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15 hours ago, Behold said:

So, dont confuse the two.

They are not the same.

1 Corinthians 12:10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues

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     WHY PROPHECY, TONGUES and KNOWLEDGE GIFTS

CEASED IN THE FIRST CENTURY AD.

                By. Keith Piper

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 13:8-13.

Aim: To show that tongues ceased in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem.

To show that prophecy and knowledge gifts ceased in 96 AD with the completion of the New Testament.

Introduction: If these three gifts ceased in the first century, then the modern tongues movement is not of God and should be rejected as unbiblical. The following exegesis of I Corinthians 13:8-13, is intended as a springboard to understand how the entire Bible teaching on this subject fits together to show that the purpose of tongues was a warning to Israel, and hence, ceased by 70 AD. It will be shown that prophecy and knowledge gifts were God’s temporary means of revelation to the early Church until the completed New Testament had been given. Today, God speaks through His Word, not through some person claiming to give a prophecy from God.

I. TEMPORARY GIFTS of PROPHECY, TONGUES and KNOWLEDGE contrasted with PERMANENT FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY for the CHURCH AGE. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13. 13:8. “Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail (Greek:

Katargethesontai); whether there be tongues, they shall cease3973 (Greek: pausontai), whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (Greek: Katargethesetai).

Question 1: When does CHARITY (Agape love) stop? Answer: “Charity never faileth” (v.8). This means that love will continue on forever. It is the only one of the 6 phenomena discussed here that continues forever. This means that faith, hope, prophecy, tongues and knowledge all stop, but when?

a)     I Corinthians 13:13 tells us “And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 

    We learn here that faith, hope and charity continue all through the church age. 
b)     This means that prophecy, tongues and knowledge are not said to continue all through the Church age, but cease sometime before the second coming (rapture) of Christ. 

Question 2: When does FAITH stop?

Answer: When Christ returns at the rapture to catch the church up to heaven.
•     II Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 

    When we get to heaven we will see what we had faith in, so that faith will give way to sight. 

•     I Peter 1:9 “Receiving the end5056 (Greek: telos) of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” This tells us that faith will end when we get to heaven, thus enjoying salvation or deliverance from the presence of sin. “Telos” means “end, result, termination, ultimate fate, completion in respect to time, or fulfilment.” 

•     Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher5047(teleiotes) of our faith.” Jesus Christ finishes our faith when He returns for us at His second coming, and we “reach our goal” (“teleiotes” in Greek) of heaven with our resurrected, glorified bodies. 
    Hence faith ends for all church age believers at the second coming of Christ. 

Question 3: When does HOPE stop?

Answer: When we get what we are hoping for in heaven. For example, if you are married, you are not hoping to get married because you then possess what you hoped for. Believers are hoping for Christ’s second coming (Titus 2:13), and the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6). When we have what we hope for, then hope finishes. “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13.

“....of the hope and resurrection of the dead am I called in question.” Acts 23:6 and Acts 26:6.
“....hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” Romans 8:24.

Hope will only remain until we see Christ and receive our resurrection bodies at His second coming. Hence hope is valid only until the second coming.
Knowing that love continues forever (“charity never faileth”) we can draw the following graph:

FAITH, HOPE, LOVE    LOVE

LEVEL OF    FAITH

EXISTENCE    HOPE

 TIME

PENTECOST    CHRIST’S
SECOND

COMING

Key: Hence faith will be lost in sight; hope will be lost in reality; and love continues for all eternity.
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” I Corinth. 13:13. Because only faith, hope and charity are abiding throughout the church age, these three alone, then prophecy, tongues and knowledge must cease sometime INSIDE the church age. The time these (and the other temporary gifts) ceased had to have been before the completion of the New Testament.

Question 4: When do PROPHECY and KNOWLEDGE gifts cease? Answer: “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail (Greek (2673): Katargethesontai);......

whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away (Greek (2673): Katargethesetai).” Meaning: “Katargeo” means to render inoperative, to make inactive, to be done away, to supercede, put an end to. With Paul it always denotes a complete cessation, not a temporary or partial ceasing.

Every occurrence of “Katargeo” in I Cor. 13:8,10 is in the passive voice, indicating that something shall make prophecy and knowledge inactive.
Question 5: What are prophecy and knowledge?

1.     The gift of prophecy in the apostolic church was speaking new revelation from God, to instruct and edify. Prophecy has a secondary meaning of forthtelling God’s Word to teach and comfort the Church. This is Bible teaching of today. Teaching replaced first century prophecy. A person knew, then prophesied. They were twin gifts. 
2.     The gift of knowledge in the apostolic Church was the ability to understand and know the mind and will of God. It was revealed truth, not learned. It is seeing as the Holy spirit sees. It was used to teach believers certain doctrines which had not as yet been written as part of the New Testament.eg: 
    Peter knew who Jesus really was. Matthew 16:17. 
    Agabus knew and then prophesied about Paul being bound at Jerusalem. Acts 21:10-12. 
    Paul knew the demonised damsel’s message to be false. Acts 16:18. 
    Such knowledge, like prophecy, was as authoritative as the scriptures in the early church. 
    Each of these gifts can refer to either: 
a)     an action - the exercising of the gifts in the church where he prophesies or gives a word of knowledge. 
b)     content - in Matthew 13:14,15 Christ quotes what Isaiah said 750 years earlier, which was now part of Scripture. When prophecy or knowledge became codified as scripture, they stood alone, no longer as the “act” of prophecy and knowledge, but as the “content” of prophecy and knowledge, now become written scripture. 
3.     The gift of tongues (or unlearned languages), was similar yet inferior to prophecy and knowledge in that the tongues speaker needed to be translated. Paul said in I Corinthians 14:18,19 “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” 
    Speaking in a tongue and having it translated only allows the speaker to say half as much in a given time, as could a prophecy or word of knowledge in the common tongue. Tongues were cumbersome verbage. Prophecy, tongues and knowledge form the subject of 1 Corinthian 13:8-13. Something is going to happen to each of them. None of them are to abide during the Church age, as will faith, hope and love. They are transient gifts. 

13:8 “Whether there be tongues, they shall cease 3973” (Greek (3973): pausontai). Here “pausontai is used in an absolute sense, to cease, to come to an end.”

[“The Complete N.T. Word Study Dictionary”, S. Zhodiates, p.1132.]

“Pausontai” is in the middle voice, indicative mood, meaning that the action of ceasing will come from within, rather than from outside.
“Cease” means that tongues would fulfil their function (of warning Jews of coming Judgment), and render themselves obsolete, unneeded, ended. Literally it means “tongues shall make themselves to cease, or automatically cease of themselves.” [A.T. Robertson Vol.IV, p.179.]

13:9 “For we know in part , and we prophecy in part.” Since v.9 omits tongues, it would appear that tongues would cease before the removal of prophecy and knowledge. “In part” defines quantity, and the word “perfect” meaning “complete” is the opposite to “in part.” Knowledge of doctrine in the pre-canon period of the Church Age was fragmentary. The 14 mystery doctrines of this dispensation had not yet been completely given in New Testament Scripture. They could only teach from the Old Testament and by direct revelation from God via prophecy and knowledge. They knew in part, and consequently, they prophesied in part.
13:10 “But when that which is perfect (Greek: “teleion” meaning complete) is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” (Greek: “Katargetheseta” meaning to render inoperative).

Prophecy and knowledge, both being “in part”, will be done away with when the perfect shall come.

Question 6: When does the PERFECT come?

a)     If it is the second coming of Christ, then prophecy, tongues and knowledge are allowable today. 
b)     If it is the completed New Testament Scriptures of 96 AD then prophecy, tongues and knowledge have all ceased in the first entury and are not for today. 

Question 7: To answer Question 6, we must ask another question: What is ‘that which is perfect?’

Answer:  Several opinions are:

1.     Jesus Christ at His second coming. 
2.     The perfected state of the believer at Christ'’s return. 
3.     After the millennium in the new heaven and new earth. 
4.     The completed New Testament Scriptures. 

    II. 12 REASONS WHY THE “PERFECT” IN V.10 REFERS TO THE COMPLETED NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES: 
    1.  “When that (Greek: To Teleion) which is perfect is come.” 
    The pronoun “THAT” in Greek, describing the perfect, is neuter. 
    Christ however is masculine, not neuter, so “that which is perfect” cannot refer to Christ or His return. The Bible is neuter. This fits the context perfectly. 
    2. “Perfect” in Greek means “complete, finished”. The N.T. by 96 AD was completed and finished as God’s revelation for this Church age. The completed N.T. canon of Scripture would serve the same purpose that prophecy, tongues, knowledge, apostleship, healing, miracles and other temporary spiritual gifts had once performed. Christ is never called the complete or finished one. 
    3.  “Perfect” cannot mean Christ’s return, becaue Christ’s second coming is foreign to the 
context of I Corinthians 12,13,14 being mentioned nowhere in these 3 chapters. The subject of I Corinthians 12,13,14 is spiritual gifts to the church in the church age. To extend prophecy, tongues and knowledge into the millenium or after the millenium is to miss the focus and context of the passage.

4.     James 1:25 describes the perfect as the Bible, the perfect law of liberty. 
    The meaning of “perfect” in scripture can be determined by it’s use in other passages of scripture. “Teleion”, the “perfect” or “completed” was already in the New Testament when Paul wrote. James had already referred to the Word of God as the “perfect law of liberty” in James 1:25. 

    “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your ownselves.” 
    “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:22,25. 
    “Perfect” in James 1:25 in Greek is “teleion” the same as “perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10. 
In James 1:25 “perfect” clearly refers to the soon to be completed Bible, and this must be the same meaning in I Corinthians 13:10.

In James 1:22-25 the perfect law of liberty is the Bible. Therefore, in I Corinthians 13:10 the perfect is the Bible.

Summary question: If James 1:22-25 says, Perfect (v.25) = Mirror (v.23,24) = Bible
(v.22,23,25)
then what is ‘perfect’ in I Corinthians 13:8-13, Perfect (v.10) =Mirror (v.12) =   ?

5.     James 1:23 and 1 Corinthians 13:12 both describe the Bible as a mirror/glass that we see our reflection in. 
    “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.” James 1:23. 
    “For now we see through a glass darkly; but then (when the perfect, completed Bible has come) face to face.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. 
    As we look into a mirror to see the true physical condition of our face, 
    so we look into the Bible as a mirror to see the true spiritual condition of our heart and life. 

    Some people look into a mirror and forget their physical appearance. 
    Some people look into the Bible mirror and forget their spiritual appearance. 
    Therefore, GLASS MIRROR = PERFECT = the WORD OF GOD. 
    Therefore, 1 Corinthians 13:12 describes the “perfect” as a glass mirror, just as James 1:23 does. 
6.     II Corinthians 3:18 also shows the glass, and hence the perfect to be the Word of God, which transforms us. 
    “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 

    The mirror/glass is a symbol of the Word of God. (James 1:22,25). 
    As we look into God’s Word and we see Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms us into the very image of Jesus Christ. “We all” means all believers, seeing in the Bible/glass, the glory of the Lord. “Open face” means that we can hide nothing from God; We must be open and honest with Him. 
    We can be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (“He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son....”. Romans 8:29) and go from glory to glory, by the Holy Spirit changing us as we saturate ourselves in the Word of God. 
    “are changed (Greek: metamorphoumetha) into the same image from glory to glory.” The Greek word “changed” gives us the word “metamorphosis” which describes the process of an insect changing from an ugly worm into a mature beautiful butterfly. The changes come from within. So it is when we meditate on God’s Word and in it see Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ. 

    In the Bible we see the glory of Christ and are changed into His image. 

13:12. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;….”
In I Corinthians 13:12, only a few New Testament books were completed. The glory of the Lord revealed in the word was not complete. First century believers could neither see Christ, nor themselves, in the full light of God’s revelation. They could only see darkly or dimly. However with the completion of Scripture, not only would the glory of Christ be revealed in greater fullness, but so would the believer’s own reflection become clearer. Why? Because the believer after 96 AD has more Scripture to transform him into Christ’s image. The “perfect” is the opposite of that which is “in part.”
Paul viewed his own writings as Scripture (1 Thessalonians 2:13). He knew that new revelation was being given and that one day it would cease. In the same way that God had completed the Old Testament, God would also complete the New Testament. Paul’s use of the phrases “we know in part and we prophesy in part” (13:9) show that he is dealing with a partially completed Bible that was being added to by the Apostle’s revelations from God.

7.     The Second Coming is never called “perfect” in the New Testament, but the Bible is called the perfect law of liberty in James 1:25.‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.’ Psalm 19:7 
8.     The completed New Testament fulfilled the same job as did the temporary gifts of prophecy and knowledge. Once prophecy and knowledge were codified (written down) as the New Testament, then prophecy and knowledge ceased. ie. New revelation of prophecy and knowledge ceased when the full N.T. revelation for this age was completed. 

