Bible Question: somone told me that tongues are nolonger for today.The tongues that was heard in the upper room was the true gift,and the other tongue was practiced omong the pagons. they (pagans) were talking to there gods. does anyone have any bible proof the the other tongues was used among the heathens? |
Bible Answer: Hi Teresa, There is nothing in the Bible that I am aware of that speaks of a pagan version of the Gift of Tongues. There is a passage that occurs to me in this context, however: 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 But concerning the spiritual matters, brothers, I do not wish you to be ignorant. (2) You know that being led away, you nations were led to voiceless idols. (3) Because of this I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, Jesus is a curse. And no one is able to say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. This tells us a few things. One is that they're idols do not have a voice, and cannot speak. Another is that the one who speaks by the Holy Spirit does not call Jesus accursed. Also that the one who does call Jesus accursed is not speaking by the Holy Spirit. Now, can the Gift of Tongues actually be practiced by pagans? I don't think so. There could be a counterfeit practice of babbling, but not the actual speaking in tongues. 1Co 14:2 For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God, for no one hears, but in spirit he speaks mysteries. The one who speaks in tongues speaks to God, not to men, not to idols, nor demons, nor false gods. 1Co 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. To pray in tongues is for your spirit to pray. The pagan's spirit is dead, and cannot pray. There are two distinct types of the Gift of Tongues taught in the Scripture, one for evangalization and another for prayer (Acts 2 and 1 Cor 14). Both of these are gifts given to men by the Holy Spirit. Your first question is whether spiritual gifts are or are not for today. Some say they are not, because of I Cor 13:10 “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part (these gifts) shall be done away.” They say “that which is perfect” is the finished Bible. The logic is that since now we have the complete word of God, we are no longer given spiritual gifts, that they were a weaker substitute. What are spiritual gifts for? 1 Cor 14:12 “Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church,” and Eph. 4:12-13 “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” This goes toward answering what “that which is perfect” is. The perfect (complete) man. The gifts are for us until we no longer need them, which will be when WE are completed. That hasn’t happened yet. Is there a pagan counterfeit of tongues? I have heard of such. Kalos posted a Wikipedia article describing what it called “some form of the gift of tongues”, practiced by non-Christians, but I strongly disagree with that description. It cannot be any relation to the gift of tongues, because it has no relation to the Holy Spirit. It can only be a cheap imitation. It would be like calling a cheap handbag knock-off a “type of Gucci”. Either it is, or it isn’t, and it isn’t. Now we know that the devil is a liar, and that he counterfeits what God does, but calling his works a form of God’s works is just not right in my book. So pagans may babble, and call it what you will, but the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit enables some to speak in unknown languages that are known to others for the purpose of evangelizing, and some to speak in languages unknown to all for the purpose of prayer, and that this will continue until the church has reached the fulness of the stature of Christ. I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |