“Are Tongues for Today?”
“Are
Tongues for Today?”
"Wherefore
tongues are for a sign not to them that
believe (Christians),
but to them that believe not
(Jews)…" (1 Corinthians 14:22)
Who were
'tongues' meant for?
The nation
of Israel. "For the Jews require a
sign..." and "... tongues are for a sign..." (1 Cor 1:22 and 1 Cor 14:22)
What was
the purpose of tongues?
Tongues
were sent by God as a sign to the nation of Israel, of irreversible
judgment, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah
28:11). God was
no longer speaking exclusively to the Jew in Hebrew, but in the known
17 languages
… called tongues.
What was
this judgment?
Their
promised land under Abraham would be taken away for about 2000
years. In AD 70-71, Rome destroyed Jerusalem.
Why did
God speak to them like this? Because
they were unbelieving and had rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah, so
God put them
under judgment. "Wherefore tongues are for a sign,
not to
them that believe, but to them that believe not:..." (1Cor
14:22)
Has
another use of 'tongues' become popular today?
Yes. Man
now believes he can use babbling to speak to God. Today’s
babble is not known tongues or unknown tongues … it’s just babble.
Tongues – the
known 17 languages mentioned at Pentecost
(Acts 2:8-11)
Unknown
tongues – the 17
languages at Pentecost
but simply unknown by anyone at a meeting.
Today’s
babble: - not
anything … just babble and
noises coming out of the mouth.
What is
unknown tongues?
Unknown
tongues were the 17 proper languages spoken at Pentecost, but
were simply unknown by anyone at a meeting.
What
reasons do people use to justify using their own babble?
There are
nine main ones.
1st REASON:
"When I pray in "tongues" I'm praying to God?"
The Bible
says “No, you are just babbling, as you pray with your own
human spirit. This was with proper languages. "For
if I pray in an unknown tongue (one
of the 17 proper languages at Pentecost) my spirit prayeth
..."
(1 Cor 14:14).
Even with
a proper language, it is very clear this is our human spirit
that is praying and not the Holy Ghost. And this is with one of 17
proper
languages spoken at Pentecost.
2nd REASON:
"When I pray in an unknown tongue, I pray in the spirit."
You are
not even praying in an unknown tongue! You are just praying with
babble.
The Bible
says no - you are praying with your own spirit. "For
if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth ... (1 Cor 14:14). Furthermore,
today so-called ‘tongues’ speaker is
just a babbler that is babbling away to God. He is not speaking in one
of the
17 languages spoken at Pentecost!
But
doesn't the scripture say that we are to pray in the Spirit?
Yes.
"Praying always ... in the Spirit
..." (Eph
6:18).
What does
it mean to pray in the Spirit?
If we are
saved, you are in Christ and you now have access to God the
Father. "For through him (Jesus) we both have access by one Spirit
unto
the Father." (Ephesians
2:18). Praying
in the Spirit means Christians have access
to God, praying with understanding.
Never in
the Bible does God say that praying with babbling is praying in
the Spirit.
Today’s
babbler is not even praying to anyone.
God said
the opposite to Israel – even praying in an unknown tongue, one
of the 17 proper languages at Pentecost, is praying in your own human
spirit (1 Cor 14:14)
3rd REASON:
"When I pray to God in an unknown tongue, I speak mysteries."
Question:
Did the apostle Paul ever pray to God without knowing what he
was praying about ie in mysteries to God?
No. He
says that when he prays he does so with understanding. "...I
will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding
also...." (1Cor
14:15)
Babbling
to God is just rubbish.
4th REASON:
"When I pray in an unknown tongue, I'm praying with an angelic
tongue"
The Bible
says no. Paul says that he never spoke in an angel tongue.
Why? "Though I speak.."
means "Just supposing that I could speak with the tongues of angels
..."
(1Cor
13:1). In
other words, he makes a hypothetical statement.
5th REASON:
"But when I pray in an unknown tongue I’m 'groaning in the Spirit' "
That's
incorrect. We don't audibly groan as these things can't be
uttered by us.
"... the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered." (Romans
8:26). The Holy
Spirit groans … not us!
6th REASON:
"But when I pray in an unknown tongue, I feel so good."
Did you
know that you can get the same effect and feeling by closing
your eyes and repeatedly speaking out loud any word for a few hundred
times.
The word will soon lose all meaning as understanding of the mind begins
to shut
down. This is called Hindu Transcendental Meditation. It is used to
lose the
mind.
How
Transcendental Meditation works
In order
to escape the pressure in the mind that comes from everyday
living and worry, Transcendantal meditators practice a repetitive sound
– a form
of losing the mind.
Now, the
same happens when people 'pray' in an unknown tongue. The mind
'shuts down' as a result of sounds being uttered repeatedly. It results
in being
left with a sense lightness and energy.
Unknown
tongues are like drugs - addictive.
To get
this euphoric energy, today’s babbler needs this TM fix.
7th REASON:
"Well, I believe that the Holy Ghost within me moves my spirit to pray
in
an unknown tongue."
That’s a
lie. The Holy Ghost is not there. You are simply babbling with
your own spirit. You are not even speaking or praying in an unknown
tongue, one
of the 17 proper languages spoken at Pentecost – it’s just babble!
8th REASON:
"God gives me spiritual discernment to know that I'm not speaking the
wrong sort of `tongue' "
No he
doesn’t. You can’t speak in tongues or unknown tongues. God’s not
in it.
Anything
babbled today is just rubbish! It’s a lie! It’s a fraud!
The Holy
Ghost never disagrees with God's written word - the King James
Bible. Quite simply, any babble today is a deception. Real tongues, the
proper
17 languages, were a sign for unbelieving Jews. Unknown tongues, which
were
proper languages, were just unknown by anyone at a meeting and God said
“Shut
up”.
9th REASON:
"I'm filled with the Spirit so I speak in "tongues'?"
No you are
not. The meaning of "..be filled with the
Spirit" (Eph
5:18) is given as
"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Eph
5:19). No
mention of known or unknown tongues! No mention of babble either.
You don’t
speak in the 17 tongues or the same 17 unknown tongues. You
are just babbling to get the same Hindu high of Transcendental
Meditation.
The last
thing to give up
A few
years ago, I was talking with a friend of mine who had seen, and
had extracted himself from, the false healings, money rip-offs, false
prophecies and sexual immorality of so called 'tongue' speaking
churches.
However, at that stage he hadn't seen the deceptive addiction of
unknown
tongues. With all the courage I could muster, I said to him "Tongues
will
be the last thing you'll give up." He got very angry and left. A couple
of
weeks later, he knocked on the door and said "You're right - it's a
deception. I've been deceived!"
Dear
reader, I also
was hooked on babbling. I remember walking
around the suburb babbling in what I thought was an unknown tongue for
an hour or
two at a time. Man, I felt pumped and wow, didn't I feel `spiritually'
energized!
Little did
I know I was just performing a version of Hindu
Transcendental Meditation. Satan was more than happy.
Put it
this way -
As a
parent, should you want your son or daughter to speak to you, I'm
sure you'd want them to say something intelligible that both you and
they could
understand? Why should we treat God any differently? "What purpose
is
served when I don't know what I'm praying, no-one else does and God
doesn't
either?"
Babbling
in babble is a work of the flesh - the Holy Ghost is not
involved.
Harley
Hitchcock
Brisbane Australia
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
