I Post this Personal Bible Study, for those who do not believe in the Charismatic Experience for

Reference Material. I studied this subject for Six Months before I put a pen to the paper, in the
Late 80's. I added to it over the years, and converted it to fit this format.
Volunteer Protestant Chaplain - VCO

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

Why Most Churches Do Not Accept The Charismatic Experiences

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES

SEGMENT 1 of 8

My purpose for writing this Bible Study is not to argue with my Pentecostal
brothers and sisters, whom I love and respect sincerely. The sole purpose is to
present what most non-charismatic Churches teach and believe on this highly
controversial subject, showing how we arrive at our Biblical understanding
concerning the gift of tongues and why we do not believe in the modern day tongues
movement. First and Foremost, I consider the “gift of tongues” a very minor
issue that certainly is not worth arguing about. As I have heard Dr. John
MacArthur Jr. say, “I am much more concerned about those who gossip in a
language that we all understand, than those who speak in an ‘unknown tongue’ that
no one understands.” It saddens me however, to realize that this issue has been so
blown out of proportion, that it has caused great splits in the Church. Despite the
splits, we are still one body (1 Cor. 12:13), even if some of us don’t like to admit it.
The following is what I believe to be the truth about this confusion (1 Cor. 14:33)
over the “Gift of Tongues”.

In this Bible Study, I will strive to back up any statements that I make, with as
much Biblical proof as possible. I absolutely believe the Bible, being the inspired
Word of God, is the ultimate authority. The wisdom of men, opinions apart from
Biblical proof, feelings, personal experiences, what we have seen with our eyes, etc.;
are of little or no value when trying to prove something Biblically. Why, because all
of those things can be manipulated by the human mind or Satan, but he cannot
change the Word of God (1 Pet. 1:25). 2 Cor. 5:7 NIV, “We live by faith, not by
sight.” Rom. 10:17 NKJV, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of God.” Mat. 24:35 NIV, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words
will never pass away.”

Since most of us can agree that the Bible is the ultimate authority, I urge you to
personally check everything I say, against what the Bible says. I believe it is our
duty as Christians to put our faith in the Word of God, not in men. No matter how
learned or how famous the Bible Teacher, he must withstand the test of Scripture.
The Bereans even checked the Scriptures daily, to make sure Paul was teaching it
right. Acts 17:11 NIV, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the
Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined
the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” What this verse
tells me, is not only is every Bible teacher to be put to the test by the Scriptures, but
we through the Holy Spirit in us, have the ability to discern the truth and understand
what the Bible means by what it says; if we will diligently search the Scriptures
daily, (1 Cor. 2:14). Job 32:8 NIV, “But it is the Spirit in man, the breath of the
Almighty, that gives him understanding.” Mat. 7:7 NIV, “. . . seek” {diligently in
the Greek} “and you will find . . .”

One of the most important ways we do this is by comparing what one verse says,
to what other verses pertaining to the same subject say. You cannot ever use a
verse in a way that contradicts another verse. God did not make any mistakes!
God is perfect; therefore, His Word is perfect! Deut. 32:4, Ps. 18:30, Ps. 19:7,
James 1:25, etc. God never changes (Mal. 3:6); therefore, His Word never changes.
What it meant when it was written is what it means today. Mat. 24:35, Isa. 40:8,
Heb. 13:8, & 1 Pet. 1:25. If a man uses a verse in a way that contradicts another
verse on the exact same subject, it most certainly is that man who made the
mistake, not God.

With all of this in mind, let us get in the study of what the Bible says about the
“Gift of Tongues”. There are at least two types of “tongues” speaking. The ability to
miraculously speak an earthly language that they had never learned is one {which is
what I believe the apostles did on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:6}. I will for the
purpose of this study call that the “Gift of Tongues” with a capital T, or the “Gift of
Languages”. The other type of “tongues”, is the ecstatic speech or ecstatic
utterances that are not a translatable earthly language {some times called “private
prayer language”, “heavenly language that only God understands”, “tongues of
angels”, “Baptism in the Spirit”, “the Holy Spirit offering up Utterances”, “ecstatic
babble”, etc.} I will for the purpose of this study refer to this as “unknown tongues”
with a small t in Italics, or “ecstatic utterances”.

We already know that the “Gift of Tongues or Languages” was first manifested or
originated on the day of Pentecost by the apostles. When and where did the gift of
“unknown tongues” or “ecstatic utterances” originate? Were the Corinthians the first
to manifest “unknown tongues”, or did it begin before the Corinthian Church was
founded?

If we start studying the history of religions in the world during the Bible times, we
will discover that “unknown tongues”, actually began centuries before the day of
Pentecost, in the pagan “mystery religions”, (the worship of Ashtoreth and her son
Baal, the worship of Isis and her son Osiris, the worship of Aphrodite and her son
Eros, the worship of Venus and her son Cupid, etc.). {Ref: historian Samuel
Angus’s book “The Mystery Religions”.} The mystery religions all had their origin at
the “Tower of Babel”, where the high priestess, Semiramis, demanded that the
people worship her and her son Tammuz, whom she claimed was conceived by a
sunbeam. That was a counterfeit of the “virgin birth”, and later she even claimed
that Tammuz was killed by a wild boar and rose from the dead; another counterfeit
of Christ. {Satan has always liked to imitate what God does, such as when
Pharaoh’s magicians turning their staffs into snakes, Ex. 7:9-13.} When God
destroyed the Tower of Babel, Gen. 11:1-9; and confused the language and
scattered the people all over the world; they took with them their pagan counterfeit
virgin and son system of religion. Because of the new languages, Semiramis and
Tammuz now had new names. In Greece they were called Aphrodite and Eros, the
goddess and god of love.
 Now you must remember, that most of the Congregation at the Church of
Corinth, had been involved in the worship of one of these “mystery religions”, before
they were saved. 1 Cor. 12:2 NIV, “You know that when you were pagans,
somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.” These pagan
“mystery religions”, {such as the worship of Aphrodite, Eros, and Zeus}, were very
popular in Greece, not only because of the orgies that sometimes followed the
worship service; but mainly because of the exciting feelings that were generated in
the service itself. They indulged in what they called “ecstasy” or “ecstasis” in the
Greek language, which meant “to cultivate a magical, sensuous communion with
deity”. They also sought after “enthusiasm” or “enthousiasmos”, which in the Greek
language means “a state of euphoria induced on someone to make them
semiconscious” (“slain in the spirit”), a trance-like state of mind. While under the
control of these feelings and emotions, they frequently “danced out of control”
(danced in the spirit), and spoke in “unknown tongues” that only the gods could
understand. They were sure that this was definite proof that they had personally
communed with the deity they were worshipping. Plato, the Greek philosopher, who
lived from 427-347 B.C., referred to this euphoric state of ecstasy as “divine
frenzy”.

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 2 of 8

One of the ways, that the pagan priests taught their followers to speak in
“tongues”, was by stimulating their minds with stirring music and telling them to say
the word “batta”, over and over again as fast as they could, and the gods would turn
it into a language that only the gods could understand. Some modern day
“charismatic Churches” use this exact same method, only they have their
followers who are seeking the “gift of unknown tongues”, say “Jesus” over and over
again as fast as they can and tell them that then the Holy Spirit will turn it into a
language that only God can understand. This is exactly how my wife was taught
to experience the “gift of unknown tongues” in the Church she was raised
in. A carbon copy of the pagan method almost word for word, and they had no idea
that the Priests of Zeus and Aphrodite taught the very same thing. In all fairness, I
do know that many Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches do not use that method,
and that there are other ways to learn to speak in a “private prayer language” or
ecstatic “unknown tongues”.

Interestingly, Jesus Himself used a form of the word “batta” in Mat. 6:7 NIV,
where He said, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling” (battalogeo) “like
pagans,”. Notice that the word Jesus used (battalogeo) is a derivative of the same
word (batta) that the pagans used to learn to speak in “unknown tongues” or a
“private prayer language” that only the gods could understand. I believe this is a
direct reference to that pagan “private prayer language”, which was nothing more
than ecstatic babble.

Now when the Corinthians, who used to be pagans, became Christians; they did
not totally understand the true nature of the “Gift of Tongues”. It was very easy for
them, to just start doing what they had learned in their mystery religion worship
services; and assumed that just because they were now Christians, it had to be the
Holy Spirit that was now empowering them to speak in “unknown tongues”.
Apparently, they had become so confused on this issue, that they could no longer tell
the true Gift of Tongues from the counterfeit. That is why Paul had to write such a
lengthy explanation of the Gift of Tongues and unknown tongues.

This, however, was only one of the many problems that the Corinthian Church
was having, (Ref: “Spiritual Gifts” study notes by Dr. John MacArthur Jr., page 4.)

1. Divisions (1 Cor. 1:10-11)

2. Human wisdom (1 Cor. 1:18-25)
3. Human personality cliques (1 Cor. 1:12-17)
4. Carnality (1 Cor. 3:1-9)
5. Sexual perversion – fornication and incest (1 Cor. 5:1-8, 6:12-20)
6. Worldliness (1 Cor. 5:9-13)
7. Lawsuits (1 Cor. 6:1-8)
8. Rebellion against apostolic authority (1 Cor. 4:1-21)
9. Marital conflicts (1 Cor. 7:1-40)
10. Conflicts unmarried people have (1 Cor. 7:1-40)
11. Abuse of liberty (1 Cor. 8:1-13, 10:23-33)
12. Idolatry (1 Cor. 8:4-13, 10:1-22)
13. Pride (1 Cor. 8:1-3, 10:12)
14. Selfishness (1 Cor. 11:17-22)
15. Demon worship (1 Cor. 10:19-22)
16. Insubordinate women (1 Cor. 11:2-16)
17. Abuses of God’s intended roles for men and women (1 Cor. 11:2-16)
18. Abuses of the Lord’s Supper and love feast (1 Cor. 11:17-34)
19. Abuses and perversions of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:1 – 14:40)

Paul literally had to write 1 Corinthians, to straighten out the total mess they were
in. 1 Corinthians is a letter of “condemnation”, NOT “commendation”. “Now, it is
inconceivable that any one Church could have manifested these problems to the
degree that the Corinthian Church did.” - Dr. John MacArthur Jr. That is also why I
cringe whenever I hear someone say, “Well, we are just a modern day Corinthian
Church.” That certainly is nothing to brag about, especially when you see just how
many problems they had in that Church.

Paul refers to the specific problem of dragging into the Church the pagan “divine
frenzy and unknown tongues” in 1 Cor. 12:1-3. The NIV reads, “Now about spiritual
gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were
pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray” (by feelings) “to
mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God”
(the Gift of Tongues) “says, ‘Jesus be cursed’, and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’,
except by the Holy Spirit.” Notice that verse 3. begins with “Therefore”. That tells
us that what follows was written because of what preceded the word “Therefore”. In
verse 2. Paul was talking about how these ex-pagans used to be “carried away”
emotionally while worshipping idols. Apparently, one of those ex-pagans, who
thought he had the “Gift of Tongues”, but only had the counterfeit, stood up to do
his thing and the moment he relinquished control of his vocal cords to begin his
ecstatic utterance, Satan took control of his vocal cords and caused him to say in an
earthly language that he did not understand, “Jesus be accursed”. However,
obviously someone, perhaps one of those mentioned in 1 Cor. 1:11, or perhaps the
“interpreter”, understood that language that the “tongues” speaker was using and
knew exactly what he said and that he was cursing Jesus in the Sanctuary,
while thinking he was using the “Gift of Tongues”. I believe that was the “final
straw” that finally made them realize that the problems in the Corinthian Church
were so serious, that they had to get Paul himself, to straighten it out.

Mat. 16:22-23 NKJV, 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him,
saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"
23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to
Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (NKJV)

If Satan could use Peter’s mouth, when he was standing face to face with the
Lord and speaking a language that Peter understood; how much easier would it be
for Satan to control what we are saying, when we relinquish control of our vocal
cords and have no idea what we are saying. Is it any wonder that Paul said:

1 Cor 14:19 (NIV), “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to
instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

I interviewed our Pastor, Neil Beery in 1988, who told me that he had personally
seen on two occasions, years apart, people speaking in an “unknown tongue” in a
Church, thinking it was of God, when it was obviously Satan or a Demon. The first
time was in the early 1950’s, when he and a Missionary from Africa, that was visiting
Pastor Neil Beery’s Church in Ohio, were invited to have the Missionary speak at the
evening Service of a local charismatic believing Church. After the Missionary had
shared with them about what was happening on the mission field in Africa, a woman
stood up to Praise the Lord in her “unknown tongue”, but without her even
suspecting anything was wrong, she began cursing at the Missionary in the tongue of
the African tribe he had been working with. The Missionary grew pale and ran out of
the Church, and Pastor Beery went after him to see what was wrong. He found the
Missionary literally vomiting by a tree. Only then did Pastor Beery learn that the
Missionary understood every word that the woman was saying, and that it was so
repulsive that it literally made the Missionary sick. The Missionary said, “I never
thought I would ever hear something so vial and evil being spoken in a Church.”
Later efforts to explain to the charismatic Pastor what had happened, only met with
skepticism and doubt, because tongues were always translated their Church.

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 3 of 8

The Second time this happened to Pastor Beery was several years later after he
had moved to Oregon to Pastor a Church there. This time Pastor Beery himself had
been invited to speak at a charismatic believing Church and later on during the
Sermon, a man whose family had been part of that Congregation barged into the
Church and started yelling “Hypocrites, you are all a bunch of Hypocrites!” The
reason for his action and anger was a couple weeks before, while that Forestry
Service worker was up in the mountains on a job, his house burned down at night,
killing his wife and children. Since the fire, not one of the charismatic Church’s
members, including the Pastor of that Church, had been to see that man to offer
condolences or help of any kind, not even a place to stay. (1 John 3:17 KJV, “But
whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his
bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”) While the
man was raving and still calling them “Hypocrites!”, the charismatic Pastor’s wife ran
back to the man to pray for him in her “unknown tongues”. When she began to
speak in her “tongues” so-called gift, the man started yelling, “Lady stop! You do
not know what you are saying! Lady stop!” The Forestry Service Worker then
turned and ran out of the Church. It was obvious that the man understood exactly
what the Pastor’s wife was saying in her “prayer language”, so Pastor Beery quickly
closed the Service in Prayer, and went to find the Forestry Service Worker. It was a
small town in Oregon, so it was easy to find him, and offered to pay for his supper.
After taking him to a local restaurant for supper, Pastor Beery asked, “You
understood what she said back there didn’t you?” The man said she was actually
cursing at him, using more vulgar words than he had ever heard even an unsaved
co-worker use. She was cursing in the Yaquis Indian language, a small remote tribe
that live in the mountains near Tucson, Az. The man had learned that language
several years before, while working for the Forestry Service in their village for
several months. When Pastor Beery tried to explain to the Charismatic Pastor,
exactly what his wife had said; he said, “I’ll NEVER believe that, because I could feel
the Spirit moving when she was speaking in tongues.”

If feelings are what moved the pagans to speak in tongues, then feelings are of
no value in testing whether or not something is of God. If the “love of God” is not
present in you, then neither is the Holy Spirit, 1 John 1:3-5. Perhaps the reason that
Church did not meet their brother’s need is: instead of being concerned about
others, they were too concerned about edifying self, 1 Cor 14:4 & 1 Cor 10:23-24,
which Paul forbids. We are commanded in Rom. 14:19 KJV, “Let us therefore
follow” (dioko – seek after) “after the things which make for peace, and” (seek after)
“things wherewith one may edify another.” If we are seeking after the gift of
“unknown tongues”, which edifies self, (1 Cor. 14:4), we are in direct disobedience
and totally contradicting what we are told to do in Rom. 14:19. Christ did not
command us to edify ourselves, He commanded us to “deny ourselves, Luke 9:23.

Paul further emphasizes this point in 1 Cor. 10:23-24 KJV, “. . . but all things
edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s.” It is clear from the
context, that the subject verse 24 is talking about is “edification”. The KJV puts the
word “wealth” in italics at the end of verse 24, which means it is not in the original
language text. Other versions insert the word “good” or “well-being” in italics.
However, if you read it without the words in italics, and therefore are reading it just
like God intended it to be read, it becomes clear that if you must add a word to
Verse 24 in italics to clarify the subject, then “edification” is the best word to use. If
Paul was going to change the subject from what he was talking about in the last
sentence of verse 23, to some else all together in verse 24, then he would have
stated the new subject. By not stating the subject at all in verse 24, it clearly refers
back to the last subject being discussed; which was “edification”.

In 1 Cor. 8:1 NAS, Paul tells us what it is that edifies: “agape love”. Agape love
is “selfless or self sacrificing” not “selfish or self edifying”. Therefore, when Paul says
in 1 Cor. 14:4 KJV, “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth
himself; . . .”; Paul is giving us a reason not to speak in “unknown tongues”, but
rather, not a reason to seek to speak in “unknown tongues”. Also, as Peter stated:
1 Peter 4:10 KJV, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same
one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” It is therefore
impossible to be obedient to 1 Pet. 4:10, concerning “unknown tongues”; as Paul
made it clear that “unknown tongues” only edifies self, and not others. Are we
seeking to edify others, or are we seeking to edify self? The true test of whether or
not we have the Spirit in us, is whether or not we love one another, not whether or
not we speak in “unknown tongues”. 1 John 4:12-13 KJV, “. . . If we love one
another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that
we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.”

The Corinthian Church alone was so confused on the issue of “tongues”, that they
could not tell the difference between the true gift and the false gift, 1 Cor.12:1-3.
That is why Paul had to write the Corinthians such a long detailed explanation of this
least important gift. Obviously, “Tongues” is not mentioned in any of the other
doctrinal books of the New Testament, because only the Corinthians were confused
about the true nature and purpose of the Gift of Tongues. Acts is not a doctrinal
book, it is a history book. Specifically, it is the history of the “Apostolic Age”. You
cannot teach doctrine (directive principles for the Church Age) out of a history book,
any more that you can teach math out of a history book.

