Bible Studies

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The gift of tongues is difficult to understand, not because it is shrouded in mystery, but because there is so much historical confusion about it. The first difficulty is to understand what it is, to define it correctly -- biblically. We will use the interpretive principle that the plainest, most ordinary and simple definition is the most likely to be true. However, this will require that we disabuse ourselves of the contemporary definition and use of tongues through the widely popular Pentecostal movement of the last hundred years.

Much of the popular success regarding the understanding and use of the gift of tongues by the Pentecostal movement must be credited to the historical Protestant Reformed misunderstanding of the terminology involved. The Reformed doctrinal error is found in a misreading of the Westminster Confession of Faith. This misreading involves section one of chapter one, "Of the Holy Scripture." The phrase under consideration reads, "…those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now ceased."

The common (and I believe incorrect) understanding of this phrase was that the practice of glossolalia (understood as inspired speaking and writing) ceased with the closing of the Canon. However, anyone familiar with the history of the Christian church and the Pentecostal Movement will know that glossolalia has not ceased, not in the First Century or the Fourth or the Seventeenth -- much less in the Twentieth or Twenty-First. Glossolalia has been with us from time immemorial, in Old Testament times, in New Testament times, and into Modern and Postmodern times. Indeed, glossolalia is alive and well today, as is evidenced by the phenomenal success of the Pentecostal Movement over the past hundred years. So, to say that it has ceased is nonsense, and to suggest that it should have ceased opens the door to a host of interpretative problems that have not been resolved and are probably unresolvable.

A better approach is needed. To get at the issue and the problem regarding the gift of tongues we first need to better understand and define exactly what glossolalia is. It is not a biblical word. The dictionary defines it as repetitive non-meaningful speech, especially that associated with a trance state or religious fervor. Pentecostals will take exception with the idea that it is non-meaningful. Some will argue that it is an ancient language that has been lost. Others will argue that it is a special prayer language that provides for special communication between God and the believer who uses it. Others will argue that it is a language (or languages) that only the Holy Spirit can interpret.

The first shortcoming to note is that most Christian examinations of glossolalia limit their considerations to biblical data, and more specifically to glossolalia within the Christian tradition. Most of the time these efforts assume and attempt to justify glossolalia as a legitimate expression of biblical practice. Most Christians, including various Christian scholars in various denominations, understand tongues to be a manifestation of glossolalia because it is part of the history of biblical experience and testimony. The practice of glossolalia understood in this way stretches back into biblical antiquity.

However, if we are going to define tongues biblically, we must distinguish between Paul's use of the word tongues and the contemporary definition of glossolalia. They are not the same thing. The reality is that glossolalia defined in this way (as being legitimately Christian) has a long and significant tradition that is both unfaithful to God and non-biblical. The roots of this kind of glossolalia belong to Paganism and the ancient traditions of false gods mentioned in Scripture. For instance, glossolalia was exhibited by the renowned ancient Oracle of Delphi, whose origins are associated with the worship of Gaia in the Eighth Century B.C. At Delphi a priestess of the god Apollo (called a sibyl) spoke in unintelligible utterances, supposedly through the spirit of Apollo in the priestess as a kind of prophecy that would then be translated by other priests.

Later in history are found certain Gnostic magical texts from the Roman period that have unintelligible syllables written on them. It is believed that these may be transliterations of the sorts of sounds made during glossolalia and were thought to be prophetic. The Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians also features a hymn of mostly unintelligible syllables which is thought to be an early example of Christian glossolalia.

In the Nineteenth Century, Spiritism, which investigates the survival of souls after death and communications received from them, i.e., séances, etc., was developed through the work of Allan Kardec (1804-1869). The phenomenon was seen as one of the self-evident manifestations of spirits. While not specifically associated with glossolalia, Kardec's work highlighted and valued ecstatic communication from a scientific perspective. Glossolalia has also been observed in shamanism and the Voodoo religion of Haiti. The point is that these manifestations of glossolalia are clearly not Christian and not faithful to the God of the Bible. I am, then, extrapolating that the roots of glossolalia are intertwined with Paganism and Spiritism (ecstatic communication, which includes communication with the dead, or with spirits).

In biblical history, King Saul was involved with glossolalia early in his story. Immediately following Samuel's anointing of Saul as King of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1), Saul himself fell into a swoon of prophecy. We don't know if Saul used glossolalia per se, but nothing of the content of his prophecy is recorded, which suggests that it was meaningless or not significant to God. Scripture provides this story, not to justify Saul's actions, but as a window into the character of Saul. Saul began to prophesy after God gave him "another heart" (1 Samuel 10:1). Note that it was not a new heart, and that from that time forward Saul fell increasingly out of favor with God. At the height of Saul's disobedience to God he consulted the witch of Endor and communicated with the dead spirit of Samuel (1 Samuel 28:7). Such communication was (and is still) forbidden by God. While that communication was not technically glossolalia, it was communication with a dead spirit, which Saul himself had correctly forbidden under the direction of Samuel. God does not want His people communicating with dead or incorporeal spirits.