9.     Christ’s second coming is neither complete nor morally perfect. In the millennium, the sinner will die 100 years old (Isaiah 65:20). The millennium ends with satan’s release from the pit and some nations rebelling to attack Christ at Jerusalem.This is not a perfect or complete situation at all. 
10.     Faith and Hope finish at the second coming (13:13). 
    Therefore, prophecy, knowledge and tongues, each not abiding during the church age, must end well before faith and hope ends (compare 1 Corinthians 13:8 with 1 Corinithians13:13). 

    Prophecy, knowledge and tongues end well before the second coming. 
    Prophecy and knowledge end by the coming of the perfect, completed Word of God in 96 AD. 
    Tongues ended by 70 AD, with Titus destroying Jerusalem and the judgment predicted coming on the Jews for rejecting Christ’s gospel. You don’t warn people after the punishment has fallen. 
11.     The completed Bible is able to make believers complete by giving us all things that pertain to life and godliness. (II Peter 1:3,4). We don’t need new revelation. “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory (in heaven) and virtue (now on earth). 

    Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises (in the perfect Bible) that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature (changed from glory to glory).” II Peter 1:3,4. 

    This is obtained through: 
1)     the knowledge of Christ found in the Bible, and 
2)     by claiming the exceeding great and precious promises in the Bible. 
Everything that we need today for life and Godliness to make us mature, completely equipped Christians is found in the Bible. Hence, the Bible is appropriately called the “complete Completer” for us today, the exact meaning of “teleion” in I Corinthians 13:10.

12.     The completed Bible (all Scripture) can make the man of God “perfect” (Greek: “artios739” meaning “complete, sufficient, completely qualified; a synonym of “teleion”), throughly furnished unto all good works.” II Timothy 3:16,17. 
    Here again, “all Scripture” making the man of God perfect, supports “perfect” in I Corinthians 13:10 as meaning the Bible, and not the second coming of Christ. Therefore, when the perfected, completed Bible comes, then the “in part” prophecy and knowledge shall be done away. This happened in 96AD when John finished writing Revelation 22:21. 
Question 8: Why is tongues not mentioned in I Corinthians 13:9,10 as being done away with by the perfect?

Answer: It is because tongues had already ceased in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem, being the judgment on the Jews that tongues pointed to (I Corinthians 14:21,22). After 70 AD, there was no more purpose for tongues, so the tongues gift ceased forever by 70 AD. Tongues were not in existence to be done away with by “the perfect.” Tongues had ceased 26 years earlier.

Those who think that the “perfect” is Christ’s return and reject it as meaning the completed New Testament Scripture, do so because:
1.     They have not studied every word, phrase, or verse of I Corinthians 13 in its context, or 
2.     They are mentally influenced by someone with leaning towards Pentecostalism, or 

3.     They are influenced by some interdenominational teacher whose decision about this scripture is non-committal so as to retain his popularity with both charismatic and non charismatic groups. 
4.     No scripture is ever produced in proof that the Holy Spirit did not mean the complete N. Testament. 

If knowledge ended at Christ’s return, and if knowledge meant normal knowledge, then all Christians would be imbeciles in heaven.

Note: It is not good to say that God spoke to you and told you to do something, because if you are wrong, you lose your credibility. Instead, say “I felt led or burdened by the Lord to.....”.

13:11‘When I was a child, I spake as a child (tongues), I understood as a child (knowledge), I thought as a child (prophecy is verbalised thoughts): but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Question 9: What have childish things got to do with temporary gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge?

Answer: Paul is comparing a human advancing from childhood to adulthood, with the church passing from infancy in the first century marked by prophecy, tongues and knowledge gifts, to maturity marked by believers depending on the Bible, faith, hope and charity from 96 AD to the rapture. By 96 AD the childish gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge had ceased, and church manhood had been reached.

So Paul used 2 illustrations to show the passing of prophecy, tongues and knowledge, and the permanence of the completed Bible, along with faith, hope and charity for the church age:

a)     A person growing from childhood to adulthood and putting away the childish temporary things of prophecy, tongues and knowlege in I Corinthians 13:11. 

    Paul is here saying to the Corinthian believers “put away the childish things of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge, because manhood will soon be reached.” 
    In the first century, a boy was recognised as a mature man when he got married, left his parents home and established his own home. 
    In the first century, Judaism was regarded as the parent religion, where Christianity (the child) resided. The early Christians enjoyed the protection of Judaism as an officially recognised religion. Christianity seemed like another Jewish sect. 

    Sulpicius Severus in discussing Titus’ destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, states that: “Titus formed the deliberate purpose to destroy Christianity and Judaism in one blow, believing that if the Jewish root were torn up the Christian branch would soon perish”. [F. Farrar “The Early Days of Christianity” p.326.] 

Judaism was the parent/home religion and Christianity was the child religion. But with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the church moved out of its childhood home. It became a separate, independent, distinct religion, able to grow without the Jewish temple and without the protective umbrella of the Jewish religious sytem. Christianity had left the Jewish parents home and had reached manhood. It had left childhood behind.

This was another reason for putting away the childish things of tongues.


 
JUDAISM (PARENT)        70 AD        CHRISTIANITY           
CHRISTIANITY (CHILD)                (INDEPENDENT MANHOOD)           
TONGUES OF CHILDHOOD        NO TONGUES IN ADULTHOOD     

In Revelation 22:18,19 God finished prophecy and knowledge revelations by giving us the completed Bible with a warning against new prophecies.There would be no more partial revelations given by prophecies or knowledge. They had forever been superceded by a completed Bible.

Tongues ceased in 70 AD, prophecy and knowledge ceased in 96 AD. This graph summarizes it:

 
FAITH, HOPE, LOVE    LOVE       
LEVEL OF TONGUES    PROPHECY    FAITH       
EXISTENCE    KNOWLEDGE    HOPE       
        TIME       
70 AD    96 AD    CHRIST’S       
JERUSALEM    BIBLE    SECOND       
DESTROYED    COMPLETED    COMING     

When Paul wrote I Corinthians 12,13,14 around 55AD, the infant church was still a child in its childhood home. Tongues still had a purpose. No one then was to forbid speaking in tongues.

However, after Jerusalem’s destruction in 70AD genuine tongues ceased, never to be heard again from the lips of the matured church (13:11).

With manhood reached by 96AD, heralded by complete/perfect knowledge in the Bible (“understanding” in 13:11) and complete/perfect prophecy codified in the Bible (“thought” in 13:11), childish things of prophecy, tongues and knowledge were forever put away. To revert to these would be a tragedy, a breakdown in manhood, and a pathetic regression to infancy. Tongues are not for the church today, because they ceased in 70 AD. Church history agrees with this.

C.L. Rogers analyses the writings of Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Chrysostom, Justin Martyr from 100-400 AD from every area of the Roman Empire and states that:

“the miraculous gifts of the first century died out and were no longer needed to establish Christianity.” (p.143).
Language is the verbalising of one’s thoughts and denotes one’s level of understanding. Tongues in the early church, were thus like infancy childish language to a man.

When we hear a baby speaking childish language, we think it is cute and normal. However, when a full grown man reverts to baby talk because of some mental breakdown, we think it is a pathetic disability, horrible and to be pitied. This is because men are expected to have “put away childish things.” What is normal in infancy is abnormal in adulthood.

So, also for the Church to revert to tongues, is to revert to babyhood. Paul at that early date (55AD) is telling the Corinthians to recognise tongues as a passing phenomena. The time was fast approaching when they would have to grow up, put away their tongues babytalk and become full grown men, living by faith, hope and love as taught in the perfect/completed Bible.

b)     Looking into a mirror of the Bible to see one’s true spiritual conditon. 

    “For now (55AD) we see through a glass (mirror) darkly; but then (96AD) face to face: now (55AD) I know in part; but then (96AD) shall I know even as also I am known.” I Corinthians 13:12. 

    An expanded explanation of this would be: 
    “For now (55AD) we see (prophecy as a temporary gift) through a mirror (a partly given New Testament) darkly (a blurred image, partial revelation by prophecy and an incomplete New Testament); but then (96AD when the full New Testament is given) face to face (we see ourselves clearly in the completed New Testament, as we see our true physical condition in a perfectly reflecting mirror): now (55AD at the time of writing) I know (I have the temporary gift of knowledge) in part (only part of the New Testament was given, along with the gift of knowledge only gave a partial view of God’s full New Testament revelation due to be completed by 96AD); but then (96AD when the full New Testament would be given) shall I know (I will have the full New Testament revelation intended by God to equip me for the ministry, for a holy life, and for godliness (II Peter 1:3,4)) even as also I am known.” 
    With the completion of Scripture, there was a completion of the portrait of Christ that reflected His glory. What was “dim or dark” at the writing of I Corinthians 13:12 (at 55AD) became clear at the completion of scripture in 96AD, so that believers could see the Lord and their own changing likeness to Him “face to face.” 

In 13:12 Paul compares the New Testament Church without a complete New Testament to a person looking into a polished metal mirror giving a blurred reflection. All they had was the partial revelation of prophecy, tongues and knowledge to tide the church over until they received the full New Testament in 96 AD. This only gave them an imperfect understanding of divine truths, like a blurred mirror reflection.

“But then face to face” refers to the time when the full New Testament would be available to allow accurate and full understanding of spiritual truths for this age.

•     “Then shall I know even as also I am known.” 

•     When the full, complete finished New Testament is available for personal study (96 AD) 

then shall I know the necessary spiritual truths for living a godly life in the church age now as well as God knows and reveals my true spiritual condition through His Word, the completed Bible.

This is not talking about knowing Christ face to face in heaven or knowing as much as God knows, because this would require us to have the infinite knowledge of God in heaven. We will never be as all knowing (omniscient) as God.

Literally: “Then shall I know (God’s mind about every situation of life), even also as I am known (by God about every situation and problem that I may encounter in life).”

That is, the Bible has the answer to every situation of life. How true.
13:13. “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity.”
At the time of writing (55 AD), only faith, hope and charity were continuing during the church age to the rapture. “These three” emphasises that it is only faith, hope and charity that will abide. Prophecy, tongues and knowledge are excluded as not abiding, and hence ceased in the church age by 96 AD.
Today, we have the apostles and prophets with us only in the sense that we have their New Testament writings which are still their prophecies. They laid and finished the New Testament foundation. Ephesians 4:11 lists three of the gifts that will be with us until Christ’s return: evangelists, pastors and teachers. For these three types of men, there are 3 qualities to be displayed: faith, hope and love, as shown in I Thessalonians 1:3 “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope.....”

Faith, Hope and Charity as Triplets elsewhere:

Another key proof that prophecy, tongues and knowledge are finished by 96 AD, and are not for today is that we often see faith, hope and charity mentioned as triplets being all that we need for a God-pleasing Christian life. Note the absence of prophecy, tongues and knowledge in these passages, showing that they are not needed today.

1.     I Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three.” 
2.     Galatians 5:5,6 “…the hope of righteousness by faith. …faith which worketh by love.” 
3.     Ephesians 1:15,18 “I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and of the love unto all the 
saints,...that    .   ye may know the hope of his calling....”
4.     Colossians 1:4,5 “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth (perfect Bible) of the gospel.” 
5.     I Thessalonians 1:3 “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

6.     I Thessalonians 5:8 “But let us who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” 
7.     I Timothy 1:1,2,5 “Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope; unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: 
    Now the end of the commandments is charity out of a pure heart....” 
8.     I Peter 1:21,22 “that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth (perfect Bible) through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love..” 

Conclusion: All we need is FAITH, HOPE and LOVE to live pleasing to God. Eight times it is repeated. You don’t need a prophecy, tongue or word of knowledge. They are not mentioned. So drop prophecy, tongues and knowledge, and build up ourselves in faith, hope and love.
II. FURTHER QUESTIONS.

Question 10: Why would God allow Dedicated Christians to experience the sign and revelatory gifts if they are not from Him?
Many evangelical churches have lapsed into cold, lifeless formalism. They may be doctrinally right, but they have lost their fervent love and zeal for God. If a charismatic church has a high regard for the Bible, prayer, soul winning zeal and a willingness to attempt great things for God, then this fills a void left by dead Churches. Among these good things there resides a deceiving cancer that undermines the good that is being done. This cancer is the matter of new revelations from God of tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge, visions or dreams.

Neil Babcox, a former charismatic pastor left the charismatic church because of this issue. He says,

“When a prophet said “Thus saith the Lord”, he meant that the very Word of God was being proclaimed with infallibility, purity and divine authority. The prophecies that I had spoken and heard others speak paled and diminished to the point of nothingness compare with the Bible.
Ezekiel protested, “Thus saith the Lord God, “Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”” Ezekiel 13:3.
Isn’t that what we were - “prophets who had seen nothing?”