We know that “Tongues” and their interpretation was the least important gift,
because it is always last in the list. According to Hebrew tradition, whenever you list
a group of anything, you start with the most important and end with the least
important. For example: whenever the 12 Apostles are listed, Peter is first and
Judas is last (Mat. 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19, Luke 6:13-16, & Acts 1:13-16); in the list
of Spiritual fruit in Gal. 5:22-23, Love is first, and self control is last. In the list of
Spiritual gifts in 1 Cor. 12:28 NKJV, NAS, RSV, NIV, etc., notice that even the gift of
administrations is more important than the Gift of Tongues. That means that it
would be more important to be gifted to serve as the Church Secretary, than to have
the Gift of Tongues.

Even though the Gift of Tongues was designated the least important gift, it is still
extremely important to be able to distinguish between the true gift and the false
gift. Primarily because Satan can use the false gift to deceive and split the Church,
Mat. 24:24. Let us therefore examine very carefully the characteristics of the true
“Gift of Tongues”:

Acts 2:2 – it came with a noise like a violent, rushing wind and filled the whole
house.
Acts 2:3 – a tongue as of fire rested on each one of them that spoke in “Tongues”.
Acts 2:4 – they spoke in earthly languages, the Greek word “glossa” is the word for
an earthly language. They spoke specifically in languages that they had never
learned, to Jews, Acts 5-6. Why specifically to Jews? 1 Cor. 14:21 NIV, “In the
Law it is written: ‘Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of
foreigners I will speak to this people,’ . . .” (Notice it doesn’t say “all people”, it
says: “this people”, which obviously refers to Israel only) Why only the Jews?

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 4 of 8
1 Cor. 1:22 KJV, “For the Jews require a sign, . . .” Were they believing Jews? No,
1 Cor. 14:22 NIV, says: “Tongues, then are a sign, not for believers but for
unbelievers; . . .” They spoke to unbelieving Jews in their own native dialect
(dialektos – Acts 2:8) as the Old Testament had prophesied, Isa. 28:11. “Dialektos”
means that not only did they speak the correct language, but also the correct dialect
complete with the correct accent and pronunciations. (For example: They speak
English differently in England than they do in United States; they speak English with
a different accent in the southern part of United States than they do in the northern
part.)

Acts 2:6 & 8 – and every unbelieving Jew present heard in his own native dialect,
accent and all. That’s why the unbelieving Jews were so surprised in verse 7 that
these men were Galileans. They knew that these men were from Galilee and that
Galileans were known to have a strong accent. {Like someone we hear speaking
with a strong Irish accent, is obviously not from the USA. We can tell by the way
they speak English.} They knew that these men were Galileans, yet they couldn’t
even detect the slightest accent from these Galilean fishermen. They quite literally
spoke each language like a born and raised native.

Acts 2:11 – Exactly what did they hear the apostles talking about? They heard them
praising God by proclaiming “the wonderful works of God” that are recorded in the
Old Testament. The unbelieving Jews would have been very familiar with these
“wonderful works of God” from their study of the writings of the Old Testament
prophets. They had been required memorization from their childhood on.

Mark 16:20 – Why did the Jews require a sign? Any time an Old Testament Prophet
had some new words from God to add the Scriptures, (a new revelation from God),
the Prophet confirmed that it really was from God by demonstrating a sign or
miracle. The Jews also knew that the Old Testament Prophet Malachi (Mal. 3:6) had
taught them that the Lord never changes. Therefore, if the apostles had some new
revelation from God, they had better confirm it with signs and miracles, or they were
not about to believe a word of it. “Tongues” therefore, were a confirming sign for
the Gospels of Christ and the rest of our New Testament. Mark 16:20 (NIV) Then
the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and
confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it.

1 Cor. 13:8-10 – The Seventh characteristic of the True Gift of Tongues is that it was
only the men who publicly spoke to “this people”, and then even that would cease
“when that which is perfect has come,”. {Notice it says “that”, NOT “He who”.} It is
obviously a reference to an object that is perfect, and not a reference to Christ.
“That which is perfect” is our completed Bible that includes everything from Gen.1:1
through Rev. 22:21 including the final “Amen”. (Psa. 19:7 & James 1:25) Yes, the
apostles spoke in Tongues publicly to confirm the Words that became our New
Testament, but apparently it was only the men that did so. Acts 2:7 (NIV), Utterly
amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?”

There is no Scripture mentioning that the women ever spoke in Tongues publicly.
If women did speak in Tongues at all, which is highly doubtful because women
never spoke in the Worship Service; it could only have been in the upper room, as
it clearly states that it was only the men who were publicly speaking to “this people”
the unbelieving Jews. Therefore the true Gift of Tongues appears to have only been
given to men. Did Tongues cease when the New Testament was complete?
Absolutely, it disappeared out of the mainline Christian Churches totally by about the
end of the First Century. After being virtually Non-existent in evangelical Christianity
for over 1800 years, the modern day experience of “unknown tongues” was started
by Agnus Osmund, at Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Ks. in 1901, (ref: 1 Tim. 2:11-
12). In fact, in the modern “Charismatic Movement”, women are the majority who
speak in “tongues” publicly, totally contrary to the example in Scripture.

This also contradicts 1 Cor. 14:34 NKJV, “Let your women keep silent in the
churches, for they are not permitted to speak; . . .”. That verse is directly in the
context of Paul’s instructions on how the true Gift of Tongues was to be used. Since
the New Testament wasn’t complete at the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, and since
the Church of Corinth was still meeting in the Jewish Synagogue where unbelieving
Jews might be present; the purpose for the true Gift of Tongues was still in effect at
Corinth.