Again, Saul's experience may not have been glossolalia per se, but it was most certainly not a function of obedience or the understanding of God's truth on his part. Saul's prophesying must be classified as a kind of ecstatic speech, where ecstasy is defined as a state of being beyond reason. The point is that this kind of ecstatic speech -- speech that is either nonsensical or unreasonable -- is not the kind of communication that the God of Scripture provides for His people. So, while it is not technically or strictly glossolalia, narrowly defined, it was similar enough to be categorized as a kind of glossolalia, broadly defined.

Here's another example: Early in Jesus' ministry He encountered unclean spirit(s) that had inhabited and inflicted people with various maladies. Mark recorded that when Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit the man convulsed (Mark 1:26). The Greek word is the root of the English word spasmodic. People reacted spasmodically when the unclean spirits left them, twisting and turning uncontrollably, falling down (Matthew 17:15), probably even barking and growling. The point is that the spirits that manifest these kinds of things in people were expelled from them when they were healed by Jesus, which suggests that they were some sort of evil spirits. These manifestations of spiritual illness and/or possession were not to be celebrated, but were to be overcome and eliminated from human experience according to the biblical traditions of Jesus' healing work.

The point is that these kinds of ecstatic, trance-induced experiences have always been associated with non-biblical religions -- and they still are today. In contrast, the God of the Bible is the God of truth and reason, not of spirit possession and confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). And God most certainly does not communicate meaninglessness to His people.

My difficulty with understanding tongues and the issues involved with it, however, comes about because people erroneously believe that God had communicated and/or dictated the original writing of Scripture through some kind of ecstatic, glossolalia-like experience. However, I emphatically believe that He did not! Scripture was written through men, and used the ordinary writing practices of men. The writing of Scripture was not magical or mystical, it was ordinary.

However, Scripture does in fact record that God uses things/experiences like this sort of mystical glossolalia. God does give people over to nonsense and confusion (Exodus 23:27, Deuteronomy 7:23, Isaiah 19:14). God's Word, however, is not a manifestation of nonsense and confusion, but is a manifestation of truth and order.

Granted, we don't know exactly how the Bible was written -- and it doesn't really matter. It's like being concerned about the route the UPS driver took to get to your house to deliver a package. You have the package, what difference does it make what route was taken to deliver it? Just open the package and deal with the contents.

So, if Paul's use of tongues does not mean glossolalia in the contemporary or Delphic sense, what does it mean? The Greek word (glossa) simply means tongue, the instrument of speech. And by implication and common use at the time it was written, it referred to a foreign language or to foreign languages (in the plural). The Protestant Reformers believed that glossolalia (ecstatic and unintelligible speech) had stopped or ought to stop in the New Testament era, that the manifestation of the Holy Spirit among God's people would put an end to such nonsense. And they were correct because the God of Scripture is not a God of nonsense and/or confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

What does glōssa mean? It means foreign languages. And here's the key issue that will help us understand what Paul was driving at: if some languages are foreign then one particular language is not foreign. Remember that we are talking about God's Word, we might even say "God's language."

God revealed Himself to the ancient Hebrews and established the ancient nation of Israel as a kind of test case study regarding God's law. From Moses to Christ that nation was Israel and its language was Hebrew. That is to say that at that time God's Word was written exclusively in Hebrew. That was God's native tongue, so to speak. The Hebrew Scriptures were not available in any other language. That is important because it meant that all God-language was in Hebrew. If anyone wanted to know what God was talking about, they needed to learn Hebrew.

With the advent of Christ the gospel was opened up to the Gentiles, to the other nations of the world. Those Gentile nations (people) spoke other languages. They didn't speak Hebrew. So, if they were going to understand the gospel, it would need to be spoken (and written) in other languages, languages foreign to the Hebrew tongue. The beginning of this process of speaking genuine biblical gospel God-talk in other languages began at Pentecost when "divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:3-4). What does this mean?

"Divided tongues" is comprised of two Greek words, diamerizo glossa. We have determined that glossa means foreign languages, languages other than Hebrew. Diamerizo does mean divided, but would be better translated as a division or a distribution.

The phrase "tongues as of fire" is a correct translation, but it isn't very helpful. Note that it does not say "tongues of fire" but "tongues *as* of fire." The word "as" sets up a comparison. Tongues (foreign languages) are compared to fire. The tongues are not made of fire, but are like fire in some way. So, how can foreign languages be like fire? Fire flickers and tongues can be understood to flicker in the mouth when speaking. Thus, the phrase "tongues as of fire" suggests that foreign languages were being spoken with ease. We might say "burning up the airwaves." Tongues were flickering as many people were using foreign languages to speak about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the God of Scripture. Tongues were flickering in a similar way that flames flicker in a fire. That's the comparison.