When the genuine prophets of God spoke, they spoke with certainty regarding every word. This finds no parallel today. The Bible’s prophets knew with 100% certainty that they were speaking the very words of God.

“The spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.” Ezekiel 2:2.
Many who prophesy and claim to speak new revelations from God today know in their own hearts that they don’t have the certainty of the Bible prophets, yet they continue to speak “new” revelations.

“Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.” Jeremiah 14:14.

“I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name....they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart….I will even punish that man and his house.” Jeremiah 23:25,26,34.

“they …have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them.” Jeremiah 29:23.
“Because Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you,and I sent him not,.I will punish Shemaiah.” Jer.29:31,32
“The prophets prophesy falsely,…and my people love to have it so:..” Jeremiah 5:31.
It is serious error to claim to speak new revelation from God,given the deception of Mormon prophecy.
This emphasis on new revelation undermines the authority of Scripture. Dave Hunt rebukes the positive and possibility thinking of Paul Yonggi Cho and Robert Schuller with their occultish visualisation techniques, temptation to power and deification of man which is invading the church.
Charismatics teach that a proper understanding of Scripture does not come through correct interpretation, but through revelation (only to certain leaders), and that these new revelations supplement the Bible, and that these must be accepted as a “great move of God.”

•     Charismatics often say: “...we have revelation knowledge as God continues to speak to His people.” This sounds really spiritual, but it is adding to Scripture. 
    Because the Scriptures are perfect, we cannot add to them. 

•     John Wimber states: “rational control (of the mind) must be forfeited for tongues speaking to occur, for ecstatic worship, for messages from God to be received directly into the mind, and for miraculous healings to happen.” 

•     Charismatics Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin’s heresies were exposed in “The Agony of Deceit.” 
    Kenneth Copeland claimed that Jesus spoke new revelation to him, saying: “Jesus did not come to earth as God, but only as a man; Jesus never claimed to be God during his earthly ministry.” 

•     John White, a famous author, claims that Jesus Christ personally appeared to him on three occasions to give new revelation that would become part of Scripture. 

Question 11: Why would God allow dedicated Christians to experience and give in to influences that are not from Him?

Answer: Every moment of his life, the Christian must battle spiritually with the world, the flesh and the devil. This is part of the maturing process. All believers are tempted with pride, worry, fear, sin and disobedience. Does God allow believers to sin? Yes, of course.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12.

The Lord allows us to test every experience by Scripture, or to go by our feelings. God will allow us to be tempted in all forms. This includes the temptation to depart from Scripture by believing false revelations. Signs and wonders can have sources other than God (Deuteronomy 13:1-5; II Thessalonians 2:9,10; Revelation 13:13,14; Matthew 24:24). Jesus warns four times of deception at the end of the Church age in Matthew 24.

If a Christian swaps the sword of the Spirit, and takes up feelings or human reasoning, he opens himself up to satan’s deception.

Many Christians in dead churches know very little scripture. In daily struggles with sin and temptation, believers are most vulnerable to the attraction of false instant spirituality. Rather than live by the Word of God for victory, one may seek the apparent short cut of tongues, prophecy, power evangelism, healing, etc as the answer to his problems.
Charismatic leaders who criticise Bible teachers who urge careful study of the Bible, are hence criticising the legitimate spiritual gift of teaching. They urge charismatics to follow them without questioning their interpretation. They oppose non-charismatics by asking: “Who did God use, the educated Pharisees or the simple apostles?” They thus forget II Timothy 2:15,

“Study to show thyself approved unto God...rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Along the way we all have difficult times, as seen by Elijah under the Juniper tree (I Kings 19:4,5), David fleeing from Saul, Paul’s beatings, etc. Don’t seek a quick fix to gain instant spirituality. The devil offered Jesus a short cut to earth’s kingdoms by avoiding the cross. The devil will offer us many short cuts seeming to easily solve our problems. We must stick to the basics: study the Word, pray, confess sin, yield to Christ, abide in Christ, and take up the cross daily. These require work, watching and warfare. Don’t swap the Word of God for an experience.

The main damaging side effect of charismaticism is the welcoming and accepting of heretics, apostates, nominal Christians and Roman Catholics into the Church. A person can pray to Mary, then speak in tongues, thus being accepted into many charismatic fellowships. Charismatics emphasise unity at the expense of doctrine.
Question 12: Why would God allow dedicated Christians to continue in error and deception to their hurt or spiritual detriment?

Answer: I Kings 13 reveals that even a dedicated and fearless prophet of God must suffer the consequences when he chooses deception over the clear revelation of God.

An unnamed man of God (v.1) was sent to Bethel “by the Word of the Lord” to prophesy against King Jeroboam and his idolatry (v.1-3). When the King tried to arrest the prophet, the King’s hand withered (v.4,5). He begged the man of God to intercede to God to restore his hand. (v.6). The man of God showed mercy, prayed to God and Jeroboam’s hand was restored. Then King Jeroboam offered him a reward (v.7) but the man of God refused (v.3-10).
Why? He refused to stop for food because the clear revelation of God forbad him from receiving food or drink or retracing his steps (v.9). So far he had walked in complete obedience to the Word of God. He had passed the tests of:

1.     Fear because he had boldly carried out his job of proclaiming God’s Word to the King. 
2.     Compassion/Mercy. He had not allowed the King’s threats to dry up his mercy. He willingly, lovingly prayed for Jeroboam’s hand to be restored without revenge. 
3.     The test of faithfulness to God over human favour had been overcome, because he turned down the King’s offer of hospitality and reward . 
4.     The test of deception, was the final test which he sadly failed. 
    Why? God had clearly told him not to receive hospitality, but he rejected the clear revelation of the Word of God for a new revelation, and it cost him his life. 
    There was an old prophet living nearby who heard about his faithful stand. The old prophet had lived in compromise at Bethel and invited the man of God home to dine with him (v.11-15). 
    The man of God refused saying that he was under strict orders from God not to eat, drink or retrace his steps (v.16.17). The old prophet replied in v.18, 
    “I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.” 

    Why did he lie? We are not told. 
a)     Maybe he was envious at seeing a true prophet faithfully discharge his duties, when he had lived in compromise. 
b)     Maybe he resented the man of God and had a convicted conscience. 
The old prophet claimed a new revelation from God. The man of God had to decide:

a)     Would he accept at face value the new revelation, or 
b)     Would he continue to cling to God’s previous revelation? 

Sadly, the once fearless and faithful prophet succumbed to deception. God allowed this to happen to a dedicated man of God. Why? Because in our pilgrimage on earth, there will always be the choice to follow the clear teaching of God’s Word, or to replace it with the shallow promises, prophecies and deceptions of man.
The man of God retraced his steps back to the home of the old prophet and ate with him (v.19). Over the meal, the old prophet revealed that because the man of God had disobeyed the Word of God, he would die (v.20-22).

And that is exactly what happened (v.23-26) because a lion slew him in the way.

From this we see that if God allowed a dedicated prophet of God to choose between the clear teaching of the Lord and deception, surely the Lord will let us have this choice today. Many Christians suffer poor spiritual lives because they give up the Word of God, and embrace teachers who prophesy or give new revelations of their own spirit.
Question 13: But why doesn’t God step in and chasten His children to woo them back to obedience? (Hebrews 12).

Answer: The Holy Spirit and the Word of God continually call the believer to faithfulness and obedience (Phil. 2:12,13). Deception and impoverishment are the bitter fruits of turning away from the Word of God. Sometimes God will allow His children to remain deceived as a chastisement until they turn again in submission to the Word of God. Their salvation in Christ is secure through Christ’s blood sacrifice. They may serve the Lord faithfully in other areas and even be used successfully by God, but they will miss God’s best blessings on earth and they will lose rewards in heaven.

God will allow believers to choose whether to glorify Christ through submission and obeying scripture or to rebel. For dedicated servants of God who put aside the clear revelation of God and embrace new revelations, in this life they will be deceived and impoverished, and in the next life they will suffer loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ (II Corinthians 5:10).
Examples of charismatic deception are tongues, false healings, new revelations, words of knowledge spoken about other people, slaying in the “spirit”, “Toronto” experience, etc. Consider two examples:

Slaying People in the Spirit is a Charismatic invention whereby hands are laid on a person’s head and they lose consciousness, causing them to fall backwards onto the floor. THIS IS NOT IN THE BIBLE, so forget it. Laying hands on people is well known in the occult as a means of transferring demons. It is more likely demonically influenced and all the more reason why we should avoid this movement.

Surrender of Mind and Emotions to Group Pressure. On entering a Charismatic meeting, we meet many people dancing, throwing arms in the air, speaking in tongues, on an emotional high and appearing very happy. The average Christian realises that he is not always like this, nor is the church from which he has come (which is made to appear dead and lifeless in comparison). He and his church are made to feel inferior and below what God expects. He has always had thoughts that his Christian life hasn’t always been as good as it ought to have been. He immediately concludes that these people have a one-shot-sure-fire-answer to spirituality when they ask him if he has been baptised in the Holy Spirit or spoken in tongues. If he is not careful, he will assume that these people are right, without studying the Bible or without praying the issue through. He may then agree to speak in tongues (gibberish), which makes the Charismatics very happy. He feels much love, acceptance and unity as a result, all because of an experience that he has had. He then begins his Christian life by making his experience the authority on which he determines spiritual truth, and not the Bible. He then defends his decision logically by saying what wonderful love and unity these people have and “power” (false albeit). He asks, “how can they be wrong when they show such qualities?”

Why do charismatics succeed so much?

i)     Because most churches are DEAD and show no spiritual life, no one ever gets saved and nothing miraculous ever happens. 
ii)     The Bible teaching on this issue is not taught. 
iii)     People equate emotional show and bubbliness with spirituality. 
iv)     Everyone would like an instant formula for spiritual success in the Christian life. Tongues is easy. 

v)     People are lazy. They find it easier to believe what they are told, especially by “happy, persuasive people”, than to study and search the Bible for themselves. 
vi)     It looks as if all churches are uniting by tongues speaking and this is, on the surface seen to be a good thing, yet it ignores Bible doctrine. People are told to hold hands, form a circle, and this show of “love” causes many well-meaning Christians to sacrifice dearly held essential Bible truths for which our ancestors died, and to unite with error. This is just what Rome wants to bring us all back to the “Mother of Harlots” and form the Super-church of Revelation 17, which will be destroyed by the antichrist that she brings to power. 

Question 14: If sign and revelatory gifts are not for today, and are not from God, why do they produce apparently good effects in believers lives?

Step 1. Many Charismatics claim to be enriched by speaking in tongues, making prophecies, words of knowledge, casting out demons and sign gifts, etc. They may have a greater interest in the Bible, prayer and witnessing. How could such positive results not be from God?

Step 2. Any military strategist knows that an enemy will often give up ground in order to gain a greater victory (Israel defeated Ai with this tactic.Joshua 8:15-21). Satan is not afraid of prayer, Bible study or bold witness that is contrary to the Word of God, especially when it promotes error and advances his own kingdom. Satan does strongly oppose genuine prayer, Bible study and gospel preaching when it is done Biblically and in the filling of the Holy Spirit. Satan is happy to pull back opposition to Bible study, prayer and witness, if he can woo the believer away from Bible decision-making and into experiential decision-making (which is Satan’s greater sought-after victory).

Step 3. If a believer moves into experiental decision making, Satan can withdraw his opposition to Bible study, prayer and witness. The believer then attributes his advancement in prayer, Bible study and witness to his new tongues experience. This serves to lure the believer deeper into his experiential decision making, and hence further away from 100% Bible authority only. Hence, by giving some ground, Satan leads believers into greater deception. The believer thus more strongly clings to non Biblical experiences.

Step 4. The believer who accepts sign and revelatory gifts is replacing Biblical authority with experiential authorities. Interpretation of verses becomes heavily weighted towards vindicating his experiences.

Step 5. People are genuinely saved, they in turn accept the signs and wonders message, and the deception grows. The basis for Christian fellowship is no longer the Bible, but a common experience such as tongues. That is why Roman Catholics, liberal protestants, some evangelicals and heretics unite in ecumenical charismatic fellowship. Tongues causes divisions in churches, just as it did at the Tower of Babel.

Many Charismatics are not completely sure that their prophecies are from the Lord. Many are troubled at healings that relapse. Many Charismatics say that they are Spirit-filled yet live inconsistent lives.

Satan’s contest in Eden was to steal Adam’s loyalty away from the Word of God (“Yea, hath God said?”) and for him to live independent of God and His Word.
Question 15: Do Christians know when they are being mislead?