Further evidence that the true Gift of Tongues may have been for men only, is
that Paul always refers to the gift in the masculine gender. {1Cor. 14:5 – “he”,
1Cor.14:13 – “him”, 1 Cor. 14:21 – “men”, 1 Cor. 14:27 - “man”, 1 Cor. 14:28 –
“him”, etc.} Paul wrote the Letter to the Corinthians in the Greek language. Greek
grammar dictates proper usage of the correct pronoun gender. Since we know Paul
was a very educated man, even a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin at one time, Paul
would have used a pronoun like “them” if he meant both men and women, and verse
14:34 would not even have been written. More importantly, we know God inspired
every word of Scripture in its original language, (2 Tim. 3:16), and we know God
does not contradict Himself. Therefore, the true Gift of Tongues was given to those
men whom God had chosen to be involved in confirming the new revelation that
became our New Testament.

The apostles knew that they had to confirm the Gospel and any other new
revelations that they would be preaching and writing, therefore the sign gifts were
that confirmation. Notice that in Mark 16:20 & Heb. 2:3, the verb is confirmed
(bebaioô), past tense. Just like in the Old Testament, once the new revelation from
God “was confirmed” with signs in front of a sufficient number of witnesses, it
became accepted as proven Scripture with no need for any future confirmations.
When the confirming purpose of the signs and miracles was completed, the signs and
miracles themselves ceased. The same thing is true about the confirmation of the
New Testament. (In 1Cor. 13:8 NAS, it says Tongues will “cease” or “pauo” – stop
by themselves, “finished”. The word that describes how prophecy and knowledge
will be “done away” is “kartargeo”, which means – to be rendered inoperative by an
outside force, “abolished” or “nullified” when the ‘perfect thing comes’, in 1 Cor.
13:9-10. Notice that Tongues is not mentioned in verses 9 & 10, because Tongues
cease by themselves when their purpose is finished and “they are not part of that
which is partial”.)

The prophets and apostles did not continue to show signs and wonders
indefinitely, because once the new revelation was confirmed (past tense), they had
eye witnesses who could testify to that confirmation of God’s Word. In fact Roman
Law, which was the law of the land at the time of Christ, stated that if you had 5 eye
witnesses to anything, it was undeniably fact. (Jewish Law only required 2 or 3
witnesses – ref: 2 Cor. 13:1 and Deut. 19:15) I believe that is why Christ showed
Himself to over 500 witnesses after the Resurrection, 1 Cor. 15:6, more than 100
times as many as required by Roman Law to be declared undeniably factual.
Likewise, our New Testament was proven with signs before Jewish witnesses. In fact
at the Day of Pentecost, the beginning of the confirmation of the New Testament,
they had 3000 witnesses. Once it had been confirmed with at least 5 witnesses, it
was no longer necessary to continue to confirm with signs that the new revelation
was from God; just as Christ no longer continues to appear before men to confirm
His Resurrection.

Heb. 2:3-4 NIV, “. . . 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.”

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 5 of 8

Notice the past tense verbs in Heb. 2:3-4; they had already stopped “confirming”
the Gospel with miraculous signs, by the time Paul wrote Hebrews. Notice also that
verse 4 speaks of the miraculous signs separately from the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
They are not considered part of the “gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to
His will”, to the Church. Notice that in verse 3, just as in Acts 2:43 and Acts 4:33, it
is “those who heard Him” (the apostles) who confirmed with signs, not the Church
in general. God specifically gave the Gift of Tongues to a selected few men of the
“Apostolic Age” (according to His will), to be a confirming sign to the unbelieving
Jews that the new revelation which the apostles were preaching was from God, just
like the Torah.

The first Church was made up the 120 disciples, (Acts 1:5, these included the 11
apostles and 109 other men who had followed Jesus from the Baptism by John to the
Day of His Resurrection, Acts 1:21-22. They chose Matthias from among the 109 to
replace Judas as the twelfth apostle, Acts 1:25-26. The first Church gained 3000
new converts on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:41, and those that the Lord added to
their number daily after that, Acts 2:47.) In Acts 2:42-43, you will notice that the
whole Church all devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, they all devoted
themselves to the fellowship, they all devoted themselves to the breaking of bread,
they all devoted themselves to prayer, and everyone was filled with awe. That is
(godly “fear” in the KJV); but only the apostles were doing the miraculous signs
and wonders. The rest of the church members were not doing the miraculous signs
and wonders, they were in awe. The last half of verse 43, may limit the signs and
miracles to only the 12, but it most certainly would not exceed the 120 mentioned in
Acts 1:5, who had met the basic qualifications to be considered for the office of
Apostleship, Acts 1:21-22, and Paul who received a special personal calling to the
office of Apostleship, Acts 9:15.

Acts 4:31-33 NIV, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was
shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God
boldly.” (not Tongues) 32 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one
claimed that any of his possessions was his own,” (the same as in Acts 2:44-45) “but
they shared everything they had.” 33 “With great power” (the miraculous signs and
wonders) “the apostles” (not the rest of the Congregation) “continued to testify to
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,” (ref: Mark 16:20), “and much grace” (not
miraculous signs) “was upon them all.” Notice here again it is only the apostles
showing the signs and wonders. The rest of them were witnessing boldly to
unbelievers according to verse 31, when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Do we
speak the Word of God boldly to our unsaved friends and neighbors?

In Acts 5:12, again we see that it was the apostles doing the miraculous
signs and wonders, NOT the rest of the Congregation. Acts 5:12 NKJV, “And
through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among
the people. . . .” 2 Cor. 12:12 TLB, “When I was there I certainly gave you every
proof that I was truly an apostle, sent to you by God Himself: for I patiently
did many wonders and signs and mighty works among you.” If the
miraculous signs and wonders are not ONLY for the apostles, they would not have
been proof that Paul was a true apostle. Because no one else received these miracle
gifts other than a one time incident to confirm a very special part of the new
revelation that the Apostles were preaching, {such as Peter’s vision and what
happened at Cornelius’ house}, Paul by showing signs and miracles proved that he
was truly an apostle and that he had truly seen the resurrected Christ.