Acts 2:2 tells us that "suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting." Think of a school lunchroom or a symphony audience before the show starts. People are all talking at once. Have you ever stopped talking in the middle of that kind of setting and just listened? It sounds like wind rustling forest leaves on a cold Autumn day -- except louder. Luke described it as "like a mighty rushing wind" (Acts 2:2).

The Greek word translated wind can also be translated as breath. The word wind occurs twenty-six times in the New Testament, but this particular word only occurs twice, here and in Acts 17:25 where it is translated as breath. Let me suggest that breath may be a better translation. Understood as breath the phrase would mean "like a might rushing breath," or a "mighty gust of conversation." But this rushing breath must not be understood as a temporary or momentary phenomena. The Greek word translated rushing is also unusual. It literally means to bring forth, to bear or carry with endurance. Thus, the phrase suggests a powerful bringing forth of a great and sustaining breath. Let me suggest that this Acts 2:2 tongues as of fire event was the beginning of a great movement of tongue wagging about Jesus Christ in foreign (non-Hebrew) languages that will continue to the end of history.

People were not just talking, they were excited! And as more of them began to get excited about the miracle of God's grace in their own lives, they had to speak louder in order to be heard above the crowd. Thousands of people were crowding together, excitedly talking among their friends about their new insights into the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What exactly happened on the day of Pentecost? Suddenly God's Word was being spoken (discussed) in foreign languages (not Hebrew) among the international crowd that had gathered. The Word of God had been given to people who didn't speak Hebrew. For thousands of years all genuine God-talk had been limited to the Hebrew language, and now suddenly, people began to speak about the Hebrew God (or the God of the Hebrews) in their own languages -- foreign languages.

The gospel had been given to the Gentiles, but if it was to be received by the Gentiles, it needed to come to them in their own languages -- and it did! The point of the Pentecost story was the sudden distribution of genuine God-talk among speakers of foreign (non-Hebrew) languages. If Jesus was to be the savior of the Gentiles, the Gentiles would need to discuss Him in their own languages. And they did, all of a sudden! All at once these gathered Gentiles started talking among themselves about the miracle of Jesus' resurrection and the amazing grace of the gospel. They began talking among their small groups, among their families and friends, groups who didn't speak Hebrew. God's Word had broken out of the Hebrew box that had contained it for thousands of years. The actual understanding of grace and salvation had been given to Gentiles -- foreigners, and in their own languages! That was the miracle of Pentecost.

Pentecost was not about mystical unknown languages or special languages known only to God and particular, individual believers. Pentecost was not about gibberish! It was the outpouring of God's grace to the Gentiles in their native tongues.

Later, when the Protestant Reformers said that "tongues" had "ceased" they meant that the Canon of Scripture was closed with the writing of the New Testament -- which is true. But in another sense tongues had just begun! The gospel of Jesus Christ is still being translated and spoken in foreign tongues all over the world, and it will continue until the end of time.

Greek was a foreign tongue to the Hebrews. So, part of the tongues experience involved the writing of the Bible (the New Testament) in a foreign language -- in Greek, which was the international language of the day. The closing of the Canon was a very important concern. All kinds of stories about Jesus and all sorts of erroneous miraculous events were floating about. And much of it was nonsense. The truth about Jesus Christ needed to be codified. Truth needed to be separated from error. Three hundred years after Jesus, the Roman Emperor Constantine called for the Nicene Council who, among other things, began the process of codifying the books of Scripture as we know them. The authoritative books of the New Testament were established on the basis of common usage. That was a critical issue for the life and viability of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but there were differences of opinion about some relatively popular books.

In the Seventeenth Century the Protestant Reformers then made a few adjustments of the Canon at the Westminster Assembly when they excluded the Apocrypha from the Canon, which the Roman Catholics have retained to this day. With that exclusion, Protestants then agreed that the Canon was closed. And to emphasize the closing of the Canon they emphasized in the first chapter of the Westminster Confession the cessation of the gift of tongues, and understood it to mean the end of the writing of the Bible.

But that closing of the Canon did not stop or limit the expansion of God's Word into foreign territories or foreign languages. Rather, the Protestant Reformation began the greatest expansion of Christianity the world had ever seen. Tongues began to flicker for God all over the world, and they still are. Indeed, from this perspective tongues did not cease with the closing of the Canon, but rather they began in earnest as the Bible was translated into every known tongue and exported to every known people. Praise be to God! Praise be to Jesus Christ!

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