The concept of “speaking in tongues” has been grossly misunderstood. However, in setting aside any human “traditions” and misinterpretations and just reviewing the Scriptures, there is really no reason for such confusion.
For instance, when Christ’s early apostles and disciples received the Holy Spirit AFTER Christ’s ascension on the Day of Pentecost, in 31 AD, they saw and heard a rushing wind and divided tongues as of fire, and they spoke with other clearly understood or understandable tongues or languages—not some kind of unidentifiable “gibberish.” As we will explain more fully below, Acts 2:7-11 reveals that the assembly heard the apostles speak “EACH IN OUR OWN LANGUAGE IN WHICH WE WERE BORN… Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—WE HEAR THEM SPEAKING IN OUR OWN TONGUES THE WONDERFUL WORKS OF GOD.”
The confusion regarding speaking in tongues is not only academic. As we point out in our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” “Angels speak their own language, a language that is different from the languages of man. In 1 Corinthians 13:1, Paul says: ‘Though I speak with the tongues [languages] of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become [as] sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.’” As God’s holy and righteous angels have their own language, so do the fallen angels or demons. When people speak in “languages” that are unknown to man, expressing words which they themselves do not understand and being ignorant as to what they are actually saying, they might very well be under demonic influence, uttering words of demons.
We address the “tongue” question in great detail in our free booklet, “Baptism—a Requirement for Salivation,” where we say the following under, “Speaking with Tongues”:
“There are only three recorded events in the Bible when people spoke with tongues after receiving the Holy Spirit. These special events occurred to provide evidence that the people had, in fact, received the Holy Spirit…
“The first event is recorded in Acts 2, when the New Testament Church was born. God wanted to make it very clear that His disciples received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The second event occurred in Acts 10, when, for the first time, Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. God did not want to leave any doubt that He had now opened the door of repentance and faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10:45–46; 11:15–18). The third event is the one in Acts 19… Here, God wanted to make it very clear that ONLY the baptism into Christ is sufficient to receive the Holy Spirit (and not, as in that case, the baptism into John)…
“We need to understand, too, what actually happened when people spoke with tongues in these given instances. Some claim that baptism with the Holy Spirit causes the baptized person to fall backwards, begin rolling on the floor, and speaking and screaming in an unintelligible way, allegedly showing that he or she has received the gift of the Holy Spirit and can now ‘speak in tongues.’
“However, that kind of conduct is not what is meant when the Bible talks about speaking in tongues. Acts 2 explains that speaking in tongues means speaking in another language. In Acts 2:4 we read: ‘And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ Beginning in verse 6 and continuing in verses 8 and 11, we find the explanation of ‘speaking with tongues.’ Verse 6: ‘…everyone heard them speak in his own language…’ (verse 8) ‘And how is it that we hear, each in our own language [Authorized Version: ‘tongue’] in which we were born?’… (verse 11) ‘We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.’”
“The Greek word for ‘language’ in verses 6 and 8 is ‘dialektos,’ from which our word ‘dialect’ is derived. The Greek word for ‘tongue’ or ‘language’ in verses 4 and 11 is ‘glossa.’
“To speak in tongues, then, simply means to speak in a different language or dialect—but it is still a language or dialect ‘in which people are born.’ They speak in a dialect or language, which other people understand due to their background, environment or upbringing…
“Paul said specifically that ‘speaking in tongues,’ or speaking a different language, should not be done unless someone is present to interpret what is said… Note 1 Corinthians 14:4–5: ‘He who speaks in a tongue [Greek: ‘glossa’] edifies himself… he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues [Greek: ‘glossa’], unless he indeed interprets, that the church may receive edification.’
“In other words, if a minister preaches to the audience in a foreign language, the audience won’t understand him… Unless he or someone else who knows both languages interprets what he says, the audience is not benefited.
“Paul continues, in verses 9: ‘So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue [Greek: ‘glossa’] words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.’
“In the Greek, the word for ‘tongue’ and ‘language’ is the same; i.e., ‘glossa.’ The translator decided to sometimes use the English word ‘tongue’ and sometimes ‘language’… The Living Bible, for example, translates verse 9 this way, ‘In the same way, if you talk to a person in some LANGUAGE he doesn’t understand, how will he know what you mean?’ Clearly, speaking in a foreign tongue means speaking in a foreign language.
“Let’s note Paul’s command in 1 Corinthians 14:27–28: ‘If anyone speaks in a tongue [or foreign language; Greek: ‘glossa’; the Living Bible translates here, ‘No more than two or three should speak in an unknown LANGUAGE…’], let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God.’”
In addition, the Nelson Study Bible writes under “word focus”:
“tongue… The Greek term glossa means ‘tongue’ or ‘language.’ When the early believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they were given the ability to speak in many different languages, so that those visiting from all around the Roman world could hear the glories of God being uttered in their native tongue (Acts 2:4-11). The household of Cornelius also spoke in different languages when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:46). And the same happened with the new disciples from Ephesus (Acts 19:6). From then on, some members of the early church regularly spoke in different languages as a way of praying to God, and others spoke in different languages in church meetings. When the languages were spoken in private, interpretation was not needed; when they were spoken in the meetings, Paul required interpretation so that others could understand and be edified (14:2-27).”