What about Cornelius? Well let’s look at that portion of Scripture too. Since
what they are doing today is obviously not what the Apostles did, some say their gift
of tongues is the kind that Cornelius received. Well, let’s see what kind of gift
Cornelius and the men of his household demonstrated. Acts 11:17 NAS, says they
received “the same (Gk. – “isos”, which means “equal”) “gift.” In Acts 11:15 NAS,
we find out that “the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did upon us” (the
apostles) “at the beginning.” (the Day of Pentecost). That means there had to be:

1. A rushing wind that filled the whole house.

2. Tongues as of fire sitting on the heads of those speaking in Tongues.
3. They had to be speaking an earthly language that they had never learned, to
the unbelieving Jews present.
4. The unbelieving Jews had to hear them in their very own native dialect.
5. They had to be proclaiming the “wonderful works of God” in Tongues.
6. It had to be a sign to confirm some new revelation that God had given to the
Apostles.
7. Only the men could have been speaking in Tongues.

If one of these seven characteristics of what happened on the day of Pentecost was
missing, it would not have been the “same” (“isos”) gift, that came “just as”
(“hôsper”) it did on the Day of Pentecost. The unbelieving Jews are Peter and the
born again Jews that came with Peter, Acts 10:45-46. I know that sounds like a
contradiction, but they qualify as “unbelieving” Jews because they did not believe
that Peter’s vision (Acts 10:9-17) meant that God had also cleansed the unclean
Gentiles, so that Jew and Gentile could worship together as one people, “the Church”
(ref: Acts 10:28). Because they still considered the Gentiles to be unclean, they also
did not believe that the Holy Spirit could ever enter a Gentile. Therefore when the
Gentiles (Cornelius and the men of his household) received the Gift of Tongues on
that one time, one incident basis; it forever confirmed Peter’s vision, including the
entire text of the story, and proved that God now wanted the Jews and Gentiles to
be one People, “the Church”, Acts 10:28, 11:9, & 11:18. If there had been any
difference at all between what happened in Cornelius’ house and what happened on
the Day of Pentecost, the Jews would never have believed, (because of Mal. 3:6),
that God had cleansed the unclean Gentiles. They were very familiar with the pagan
false gift of tongues* and would have automatically considered something different
to be a counterfeit of the true Gift of Tongues and not the “equal” gift, as they
called it in Acts 11:17. *(The Mystery Religions were very popular and well known
throughout the entire eastern Mediterranean region.)

Since none of the seven characteristics of the true apostolic “Gift of Tongues” are
present in the “modern day charismatic experiences”, no way would have Peter ever
called them the “equal” gift, and he would have automatically labeled them some
form of counterfeit. The “present day” so-called gift of tongues, is in no way the
same as what the apostles demonstrated, but they do resemble or mirror what was
being done in the pagan Mystery Religions. How then can they ever be considered
“biblical”?

While I believe that only a very few isolated incidents of “tongues” are Satanically
controlled; I do believe that the overwhelming majority of “tongues” speaking is
nothing more than the same meaningless ecstatic babbling that was so popular in
the pagan Mystery Religions before the time of Christ. It was very popular in the
Mystery Religions because it made the speaker feel so good, that they assumed it
just had to be of the gods. It is equally popular today in the “Charismatic
Movement”, because it feels so good that they assume it just has to be of the Holy
Spirit. In fact a popular expression in the Charismatic Movement is: “I could feel
the Spirit moving!” Since when are feelings the test of whether something is
biblical? It was and still is in my opinion a form of “learned behavior”. Anyone who
has a strong enough desire to do this, (“seeking the Baptism of the Spirit”) can learn
to speak in “tongues” when they release control of their vocal chords and allow
themselves to be carried away by their emotions. In fact it has been proven that
people who can be hypnotized are the type of people who learn to speak in tongues
quickly.

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 6 of 8

This ecstatic babbling or the gift of “unknown tongues”, can be learned by: self
hypnosis, or by watching others do it (we learn a lot by just watching others, babies
do it all the time). It can be taught, or by working oneself up into a very excited
emotional state, by swaying to stirring music, or by frenzied preaching, or by the
power of suggestion, etc. That’s the way the pagans did it and it appears that is the
same way it is being done today. It is natural phenomena, not super-natural
phenomena.

The gift of “unknown tongues” is not the “Baptism of the Spirit” either. The
Baptism of the Spirit occurs when anyone truly accepts Christ as Lord of their life in
their heart, Rom. 10:9. The “Baptism of the Spirit”, is the Holy Spirit’s ministry of
immersing the new believer into the body of Christ, the very moment they truly
believe. Rom. 6:3 NAS, “Or do you not know that all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus. . .” Do you see it there? Gal. 3:26-27 NAS, “For you
are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” 27 “For all of you who were
baptized into Christ. . .” These verses are definitely not talking about Christian
Water Baptism, which only pictures what has already taken place spiritually. 1 Cor.
12:13 NAS, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, . . .”
Anyone who is teaching that the “Baptism of the Spirit” is something other than what
these verses say it is, is contradicting what the Bible says in these verses. I pointed
out at the beginning of this study, that you cannot use a verse in a way that
contradicts another verse in Scripture on the same subject; it is therefore surely man
who has made the error, when a teaching creates a contradiction between verses. I
believe that there are no contradictions in the Word of God, when it is interpreted
correctly. Notice also that at the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, not all spoke in
“Tongues”, but all had received the “Baptism of the Spirit”. 1 Cor. 12:30 NAS,
“. . . do all speak in Tongues? . . .” In the original Greek grammar, the correct
implied answer to all the questions in verses 29 and 30 is “No”.

