (Don't forget Paul shows that prophecy is a greater Gift than tongues!). Is your service prone to descend into a noisy chaos? Are you - personally - more interested in seeking a 'tongues experience' than you are in increasing your Bible knowledge or in other areas of Christian development?

In honestly answering these questions - and then committing the matter to God in prayer - the reader should hopefully be able to make a wise decision.
We must all realise that we are all ultimately responsible for how we handle the priceless knowledge of the gospel which has been entrusted to us.
Frankly, there may be times when we may need to move away from a particular fellowship, if we feel that biblical standards are not being applied.
What if the reader has never spoken in tongues? This is easier: Don't seek them! There is no reason to seek a particular Gift which God has chosen not to freely give you! Always remember that in the list of Gifts in the New Testament, the spectacular ones are in a great minority!


Robin Brace http://www.ukapologetics.net/tongues.htm