Speaking in Tongues - God Honest Truth Live Stream 07/28/2023

This teaching is about speaking in tongues, and the speaker provides links for further information and resources on the topic. They emphasize the importance of basing teachings on scripture and encourage listeners to test what they hear against it. They discuss the origin of language and communication in the Bible, starting with Yahweh speaking to Adam and Eve. They mention that before the Tower of Babel, everyone spoke one language, which some believe to be Hebrew. Yahweh confounded their speech, resulting in multiple languages. The speaker introduces terminology related to tongues, such as "lashon" and "safa" in Hebrew, and "glosa" and "dialectos" in Greek. They explain that "glossolalia" refers to unintelligible utterances, often associated with religious experiences. So, this Teaching of Draws is going to be on speaking in tongues. Now, like always, you can go down below in the description to find the link to the post for this particular Draws for Teaching. It will take you directly to the post on GodHonestTruth.com, or you can always go directly to www.GodHonestTruth.com and click on the link for this post, and there you can get all of the show notes, I'm sorry, the research notes that we did on this topic. You can find the on-demand video, and you can also find the slideshow slides that you're seeing here, all without my big head being in the way. That just helps you with your study and your research, and if you happen to miss anything on taking notes, you can always go back there and do it at your own pace. Makes it so much more convenient. Again, look for the link down in the description of this video or this audio podcast, or go directly to www.GodHonestTruth.com for the post. Now, first things first, let's go ahead and start out with a quick question. Do you know what you call a couple of tongues that are best friends? They're called taste buds, okay? I'll start out with just a little bit of humor here, because this could get kind of in the weeds. Well, it's definitely going to get in the weeds, but it could also step on a few toes depending on what your background is, and what you hold to as far as traditions and beliefs and stuff like that, but tonight's drosh, tonight's teaching is going to go directly into scripture itself, so instead of going on church tradition or personal doctrine, we are going to base this teaching and our doctrine on scripture like we always should. Now, remember, even the Apostle Paul had people in Berea that would test what he was saying to the scriptures to see if what he was saying was so. Now, if they were doing this to the Apostle Paul, how much more should we do it for things that we hear on the internet or an article that we read? We should also test those things to the scripture, because that should be our final authority and where we get our doctrines and beliefs from. Now, in speaking in tongues, that refers to languages and communication, and since the very beginning, since the very creation of the world, there has been communication between people, between Yahweh and people, this is just something that we implicitly know. For instance, we look at Genesis 2, 16 through 17, and it states, and Yahweh Elohim commanded the man saying, eat of every tree of the garden, but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall certainly die. So here we see an example of Yahweh talking to Adam, communicating with Adam, speaking to Adam and guiding him on how to go about it. Here in this very specific passage, he's talking about what he can eat and what he can't eat. Now, Yahweh was communicating to Adam in a language, okay, that's obvious, so keep that in mind, but this is not the only instance of speaking in a language and communicating that we see in scripture. For instance, we see Adam speaking, we see the Nahash, or the serpent, speaking, we see Eve, or Havah, speaking in Genesis 3, 2 through 3, we see Cain speaking, we see Lamech speaking, we see Noah speaking in Bereshit, or Genesis 9, 25. So all these examples, and this is leading up to a particular point, that all these examples are examples of people speaking and speaking in a particular language. However, scripture also tells us that up until a certain point, everyone on earth, and all the earth, had one language and one speech, Genesis 11, 1. And all the earth had one language and one speech. What language was that? That can be up for debate, but most people, especially Bible believers, hold to that language being Hebrew. The spoken Hebrew, the written forms, that's a topic for another time, but the spoken language that's speaking about here, that everyone was speaking beforehand, Adam, Eve, Cain, Lamech, Noah, all those, including Yahweh, were speaking in one specific language that a lot of people believe to be Hebrew. But the main point is, everyone had one language and one speech. Then we go and we look at Genesis 11, 6-7, and 9. And Yahweh said, look, they are one people, and they all have one language. And this is what they begin to do. And now they are not going to be withheld from doing whatever they plan to do. So we see, up until the time of the Tower of Babel, everyone all over the earth had one language and one speech. And because of what they were doing at the Tower of Babel, Yahweh mixed or confounded their speech so that there was multiple languages at that point. And when that happened, the workers could not communicate with each other and get their project done. So they were scattered into their separate areas where they could understand other people who spoke the same language they did. And this is where the origin of various languages come from. This is the start of it. So again, up until that point, everyone had one language and one speech. And then we get to the Tower of Babel. But just to recap further, Yahweh, Adam, Eve, and others, including Noah, Cain, etc., all spoke and communicated with various people and whatnot. And they all had a language that they spoke in. And prior to the Tower of Babel, there was only one language that existed. Everyone had one language that they used and one speech, like Scripture tells us. And it was the event at the Tower of Babel where Yahweh mixed or confounded the language of all the people that existed. And that's where we get the various languages from and the barriers in communication. So going deeper into this, this is where we're going to set up some terminology and foundation for you to keep in mind as we go through the rest of the drash. So if you don't have your notes ready yet, this will be a great place to go ahead and get that pen and paper handy or whatever it is that you use to take notes with. Now the first word we're going to look at is Strong's H3956. And that's the Hebrew word lashon. Now in its literal meaning, it means tongue, like physical tongue that you have in your mouth. But the extended meaning is language. You might have heard in certain circles the phrase lashon hakodesh. What does that mean? That means the holy language or literally tongue of the holy. And that's referring to Hebrew, the Hebrew language. So lashon means tongue, either physical or a spoken tongue language. And if you're