We need to emphasize again that the foreign languages which were spoken were not “unknown” to man; they were “known” languages, but not all the hearers present would be familiar with and understand the foreign language; hence, an interpreter was needed who was fluent in both the native and the foreign languages and who could convey to the hearer what the speaker had just uttered.
Unnecessary confusion has arisen because the Authorized Version added the word “unknown” several times in 1 Corinthians 14, translating, for example, verse 2 as, “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue…” As the Ryrie Study Bible explains, “The word ‘unknown’ is not in the original text and has been supplied by translators throughout this chapter. Though many understand these tongues to be ecstatic speech, it may well be that they were languages, as in Acts 2:4, 6, 8, 11.”
If we let the Bible interpret the Bible, it is clear that these “unknown” tongues were in fact known languages. They were NOT ecstatic speech. The Greek word is “glossa” in all instances, and this word always describes known languages, when applied to humans, and it never refers to any ecstatic speech. The word “glossa” is used fifty times in the New Testament. It is rendered “tongue,” when describing the human organ as such (Mark 7:33; Luke 16:24); and it describes the use and utterance of the tongue (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:11; James 1:26; 3:8; 1 John 3:18)—that is, speaking in a familiar language (Romans 3:13; 1 Peter 3:10) or a newly learned or acquired language (Mark 16:17; 1 Corinthians 14:18).
Many years ago, the (now defunct) Worldwide Church of God published a reprint article, titled, “What the New Testament Teaches about ‘Tongues.’” It stated the following regarding the events in Acts 2:
“There can be no doubt that the ‘tongues’ of Acts 2 were real, intelligible foreign languages… The disciples ‘began to speak with other languages [glossa],’ so that… the crowd came together and were astounded [or confused] [sugcheo].’ These same root words are found in the Septuagint version (Greek translation) of the Old Testament in Genesis 11—the account of the confusion of languages in Babel! According to the Septuagint, in Genesis 11 God said, ‘Come, we will go down and confuse [sugcheo] their language [glossa] so that they will not understand one another’s speech… they were human languages in Babel—they were also human languages at Pentecost…”
The above-mentioned article also discusses in detail Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 14, showing that Paul is speaking exclusively about known human languages. We are giving you the following excerpts.
In addressing 1 Corinthians 14:1-3, it is stated that “Speaking in a language, although one of God’s gifts, is one of the lesser ones. It is not as important as speaking or preaching under inspiration.” In referring to verses 20-24, it is stated, “… tongues indeed function as a sign. This is also clear from Acts 2. But… they have the reverse effect if done in confusion and disorder…”
In this context, it is also interesting that in verse 21, Paul talks about people speaking with “other tongues and other lips”, quoting from Isaiah 28:11-12, which says that God will speak “with stammering lips and another tongue.” In both cases, the reference is clearly to human languages; continuing that even then the people will not hear. How true this is today for especially the stiff-necked and arrogant nations of the USA, the UK and Canada.
Addressing verses 29-33, the above-mentioned article points out that “the speakers must also be in control of themselves… No ‘seizure by the spirit’ here. No giving of one’s mind up to an outside force. The person under God’s inspiration is still able to control what he says and does.”
Concluding with verses 34-37, the article states that “women are to keep silent in the churches… women are not to participate, either as ‘tongue’ speakers or as speakers of any kind in the service.” This alone would disqualify many Pentecostal groups which allow women in their services to “speak in tongues.”
The Bible makes it very clear that speaking in or with tongues simply means, speaking in another language which is known to man. There is no record in the Bible that a human being ever spoke the language of an angel. 1 Corinthians 13:1 does not say something differently. There, Paul just states a theoretical proposition, without claiming that he could speak with the “tongue” of an angel. The Living Bible renders the meaning of this verse quite accurately: “If I HAD the gift of being able to speak in other languages… and could speak in every language there is in all of heaven and earth…”
In conclusion, the Bible does in no way endorse the false concept that a righteous person can or should speak in ecstatic “tongues”; fall backwards; begin rolling on the floor; and scream in an unintelligible way. Nor is the idea biblical that one can speak in a “tongue” which he or she does not know, while being ignorant as to what is being uttered. Rather, these would be symptoms of demonic influence.
The biblical concept of speaking in tongues means, speaking in a foreign human language. The speaker knows what he or she is saying, and the listener is able to understand the translator. God may have given the translator the “natural” talent to translate, but in some, if not many cases in God’s Church, He might give him or her additional and unusual abilities to fulfill the necessary and required task of a translator. Still, those who receive and are able to use those gifts must realize in humility that these are not the greatest gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1-5), even though they must be thankful to God that He does bestow such gifts on them, especially for the edification of His people.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