Answer: No, not always. In Matthew 16:21-23, Peter in expressing his love for Christ, was deceived by Satan in trying to stop Christ from going to the cross. Jesus looked past Peter’s love and saw Satan leading Peter away from the revealed will of God. Note:

1)     With the heart one receives or trusts Christ for salvation. 
2)     With the will one obeys Christ. 
3)     With the mind one abides in Christ. 
Heart means: Intellect, will, affections, loyalties. Will means: Action, commitment.
•     Many Christians spend hours in Christian bookshops looking for a book to give them the secret of victorious living. If they can’t find the power of God in a book, they will seek it in an experience. 

•     The goal of the Christian life is to remain Spirit filled, to find the will of God and do it. 

Question 16: Are there any Biblical examples of Satan giving up spiritual ground in order to gain spiritual advantages?

Answer:

1)     Satan offered Christ the world’s kingdoms in exchange for Christ’s worship. Matthew 4:8-10. 
2)     The demonized damsel proclaimed that Paul’s team were servants of the Most High 

God who showed the way of salvation. Acts 16:16-18.Why? So the gospel would be associated with the occult.
Many churches have changed from being a lighthouse to a weather vane. Instead of lighting the way in the darkness, many churches merely turn with whatever fashion or worldly wind blows at the time. Our Lord Jesus Christ is to take pre-eminence in all things. The Holy Spirit’s job is to reveal and exalt Jesus Christ. The problem of powerless Christians is due to believers failing to surrender totally to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Living the Christian life is described by: “Warfare”, “fight”, “run the race”, “yield not”, “work out”, and “press towards.” The Christian life is a disciplined life of constant vigilance and taking up the cross daily. There are no short cuts to instant spirituality.

Roman Catholic charismatics have greater zeal for Mary, Mass, the Papacy, and praying to saints etc. If Satan can achieve this, he will stop opposing Charismatic churches so that apparent growth occurs.

Question 17: If the sign and revelatory gifts today are not from God, why are Charismatic churches the fastest growing churches in the world?

Answer:

1.     Much Charismatic growth is by attracting Christians from other churches. Because many Charismatic churches place little emphasis on sound doctrine, this breeds an 
atmosphere of acceptance, which assists numerical growth. If you never rebuke sin, have worldly attractions, and give people everything they want, you’ll see growth, but you won’t please God.

Charismaticism weakens churches that are committed to the fundamentals of the faith, while it energises ecumenical liberal, worldly churches.

2.     Numerical growth does not equal God’s stamp of approval. Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and cults can boast amazing growth statistics, yet their beliefs are very unbiblical. What about growth of Charismatic churches that hold to the fundamentals of the faith? Jesus’ parables of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43), mustard seed (13:31,32), and the leaven (13:33) all predict outward growth in Christendom, but this growth would be accompanied by growth in evil influences (leaven, birds) from within. Numerical growth does not mean that God approves all a church’s doctrines. 
Numerical growth, even by true conversions can occur amidst false doctrine. eg. The Corinthian church grew rapidly, even though it had many false doctrines and sins.

Many churches claim to be evangelical, but challenge them on:
1)     The 100% inerrancy of Scripture. 
2)     The historical, literal accuracy of Genesis 1-11. 
3)     The factual nature of Jonah being swallowed by a whale. 
4)     The scientific accuracy of a literal 6 day creation week, and they prove to disbelieve 
the Bible.

Christ prayed that the Father would sanctify believers through His Word (John 17:17), before he prayed that believers would be one (John 17:21).

If we loudly profess to believe every Bible truth, except where the world and devil are at the moment attacking, we are denying Christ and proving disloyal. Today’s battle against the Bible takes the form of an invasion of new revelations. This is why Rome can happily endorse the Charismatic movement because Rome also has her new revelations that are contrary to the Bible. We must be sound in belief, sound in a Godly life, and sound in serving Christ.

III.  20 REASONS THAT TONGUES CEASED IN THE FIRST CENTURY.

1.     Tongues were a sign of judgment against Jewish unbelief as a nation. 

    With the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, God’s judgment on Israel had been executed, and the tongues gift as a sign of coming judgment on Israel was no longer needed. I Corinthians 14:22 says, 
    “Wherefore, tongues are for a sign NOT to them that believe, but to them that believe not.” 
    “In the law it is written, with men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people (Jews); and yet for all that (all the tongues) will they (Jews) not hear me (warning ignored), saith the Lord.” I Corinthians 14:21. 
    Tongues here were clearly a warning to the Jews that they ignored. Paul quotes I Corinthians 14:21 from: 
i)     Deuteronomy 28:49 where God warns of judgment coming from “a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand.” 

ii)     Jeremiah 5:15 “Lo I will bring a nation upon you from afar...a nation whose language thou knowest not....” (612 BC). Hence, Babylonian tongues warned Jews of coming judgment. 

iii)     Isaiah 28:11,12 “With another tongue will he speak to this people.” (712 BC). Here, Assyrian tongues warned the Jews of coming judgment. 
iv)     Isaiah 33:19 “Thou shall not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than 

thou canst perceive: of a stammering tongue that thou canst not understand.” Here the absence of foreign tongues will be a sign that Israel is under God’s blessing.
Paul applies the Jewish unbelief of Isaiah 28:11,12 from 712 BC to the first century Jewish unbelief. “This people”, “they”, and “them that believe not” all refers to Jews. There were many Jews at Corinth who did not believe (Acts 18). Hence, tongues were a sign of future judgment to the Jews.

2.     There are 3 major outbreaks of miracles in Scripture: 

i)     Moses and Joshua (1441-1370 BC) of about 71 years duration. 
ii)     Elijah and Elisha (870-785 BC) of about 85 years duration. 
iii)     Christ and the Apostles (28-70 AD) of about 42 years duration. 
Continuous miracles in the Bible are the exception, and do not occur always, but in three periods. The miraculous gift of tongues occured from 30 to 70 AD.

3.     Tongues belonged to the infant days of the church. 

    “But when I became a man, I put away childish things.” I Corinthians 13:11. 
    Tongues (along with prophecy and knowledge) would cease when the church became mature. The childhood days of the church ended, when Israel as a nation was judged. Then there was no longer any need for a sign to authenticate the apostles’ message (Mark 16:17-20) which started the church. Nor was there need for a sign against the extinct Jewish nation. 
    The gifts of tongues, miracles, healing, etc had stopped by 70 AD, but of course God still performs miracles and heals as He chooses today in answer to prayer. Since some foundational gifts were temporary. Tongues, a lesser miraculous gift, was temporary also. 

4.     Tongues authenticated the apostles’ message as from God. 

    “And they (apostles) went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs (tongues, healing, exorcism etc.) following. Amen.” Mark 16:20. 
    Today the need for tongues has ceased. God has authenticated the apostles and the New Testament that they penned. This proves the temporary nature of tongues. 

5.     Hebrews 6:5 shows that the only other age of miracles will be the Millennium described as “the powers of the age to come.” 
    Q. What are the powers? 
    A. The word rendered “powers” is “dunamis” (1411) in Greek, which is the usual New Testament word for miracles. These people had tasted, experienced or witnessed the apostles’ miracles. 
    Q. What is the “age to come”? 
    A. A common Hebrew expression for the millennium where the Messiah will rule as King on earth. 
    Q. Why therefore are miracles referred to as “powers of the age to come”? 
    A. Because they would not characterise the church age (which Hebrews 6:5 was quoted in), but the millennial Kingdom age to come. 

6.     Hebrews 2:3,4 shows miracles (such as tongues) to be in the past tense, and not continuously being experienced by the Hebrew Christians of 64 AD. 
    “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation which: 
    1)  At the first began to be spoken by the Lord (in Jesus’ 3 year ministry) and 
    2) was (past tense) confirmed (same as Mark 16:20) unto us (second generation Christians) by them (apostles and first generation Christians) that heard him (Jesus Christ), 

    3) God also bearing them (the apostles, not us or every generation of Christians) witness, both with signs (eg: tongues, miracles, healings, etc) and wonders, and with divers miracles (miracles belonged to the apostles, not to every Christian. II Corinthians 12:12), and gifts of the Holy Ghost (eg. the temporary miraculous gifts), according to His own will.” 
a)     Notice the phrase “at the first”. This gives the time element which governs all these signs, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost. 
b)     All Greek verbs in Hebrews 2:3,4 are in the aorist tense indicating a past completed act which can never be repeated. 
7.     This is also seen in Acts 11:15, where Peter describes tongues at Cornelius household, not as a regular occurrence weekly in every church, but only something that happened last time at Pentecost (Acts 2) “as on us at the beginning.” 

8.     The Process of Elimination shows tongues to be not for believers of today. Tongues primary purpose was to warn unbelieving Jews to repent, or God would judge them. They refused to repent, so God judged them in 70 AD, thus making tongues as a warning to the Jews no longer necessary. I Corinthians 14:22 is a key verse which says: 
    “Tongues are a sign, NOT to THEM that BELIEVE, but to them that BELIEVE NOT...” 

    Tongues are a sign for one of three types of people. Which one? 
    a) NOT FOR BELIEVERS. 14:22. This means that tongues have no purpose for believers. For Christians to speak in tongues is not valid. 
    b) NOT FOR GENTILE UNBELIVERS. 14:23. Those unlearned in the Old Testament meaning of tongues, or unbelievers, “will they not say that ye are mad?” This describes unsaved Gentiles. Tongues are not for this group because the history of Assyrian and Babylonian tongues as a warning of a judgment to Israel meant nothing to them. 
    c) JEWISH UNBELIEVERS. 14:21. “In the law (Isaiah 28:11; Jeremiah 5:15 and Deuteronomy 28:49) it is written, with men of other tongues (Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman) and other lips will I speak unto this people (Jews); and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.” 

9.     Tongues had ceased by 70 AD because their use is only mentioned in the earlier New Testament books, such as Mark 16 (57 AD), Acts (54 AD), I Corinthians (55 AD). 
    In all the latter books, tongues are never mentioned. 
    Why? Because they never happened after 70 AD and were of no relevance to any churches thereafter. Tongues are never commanded in any New Testament book for believers to practice. 
    I Corinthians 12,13,14 rebukes the Corinthians wrong use of tongues. It is not endorsing tongues to be practised. Charismatics think that the key to spirituality is tongues, a phenomena that is not mentioned in 24 out of 27 New Testament books. 
    Why are tongues ABSENT from II Corinthians to Revelation? If tongues were so necessary, you would definitely see them in the rest of the New Testament. 

    The book of Romans, which is well known as the most complete summary of Christian doctrine and practice in the Bible, does not once mention tongues. Why not? Because tongues, by the time Romans was written (60 AD) was almost finished as a gift and would be of no relevance in the Church age after 70 AD when God judged Jerusalem. 
    Think about it, if tongues were important, God would have mentioned them at least once in Romans, or II Corinthians, or Galatians, or at least in one letter to a church in a positive context. 

10.     The gift of tongues was never endorsed or practised by early church leaders. Clement of Rome in 95 AD wrote a letter to the Corinthian church rebuking every problem that Paul rebuked except tongues. Why did he not mention tongues or miracles? 

    Justin Martyr (160 AD) visited many churches but never once mentions tongues, not even in his lists of spiritual gifts. 
    Origen (250 AD) in his voluminous writings never mentions tongues, but argues against Celsus that the sign gifts of the apostles’ age were temporary and were not exercised by Christians in the 3rd Century. 

    Chrysostom (347-407 AD) commented on the I Corinthians passage: “This whole place is very obscure: but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and by 
their cessation, being such as then used to occur, but now no longer take place.” [Homilies, XXIX, 1].

Augustine (354-430 AD) said in speaking of Acts 2:4, “In the earliest times, the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed: and they spake with tongues....these were signs adapted to the time. For there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit...that thing was done for a betokening and it passed away.”

11. “Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three...” I Corinthians 13:13.

Now (55AD) abides (continues) faith, hope, charity, these three” (not “these six prophecy, tongues, knowledge”). Since faith and hope finish at Christ’s return, then prophecy, tongues and knowledge had to have finished by 96 AD because they were not abiding, but declining in 55AD.

12.     Tape Recorder Test (Independent interpreters) Disproves Interpretation of Tongues. 
    If no one passes the Interpretation test, then neither does anyone possess the genuine gift of tongues. 
    This scientific test will disprove anyone’s claim to have the gift of “Interpretation of tongues.” Assemble one person who claims to have the gift of tongues, and another two people who claim to have the gift of interpreting tongues, keeping both groups separate. 
    Let the first person speak in tongues, while you tape record him speaking. Then bring the first interpreter into the room to hear the taped tongue replayed. Tape record his interpretation of the tongue. 

    Then bring the second interpreter into the room to hear the same tongue replayed. 
    Tape record his interpretation of the same tongue. You will find that the second interpretation will disagree with the first person’s interpretation. 
    Why is this? It is because no one today has the first century supernatural gift of interpretation of tongues, this gift having passed away by 70 AD. 
    It follows therefore, that if the interpretation gift is found to be NON-GENUINE, then the tongues gift is also NON-GENUINE. 

