“TONGUES AND THE CHRISTIAN? …
OIL AND WATER!”

Before studying the topic on tongues, please pray to God:

 “Dear heavenly Father, I believe you can give me understanding on this topic of tongues.

I know that you are not the author of confusion and there is a simple and clear explanation. I desire the truth and understanding with all my heart.

I want the truth, all of the truth, nothing but the truth, at any cost.

I am willing to put aside all views, positions, pre-conceived ideas and thoughts on this topic and see what you will show me with the plain English text of the King James Bible. These things I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

What was Pentecost?
Pentecost was an entirely Jewish event, both in the old and new testaments, and had, and has, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING whatsoever to do with the Christian church, except for the fact, that the two loaves represent the two classes of sinful people, represented by the leaven, Jews and Gentiles, that were to form the present day church in Christ. Unbeknown to Israel, they were rehearsing the future event of Gentiles having access to God their Father. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. (Leviticus 23:17)

A sign of judgment
Because the nation of Israel had rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the 17 tongues of Pentecost were a sign to these unbelieving Jews, that God was no longer to be their ‘exclusive possession’. God would no longer speak to them, as he always had, through their prophets and exclusively in Hebrew.

Pentecost was a sign for Israel that God was now temporarily putting them aside, and speaking to other nations in their own languages, that is, in their own mother tongues. These tongues were the 17 languages as follows: 1. Parthians 2. Medes 3. Elamites 4. Mesopotamia 5. Judaea 6. Cappadocia 7. Pontus 8. Asia 9. Phrygia 10. Pamphylia 11. Egypt 12. Libya about Cyrene 13. Rome 14. Cretes 15. Arabians. In addition there were Jews and proselytes. (Acts 2:9-11).  

Furthermore, from their Old Testament experiences, they were alarmed as they knew when Gentile languages ‘entered’ their lives, hard and violent times were approaching, and in this case, it would be the destruction of Jerusalem about 70AD.

Pentecost’s tongues were not a blessing to the Jew, but a warning that they were under severe judgment from God for their rejection of Christ.

The Jews were God’s own chosen people, and whenever God spoke to them by their prophets, it was in their own Hebrew language. For the Jews to hear a Gentile language being used by God, they realized they were under judgement (Deuteronomy 28:49-50). For example, we read of the Babylonian tongues (Jeremiah 5:15) and Assyrian tongues (Isaiah 28:11)

There are two classes of tongues
Two classes are mentioned in the King James Bible – known and unknown tongues

Class 1 - Known tongues
These were 17 proper languages that were spoken, and known, at Pentecost and up to AD70 as “…every man heard them speak in his own language.” (Acts 2:6)

Class 2 - Unknown tongues
These also were the 17 proper languages that were simply not known by anyone present at an assembly or gathering.

Not being able to be understood, God forbids them to be spoken at an assembly or gathering

Paul says “If you want to speak in an unknown tongue, go home and speak to the Lord if you must.” But Paul says you will not be speaking in God’s Holy Spirit, but in your own spirit. Furthermore, Paul says “You will be speaking in mysteries in your own human spirit, as you do not understand what is being given to you.”

We read “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue (a proper languages of the 17 at Pentecost but not known by anyone present) speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit (this is the human spirit with a small “s” and not God’s Spirit with a capital “S”) he speaketh mysteries.” (1Cor 14:2).

God gave tongues to be spoken to men at Pentecost NOT to be spoken back to him.

Where is the early Acts church in all this?
Nowhere to be seen! Zilch! Nothing! Absent! Not there! It’s all about Israel!

So why has the church taken on babbling?
Simple. It’s called REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY (RT) with babbling sounds like “boorabasha doonagooram”. Replacement Theology will always want to steal what God has meant for Israel.

The following Table explains:

Reading 1 Corinthians chapter 14 we see that only tongues #1 and unknown tongues #2 are mentioned … never the made-up babbling of today.

1 Corinthians 14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue (#2)

1 Corinthians 14:4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue (#2)

1 Corinthians 14:5 I would that ye all spake with tongues (#1) but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, (#1)

1 Corinthians 14:6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues (#1)

1 Corinthians 14:11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice (#2)

1 Corinthians 14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue (#2)

1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue (#2)

1 Corinthians 14:18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues (#1)

1 Corinthians 14:19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding (#1), that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue (#2).

1 Corinthians 14:22 Wherefore tongues (#1)

1 Corinthians 14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues (#1)

1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue (#1)

1 Corinthians 14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue (#2) ... and so on … the rest you can work out for yourself.

The fact is that tongues, known or unknown, MUST be one of the 17 Pentecost languages. Today’s babbling sounds cannot be found anywhere in the scriptures.

The use of tongues
Paul corrects the misuse of them in 1 Cor 14 (AD 57) such that one year later, when he writes Romans around AD 57-58, tongues are NOT mentioned as being one of the gifts. Why? They had dropped off in their use. The gift was no longer needed.