Speaking in tongues is also not the “Filling of the Spirit”. Eph. 5:18-20 NIV,
“. . . be filled with the Spirit.” 19 “Speak” (with tongues? NO! Speak) “to one
another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in you heart
to the Lord,” 20 “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If “tongues” were for the entire Church Age and a
continuing part of the “Filling of the Spirit”, Paul certainly would have mentioned
“tongues” in this list, in this doctrinal book. Notice that even the first church did not
speak in Tongues when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, Acts 4:31 NIV, they
“spoke the word of God boldly”. In other words, instead of trying to speak in
Tongues or “unknown tongues”, they went about witnessing to the unsaved boldly
when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, which is our “Great Commission” (Mat.
28:19-20). Peter also, in Acts 4:8-13, spoke the Word of God boldly to unbelievers
when he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Notice in verse 13 the rulers and elders
were astonished at how Peter and John had spoken boldly and authoritatively,
just like Jesus. The filling of the Spirit is not receiving more of the Holy Spirit. God
didn’t cut the Holy Spirit up into pieces to be served like a pie. When we were born
again, we received all of the Holy Spirit, without ceasing to be Ominpresent. The
real problem is that our selfish own will, gets in the way of allowing the Holy Spirit to
“fill us” or “empower us” to do the Will of the Father. Therefore, it is not a question
of how much of the Holy Spirit do we have, but rather “how much of ourselves
have we yielded control of, to the Holy Spirit”. Only at those times when we
are willingly sacrificing our will and totally submitting to the Lordship of Christ, (Luke
9:23), are we “Filled with the Spirit”, in other words, totally under the control of and
empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the Will of God. A careful study of Col. 1:9-12
will reveal that God can fill those areas we are lacking in with the Spirit “so that we
may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.” Rom. 12:11 NIV,
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
Those times when we can honestly say in our heart, that we are living that verse; is
when we can claim we are “filled” or “walking in the Spirit.” All those times that we
are pursuing our own wants and desires, are when we are “walking in the flesh”.

Speaking in “unknown tongues” is not the “language of angels” either. Every

single example of an angel speaking in the Bible, is in a known earthly language.
When Paul uses the expression “tongues of angels” in 1 Cor. 13:1, it is merely a
figure of speech, not a reference to some sort of secret language that angels speak.
To paraphrase, all Paul is saying is, “Even if I speak in any earthly language, with an
eloquent, resounding, authoritative voice, as if an angel was speaking; and I don’t
have love; my words would be nothing more than a sounding brass or a clanging
cymbal, “just a big noise” to those to whom I am preaching.”
 The gift of “unknown tongues” is not “a heavenly language that only God
understands”, either. Every time Jesus spoke to the Father, or prayed to the Father,
(even in the Garden of Gethsemane, while the disciples slept), He spoke a known
earthly language. Even when He died on the cross (Mat. 27:46), He called in a loud
voice, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” in a known earthly language.

Matthew 27:46 (NKJV)

46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?"{GREEK} that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Surely if God had His own private language, Jesus would have used it at that
moment. Even when John was witnessing what “shall be”, when he was present in
the very throne room of heaven (in the book of Revelation); everything by
everyone there was said in a known earthly language. There is no biblical evidence
at all, to support a private or secret heavenly language. The scary thing though, is
that the expression “a heavenly language that only God understands” is directly
linked to the pagan Mystery Religions and is mentioned as far back as 400 years
before Christ. The only difference is they said their “unknown tongues” were “a
heavenly language that only the gods understood”.

The kind of “Gift of Tongues” demonstrated by the Apostles and Cornelius, is the
only kind of “Tongues” that is biblical. Any other kind of “tongues” is a counterfeit of
the true “Gift of Tongues”. You may have noticed that I put the word “Gift” in italics,
because in 1 Cor. 12:1 it is in italics when associated with “Tongues”. That in itself
seems to separate it from spiritual gifts that became the possession of the receiver.
It was something of the Spirit for sure, but it did not say it was a “gift” for us to
keep. That may be why it is not mentioned in the lists of Spiritual gifts in Romans
12:1-21 or Ephesians 4:1-24. The problem of why it had to be addressed in Paul’s
first letter to the Corinthians was that they could no longer tell the difference
between the true “Tongues” and the counterfeit “unknown tongues” that they used
to practice in their Mystery Religions. Sadly, I fear neither can many well meaning
Christians today.

Mat. 6:7 NIV, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,”

Mat. 12:39-40 NIV, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous
sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah
was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 7 of 8

This is the Laodicean Church Age or the age when the lukewarm church described
in Rev. 3:14-22, increasingly becomes the dominant type of church and Christians.
It is during this age especially, that more and more who think they are Christians are
actually being led astray onto the “Broad Road”, Mat. 7:13. It was prophesied that
there would be a great falling away from truth, 2 Th. 2:3. They are easily led astray
because they trust their eyes, feelings, and experiences more than the Word of God.
They assume that if it is miraculous, it has to be of God, forgetting that Satan has
the power to do miracles too, as he did with Pharaoh’s magicians, whom Satan gave
the power to turn their staffs to snakes, imitating the miracle God had worked
through Aaron, Ex. 7:8-12. Trusting their eyes and feelings, instead of the Word of
God, they follow the false prophets that are performing great signs, and miracles, as
prophesied in Mat. 24:24. We are also warned about this in:
Mat. 7:22-23 NIV, "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders
in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart
from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

God also refers to that false church on the “broad way” as the “Harlot” and the true
Church as the “Bride”. Another word for “Harlot” is “Adulterous”. I believe this is
thee “Evil and Adulterous Generation” that is described in Mat. 12:39. The nightly
news and the popularity of false religions should tell us that. Along with the “evil”
comes a viciousness never seen before.

Mat. 24:3 NIV, “. . . Tell us, they said, . . . what will be the sign of your coming and
the end of the age?”

Mat. 24:24 NIV, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great
signs, and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible.”

2 Tim 3:1-7 NKJV

1
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:” {“perilous”
(chalepos) - can be translated violent or vicious, which when we watch the nightly
news is an accurate description.}
2
“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,” {“lovers of themselves” -
we live in a generation that is very self centered.}
3
“unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,”
{“unloving” - in the KJV is “without natural affection”, doesn’t that describe the
headlines of today?}
4
“traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”
5
“having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn
away!”
6
“For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible
women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,” {“led away” - again
“feelings” are leading them astray, 1 Cor. 12:2}
7
“always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

How can this not be the “evil and adulterous” generation described in Mat. 12:39? In
that generation it says, many will be seeking a “sign”, and not until 1901 did
Christians start seeking “sign gifts” again. It was only a few at first, then more, and
more; yet verse 39 says “. . . none will be given it . . .” Therefore, if this is thee “evil
and adulterous” generation, how can the current day “miraculous sign gifts” be
anything but the fulfillment of Mat. 24:24? Not everything we say or do as born
again Christians is of God, Rom. 7:15. Simply because someone can do something
that appears to be supernatural, does not make it of God. It must square with
Scripture, to be of God. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I love my charismatic
brothers and sisters, and I respect those that teach the Gospel of Christ correctly;
however, I do not believe that their “charismatic gifts” are of God. For the most part,
I believe that their speaking in “unknown tongues” is nothing more than emotionally
energized “ecstatic babble”. Several people have told me, “Don’t throw the baby out
with the bath water”. After thoroughly examining that bath water and the supposed
baby in it, carefully comparing it to Scripture; it became obvious that it was a rubber
doll. I believe that the modern day charismatic movement has grossly exaggerated
the importance of what was the least important gift. Apart from having an
unbelieving Jew present to “hear the wonderful works of God in his very own
dialect”, even the true Gift of Tongues may not have been much more than a
spiritual toy.