    Notice that when someone speaks gibberish, claiming that he is speaking in an unknown tongue, he is, by deception, taking advantage of the fact that his hearers do not know every language in the universe. The hearer, who is caught off guard, finds it hard to state that this gibberish is not a language. 
    So let us turn the tables and ask if his two interpreter friends can interpret any tongue in agreement. 
    Note: A variation on this test is to get up in a Charismatic meeting, speak something in a foreign language that you know the meaning of, and then ask for it to be correctly interpreted, e.g. quote the Lord’s prayer in Latvian. You will find that the interpretation given, will be nothing like the true meaning of what you said. You may then expose them publicly as deceivers and as being deceived. 

13.     Ephesians 4,5,6 describe thoroughly the Walk and Service of a Spirit-filled believer. Nowhere in this key passage is speaking in tongues mentioned. 
    Conclusion: “Walking worthy” does not include tongues. 

14.     Phonetics Test. Every language must have hundreds of different syllables to express the wide range of ideas in a society. Charismatic tongues only have less than 12 syllables repeated constantly. This is typical of gibberish that comes from a mind that is not expressing thoughts, but from a tongue out of control from the mind. Note: 4 syllables are, for example, seen in “Cha/ris/ma/tic”. This shows that tongues are not real languages, but are just sounds made up on the spot at random. 
15. Majoring on tongues REVERSES the order of importance of spiritual gifts. In I Corinthians 12:28, God lists tongues as the least important of 8 gifts.
In I Corinthians 12:31, God tells the church to seek the “best” gifts.(ie: give more emphasis to teaching)
God gives gifts to believers “as HE will” (12:11), not as we insist. Charismatics tell people to pray long and hard for the gift of tongues.

We are not to deliberately choose and insist on having the least gift and exalt it above the others. Why not place greater emphasis on the gifts of pastor-teacher, evangelists, helps, government, giving etc.? It is because these gifts involve hard work, but tongues (gibberish) is easy.

16. The context of I Corinthians is rebuking 13 errors, such as tongues. It is not recommending tongues. The Corinthian church was filled with problems that Paul corrects in this book, such as:
 
1.    They were following their favourite human leaders causing divisions. 1:11-14.       
2.    “    “    favouring human wisdom. 1:18-2:13.       
3.    “    “    carnal, living for self, not being controlled by the Spirit. 2:14-3:7.       
4.    “    “    forgetting the future Judgment Seat of Christ. 3:8-23.       
5.    “    “    proud, thinking of themselves more highly than they ought. 4:1-21.       
6.    “    “    failing to discipline, by tolerating a fornicator. 5:1-13.       
7.    “    “    taking fellow believers to court. 6:1-20.       
8.    “    “    confused about marriage. 7:1-40.     
9.     “ “confused about liberty thinking it meant licence to do anything,even stumbling others.8,9,10 
10.     “ “ confused about clothing, long hair on men and the Lord’s Supper. 11. 
11.     “ “ confused about spiritual gifts, especially tongues. 12-14. 
12.     “ “ confused about the resurrection. 15. 
13.     “ “ confused about the collection. 16. 

As we can see the Corinthian church was deep in error and false doctrine. It was the only church that emphasized tongues as today’s Charismatics do. Charismatics therefore place themselves in very bad company. Charismatics fail to understand that Paul is not endorsing tongues, but is rebuking the wrong use of tongues and is strongly regulating tongues contrary to today’s Charismatics. The Corinthian church was the worst church for Charismatics to follow as an example.

17. They fail the “Easy to be entreated” test.

It is amazing how tongues speakers often become very angry, intolerant, irritable, impatient, nervous, very dogmatic, and extremely touchy when anything is said which disapproves of or corrects their idea of speaking in tongues.

“The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated...” James 3:17.
“The works of the flesh...are wrath, strife...” Galatians 5:19,20.

“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God.” Hebrews 12:15.

18. The First Mention Principle of Tongues is in the Context of Judgment.

This is a well-established principle for correctly interpreting Scripture. It states that:

When any subject, word, expression or idea is first mentioned in the Bible, this shows God thinking on that subject, and is a guide to how we should understand this subject in the rest of the Bible. Example:
The first mention of Babylon, Babel, and languages is in Genesis 11:1-9 where God confused man’s languages so that they did not understand one another’s speech. “The Lord scattered mankind abroad upon the face of all the earth.” Man has remained divided by different languages ever since. Hence tongues are associated with division and confusion (the meaning of Babel), ever since the Tower of Babel; not with the blessing of God, but with the judgment of God.

“Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” Psalm 31:20.

19. PRAYING IN TONGUES is WRONG because UNDERSTANDING is ABSENT.

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the UNDERSTANDING also.” I Cor. 14:14,15.

Paul is saying here that if you pray in tongues, your spirit might be trying to express something, but your MIND (or understanding) has no idea what is being said. This is wrong behaviour, Paul says. For prayer to be genuine, we must pray with our spirit and with our understanding.

Praying in tongues fails the test of understanding. The mind and voice are disconnected. Many Charismatics will try to justify praying in tongues by quoting Romans 8:26.

“...the  Spirit  itself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  CANNOT  BE
UTTERED”.
This verse is not talking about praying in tongues because tongues are uttered vocal sounds.
The Holy Spirit speaks our thoughts to the Father with groanings which cannot be uttered by us, yet prayer tongues are uttered by people.

20. Mark 16:11-20 (especially v.17) shows that the signs that were to follow them that believe related to a brief period, not longer than that covered by the book of Acts,and described in v.19,20

“And these signs shall follow (3877) them (apostles because the context of v.11-14 shows unbelieving apostles four times) that believe; ......they shall speak with new tongues.” v.17.

This refutes the Charismatic idea that everybody who believes all through the Church age should speak in tongues, lay hands on the sick and they shall recover, etc., because this belief only refers to the unbelieving apostles in v.11-14 who refused to believe in Christ’s resurrection (v.11,12,14).
This continues as part of Christ’s rebuke to the apostles for “their unbelief and hardness of heart.” v.14.

IV. 7 REASONS WHY “THEM THAT BELIEVE” REFERS ONLY TO THE APOSTLES.
If we fail to read the entire context of Mark 16:9-20 we may get the impression that the v.17,18 sign gifts apply to all believers during all the church age.

There is good evidence that “them that believe” refers to only the apostles. Why?

Reason 1: Context is the Apostles’ Unbelief in Christ’s Resurrection.

In Mark 16:14, Jesus rebukes the apostles for their unbelief in His resurrection.

In v.11-14, four times the apostles’ unbelief is mentioned as Jesus addressed the apostles: v.11 “They (apostles), when they had heard that he was alive .......believed not.”

v.13 “......neither believed they them.”
v.14 “He.....upbraided them (apostles) with their unbelief and hardness of heart.”

v.14 “because they (apostles) believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.”

After this rebuke Jesus gives the apostles the Great Commission in v.15,16. Once the commission is given, Jesus returns to his immediate audience of the eleven apostles when He says in v.17,18 “These signs shall follow them that believe” (ie. those of you eleven apostles who believe in my resurrection).

In my name :   1.  they shall they cast out devils.
2.     they shall speak with new tongues. 
3.     they shall take up serpents. 
4.     if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. 
5.     they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. 

Reason 2: Practical experience shows that promises 3,4,5 are not true for every believer today. In spite of continued failures to heal, Charismatics still think that these 5 promises are for all believers today. The obvious problem with this interpretation is that it does not deal with everything mentioned in the text.

a)     No Charismatic can always fulfil the 5th promise. It says that they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. This means 100% recovery all the time. No one can heal every sick person today, as the apostles could in Acts 5:12-16. 

    “By the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.....they (believers) brought forth the sick into the streets.....and they were healed every one.” v.16. 

    John Wimber, a famous Charismatic laid hands on 250 Down’s Syndrome children with no cures. 
    Reinhard Boncke tried to heal over 200 Kenyans at Kisumu in Kenya without any success. 
b)     “If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” 
    “If” means accidentally. The problem here is that many good Christians have become sick or died by poisoning. Have you as a believer ever vomited? 
c)     “They shall take up serpents.” 

    We ask a Charismatic to take up a deadly snake. He replies by saying: “No, that would be tempting God.” Yet in the first century this was a sign that the apostles did (shall do) to prove the Word of God and their authority. Some believers today have died in trying this. This shows that this is not for today. 

Reason 3: AORIST tense of “believe” in Mark 16:17 refers to those who did believe in the past, not who will believe in the future.

“These signs shall follow them that believe.” The Greek word for believe here is “pisteusasin” which is an aorist participle referring to those who did believe in the past.” [S. Zodhiates, “Complete New Testament Word Study Dictionary,” p.1107],

“not those who would believe in the future.”
[S. Zodhiates, “Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible,” p.1223].
The aorist tense refers to a past action at a point in time, not an event that recurs again into the future, as it would be if it was true of all believers.

Reason 4: Belief (Gk: pisteusasin in Mark 16:17) does not refer to saving belief. In John 3:16 and 5:24 saving belief is “pisteuwn”, a different word ending. Hence, “belief” in Mark 16:17 refers not to all future believers, but to the apostles believing in Christ’s resurrection at a point in time, once for all time.

Reason 5: “Do All speak With tongues?” 1 Corinthians 12:30 requires the answer “No, not all believers have the gift of speaking with tongues.”
Reason 6: The Purpose of these signs was to confirm the Word of God spoken and written by the apostles, as Mark 16:20 says.

“And they (apostles) went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them (apostles), and confirming the Word with signs (eg. tongues) following.”

Once the Word of God (the New Testment) had been confirmed by the apostle’s signs, then further signs were not needed. The signs had done their job of proving the New Testament as being from God. When the Word of God was completed, then miraculous apostolic confirmatory signs were no longer needed.

Reason 7: Mark 16:20 continues the context to mean apostles.

This tells what happened to the apostles after they changed from unbelief in Christ’s resurrection, to believing it and preaching it everywhere with signs following.
Hence, in v.20, the context is still only the apostles doing signs, not every believer doing signs.

Conclusion: Either all five signs are valid for today or none are valid today. They only refer to first century apostles.

 

Reprinted with permission.

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    THE OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUND OF TONGUES
                By Keith Piper.

Tongues were given:

1.     To warn unbelieving Jews to repent because of judgment to come. 

2.     To confirm the New Testament Word as from God by signs. Mark 16:17-20. 
3.     To confirm the Apostles as God's true messengers. 

I. TO WARN UNBELIEVING JEWS. "In the law it is written, with men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people (Jews); and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore, tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." 1 Cor. 14:21,22.

Isaiah, in 712 BC (Isaiah 28:11), had in simple Hebrew, warned the Jews to repent from their sinful ways. They rejected his plain message in Hebrew, and so God said that He would speak to them in the tongues of foreigners, such as the Assyrians, to see if this would cause them to repent. Paul quotes this to show that the main purpose of tongues in the first century was to authenticate the new message of Christ to unbelieving Jews in order to bring them to repent of their sins.

This is seen in the following instances:

1.     The Jews who had come to Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost were from 16 areas of the ancient world each speaking their own language or dialect. They each heard the apostles speaking the wonderful works of God in their own dialects. This message convicted them of their sin of crucifying Christ, bringing 3,000 of them to true repentance (Acts 2). 
2.     The gift of tongues to Cornelius' household was to convince the Jewish Christians that God would save believing Gentiles. Here the Jews had believed on Christ, but disbelieved that God would save the Gentiles as He had only saved Jews up until then. 

3.     Tongues in the church at Corinth was a sign to unbelieving Jews. 
a)     The Corinthian church was closely observed by Jews, because Paul started it in the Jewish synagogue (Acts 18:1-5). 
b)     The unbelieving Jews put Paul out of the synagogue, so Paul's missionary team went to win Gentiles (18:6), by moving the new church to Justus' house which was joined to the synagogue next door (18:7). The unbelieving Jews watched the church closely since it met right next door. 
c)     Soon "Crispus the chief ruler of the synagogue believed on the Lord with all his house."Acts 18:8 
d)     Sosthenes was chosen as the new chief ruler of the synagogue to replace Crispus. Sosthenes was soon saved, because Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:1, "Paul.....and Sosthenes our brother." Hence, the Corinthian church was started in the synagogue, it met next door to the synagogue, and it had two ex-chief rulers of the synagogue as it's members! Certainly the unsaved Jewish community at Corinth carefully watched the Corinthian church. God gave the gift of tongues, the gift intended as a sign to unbelieving Jews, to this church thereby proving that the gospel of Christ was to be received by the Jews. Tongues were never given as a sign to Gentiles. 

    The Gentiles had no dispensational hurdle of Mosaic legalism to jump over to come to Christ. 

4.     Tongues as a warning to Jews can be seen from Old Testament events, summarised by: 

a)     God has a message for the people. 
b)     The people refuse to listen to God. 
c)     God causes tongues to be heard as a sign of judgment to come. 

d)  Dispersion follows.

Event 1: Tower of Babel. Genesis 11.

Foreign tongues first appear in Genesis 11:1 "The whole earth was of one language, and of one speech"

1.     God has a message for the people: After the Flood, God said: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth." Genesis 9:1. 
2.     The people refuse to listen to God: They built a great tower, 
    "....Lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." Genesis 11:4. 
3.     God caused tongues to be heard as a sign of judgment. God said, "Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." Genesis 11:7. 
4.     Dispersion followed, "So the Lord scattered them abroad from there upon the face of all the earth." Genesis 11:8. 

Event 2: Disobedient Israel. Deuteronomy 28.

God promised Israel blessings if they obeyed God's Law, and cursings if they broke God's Law.

1.     God has a message for the people: 
    "If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments.....all these blessings shall come upon thee....." Deuteronomy 28:1. 

2.     The people refuse to listen to God. 
    “If thou wilt not hearken.....all these curses shall come upon thee.” Deuteronomy 28:15. 
3.     God causes tongues to be heard as a sign of judgment: One curse that God promised was a foreign conquering nation speaking strange tongues. 

    "The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far.....as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand." Deuteronomy 28:49. 
4.     Dispersion follows: "The Lord shall scatter thee among all people....." Deuteronomy 28:64,65. 

    This happened to Israel in 721 BC, Judah in 606 BC, and Israel in 70 AD. 

Event 3: Babylonian tongues heard by disobedient Judah in 606 BC. Jeremiah 3-5.

1.     God has a message for the people: 

    "Return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." Jeremiah 3:22. 
2.     The people refuse to listen to God: "thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction....they have refused to return." Jeremiah 5:3. 
3.     God caused tongues to be heard as a sign of judgment. If Israel would not heed 

Jeremiah's warnings, then God would speak to them by strange tongues and swords of an invading nation. "Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far.....a mighty nation,.....a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say." Jeremiah 5:15.

4.     Dispersion follows: "As ye have forsaken Me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours." Jeremiah 5:19. 
Event 4: Assyrian tongues heard by disobedient Israel in 721 BC. Isaiah 28.

When Paul discusses the purpose of tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:21- 22, he quotes Isaiah 28:11 to show that tongues were given as a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel: "...to them that believe not." 14:22.

Sophisticated Israelites were sick of Isaiah's rebukes that sin was rampant, judgment was coming, and a return to God was the only answer.
In Isaiah 28:9,10 they claimed that he was teaching them like newly weaned babies, "line upon line....". Your repetitious teaching is fit for infants, they said. They rejected God's message, messenger, and teaching methods. God responded to their scoffing by imitating their mockery (Isaiah 28:9,10), and promising unintelligible language of a foreign conqueror: “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.” Isaiah 28:11. God first spoke to them through Isaiah's clear and simple message, which they ignored. Now God will speak in judgment to them through stammering, lisping, Assyrian lips and another tongue. The Assyrian language sounded much less cultivated than Hebrew. Assyrian only had 3 vowels: a, i, u. Israel would hear Assyrian harsh, foreign tongues as they invaded and destroyed many Israelite towns in 721-720 BC under Sennacherib. Note the same pattern:

a)     God has a message for the people: "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim.” To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest." Isaiah 28:1,12. 
b)     The people refuse to listen to God: "yet they would not hear." Isaiah 28:12. 
c)     God caused tongues to be heard as a sign of judgment: 

    "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people." Isaiah 28:11. 
d)     Dispersion follows: “that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken (captive).” Isaiah 28:13. 

Note: To Israel, foreign tongues was a sign of God's judgment and curse upon them. Likewise the absence of foreign tongues was a sign that Israel was under the blessing of God. In the millennium, God promises Israel in Isaiah 33:19 that ".....thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand."

Event 5: New Testament tongues to Israel 33-70 AD.

Israel did not learn from the tongues warnings that led to the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities in 721 and 606 BC. So God again warned them by Christians speaking in tongues from 33-70 AD to warn them to repent or God would judge them. This happened by Titus the Roman general destroying Jerusalem in 70 AD. We see the same pattern:

1.    God has a message for the people: "Come unto me.....and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

"We do hear them speak in our tongues.(v.11). Peter said unto them, Repent(v39)."Acts 2:11,38,39.

2.     The people refuse to listen to God: 

    "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not." Matthew 23:37. 
3.     God causes tongues to be heard as a sign of judgment. 
a)     Christ warned Israel of soon coming judgment, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.....Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew 23:38; 24:2. 

b) God caused foreign tongues to be spoken and heard as a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel in Acts 2,10,19; I Corinthians 12-14. When God caused believers to speak in tongues, the Jews understood the message. Tongues were a sign gift to unbelieving, Christ-rejecting Israel. "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them (Christians) that believe, but to them (Jews) that believe not.” I Corinthians 14:22.
4.     Dispersion follows: Jesus Christ correctly foretold this in Luke 21:20-24. "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh (v.20). They shall be led away captive into all nations....." (v.24). This happened in 70 AD when Titus the Roman general destroyed Jerusalem, killing 1 million Jews and taking 100,000 captive as slaves. 

Question: When did tongues cease?

Answer: If foreign tongues were really a sign of coming judgment on Israel, then once this judgment had come (in 70 AD), the tongues sign gift would no longer be necessary. The Biblical gift of tongues had ceased by 70 AD. The last historical mention of tongues is in 1 Corinthians, written in 59 AD. Tongues served their purpose and tongues ceased as God said,"tongues shall cease." 1 Corinthians 13:8.

II.  TO CONFIRM THE WORD WITH SIGNS (Mark 16:17-20).

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; sign 1. .....in my name shall cast out devils;

sign 2. .....they shall speak with new tongues; sign 3. .....they shall take up serpents; and
sign 4. .....if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; sign 5. .....they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover .

And they (Apostles) went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen." Mark 16:17-20.
The New Testament, being a new revelation, needed to be confirmed that it was from God. This was done by miraculous signs of the Apostles, one of which was tongues. If the five signs above were fulfilled in the Apostle's lifetime, then Mark 16:17-20 is satisfactorily fulfilled. It does not say that these five signs would always happen to all believers. Verse 20 tells us that God kept His promises of verse 17 and 18. Charismatics assume that verse 17 and 18 mean that all believers will always speak in tongues and do these signs. This is wrong because:

1.     I Corinthians 12:30 asks, "do all speak with tongues?" This is a rhetorical question implying "No." 
2.     II Corinthians 12:12: "Truly the signs OF AN APOSTLE were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." These were signs belonging to the apostles, not to every believer. “Were wrought”, being in the past tense, means that these sign gifts had ceased. 
3.     Acts 2:43: "Many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles." 
4.     Acts 4:33 "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." Question: Who had great power to bear witness of the resurrection?The apostles, not every believer. 
5.     Acts 5:12-16 “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people (v.12)..and believers were the more added to the Lord (v.14)...insomuch that they (believers) brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them...they were healed every one." (v.16). 

Notice:

a)     Signs and wonders were done by the apostle's hands, not by every believer. (v.12). 
b)     Believers brought sick people to Peter to heal, because they could not heal them themselves. 
c)     Every one was healed. No one does this today. 
Charismatics are wrong to claim the gift of healing for today.
Since apostolic healing has ceased, so have the other four signs, tongues included.
6.     Acts 14:3 “and granted signs and wonders to be done by their (Paul and Barnabus) hands.” 
7.     Acts 15:12 “gave audience to Paul and Barnabus, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.” 
8.     Acts 19:11: “God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul.” 
9.     Romans 15:19 “Through mighty signs and wonders,….I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” 
10.     Hebrews 2:3-4 show that signs, wonders, miracles, and some gifts of the Holy Ghost were restricted only to the apostles (those who heard Christ), and were not available to future generations of Christians: 

"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which:

a)     at the first began to be spoken by the Lord (Christ), 
b)     and was confirmed unto us by them (apostles) that heard him (Christ), (v.4) God also bearing them (the apostles) witness, both with signs and wonders, and 

with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will." Notice here that in:

Verse 4: God bore the apostles witness with signs, wonders, miracles and gifts. God did not bear witness to the next generation of Christians with signs, etc, only to the apostles.

Verse 3: The apostles confirmed Christ's salvation message to the next generation, because the apostles heard Christ speak during His three year ministry. The next generation never confirmed Christ's message with signs etc.

Question: When did God bear the apostles witness with signs, etc.? Answer: "At the first," not always.
All the Greek verbs used in Hebrews 2:3-4 are in the aorist tense, indicating a completed fact which can never be repeated.
Peter refers to this early time element of signs, miracles, tongues, etc, in Acts 11:15, where he describes the tongues speaking gift in Cornelius' household, not as a regular happening, occurring time after time since Pentecost, but as similar to the tongues gift last poured out at Pentecost.
"And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning." When? "AT THE BEGINNING." Hence, signs were to "follow" for a time, not to accompany believers for all time.

11.     Hebrews 6:5 "And have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come." 

    These apostles’ miracles are described as "powers of the world to come", meaning Christ's future millennial Kingdom, not powers of this present Church Age. Therefore, many signs, wonders and miracles performed in the first century will be regular events in the millennium, but not until then. 

12.     Acts 28:8,9 “Paul…healed him. Others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed.” 
III. TO CONFIRM THE APOSTLES AS GOD'S TRUE MESSENGERS.

Hebrews 2:3,4. "God also bearing them (the Apostles) witness, both with signs, and wonders and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost..."

Thus, tongues, signs and miracles authenticated the apostles' authority. God did the same for Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Christ, etc. as their miracles confirmed that they were from God (Christ is God).

When Jesus Christ commanded the apostles to "preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15), He knew that the apostles would have to go to the Gentiles. This would meet with much Jewish racial opposition. Hence, Christ gave them miraculous sign gifts that they would perform in order to confirm and authenticate the gospel message as being from God. This tongues gift seen at Cornelius' household convinced the Jewish Jerusalem Council to send the gospel to the Gentiles. Acts 11:15-18.

IV. THE EARLY CHURCH WRITERS UP TO 320 AD SAY THAT TONGUES CEASED IN THE FIRST CENTURY.
A good way to check any doctrine is to see what the early Christian writers, many of whom were taught personally by the apostles, said about it. Their comments reveal practices of the early Christian church.

There is overwhelming evidence from history that tongues did cease in the first century, because:

1.     No mention of tongues can be found in any of Paul's later epistles, only in 1 Corinthians, one of the earliest letters written. Romans, being a thorough doctrinal study, never mentions tongues. Ephesians 4-6 when discussing how to walk worthy, never mentions tongues. 

    When discussing qualifications of pastors and deacons in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, Paul never mentions tongues as a necessary gift. Tongues are only mentioned in Mark 16 (33AD), Acts 2,10, 19 (33, 41, 54 AD respectively) and 1 Corinthians (59 AD) in a rebuking, correcting, restricting manner. He is not endorsing it, but limiting its wrong use. 

2.     Chrysostom, a preacher in 347-407 AD, in discussing tongues in 1 Corinthians states: "This whole place is very obscure, but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as then used to occur, but now no longer take place." [Homilies, XXIX, 1] 
3.     Augustine around 410 AD stated that tongues was a sign adapted only to Biblical times. 
4.     Clement of Rome in 96 AD wrote to the church at Corinth to correct the same problems that Paul corrected. Clement mentioned every problem except tongues. Why? Because tongues had ceased. 

5.     Origen (185-254 AD) in all his voluminous writings gives no hint that tongues or other sign gifts were a normal occurrence in his day. 

6.     Others, like Ignatius of Antioch who wrote to Ephesus, Justin Martyr (100-167 AD), Irenaeus (130-195 AD) bishop of Lyons, never mention tongues. 
7.     Tertullian (155-202 AD) describes it as an apostolic occurrence, not as a phenomena of his time. 

8.     Montanus (150 AD) who was regarded as a heretic because his prophecies went unfulfilled, and claimed to be a successor to the apostles, spoke in tongues. Polycarp and Papias who were disciples of John spoke against Montanus as a heretic. 

The table below shows that tongues in the Book of Acts only occurred when Jews were present.


 
JERUSALEM    SAMARIA    CAESAREA    CORINTH    EPHESUS       
ACTS 2    ACTS 8    ACTS 10    ACTS 18    ACTS 19       
    NO                   
TONGUES    TONGUES    TONGUES    TONGUES    TONGUES       
JEWS    NO JEWS    JEWS    JEWS    JEWS       
3000 devout    No Jews would    Peter and six    Many unbelieving    Many unbelieving       
unbelieving Jews    live at Samaria    Jewish    Jews living at    Jews living at       
at Jerusalem    due to racial    Christians    Corinth    Ephesus       
needing to hear    hatred.    not believing    needing to hear    needing to hear       
tongues as a        that Gentiles    tongues as a    tongues as a       
sign of judgment.        could be saved.    sign of judgment.    sign of judgment.       
1. Apostles spoke in    1. Samaritans believed.    1. Cornelius believed.        1. John’s disciples       
tongues.    2. They were baptised.    2. Holy Spirit fell on him.        believed.       
2. 3000 people saved.    3. Peter and John laid    3. He spoke in tongues.        2. They were baptised       
3. 3000 people    hands on them.    4. He was baptised.        3. Paul laid hands on       
baptised.    4. They received the    NOTE: They spoke in        them.       
NOTE: 3000 people did    the Holy Spirit.    tongues to convince the        4. TheHoly Spirit came       
not speak in tongues.    NOTE: Samaritans did    Jewish Christians that        on them.       
    not speak in tongues.    Gentiles could be saved,        5. They spoke in       
    NOTE: Phillip did not lay    and that God was no        tongues.       
    hands on Samaritans,    longer working only        NOTE: Tongues       
    because only an Apostle    through the Jews.        warned the Jewish       
    could impart the Holy            Community at       
    Spirit by laying on hands.            Ephesus of coming       
                judgment. It also       
                identified John’s       
                disciples with the       
                Apostles and with       
                Pentecost.     

V. QUESTIONS TO ASK CHARISMATICS PROVING TONGUES TO BE UNBIBLICAL

Q1:    Did you speak in tongues because someone asked you to, or did tongues come to you without you seeking it, and without anyone suggesting you to do it, as in the New Testament?

Q2:    When you were asked to speak in tongues, did you say “No, wait until I have thoroughly and completely studied and understood every verse on the subject?”
Q3: Do you use your tongue as a warning to Jews to repent?
Q4:    Do you always have your tongue correctly interpreted? “Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.” I Corinthians 14:13.
Q5: Do you speak in tongues to edify yourself or to edify the church?
“Seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.” I Corinthians 14:12.
Q6: Do women speak in tongues aloud in your church?

“Let your women keep silent in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak.....for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:34,35.

Q7:    Do two or at the most three speak in “tongues” at your meetings? I Corinthians 14:27.
Q8:    Do your “tongues” speakers speak in turn after being interpreted, or do they all speak at the same time?
Q9:    Which spirit gave you your tongue? If you think it is the Holy Spirit, can you prove it? How?
Q10: Did you receive your tongue when someone told you to relax, be passive, blank out your mind, and let anything come out? or

Q11: Were you strongly refusing anything which satan might send you? Did you constantly pray for God to keep you from everything not of Him when people challenged you to speak in tongues?

Q12: Does your tongue ever get out of control, or does it take over your prayer time? Q13: What do you learn more about God through your tongue?
Q14: Do people in your church suppress their tongues if there is no genuine interpreter present?

“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church...” I Corinthians 14:28. Q15: Can you find one Biblical example of a woman speaking in tongues?

Q16: What does I Corinthians 13:11 have to do with the subject of tongues, prophecy and knowledge?
“When I became a man, I put away childish things.”
Q17: Who are tongues intended for, and who are tongues not intended for? I Corinthians 14:22.

“Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe
not:”
Q18: Why were there no tongues in Samaria in Acts 8?

Q19: Why did Phillip not lay hands on the Samaritans to impart the Holy Ghost? Q20: Why could Peter and John impart the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands, but not Phillip?
Q21: Was Phillip a bad Christian? (No. It was a gift that only the Apostles had.)
Q22: Some Charismatics claim that Joel 2:28-32 teaches that today’s tongues are a sign of Christ’s second Coming. What does the Bible say?
Answer: “Afterward” in Joel 2:28 pinpoints the time of the Spirit’s outpouring in this passage. It is after Jesus Christ has returned at His glorious appearing, that is, His second coming. The context of Joel 2 does not allow us to link this outpouring of the Spirit to events before Christ returns. This refutes the thought that today’s tongues are a “sign of Christ’s second coming.”

Conclusion: The gift of tongues is NOT for today.

 

Reprinted by permission.

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On ‎4‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 9:51 PM, Marilyn C said:

Hi hmbld,

I would have closed my mouth too. The `speaking privately` & the GIFT of tongues is different.

Now the difference I see in scripture & was taught, that speaking in tongues is one manifestation of the infilling of the Holy Spirit, (or as some say the Baptism of the Holy Spirit). It is a private speaking, & for building up that individual in the Holy Spirit. Everyone who seeks the infilling/baptism will be able to/should be able to speak in tongues.

However the gift of tongues is another thing. Not every one who speaks in tongues has that gift. It is like prophecy but in a tongue, and is part of the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit who distributes as He wills. (1 Cor. 12: 10) Also speaking forth with the gift of tongues is actually a lesser activity, & the person should be seeking to bring forth the message in the language that all will understand. So -

1. Speaking in tongues to God by your self is praising the Lord & building up your spirit. (It is not called the gift of tongues.)

2. The GIFT of tongues, is the Holy Spirit speaking through some one a message for the Body. It obviously needs to be interpreted. If some one was speaking forth a language that someone knew it would be a good sign to that person, that God is speaking through that person.

Marilyn.

 

How do you know it is from God Marilyn?

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On 5/28/2017 at 5:56 AM, Joshua-777 said:

1 Corinthians 12:10 to another different kinds of tongues

Yes.

"different kinds of foreign languages".

Exactly.

And this is not the same as a "prayer language" that is not one of the 9 "gifts" listed in that Epistle.

Just like you dont have the "gift of healing", im willing to bet you dont have the "gift of foreign languages".

Few do.

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2 hours ago, Behold said:

Yes.

"different kinds of foreign languages".

Exactly.

And this is not the same as a "prayer language" that is not one of the 9 "gifts" listed in that Epistle.

Just like you dont have the "gift of healing", im willing to bet you dont have the "gift of foreign languages".

Few do.

Where in scripture is that distinction? Where does it say that speaking foreign language only a gift? 1 Corinthians 14 shows the opposite of what your saying.

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Tounges like the Gift of Discernment have wide range of capability. 

Tounges can be for private prayer, to pray in Spirit. 

Tounges can be to pray in public at meeting and a person hear's their own language like in Acts 2 and gets saved. 

The reason Tounges is so feared is often the Holy Spirit falls when they are uttered, and ministers whose true god is Mammon (money) don't want it to distract from program and their Temple Marketplace. Tounges is a normal part of Christian life according to the Scriptures, and yet it is always treated like some skin condition, leprosy, and fungus in the Church system, why? Again because they fear God may show up. You would be surprised how many churches would utter, "We can do our services without God showing up," uh.. the point of church services was to seek God, to know Him, and be close to Him. But many churches are content to keep God from manifesting, because if He does they can't control Him. Just like Pharisees and Sadducees couldn't control Christ. 

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4 hours ago, Fidei Defensor said:

Tounges like the Gift of Discernment have wide range of capability. 

Tounges can be for private prayer, to pray in Spirit. 

Tounges can be to pray in public at meeting and a person hear's their own language like in Acts 2 and gets saved. 

The reason Tounges is so feared is often the Holy Spirit falls when they are uttered, and ministers whose true god is Mammon (money) don't want it to distract from program and their Temple Marketplace. Tounges is a normal part of Christian life according to the Scriptures, and yet it is always treated like some skin condition, leprosy, and fungus in the Church system, why? Again because they fear God may show up. You would be surprised how many churches would utter, "We can do our services without God showing up," uh.. the point of church services was to seek God, to know Him, and be close to Him. But many churches are content to keep God from manifesting, because if He does they can't control Him. Just like Pharisees and Sadducees couldn't control Christ. 

Rubbish. God understands your own language.

 

Plus, the fact that you can choose whether to speak "in tongues" or not proves its coming from YOU and not the Holy Spirit.

 

You dont know WHAT you are saying and dont know WHERE it is coming from. 

 

That is very dangerous.

 

"keep God from manifesting"?

That is a joke, right? God can do what HE wants, WHEN He wants and IF He wants, we cannot stop Him doing anything.

 

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On 27/06/2017 at 3:04 PM, Fidei Defensor said:

Tounges like the Gift of Discernment have wide range of capability. 

Tounges can be for private prayer, to pray in Spirit. 

Tounges can be to pray in public at meeting and a person hear's their own language like in Acts 2 and gets saved. 

The reason Tounges is so feared is often the Holy Spirit falls when they are uttered, and ministers whose true god is Mammon (money) don't want it to distract from program and their Temple Marketplace. Tounges is a normal part of Christian life according to the Scriptures, and yet it is always treated like some skin condition, leprosy, and fungus in the Church system, why? Again because they fear God may show up. You would be surprised how many churches would utter, "We can do our services without God showing up," uh.. the point of church services was to seek God, to know Him, and be close to Him. But many churches are content to keep God from manifesting, because if He does they can't control Him. Just like Pharisees and Sadducees couldn't control Christ. 

     27 REASONS WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD NEITHER SEEK NOR DESIRE TONGUES.

The Charismatic Movement contends that:

i)     The New Testament gift of tongues should be sought and spoken by ALL Christians today. They seek to revive all gifts, but none are given so great importance as tongues. 

ii)     The tongues gift is the true Biblical sign of the "Baptism in the Spirit." 
iii)     Those receiving tongues receive a second blessing after salvation, enabling them to live more sanctified, powerful and joyful witnessing lives. 
iv)     The tongues movement is claimed to be the "latter rain" revival foretold in Joel 
2:23.

We must test all religious movements on the basis of:
a)     Their doctrines. 2 Timothy 4:2,3 
b)     Their fruits. Matthew 7:15,16 

c)     Their spirits or powers behind a movement. “Test the spirits.” 1 John 4:1-4.. 

Note the following reasons why tongues are not needed for Christians today:

1.     Tongues were classed as one of the lowest gifts. 
    In 1 Corinthians 12:28 tongues are mentioned last in a list of 8 gifts. These are ranked in order of importance because we have "first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." 
2.     God gives the gifts "according to his own will," not according to our seeking. 
    "Gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will." Hebrews 2:4. 
    1 Corinthians 12:8-11 lists 9 gifts, the last being tongues and interpretation of tongues: 

"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gift of healing by the same spirit,…. But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."

Note: Tongues were spoken on 3 occasions in Acts (2:4; 10:46; 19:6), but on none of these occasions are the recipients seeking, waiting or expecting to speak in tongues. At Pentecost, only the Apostles (12) spoke in tongues, but all who were saved (3000) received the Holy Spirit (2:38,39).

a)     "Covet earnestly the best gifts”(12:31); tongues are not the best gifts, but one of the least gifts.14:1 
b)     Spiritual gifts could be desired (14:1) but not claimed in faith as a birthright. There is no command to seek them. 
3.     Most modern tongues are a learned behaviour. 

    People are told to blank out their mind and say whatever comes out; then go home and practice it. This is foreign to the New Testament. 
4.     Tongues speakers may be deceived. 
    Because a person speaks unintelligible sounds, it is not proof that he has the N.T. gift of tongues. Few Charismatics are prepared to examine tongues. We must “prove all things” (1 Thess. 5:21). How do you prove that tongues are genuine languages? In 1 Corinthians 14:27-29, Paul discusses wrong tongues which are not interpreted in the church, and wrong prophecy, thus teaching that others need to judge a prophecy. Tongues have been spoken by heathen religions, Mormons, etc.. 

5.     Tongues were a sign of God's wrath, displeasure and judgment on unbelieving Israel, never a sign of His blessing and approval on Christians. 
    "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe,but to them that believe not"1 Cor.14:22 

a)     Acts 10:44-47; 11:16-18. Tongues used by Cornelius' household was a sign to unbelieving Peter and unbelieving Jewish Christians, that Gentiles were to be received into the family of God. In Acts 11:15 the phrase "as on us at the beginning" means that tongues had not been spoken since Pentecost which was 10 years earlier. 

b)     "Forbid not to speak in tongues" (1 Corinthians 14:39) was always on the understanding that tongues was a valid sign to warn Jewish unbelievers, until judgment came in 70AD. You don’t warn people after judgment has come. 
c)     In meetings where there were no unbelieving Jews, all teaching, praying etc. was to be in the language of those present (1 Corinthians 14:23-28). 1 Corinthians 14:19 states that in the church, 5 words understood are better than 10,000 words in tongues that are not understood. 
d)     Israel wanted signs, but the church must live by faith. “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.” (Matthew 12:39). 
e)     The Corinthians were using tongues as a mark of spirituality, for personal gratification, and to gain attention. Paul rebukes this childish, selfish practice. 
6.     Tongues is one of several temporary gifts. 
i)     Apostles. "are built upon the foundation of the apostles 
ii)     Prophets, …and prophets." Ephesians 2:20. 
    Neither they nor the Lord appointed any successors to their office. "12 apostles of the Lamb." (Revelation 21:14). There are no Apostles or prophets alive today. 
iii)     Knowledge. This was intuitive, revealed knowledge of doctrine before the Bible was completed. A completed, perfect Bible ended this gift along with prophecy in 96AD.1 Corinthians 13:8-13. Today we must study to gain Bible knowledge. 2 Timothy 2:15. (1 Corinthians 14:21,22. 
iv)     Tongues. With the setting aside of Israel in 70 AD, tongues and other sign gifts ceased. 
v)     Interpretation of tongues - ceased in 70 AD when tongues ceased. 

iv) Gifts of healing. Paul lost this gift, as he could not heal Epaphroditus in 64AD (Phil. 2:26,27), Timothy's stomach in 65AD (1 Timothy 5:23) nor Trophimus in 66AD (2 Timothy 4:20). In Acts 5:12-16, Peter healed every one in 33 AD.

vii)     Gift of miracles -no one can work miracles today at their will as could the first century apostles. 
viii)     Discerning of spirits - no one today has this gift because discernment comes through Bible knowledge of strong meat, full age Christians who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). No one today would claim infallible judgment always in every issue of life, which is what this gift demands (1 Corinthians 12:10). 

