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NASB | 1 Corinthians 14:22 So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 14:22 Therefore, [unknown] tongues are [meant] for a [supernatural] sign, not to believers but to unbelievers [who might be receptive]; while prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people] is not for unbelievers but for believers. |
Subject: Tongues, madness or sign for unbeliever |
Bible Note: Hi, NYP... Thank you for your reply. You asked, "Is it not apparent that the Spirit was doing the translating...?" To be honest, I have never heard anyone suggest this particular interpretation. I had always assumed, from Acts 2:4, that the Holy Spirit was giving the believer the ability to speak a language that they had not learned. (This was done in order to confirm the message of the Gospel, per Isaiah's prophecy... that is why it was called a "sign" (verses 19, 22, and 43).) After seeing your post, it occurred to me from Acts 2:6 that it might be as you suggest: i.e., that the Holy Spirit was causing the hearers to be able to understand the speakers as though they were hearing their native languages. Of course, a third possibility is that the Holy Spirit was doing *both* of these things. On careful consideration of the text, however, the only explicit statement of what the Holy Spirit was doing is in Acts 2:4; i.e., "giving them utterance." Consequently, I find my original impression is the most credible of the three possibilities. That written, I do believe that the Holy Spirit is always involved when the Word of God is received salvifically. One other point: You mentioned Acts 2:3, "Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them." However, you called them "tongues of fire." Although the mental image that is conjured by a flame over each head is more romantic, it isn't exactly what the text says. I believe that little word "as" in there makes the phrase a simile. There was no fire per se, but "cloven tongues" that were flickering the way flames flicker. Kind of weird, but I think that is a more accurate reading. (Perhaps Brother Tim, if he is reading this, can verify or repudiate that understanding from the Greek.) I apologize, but I'll have to get back to your other comments another time. In Him, Doc |