This series is my answer
to the question about my belief on Speaking In Tongues, which I do believe in,
but I believe that speaking tongues is when the Holy Spirit bridges language
barriers.
A good starting point is Acts 2:1-18, but remember, the main
point of the book of Acts was to tell us not only what happened after Jesus
ascended, but the story of the early church & how the church grew.
Genesis 11:1-9 depicts where humans went from
all speaking 1 language (or tongue) to language barriers that God
constructed. Do you see that this is the origin of "unknown
tongues"?
Well, Acts chapter 2 gives us the 1st time our God
returned to those language barriers, & the Holy Spirit bridged
communication through people of various tongues. But was the main purpose
for bridging these language barriers so people could...
a) edify themselves?
b) spread God's Words?
Well, the answer is to spread God’s Words, but it
may be hard to see my point until it's clear that 1 Corinthians 14:22 is all
about others.
If you can’t see the warning against
speaking “unknown” tongues while promoting Speaking In Tongues, let’s read 1 Corinthians 14
immediately. Notice verse 19 opposes speaking without
understanding, but do you make the connection between Prophecy & Speaking Tongues.
See 1 Corinthians 14:5. Should we see
to edify one's self? Paul clearly says, “Seek to
edify the church", so see verses 5, 12,
& 26.
It is impossible to convince me about diet
because I had a personal experience that is consistent with what I see in
Scripture. In the spring of 2000, I was working out 3-4 times daily,
& began to notice how each meal affected my workouts.
I could go on, but basically, pig gave me headache, & shrimp made me
sluggish. Combine that personal experience with Bible verses that support
my disdain for swine, & you see why I can’t be persuaded on the topic of
clean/unclean meat.
Likewise, with Tongues, did you experience a
sensation that can't be forgotten? I urge you to follow God’s Word, even
more than the sensations from your senses. Marriage rates prove how many
are fooled by what they hear, see, & feel, but God’s Word is clear on what
marriage is all about.
Anyway, in the context of Paul’s writings, God is
“not the author of confusion”, & edifying self is spoken of negatively. If
that is not enough, my diet experience is consistent with Scripture, but most
people's "experience" with tongues is not. But what does
Scripture say?
"In the law it is written, With men of
other tongues and other lips will I speak unto
this people; and yet for all that will they not
hear me, saith the Lord."
Meaning, I hear people say they're speaking to
God in tongues that sound like
jibberish, & they try to use 1 Corinthians
14:3 to justify it, but after reading verse 21-22:
1 - it is about God speaking, not you
2 - it is about speaking to this people, not God
3 - it is spoken to non-believers = as in"all that
will not hear me", & those that "believe not"
Continue to verse 22 to help with the context.
Tongues are sign for non-believers. Get it?
TRUTH or False - Those "unknown” tongues
are a sign to them who believe not.
False! - Folks, "unknown” tongues are
not a sign at all (period). So should you use a language unknown to a
non-believer to preach the Word of God? Well, the answer is no because the only signs listed are:
1 - Prophesying
2 - Speaking in Tongues
…both are only stated in verse 22 of 1
Corinthians 14.
Imagine someone over-zealous of spiritual gifts
starts speaking Galilaen to you, they
would be speaking "unknown" tongue
(unless you speak Galilaen). Speaking an "unknown" tongue couldn’t have been spoken in Acts 2,
unless it was understood only by Galilaen speakers.
Now, I believe that those who equate
incomprehensible utterances with "unknown" might not understand the fullness of my angle here. Pray
for focus!
In ancient Greece, the priestess of the oracle
at Delphi would voice utterances under the influence of intoxicating gases,
while a Delphi priest perpetrated as her interpreter. Meaning, the Bible speaks
of tongues, prophecy, and “unknown” tongues, but incomprehensible utterances
originated outside of the Bible.
The temple at Delphi was for worship of the
sun-god Apollo, & even though Rome defeated Greece, they assumed many Greek
religious practices. Rome eventually adopted some Biblical practices too,
& in the confusion, gods became saints, Sabbath became sun-day, &
glossolalia became tongues....both known and unknown.
Meaning, Incomprehensible utterances fail to
qualify as “unknown” tongue let alone speaking in tongues. A tongue is a
language, & Speaking in tongues is a gift of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians
12.
TRUTH or False – 1 Corinthians 12 lists
“unknown" tongues as a gift of the spirit.
False! I easily find speaking in tongues,
diversities of tongues, and speaking with tongues, but I can't find the word "unknown" in the
whole entire chapter. Among the gifts of the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12 lists:
1) divers
kinds of tongues
2) interpretation
of tongues
3) diversities
of tongues
4) do
all speak with tongues?
It does NOT list:
1) divers kinds of
"unknown" tongues
2) interpretation of
"unknown" tongues
3) diversities of
"unknown" tongues
4) do all speak with
"unknown" tongues.
TRUTH or False – Outside of 1 Corinthians 14,
“unknown” tongues will not appear in the whole entire Bible.
TRUTH - There is no reason to doubt that every
single witness of Paul and Peter’s ministry understood the language every time
the Spirit spoke in, with, or through Tongues.
TRUTH or False – “Unknown” tongues were never
spoken in the whole entire Book of Acts.
TRUTH - See Biblegateway.com & do search the
word "tongues" for yourself. Again por
ejemplo, that's 2 words in an unknown
tongue to anyone that doesn't know Spanish.
TRUTH or False – Everyone understood the
language being spoken in Acts 2.
I don’t know every language, & I don’t want
to know every tongue, but wherein I was born, “every” means every, & TRUTH
is in Acts 2:38, “…how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we where
born?”
I heard there is reference to a “personal
prayer language” in the Bible. I try to find the reason for and purpose
of speaking in tongues, because God gives the reason & purpose for
everything in His Word.
I read the context where “unknown" tongues
are mentioned as if someone who hears “unknown” tongues knows what He is
speaking, and someone else does not.
I know that even when “unknown” tongues are
mentioned, somebody, at least two
people are around each other.
What I don't see (and feel free to show me)
is...
- your "personal prayer life"(?)
- a "personal prayer language"
- a text that promote tongues without
1 listener who comprehends the speaker
TRUTH or False - Jesus Himself connects speaking
in tongues to preaching.
TRUTH - And He said unto them,"Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be
damned. And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In My name shall they
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues"...Mark
16:15-17
- "Glossolalia” is babbling
incomprehensible utterances & unintelligible jibberish never even
hinted to....in the whole entire Original King James Bible!
- Speaking in tongues - communication that the
Holy Spirit interprets from the language of the speaker into the language of
the listener
- "Unknown“ is a language that foreigners
no comprende, no hablamos, no entiendos, no
mas y no menos (more or less).
TRUTH or False – Paul readily admits speaking
tongues, but notice, he never once even hints that he speaks in “unknown” tongues.
TRUTH - Re-read 1 Corinthians 12 & 14, &
think about how wrong it is that "Christian churches" teach the Holy Spirit urges incomprehensible
utterances, & worse...that it is impossible to be saved without speaking in
tongues?!? That is not Biblical.
Acts 13:9, says that Paul was filled with the
Holy Ghost, but there is no mention of Tongues. Matter of fact, Acts
gives eighteen (18) stories about the Holy Ghost, but tongues are mentioned in
only three (3) of those stories! Let me know if you want to see the list.
Until then...
I pray that you correct this preaching &
teach others the correct doctrine.
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