watching the video, here is your Strong's definition for that and also the Jesenius' Hebrew lexicon entry for that. Here is the Browndriver Briggs entry for lashon. And once again, the full entry for all of this is on the post for this drash. Go check it out. You can get that in the notes if you would like the entire entry. You can find that on Godhonesttruth.com. Now the second word we're going to look at is Strong's H8193. And that's the Hebrew word safa. Now safa in its literal sense means lips. It also means something like the edge of something, like the edge of the seashore or the edge of a bank. But safa also refers to languages as well. So both lashon and safa can mean language. This is the way it is translated at times within scripture when going from Hebrew to English. Here you have the Strong's definition on your screen for safa. You also have the Jasper's Dictionary of the Targums entry. Here is your Jesenius' Hebrew lexicon entry. And here is the Browndriver Briggs entry for safa. Now coming out of the Tanakh or aka Old Testament, we get into the Greek words for such things. The first one we're going to look at here is Strong's G1100, glosa. And glosa, just like safa, I'm sorry, just like lashon, means literally tongue, physical tongue. But it also means language, the spoken tongue, spoken language. And this is the way it's used in the Greek text. Here's your Strong's definition entry, your Greek-English lexicon entry. And here is your Thayer's Greek lexicon entry for glosa. The next word we're going to be looking at is Strong's G1258. And this is the Greek word dialectos. Now dialectos means most of the time as a language, but it can also mean tongue as well, referring to language. And dialectos may sound familiar, that's where we get our English word dialect, okay? It doesn't necessarily mean in our day and age a completely different language altogether. It may mean a subset of a particular language, like with the way people speak in different areas of America. We speak English in America, but the English spoken by Southerners is different than the English spoken by those in Boston, which is different than those spoken by those in Louisiana, et cetera, et cetera. You can refer to these as all dialects, but still English. But this is the Greek word dialectos, meaning language or tongue. And here is your Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament entry for dialectos. Now the next word we're going to look at is a word called glossolalia. Big word, kind of a tongue twister, but the word is glossolalia. Now in general, sometimes people will use this to refer to speaking in tongues. Something either referring to people speaking a language they don't know, an existing language, or even incoherent babbling utterances. In this drash, we're going to be using it in its more technical term, which means incoherent unintelligible utterance. Not necessarily a different language that someone knows, but more along the lines of babbling. According to Merriam-Webster.com, the entry here states, ecstatic, typically unintelligible utterance occurring especially in a moment of religious excitation, usually plural. As for glossolalia, Britannica.com for glossolalia states, glossolalia, also called speaking in tongues, utterances approximating words and speech usually produced during states of intense religious experience. The vocal organs of the speaker are affected, the tongue moves in many cases without the conscious control of the speaker, and generally unintelligible speech pours forth. Glossolalia occurred among adherents of various ancient religions, including some of the ancient Greek religions. And you'll find some notes on this in our research notes. We didn't include it here in the drash for sake of space because it's already long enough. But the fact remains that even before the, aka New Testament times, the pagans, certain pagans anyways, were speaking in tongues, or what we might refer to as speaking in tongues, but they were engaging in this glossolalia, incoherent uttering. It wasn't another language, it was more along the lines of babbling, but they were taking it as a sign that the oracle or the priest or priestess or whoever it was, was being entranced with the power of whatever particular god they were worshiping. But they were engaging in glossolalia. Not foreign tongues, not foreign languages, it was just incoherent babbling. So this kind of thing was going on within pagan circles before the New Testament times. And still even to this day within pagan circles. So our next word we're going to look at is the word xenoglossy. Now this is related to the word glossolalia, but the distinction and the difference here being that xenoglossy is the, xenoglossy is the utterance of a language or the speaking of a language that one has not previously learned. For instance, I speak English, obviously, but that's about the only thing I speak. I have studied Hebrew, German, French, a little bit of Arabic, some Spanish, but that's about it. I never learned any of those enough to be absolutely, completely fluent on a daily basis. However, I have done absolutely zero studying on Chinese or Japanese or Swahili or Korean. So if I was to suddenly start speaking these languages that I have not studied and do not know, that would be an example of xenoglossy because it's an actual, real-life, existing language. That's xenoglossy. Now Wikipedia.org states for xenoglossy, xenoglossy, also written xenoglossia, and sometimes also known as xenolalia, is the supposedly paranormal phenomenon in which a person is able to speak, write, or understand an unlearned language that they could not have acquired by natural means. From Encyclopedia.com on xenoglossy, it states that xenoglossy is speaking in a language unknown to the speaker in the normal waking state. And then finally, the Wiktionary.org entry for xenoglossy states that xenoglossy is the knowledge of a language one has never learned. So you may consider it to be somewhat nuanced, but that's the difference between glossolalia and xenoglossy. So just to recap what we've learned in this particular section, lechon means literally tongue, but it also refers to human language as well, of course, depending on the context. Sofa means literally lips or the edge of something, but it also refers to human language. Then we have glossa, which literally means tongue, but refers also to human language. And then we have the word dialectos, which means human language. Glossolalia, which means ecstatic, unintelligible utterances. So in other words, not an actual real language. And then we have the word xenoglossy, which means recitation of an existing language that one does not know. Now, there's another word we're going to be learning in Greek when the time comes up, when that scripture comes up. But for the time being, here are the words that you need to keep in mind to write down in your notes to think about as we go through the rest of the dross, as we go through scripture and see which of these terms applies in each instance, particularly the terms glossolalia and xenoglossy. So now we're going to start with some scripture and really getting into it. And we're first going to start out with Daniel 5, 