1 Cor. 13:11 KJV, “When I was a child I spake as a child” {Tongues} “. . . When I
became a man” {spiritually mature}, “I put away childish things.”

Love is the true test of spiritual maturity (Mat. 7:20 & Gal. 5:22).

1 Cor. 13:4-5 NIV, “Love . . . is not self-seeking . . .”. Notice is says, Love is not
self-seeking, yet it says in 1 Cor. 14:4 KJV, “He who speaks in an unknown tongue
edifieth himself, . . .”. Also in the very same letter Paul said in 1 Cor. 10:23-24
KJV, “. . . but all things edify not. 24 Let no man seek his own, but every man
another's . . .”.

1 Cor. 12:31 NAS, “. . . and I show you a still more excellent way.”

“LOVE” – the primary Spiritual Fruit is “more excellent” than “signs and wonders”,
especially when you are trying to win the unsaved.

Mat. 7:20 KJV, “Wherefore by their fruits” (NOT gifts) “ye shall know them.”

Some have told me, “We know that our ‘gift of tongues’ is real because someone
always interprets it.” But are they really interpreting the “tongues”? Or, are they only
doing what is expected, and equally caught up in the emotional frenzy of the
charismatic experience? I read an article several years ago about some students at
Dallas Theological Seminary that put the gift of interpretations to the test. While I do
not think that their method was very nice, but it did prove the point. One of them
memorized the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew. Then that group of students attended a
Worship Service at the largest Charismatic Church in Dallas. Waiting till members of
the congregation started speaking in “tongues”, with another then standing to give
the “interpretation”, THEN the student stood and boldly quoted the 23rd Psalm in
Hebrew, just as he had memorized it. Sure enough one of the same man that had
“interpreted” others, stood and gave a very Biblical interpretation, and the whole
congregation was Praising the Lord, not one word of it came out of the 23rd Psalm.
1 Cor. 14:27-28 NAS, “. . . let one interpret; but if there is no interpreter, let him”
(“him” - the man who had the Gift of Tongues) “keep silent in the church;”.

NOTICE that obviously only one man (“interpreter” singular) had the “gift of
interpretations”, and obviously everyone knew who he was, or they would not know
when the “interpreter” was not there. Until we can find a man who can miraculously
interpret any verse spoken in any language; perhaps we had better obey what Paul
said, “keep silent in the church;”. I absolutely believe that the true “Gift of
Interpretations” would have enabled that man to miraculously interpret any language
of any people of the world at any time it was spoken in the church. How else would
you know if that person was praising the Lord or cursing Him in the church.

I DO NOT WANT A DEBATE ON THIS SUBJECT

A NON-CHARISMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUES
SEGMENT 8 of 8

I used to be a Volunteer Prison Protestant Chaplain in CA. An inmate in one of my

services interrupted my sermon, without asking me in advance, spoke in his
“unknown tongues” and proceeded to give biblical sounding interpretation. I
explained to the congregation, that was what Charismatics call “tongues”, but we are
not permitted, according to CDC Rules, to do that in our generic Protestant Services,
because only a few denominations believe it is real. Rather than disturb the Service,
I QUICKLY, went back to my sermon, and waited until after the Service to explain to
him that the California Department of Corrections dictated that we needed to stay
away from denominational barriers in the generic Protestant Service. I also told him
that even if I believed in the modern day “tongues”, which I don’t, I could not permit
it because there was no “interpreter”. He said, “Oh, but I have the ‘gift of
interpretations’ too.” I then said to him in Turkish, (a language I partially learned
while stationed there in the Air Force), “Hi, how are you? And, may God smile on
you!”, in Turkish. He just said, “Huh?” So much for the modern day “gift of
interpretations”. When “Tongues” ceased near the end of the first century, so did the
“gift of interpretations.” If anyone really has that gift today, he could easily get a
very high paying job at the U.N.

Why do I believe that Tongues has to be done the exact way that the Disciples did it?

Malachi 3:6 (NKJV)

6
"For I am the LORD, I do not change;…

I will put my faith and trust in the Word of God, not in feelings,
not in personal experiences, and not in things I have seen.

2 Cor. 5:7 NIV, “We live by faith, not by sight.”

 t tt
Titus 2:13
VCO

Here are the Resource Materials that I have Used for this Study.

Resource Materials:

Holy Bible – KJV, NKJV, NAS, NIV, RSV, TLB, & TEV
Vine’s - Dictionary
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
HOLMAN Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible/Hebrew – Aramaic & Greek Dictionary
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics
New Catholic Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Americana
Encyclopedia Britannica
“The Mystery Religions” book by Samuel Angus
“The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues” book by John P Kildahl
“The Baptism & Gifts of the Holy Spirit” book by Dr. Merrill Unger
“The Charismatics” book by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr.
“Spiritual Gifts” study guide by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr.
“The Truth About Tongues” tape series by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr.
“Spiritual Gifts” tape series by Chuck Swindoll
“Spiritual Gifts” tape series by Dr. Ed Young
“Spiritual Gifts?” a tape by Ben Alexander (ex-Pentecostal & Assembly of God)
“The Gift of Tongues?” a tape by Dr. Jack MacArthur
“The Baptism of the Spirit” video tape by Dr. Gil Rugh (“Truth or Tradition” series)
Personal interview with Pastor Neil Beery
(IFCA Interim Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, Susanville, Ca.,1988)