1. Tongues were the 17 proper known languages given supernaturally by God to the apostles to speak to unbelieving Jews (1Cor 15:22) at Pentecost. “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.” (1 Cor 14:22). Therefore, the tongues that were spoken as a sign to unbelievers, were to be a language that unbelievers could understand.     

2. Unbelieving Jews, that is the Christ rejectors, had to be present.

3. The apostles never ever used tongues as a prayer language to God.

4. The 17 Pentecost languages were given by God to the apostles with no learning needed.

5. Tongues were never for Christians. Why? There weren’t any Christians at Pentecost (Acts 11:26) 

 Today’s utterances
What produces the euphoric effect for today’s ‘tongue speaker’, has to do with the Broca’s area of the brain, which deals with logical and rational thought. It is similar to Transcendental Meditation (TM) which gives the speaker a supposed clear mind.  

TM has the user say the name of a Hindu god many times, so that the logical mind goes into a shutdown. The same effect can be got by just repeating a word, say, “donkey” many times. So by endlessly babbling some sounds like “ardamar goshunda booree umba”, the modern day “tongue” speaker can achieve the same effect.

Broca’s area of the brain is affected and words become meaningless and a sense of well being takes over. It’s like a glass of dirty water in which the sediment falls to the bottom and leaves clear water above.

Of course the real danger, with today’s babbling, is that, in shutting down the mind, a user gives Satan access. This is a sin and directly works against God’s purposes in giving us a sound mind (2Tim 1:7). The ‘windows’ of the mind are left open through which devils climb with the effects ranging from not wanting to study the Bible, to lack of praying, to personal and family tragedy and so on. Satan demands a trade off from God for the Babbler and his/her babbling. Furthermore, we must remember that Satan can masquerade as an angel of light (2Cor 11:14).

The writer of this article speaks from experience as having been in this deception of Charismatic and Pentecostal lies for many years.

What is praying in the Spirit?

The modern day babbler will say they pray in the Spirit (Eph 6:18) … but do they?

No they don’t. When praying to God, it is to be with understanding as Paul says “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” (1 Corinthians 14:15). Today’s babbling NOT praying in the Spirit – but merely making babbling noises to God with the human spirit.

What about when Paul says that he speaks in the ‘tongues of angels’ (1Cor 13:1)? 

Paul is not saying that he does – he is just saying “though (or if I could) I speak in the tongues of angels”

Furthermore, Paul can’t speak in the tongues of angels as he isn’t an angel himself.

What about when it says “…but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26). This is the Holy Spirit that makes the groanings not a man’s spirit. They can’t be uttered by any man.

The ‘tongues’ spoken today are a fraud, a lie and are a pretence. Unfortunately, they are used by some to sound spiritual, and put pressure on ‘non-tongue’ speakers, by making out they are more spiritual or have a spiritual gift. Tongues users today may try to be sincere, but they are sincerely wrong.

They have not read and studied and understood
1 Corinthians chapter 14.

Unless you are speaking in one of the 17 languages at Pentecost, with the unbelieving Christ rejecting Jews present, and speaking before the book of Romans was written (approx 57AD), you are being misled.  The only purpose for tongues at Pentecost, was to disturb and warn unbelieving Christ rejecting Jews, and to bring them to salvation.

.Tongues were spoken to warn unbelieving Jews that they were being put aside.

.Speaking in unknown tongues is to speak with the human spirit and not God’s Spirit.

.Tongues were given by God to the apostles to speak to unbelieving Jews.

.Tongues, known or unknown, were never ever used for prayer.

Most importantly in all this, God hates Replacement Theology in any way, shape or form, in that the church would seek to rob, counterfeit or intrude in anyway, what God had for Israel.

But I speak in an ancient Egyptian language?

Really? Which of the ancient Egyptian languages is it? Have you had this verified?

Furthermore, ancient Egyptian languages were not needed at Pentecost.

Indeed, why would God give you this language as Egypt was the nation that enslaved Israel for many decades?

In addition, you will not need any other language to pray to God other than your own that you can understand yourself.

Also, are you only one of the few people that pray to God without Satan knowing what you pray? That’s ridiculous as great men and women of God have had their prayers answered by God in English, German, French and any proper language they understand.

Lastly, you might say that you heard of a man once, who was speaking in a language that he didn’t know, and a man in the audience knew what he was saying.  

My Dear Reader, if this can be genuinely proven, it would have been a ‘one-off’ manifestation given by God for a given purpose … but it cannot be classed as a Bible tongue.

In a nutshell, the purpose for tongues ceased before the destruction of Jerusalem around AD70. As mentioned, the book of Romans written about one year after 1^st Corinthians, and DOES NOT MENTION tongues as a gift of the Spirit.  

Like myself in coming out of this deception, I had questions such as “But what about …”, so I understand perfectly where you are.

If I can help in any way, please contact me.

Harley Hitchcock
April 2025

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