8 through 9, and it reads, So all the sovereign's wise ones came, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its interpretation to the sovereign. Then Sovereign Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his great men were puzzled. Here is probably the earliest example we can see of something referencing speaking in tongues. This is the scene of the writing on the wall, right? The hand came down, wrote on the wall, and this king and all his wise men were perplexed because they had zero clue about what it said or what it meant, right? So they needed someone to come in and tell them what it meant and interpret for them, basically translate it. And this is where Daniel came in, came in and told him, you've been found, you've been measured and been found wanting. We all know the story there. But this is the first instance that we can find within scripture of referencing the phenomenon known as speaking in tongues, okay? Notice here you had an unknown message in an unknown language. They could not read and interpret. So that was being communicated. And then you had an interpreter, which was Daniel, okay? But it was an existing actual real human language. Do some research on this, and most people will tell you that the writing there was Aramaic. That's what the writing was. But these people, Belshazzar and his advisors, most likely spoke Akkadian and were used to Akkadian. But they needed an interpreter to understand what it was that was being wrote on the wall and what it meant. So keep that in mind as we go along. Then we look at Mark 16, verses 17 through 18. And these signs shall accompany the ones who believe. In my name, they shall cast out demons. They shall speak with renewed tongues, and they shall take up snakes. And if they drink any deadly drink, it shall by no means hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall get well. Now here, for those of you watching, you see the distinction we've made here. But for those of you listening, here where it says, in my name, they shall cast out demons, and they shall speak with renewed tongues. The word here is gelosa, okay? So keep that in mind. Here's an instance of that word we just learned. Further usage, now keep this in mind too as we go, is in the famous passage in Acts 2. Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 11. And when the day of the festival of Shavuot had come, they were all with one mind in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from the heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them divided tongues, gelosa, as of fire, and settled on each one of them. And they were all filled with a set-apart spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, gelosa, as the spirit gave them to speak. Now in Jerusalem there were dwelling Yehudim, dedicated men from every nation under the heaven. And when the sound came, the crowd came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language, the electos. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to each other, Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how do we hear each one in our own language, the electos, in which we were born, Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those dwelling in Aram Naharaim? Both Yehudah and Cappadocia, Pontos and Asia, both Phrygia and Pamphylia, Mitzrayim and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Yehudim and converts, Cretans, Arabs, we hear them speaking in our own tongues, gelosa, the great deeds of Elohim. Now, the first thing I want to point out here is that in this passage, Acts 2, 1-11, both these terms are used, both gelosa and the electos, and they're both used interchangeably in the same sense and context, okay? So, they're both mean the same thing, a language, and you can tell also from the context and what we read here, that this is an actual existing human language. This is not incoherent babbling. Because the people that were there in Yerushalayim were hearing them in their native tongues, and they were amazed that these Galileans, these simple men who were farmers and fishermen, uneducated for the most part, were speaking tongues that they most likely would not have known. So, all these people were amazed that they were hearing them speak in these various known human languages. And also, go back to this first slide for this passage, it says here, they were all filled with this set-apart spirit and began to speak with other tongues. And this is the tongues that the crowd heard, okay? Some might say that the crowd heard the languages, the actual languages, but the apostles were only speaking in some kind of heavenly language, the babbling. This is not true, because the context as we see here is that what we read actually from Scripture is they were actually speaking with these other tongues. They weren't babbling, they were actually speaking the actual real-life human languages. And the crowds and those there in Yerushalayim heard them in all these various languages and understood them. This was the point, is to get the gospel out to these other people in other languages and to give a sign of the Holy Spirit and the power to get the gospel out. Then going on to Acts 2, 12-15, and they were all amazed and were puzzled, saying to each other, what does this mean? And others mocking said, they have been filled with sweet wine. But Kepha, or Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, Men of Yehudah, and all those dwelling in Yerushalayim, let this be known to you and listen closely to my words, for these men are not drunk, as you imagine, since it is only the third hour of the day. So when the crowd heard the apostles speaking in these various tongues, they thought they were mad, they thought they were crazy, possibly drunk, right? So the crowd there thought they were mad, crazy, maybe even drunk, and Peter comes up and tells them, it's like, no, they are not drunk, it's still too early in the day to even start drinking. So this is why the crowd was so amazed, because these were just simple, everyday, most likely uneducated people speaking these various languages. I mean, take into account the background of the various disciples. You have Peter, Andrew, James, John, Nathaniel, or Bartholomew, all of these we know, we can see from scripture, were fishermen. They didn't have high-ranking positions or extravagant jobs where they would be highly educated or could afford to be highly educated. Now, we know that Matthew was a tax collector previously, so he probably had some wealth and probably could have been educated. Luke was a physician, so he was probably educated as well. I know medical standards were different back then than they are today, but still, he was probably had some education. The rest we know very little to nothing about as far as their background goes, but most likely, they probably wouldn't have had the education to speak various languages, and Paul wasn't a believer at this point, so he wasn't there for this day of Shavuot. So, this is why all the people were amazed that these simple, everyday kind of guys were speaking these various languages, but the point remains is that here on this day of Shavuot, when the set-apart spirit came down and gave them the gift