7.     Historically, tongues ceased after 63-70 AD. 
    Tongues were withdrawn when Israel deliberately rejected the apostles testimony of Christ, as seen in Acts 28:22-28 where Paul pronounces God's judgment on Israel (63AD). Judgment fell in 70AD. In all New Testament epistles written after this pronouncement in 63AD (Romans; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; 1 & 2 Timothy; Titus; Philemon; Hebrews; 1&2 Peter; John; 1,2 & 3 John; Jude and Revelation) there is no mention of tongues. Why? Because with the setting aside of Israel, and the 
confirming of the word of God, sign gifts were no longer necessary. These facts of the gospel and the apostles message of the Bible having been established, confirmed, and authenticated for all time, it is now an act of unbelief to seek for signs today.

Early church writers such as Polycarp, Papias, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Augustine, Origen, Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr etc. never mentioned tongues. Why? Because they had been withdrawn. Chrysostom says: "tongues....used to occur, but now no longer take place."

8.     Modern tongues and Charismatic Movement is not another Pentecost or "latter rain" of Joel 2:23. 

    Joel's prophecy discusses Israel's restoration to their land in the Millennium. When this happens, and not before, the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all flesh. What happened at Pentecost was only an illustration, a small sample of what will happen in the Millennium. At Pentecost, there were no signs in the sun, moon etc, thus indicating that Joel's prophecy is to be fulfilled in the future Millennium. Joel said nothing about tongues being a sign of renewal. This age will end in apostasy and departure from the Faith, not in Joel's revival. KEY: “Afterward” in Joel 2:28 means that the Spirit will be poured on all flesh after Christ’s second coming, and not before. 

9.     Tongues is not a sign of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

    "For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body." 1 Corinthians 12:13. 
i)     All believers have the Holy Spirit Baptism. 
    "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Romans 8:9. 
ii)     All believers have the Holy Spirit, but few believers spoke in tongues. 

If we have received Jesus Christ as Saviour, we also have the Holy Spirit in us, because we cannot separate members of the Godhead.

10.     Tongues were never intended to edify the speaker himself or the church. 
i)     "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort," 
1
Corinthians 14:3.
"For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted." 1
Corinthians 14:31.

The edification, exhortation, learning and comfort of the local church was always the responsibility of the one who prophesied (gave instruction in an understandable language).

ii)     "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself," (1 Corinthians 14:4) does not teach that personal holiness is found in tongues speaking. On the contrary it describes the Corinthians selfishness who used tongues for personal pleasure and public display. Tongues speaking in a church does not instruct, edify, warn or strengthen believers. Holiness through tongues will always be shallow because it is based on feelings, not on Biblical edification. 
iii)     Of all the tongues spoken today, new prophesies, new revelations and visions, not one iota of truth have been added to the inspired scriptures. 
11.     Tongues were never intended for prayer, praise or worship of God. 

    "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries." 1 Corinthians 14:2. 

    God does not need to be spoken to in a foreign language. This verse teaches that the Corinthians were using the gift of tongues out of place. Tongues were meant to be spoken to men, that is to JEWS. A person praying or singing in tongues simply spoke 
"mysteries" in his own spirit. He received no real benefit, the hearers were not helped, and God was not glorified. Prayer and praise must be with understanding in the common language. "What is it then? I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.....Else.....how shall.....the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks?" 1 Corinthians 14:15,16.

This is not two different kinds of prayer, but two conditions of all prayer, praying in the leading of the Holy Spirit and with an understanding mind. If understanding is not present, hearers cannot say "Amen" to your prayer.

12.     Tongues is not a sign of salvation. 

    Assurance of salvation comes from faith in God’s Bible promises, not from any feelings of tongues. 
13.     Tongues is not a condition of keeping us saved. 
    Pentecostalism, as a movement, does not believe in the eternal security of the believer who trusts in Christ alone for salvation. Many Charismatics think that their future preservation depends on continuing in the Charismatic experience. Many fear of grieving the Spirit and losing the power, and hence losing salvation. Some Charismatics do believe in the security of a believer in Christ. 

14.     Tongues are not a means of attaining holiness. 

    The nine fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23 have no relation to tongues. The Corinthians came behind in no gift (I Corinthians 1:7), yet Paul called them carnal and babes (1 Corinthians 3:1). True spirituality is not determined by one's experience, gift or feelings, but by inner godly character (e.g. 1 Peter 3:4, "a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price", for ladies.) It is right to be happy, joyful and to praise the Lord, but valuable character is better seen in times of testing, persecution, misunderstanding and suffering. 

15.     All spiritual gifts should exalt Christ, not the Holy Spirit. 

    Many Charismatics exalt the Holy Spirit above Christ. The Holy Spirit seeks to exalt Christ (John 15:26; 16:14). Hence the mark of a Spirit filled believer is that in life and speech, he glorifies Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:3). 

    “Christ shall be magnified in my body." Philippians 1:20; 3:8. 
    All gifts are given so that we may grow to the "fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13. Charismatics use the earthly, human title "Jesus", as did demons. No disciple ever addressed the Lord as "Jesus", but as Lord, Christ or Master, or Lord Jesus Christ. Let us give Christ His full honour as the Lord Jesus Christ. 

16.     All gifts were given to produce church unity and harmony. 
    All gifts were given that there be no schism in the body (1 Corinthians 12:25). Truth unites, error divides. The continual search for tongues, healing, prophecy, gifts etc., has split many churches, broken friendships and divided homes. The Charismatic Movement claims a new kind of unity not based on Bible doctrine, but on having the tongues experience. One can be a "spirit-filled" tongues speaker and believe almost anything. Many Christians who a few years ago opposed the heretical World Council of Churches, now cheerfully unite with Catholic Charismatic renewal, hence compromising essential Bible truths. 

17.     Tongues and all spiritual gifts were to promote order and peace. 

    "God is not the author of confusion but of peace." 1 Corinthians 14:33. "Let all things be done decently and in order." 1 Corinthians 14:40. 
    Church services should have one person speaking or praying at a time. In today's Charismatic meetings, there is much unrestrained noise, singing, clapping, shouting, tongues and dancing. 
18.     No Christian should surrender control of his mind and will. 

    Paul insisted that tongues and prophecy speakers should retain control of their mind and understanding: 
    "If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church." 1 Corinthians 14:28. "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." 1 Corinthians 14:32. Famous Charismatic leader, Oral Roberts, instructs tongues speakers as follows: 

    "We have to by-pass our mind and make it inactive for the moment. The mind slips into the background when we are praying in tongues and remains in a state of neutrality." [“Baptism With The Holy Spirit,” 1966, p. 42.] 
    New Age occult seminars similarly tell people to blank out their minds to yield control to some higher force, which in reality is to demons. 
    The New Testament never asks us to lay aside our sound mind, our self-control, our judgment or our reason, but to exercise these faculties in accordance with God's Word. Charismatics are told to overcome their inhibitions by by-passing their minds. People are brainwashed in cults like Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and the Charismatic Movement by surrendering their minds and wills to the group or leader. The danger for a believer who submits his mind without resistance to outside influences to receive tongues, is: 

a)     He opens himself up to psychic and demonic deception and control. 
b)     He can place himself beyond the protection of the Holy Spirit, by asking for things contrary to God's will. 
19.     The last days will be characterised by deception, signs, lying wonders and more demon activity 

    Satan has always opposed believers and God's work. Satan opposes us as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). The Corinthian believers were open to Satanic deception of another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel (11:4) as Satan’s ministers come as ministers of righteousness (11:15). 
    "There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24). 
    In Old Testament times God permitted false prophets to work miracles in order to test His people. 
    Two tests of false prophets are: 
a)     If he performs signs to turn you away from the Lord. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). 
b)     If he speaks in the name of the Lord, but the prophecy does not come to pass. (Deut.18:20-22). 
Isaiah 8:19 describes familiar spirits that "peep and mutter", like tongues.
Israel rejected the Word of God for more sensational dealings with the spirit world. Many see the Charismatic Movement as a Satanic deception permitted by God to test Christendom, and to pave the way for the Antichrist and the one world united Babylon religion of the last days.
"Even him (Antichrist) whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness....." 2 Thessalonians 2: 9,10. "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:22,23).

20.     Charismatics confuse Baptism in the Spirit (a once only experience at salvation -1 Cor. 12:13) with the filling of the Spirit (a continual daily experience for service obtained by confessing sin, prayer, and yielding to Christ. (Ephesians 5:18). 
21.     Doctrinal compromise. 

    Ministers who deny fundamental Bible truths such as the virgin birth, verbal inspiration, creation, etc. are often warmly welcomed and accepted if they claim a Charismatic experience. Charismatics warmly accept Roman Catholic priests and people who continue to seek salvation through the sacraments, who still pray to Mary, and still celebrate the mass. Doctrinal errors are ignored to keep Charismatic unity. 

22.     Most Charismatics are not diligent students of Scripture. 

    One can remain comfortable in his false beliefs as long as he refuses to face Biblical evidence to the contrary. One Australian Charismatic pastor could not find the book of Daniel in his Bible. He had to look up the table of contents. He thought Daniel was near Exodus. 

23.     Emphasis on Experience. 
    Personal experience is a great enemy of truth. When confronted with a mass of Biblical evidence, most Charismatics typically reply: "I know I am right. I have experienced tongues or healing myself. I have seen a prophet make correct predictions. I have seen people healed. The Bible teachings must have another explanation." 
    Tongues is mostly a learned behaviour. If you blank out your mind, anyone can say gibberish. Most healings are temporary and are achieved by hypnotherapy. What about the false predictions? These make him a false prophet. Studies show that most Charismatic healings revert back to the illness. Hypnotise a person, tell them they feel better, and they will feel better, for a time, but later they revert back to the illness. 

24.     New Revelations. 

    Charismatics continually claim to receive extra-Biblical revelations from God by tongues, prophecy, visions and dreams. Cults and Catholicism also claim revelations outside the Bible. 
25.     Damage to the local church. 

    Many Charismatics use a local church as a base for propaganda purposes to invite people to a home Bible study and prayer group governed by self-appointed spiritual leaders who instruct in tongues and try to heal people. A local church seems too confined, compared with many people from many churches coming together for a Charismatic rally. 

26.     Laxity and moral danger. 

    Some Charismatics think that they have "arrived" spiritually. They often lack motivation to press on further. The goal has been attained. Time for relaxation has come. Such carelessness explains much worldliness, sin and a rock music party atmosphere among Charismatics. Some receive "revelations" to divorce their spouse and remarry another person. Truth and reason then take a back seat. 

27.     Move back to Rome. 

    The Charismatic Movement reversed the decline of the Ecumenical Movement from 1960. It is not a threat to Rome. Both emphasise emotionalism, miracles, healing, and the lack of final Bible authority. Charismaticism is not true Protestantism because it is not solely based on the Bible. 

 

reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper. https://www.libertybaptistchurch.org.au/
 

Edited by KiwiChristian
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7 minutes ago, KiwiChristian said:

Rubbish. God understands your own language.

 

Plus, the fact that you can choose whether to speak "in tongues" or not proves its coming from YOU and not the Holy Spirit.

 

You dont know WHAT you are saying and dont know WHERE it is coming from. 

 

That is very dangerous.

 

"keep God from manifesting"?

That is a joke, right? God can do what HE wants, WHEN He wants and IF He wants, we cannot stop Him doing anything.

 

The Scriptures say, "Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns," (1 Corinthians 14:32), and a Fruit of Spirit is self control, "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23). The Fruit of Spirit helps us discern wither its from Holy Spirit, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already." (1 John 4:1-3). Because we are also told, "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24:24). If you cannot control the Tounges how is that part of Self Control and that even prophets are in control of the Spirit? 

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