of speaking in tongues, the tongues they were speaking was actual, existing, human, intelligible language. It could be understood and or interpreted by someone somewhere. So, in summary of this passage, Acts 2, 1-11, the apostles were all together on Shavuot, which some people refer to as Pentecost, but that's a discussion for another day. The set-apart spirit came upon them and gifted the apostles with the ability to speak and to speak languages other than their own and what they knew. They had the gift to speak actual, real-life languages that they did not know. The mixed crowd, those who were there in Yerushalayim, heard them and understood them, each in their own language. And then Luke uses the terms glossa and dialectos interchangeably here to mean the same thing. So, both glossa and dialectos meaning languages. Then we go on to another example of speaking in tongues in Acts 10, verses 44-46. While Kepha was still speaking these words, the set-apart spirit fell upon all those hearing the word, and those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Kepha, because the gift of the set-apart spirit had been poured out on the nations also, for they were hearing them speaking with tongues and extolling Elohim. Then Kepha answered, and he goes on, excuse me, goes on from there. But here's another example of those who came into the faith, who were there with Kepha or Peter, and the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they were gifted with the ability to speak in other languages, to speak in tongues. Okay, so that's, so far, from all the evidence we have from Scripture, speaking in tongues is speaking an actual human existing intelligible language. Okay, we move on to Acts 19, 5-6. And when they heard this, they were immersed into the name of the Master Yeshua, of the Master Yeshua. And when Shaul had laid hands on them, the set-apart spirit came upon them, and they were speaking in tongues and prophesying. Now, here's something being introduced for almost the first time, especially in this drash, but the closeness of speaking in tongues and prophesying. When you read some of the regulations from Paul about speaking in tongues, prophesying is closely related to that. And we'll get into some of those here in just a little bit. But here, we have another example from Scripture of people speaking in tongues after they were saved and baptized in the name of our Master Yeshua. So, what about some regulations, or how is the gift of speaking in tongues supposed to, how are you supposed to go about it? Well, like we mentioned previously, this is some of the regulations that we get from Paul when he writes a letter to the church at Corinth. Now, just a little bit of a background on the church at Corinth, not to get in too deep, but things were getting wild and out of hand there when he wrote this letter. One of the things that was getting out of hand was the spiritual gifts that they were giving, that they were given, including the gift of speaking in tongues. One thing to keep in mind here is that the church at Corinth was relatively close to Delphi and the oracle at Delphi, which most likely would have included a priest or priestess, pagan priest or priestess, speaking in tongues, most likely incoherent babbling, babbling, glossolalia, okay? As opposed to what we've already read in scripture, xenoglossy, speaking in an actual, understandable, intelligible, existing human language. So, we're going to first look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 1. If I speak with the tongues of men and of messengers, but do not have love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal, as a bunch of noise. This is the first thing to keep in mind, as with all the tenets of scripture, that is to be done with brotherly love. And here, specifically, Paul is stating that if he speaks in tongues, but he doesn't do it with love, it's like just a bunch of noise, a bunch of chaos, craziness. That's why, number one, speaking in tongues has to be done with love. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 7 through 11. And to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profiting. For to one is given a word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, and to another belief by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, and to another operation of powers, and to another prophecy, and to another discerning of spirits, and to another kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these, distributing to each one individually as he intends. Something to take away here, a couple points, actually. But number one, Paul is stating that there are many gifts of the Spirit. And here already, he's making reference that there are different gifts that are bestowed upon different people, and that not all people have the same gifts. This is important to note because there are certain groups that teach that everyone who is baptized in the Spirit, or who is saved, will have the gift of tongues. But this, as we can see from this passage, runs contrary to Scripture, because not everyone gets the same gifts. Some have healing, some have interpreting tongues, some have wisdom, some have speaking in tongues, some have prophecy, etc., etc. But not all have the same gifts. We'll get into more of that in just a moment. But also, notice here, when he writes out these gifts and lists them out, where the speaking in tongues is on this list. It's all the way down to the next and last position. For further reference, here is a chart of three different translations, the Scriptures 2009, ESV, and KJV, showing the list that we get from Scripture of all these different gifts. And as you can see in these translations, so this is not a translation issue, that the speaking in tongues is next to last. Speaking in tongues is next to last. But another important point to reiterate is that there are various gifts given to various people. Paul kind of reiterates this when he goes on in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 27 through 30. And you are a body of Messiah and members individually, and Elohim has appointed these in the assembly. First, emissaries. Secondly, prophets. Thirdly, teachers. After that, miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, ministrations, kinds of tongues. Are all emissaries? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? So again, you check out this, the first part of this passage, and again, lists out various gifts of the Spirit. And here in this list, the gift of speaking in tongues is at the last position. But here in the second part, where it says, are all emissaries? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? For me and for most people, this comes through in the English translation fairly well as something that's being asked rhetorically. Some people don't get that, and they still think that all have and should have the gift of speaking in tongues. But Paul is being rhetorical here. The obvious answer being no, that not all are emissaries. Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak with tongues. This gets even more clear when you delve into the Greek of it. The Greek word we're going to look at here, this is the word I referenced earlier, is Strong's G3361, the Greek word may. And this word may is at the beginning of each of these clauses. I've listed it out here for you on screen. And this Greek word may indicates that it's asking a question that requires a negative answer, okay, or that assumes a negative answer. Strong's definition states that it's a primary particle of qualified negation. Thayer states it's a particle of negation that may, I'm sorry, that may denies the thought of the thing. The Greek English lexicon states pretty much the same thing. That's a marker of a negative response to a question. So in the Greek, it's even more clear that what these questions that Paul are asking are rhetorical and are assumed already to be no, that the answer is no. It's put even in a better translation in the ISV where it reads, not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform miracles, do they? So they put it even in a better way than most other translations. But the point is, Paul is asking rhetorical questions here and making the point that not all get the same gifts and that not all have the gift of tongues because everyone gets different gifts. That's the point. We can see this Greek word may in another place in the words of our master Yeshua which makes it even more clear about how this word may is used. Luke 22, 35. And he, Yeshua, said to them, when I sent you without purse and bag and sandals, did you lack any? And they said, none at all. Here in this phrase, did you lack any? Starts out with that Greek word may indicating that it's a rhetorical question and assumes the negative response. And here in this verse, we see the disciples saying, no, we didn't lack anything. So it's more evidence how that word may is used and further proving that Paul was asking rhetorical questions when he was talking about the gifts of the spirit. And then we go on to 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verses two and four, sorry. For he who is speaking in a tongue does not speak to men, but to Elohim. For no one understands, but in the spirit, he speaks secrets. He who is speaking in a tongue builds up himself, but he who is prophesying builds up the assembly. So here we can see a couple of different points about speaking in tongues and also notice that in the same passage, he's putting prophesying and tongues in pretty much the same level. Okay. But number one, we can see that Paul is telling us that speaking in a tongue builds up the person, not the congregation. And that's prophesying is what builds up the congregation. So keep that in mind when you think about someone who's speaking in tongues, what's the context that they're doing it in? Are they doing it within a group of believers or are they doing it in front of and in a group of unbelievers? Because Paul here says that speaking in tongues is for unbelievers, is a sign for unbelievers. But prophesying is a sign for believers. So take into context when you hear speaking in tongues, it's done in front of and for believers or in front of and for unbelievers and judge it according to scripture. Then we look at 1 Corinthians 14, 5 and 7 through 11. Now, I wish you all spoke with tongues, but rather that you might prophesy, for he who is prophesying is greater than he who is speaking with tongues, unless he interprets so that the assembly might receive up building. Nevertheless, lifeless instruments making a sound, whether flute or harp, if they do not make a distinction in the sound, how shall it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? For indeed, if the trumpet makes an indistinct sound, who shall prepare himself for battle? So also you, if you do not give speech by the tongue that is clear, how shall it be known what is spoken? For you shall be speaking into the air. There are undoubtedly so many kinds of sounds in the world, and none of them is without distinct sound. If then I do not know the power of the voice, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks and he who speaks be a foreigner to me. Now, this last verse right here, we're gonna take a deeper look at here in just a moment, where it says, if then I do not know the power of the voice, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks and he who speaks be a foreigner to me. This makes a whole lot more sense once we get a little bit deeper. But some things to take away from this passage that we just covered. It says here that he wishes that everyone in the assembly, that his brothers and sisters, would speak with tongues. But this is his wish. He knows it's not true because he's already stated that not everyone gets the gift of tongues. Various people get various gifts. Now, he also states here that he would rather that they might prophesy. Because he who is prophesying is greater than he who is speaking in tongues, okay? But he makes a distinction also that prophesying is greater than he who is speaking in tongues unless he interprets, okay? So that is something important to take or keep in mind as well. And when speaking in tongues, you're gonna need an interpreter. Notice also at the end of this clause and then this verse, that it says here that unless he interprets so that the assembly might receive a building, okay? Now, remember earlier, we just looked at, it said that speaking in tongues was for the unbeliever whereas prophesying was for the believer. But now he's saying that speaking in tongues with an interpreter builds up the assembly or builds up the congregation, the brothers and sisters, right? So which is it? Well, it needs to be done decently and in order which we'll see from him in just a little bit too. And if it's done decently and in order, then speaking in tongues is something that can be done for the up-building of the assembly. But keep in mind, he's also including here an interpreter of those tongues. That's part of the decently and in order speaking in tongues. So then we go on to look at 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verses 13 through 17. Therefore, he who is speaking in a tongue, let him pray that he might interpret. For if I am praying in a tongue, my spirit is praying, but my understanding is without fruit. What then is it? I shall pray with the spirit and I shall also pray with the understanding. I shall sing with the spirit and I shall also sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how shall he who fills up the place of the unlearned say amen at your giving of thanks? Since he does not know what you say. For you truly give thanks well, but the other is not filled up. So if you're speaking in a tongue and there's no interpreter, no one knows what you're saying. And if no one knows what you're saying, they can't say amen, truly, praise him, et cetera, right? Because at that point, it's not understood. Hopefully it's not incoherent babbling, but if it's actual language and stuff and there's no interpreter, then they can't understand it and they can't say amen. So you need that interpreter there and you need the understanding. And the interpreter helps with that understanding. Now, going back to the part about not being understood and being a stranger, 1 Corinthians 14, 11. This is from the King James translation. And it says, therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian. And he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Now this, I think, in this verse specifically, is a much better translation because the Greek word used here is the Greek word barbaros, meaning barbarian. That's where we get our word barbarian from. And it's very interesting how this whole word barbaros came about. See, back in the day, the Greeks and Romans and whatnot, they would see these people from foreign lands and they wouldn't understand them and they think they were speaking gibberish and they were babbling. Like they were saying bar, bar, bar, bar, right? And that, what they heard, that bar, bar, bar became their word barbaros. And it became our word barbarian. So when Paul goes back and says that, therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian. That if you don't have an interpreter and you don't understand and you don't know the meaning, then it's pretty much just like someone saying, bar, bar, bar, bar, babbling incoherently because you don't understand. From history.com, it says that barbarian, the word barbarian originated in ancient Greece. The ancient Greek word barbaros from which it derives meant babbler. In the Greek ear, speakers of a foreign tongue made unintelligible sounds. From history.co.uk, barbarian is derived from the ancient Greek word barbaros, meaning babbler, and was used to describe people from non-Greek speaking countries, such as Persia and Egypt, who to Greek ears sounded like they were making unintelligible sounds and just babbling. And Paul's telling us, don't do that. Don't babble, don't make incoherent sounds. Don't be a barbarian. Don't speak like a barbarian. Have the interpreter speak in clear, intelligible sounds. Then we go to 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verses 18 through 19 and 22 through 23. I thank my Elohim I speak with tongues more than you all, but in an assembly, I wish to speak five words with my understanding that I might instruct others also than 10,000 words in a tongue. So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers, and I thank my Elohim that I speak with tongues and prophesying is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. If then all the assembly comes together in one place and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are unlearned or unbelievers, shall they not say they are mad? So a couple of things we can take out of this passage right here. Number one, it's better to speak just a few words that can be understood and heard rather than thousands of words that can't be understood. Number two, again, tongues are a sign for unbelievers, not believers. Going back to that passage we read earlier, right? Three, prophesying is for the believers, not the unbelievers. However, as we read earlier, speaking in tongues can be done if it's done correctly for the up-building of the assembly. Number four, if lots of people speak in tongues, then there's confusion everywhere. When people come in, they think everyone's mad and crazy, right? They're gonna look down upon you and not want to look further into what it is that's going on and then maybe become a believer. So if many speak in tongues, there's lots and lots of confusion. That's something that we should try to avoid. Now we look at 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verses 26 through 28. What then is it, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all be done for up-building. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. And if there is no interpreter, let him be silent in an assembly and let him speak to himself and to Elohim. So much to gather out of this. Let's go over this real quick. Number one, speaking in tongues should be done for the up-building of the body when done correctly according to these regulations that Paul has laid out here. Number two, at most only two or three people in the assembly should speak in tongues and each in order. That brings us to number three, that each one should speak in turn and not at the same time. Speaking at the same time in tongues is just craziness and mayhem. Paul is telling us that when speaking in tongues, there should be an interpreter and should be done in turn. Jumped ahead, but that's point number four, that when someone is speaking in tongue, there should be an interpreter. And number five, if there is no interpreter, then be quiet and do not speak publicly when speaking in tongues. Speak to yourself and speak to God. Put it more bluntly, if there's no interpreter there to interpret what it is that you're speaking in this tongue, shut up and sit down. Put it matter-of-factly. So these are some of the regulations that Paul lays out for a decent and orderly service to include speaking in tongues. First Corinthians 14, 33 and 40. For Elohim is not Elohim of disorder, but of peace as in all the assemblies of the set apart ones. Let all be done decently and in order. And this is just reiterating what he just previously said. Each one should be speaking in turn, not at the same time. There should be an interpreter and all should be done decently and in order. So now we're going to take a look at the continuation of tongues, speaking up through after the time of the apostles, through the early centuries, early years, up until today's day and age. Some people, even in today's day and age, would say that things like speaking in tongues were only for the time of the apostles, for the day of Shavuot, but they're not today. They've stopped, they've ceased. But is that true? When we look at first Corinthians chapter 14, verses, verse 39, and it states, so then brothers earnestly seek to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues. So number one, this is not something, speaking in tongues is not something we should look down upon and tell people not to do. Well, it's not in a general sense. It should be done decently and in orderly and according to scripture, like Paul lays out for us, but we should not forbid speaking in tongues. And it's a gift of the spirit. As first Thessalonians 5, 19 tells us, do not quench the spirit. Do not quench the spirit, okay? Even after we get out of the times of the apostles in the first few centuries, we still see the gift of speaking in tongues. As Arrhenius wrote, he states in his book against heresies, as we hear brethren in the church and those not a few who have prophetic gifts and speak by the spirit in all kinds of tongues and bring to light the secrets of men as expediency may require and expound the mysteries of God, such as the apostle calls also spiritual men. So Arrhenius speaking in about second century or so is referring to people even then still speaking in tongues. John Chrysostom writing in the fourth century states, ask accordingly not to have the gift of tongues only, but also of interpretation, that thou mayest become useful unto all and not shut up thy gift in thyself alone. For if a man should speak only in the Persian or any other foreign tongue and not understand what he saith, then of course to him also will he be thenceforth a barbarian, not to another only from not knowing the meaning of the sound. What then may that be which is best in itself and doth good? And how ought one to act or what request of God to pray both with the spirit, i.e. the gift, and with the understanding? Wherefore also he said, 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. He signifyeth the same thing here also, that both the tongue may speak and the understanding may not be ignorant of the things spoken. So even here up until the fourth century, we have records of people speaking in tongues. And here Chrysostom is believing and explaining the same things that Paul was saying. And that when you get speak in tongues, there should be an interpreter. And that if you do not have an interpreter, it's going to be misunderstood. It's not going to be known. It's not going to be heard. You're going to be like a barbarian, bar, bar, bar, uncoherent babbling. Then we get up to the fifth century, Jacob of Saru, Syriac Orthodox as I understand it. But anyways, he states, O upper room, your story is exalted even more than Bible, because without any writing of all tongues are distributed in you. The spirit made you as a school for the sons of the light, and they have learned from you the speech of the nations and their tongues. For on the great feast, when all the nations were gathered, the tongues resounded from the upper room with new voices. The Greeks and the Alans heard their own tongues simply from the disciples who had multiplied among Jews. In the language of the region, he spoke to them so that it should become known that he himself is the teacher, master, and Lord of the region. The good news of the son was sent by all sorts of tongues to the peoples of the earth who had proceeded from Babel. So this is not so much of an account as remarking on what happened there on the day of Shavuot and also remarking on what happened at Babel. But everything we've quoted here from these first century or first few centuries, these authors are all referring to known existing actual languages, not incoherent babbling. As Francis Gummerlach writes, the early church had no concept of the gift of tongues as unintelligible speech. The understanding of the church fathers was that the gift mentioned in both Acts and Corinthians involved the supernatural ability to speak the languages of other nations. So again, scripture does not speak of the gift of speaking in tongues as incoherent babbling. That's not what they're talking about. The first few centuries when there's still speaking in tongues going on, they still understand it as actual human existing intelligible language. Not incoherent babbling. Okay, so keep all this in mind as we go forward and as you go into various churches and have various conversations with people. That speaking in tongues is speaking in actual existing language that you have previously not known how to speak. So now we're going to take a look at tongues in the modern age, some things that are going on in various churches and around the world today, and we're going to test them to scripture. But just to help you out and give you a quick checklist about things we've learned from scripture about how to go about speaking in tongues, let's recap real quick. Number one, a translator is to be present. Number two, when speaking in tongues, speak one at a time and do it in turn. Number three, it should be a known existing language, not a language that you know, but a language that actually exists. That's real. Number four, is to be done decently and in order. Next, is to be clear speech and not babbling. Next, it's supposed to be done for the unbelievers, not the believers. Okay, it can be done for the upbuilding of the believers, but speaking in tongues is assigned to those who do not believe. And it should be done for upbuilding and not for self-edification. That should be the purpose of when you speak in tongues. For upbuilding, not just a look at me, look at me moment. So now we're going to go over some short clips and go over each of these various regulations from scripture and see how each of these clips lines up with scripture itself. All right, so let's dive right in. Okay, so first, is a translator present? Nope. Is it done one at a time and in turn? Well, there's only one woman speaking, so yeah. Was it a known existing language? Is it a real language? No. Was it done decently and in order? Well, you could say it was in order because there's only one person. Done decently is gone very fast, so couldn't really understand it, but we'll say it was in order and there's only one. We'll give them that. Was it clear speech and not babbling? Nope. It was, as Paul states, understood as a barbarian. Was it done for unbelievers and not believers? Well, can't really say one way or the other because there was only one other person and the context really doesn't give us clear indication, so we'll leave that blank. Was it done for upbuilding and not self-edification? Well, given what's going on here, you don't see any upbuilding being done here. Since it was not a known language, there was no interpreter, the context and what it comes across as is not upbuilding, but rather self-edification, saying pretty much given the air of how holy am I, look at my abilities, that kind of air. So, we're going to mark that off and that's our first clip. So, this example of speaking in tongues in a more modern setting is not scriptural. So, now let's look at our next clip. So, again, let's go back to scripture and look if it's done according to scripture. Is a translator present? Nope, can't find a translator anywhere. Is it one at a time and in turn? Nope, there was multiple ones there going on. You can only hear one mostly, but in the background, you can hear others doing it as well. Was it done decently and in order? Nope, they were all going at the same time. Was it a known existing real-life language? Nope, was not. Was it clear speech, not babbling? Nope, it was babbling, the barbarous speech that Paul was talking about. Was it done for unbelievers and not believers? Well, this was done within a church setting, the context. So, we can assume that this was done in front of and for believers. So, no, it was not done as a sign to unbelievers. Was it done for upbuilding instead of self-edification? Well, there's no interpreter. It was not done decently and in order one at a time. It was not an existing language that was being spoken. So, we can, given the context of this, we can say that, nope, it was not done for upbuilding. So, that was that clip. This is just to help you judge what it is that you come across in your life according to Scripture and is it being done according to the way that we are told to do it in Scripture. Our next clip. Here it is. Oh, that's real. This is real. This is real. This is real. That's it. That's it. That's it. That is a whole new level of breakthrough in your life tonight. A whole new level of breakthrough in your life tonight. Okay. So, was there a translator present? Nope. Not one that we could see or find in that video. Was it done one at a time and in turn? Well, I only heard one. So, we'll give them that one. Was it an actual existing language? Nope. Was it done decently and in order? Well, there's only one person I could hear speaking. So, we'll say, yeah, it was done in order. Maybe not decently, especially seeing everything that was going on. Was it clear speech? Was it, or was it babbling? Well, it was babbling. Okay. That was obvious because it wasn't an actual existing language. Was it done for believers or unbelievers? Well, this is in a church setting. So, it was done for believers and not as a sign for unbelievers. Was it done for upbuilding instead of self-edification? Well, there's no interpreter. It was babbling in a non-existent language. So, it's more like, look at me, look at what I can do kind of situation. So, we're saying, no, that was not done for upbuilding. And that was that clip. Just maybe one or two more real quick. We'll do two more. Okay, let's go back to Scripture and check this out. Is a translator present? No, there wasn't a translator anywhere in that video. Was it done one at a time and in turn? Nope, there was a whole bunch of them going on at one time. Was it an actual real existing language? Nope, that was most certainly not an actual existing language. Was it done decently and in order? Nope, there's a whole bunch of them going on at one time. Was it clear speech instead of incoherent babbling? Nope, it was incoherent babbling. Was it done for believers or unbelievers? Well, this is done in a church setting. So, we can assume that was done in front of and for believers and not as a sign to unbelievers. And was it done for upbuilding instead of self-edification? Well, there's no interpreter. It's an incoherent non-existing language. It was done chaotically, not in turn. So, most likely what's going on here is more of a self-edification, self-glorification kind of thing instead of upbuilding. So, note on that as well. Now, we're going to do one more real quick. And this is a rather interesting one. And I think you'll enjoy it as well. As you can see, it fairly contrasts with what we have looked at so far. We have a testimony from Eden this morning, and really special. And she told me last night, and I was just blown away. I heard Liz speak in tongues, and she was saying, yes, God, yes. And you just overheard her pray in tongues, and suddenly you knew what it meant. Can you say it again? What did it mean? Yes, God, yes. Yes, God, yes. When she prayed in tongues, did you suddenly feel like it was no longer this tongue, but it was English so you could hear it? Or did you hear her speak in tongues, and then you just knew inside of you that's what it meant? Knew inside of me that I knew what it meant. Amen. Amen. Did you know what it meant? So what did it mean? She said, yes, God, please heal all the people that are sick. Serious? Yes, God, please heal all the people that are sick. I'm just stunned. Yeah, okay. So you got that, the wind, you confirmed. I'm, hey. The literal translation, Bernadette is confirming what she heard. The wind of the spirit of my healing is coming into my people. So this is fairly interesting, but let's go back to what Scripture says and check it off according to Scripture. Okay, number one, is an interpreter or translator present? Okay, well, what we're looking at here is this little girl is supposedly being given the gift of interpretation, not the gift of tongues. But we do see another lady come up and speak in tongues, okay. So there, the little girl is the interpreter. So an interpreter is present. And if you listen off camera, there's supposedly someone else who is interpreting as well. So there is a translator present. Was it done one at a time and in turn? Yeah, it was done one at a time and in turn. Was it a real life existing language? From what I could tell, that's not any language that I know of. So we're going to say no, unless it's proven otherwise. Someone may come back and say, well, she was speaking in Swahili or Chinese or Ugandan or Persian or something like that, maybe. But it sounded to me like it was just a made-up language. Done decently and in order? Yeah, I would say it was done decently and in order. Was it clear speech instead of babbling? Nope, again, it sounded like a made-up language like babbling. Was it done for unbelievers instead of believers? Well, this is done in a church context. So it was done for believers and not as a sign for unbelievers. I'm just going to mark that off. Was it done for the up-building of the assembly instead of self-edification? From what we can see here, I would say this was done for mostly up-building. I mean, that's kind of arrogant in that here because this little girl who is up there on stage with the other adults and does not seem like she's doing this for self-edification of herself. So we'll say, yeah, it was done for up-building instead of self-edification in this instance. But again, it does not mark off the correct boxes for scriptural regulation of speaking in tongues because it's not an actual real existing language. Some people come to the subject of speaking in tongues and say that there is this prayer language. There's a heavenly language that no one knows, that only you and God know. You and God know. Okay, that sounds all nice and fluffy and whatnot, but there's nothing scriptural about that because scripture nowhere says there's this super secret private prayer language, okay? Scripture only speaks about known existing real languages and everything else refers to as babbling, barbarians, right? We've already looked at that. So to reiterate, there is nothing in scripture about a super secret, no one understands except you and God, prayer language. Everything else is just incoherent babbling. So, in summary, up until the Tower of Babel, everyone everywhere on earth had one language and one speech. The scattering or confounding at the Tower of Babel is where we see the different languages on earth come from, or at least originate anyways. Speaking in an unknown tongue is one of the many gifts of the Spirit of the Holy or the Holy Spirit. Not everyone will receive the gift of tongues. Some do, some don't. Some get the interpretation of tongues, some get prophecy, some get healing. Not everyone will receive the gift of speaking in tongues. When someone does speak in a tongue, the language that is spoken is one that is real, one that exists, and it's one that someone else somewhere can understand and interpret. That's how scripture tells us go about it. Speaking in tongues is for the up-building of the assembly and a sign for those who don't understand. It's better to be understood with just a few clear understandable words than with many words in a tongue or language that people don't understand. Again, speaking in tongues may be for the up-building of the assembly, but it's a sign and a benefit for unbelievers. And when speaking in tongues, an interpreter is required, someone with the gift of interpretation. Otherwise, as Paul says, if there is no interpreter present, you do not speak in tongues. You be silent, you shut up, and you sit down. That's what scripture says, and that is the God honest truth. Thank you for joining us for another production from God Honest Truth Ministries. We hope that we have been of service to you, and if you have any feedback, then please reach out to us by email. And make sure to visit our website at GodHonestTruth.com for more information, resources, and contact. God Honest Truth Ministries