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Biblical Analysis of Tongues

Despite the foregoing negative evidence, a biblical study of tongues must first recognize that there is no single verse of Scripture which states that the gift has completely and forever ceased, never to be manifested again. Although passages such as 1 Corinthians 13:8 indicate a cessation of the gift, the verse is neither specific as to the time the cessation will occur, nor whether or not after such a cessation tongues could return intermittently. Many Protestant groups claim that at the end of the Apostolic Age, which is marked by the death of the last apostle, tongues-speaking came to an abrupt end, coincident with the cessation of the inspired word of God, or general revelation, at the completion of the New Testament. Along with the cessation of tongues, these groups believe that miracles, prophecies, visions and other such supernatural activity also ceased.

The Catholic view maintains that although general revelation has ceased, private revelation has not ceased, nor have private manifestations of miracles, prophecies, visions, or any other divine gift. In other words, the gifts of the Holy Spirit remain intact, albeit some of them may not be as common as in the early days of the Church, since some gifts perhaps fell into disuse as circumstances demanded. The Church's only stipulation is that anything of a private origin will not be required as necessary for belief, but can be used for edification and devotion. The Church also warns that the demonic world continues its own supernatural activity, such that miracles, prophecies and tongues may be mimicked by forces opposed to God and the Church. Moreover, the Church has certainly not ruled out that claims to private revelations may indeed be the product of an individual's over-active imagination. Which of these three sources is at work at any one time is a matter the Church decides when she deems appropriate, yet she does so only in a small percentage of the reported cases.

Yet even with the open-minded posture of the Catholic Church to private revelation, one must acknowledge that supernatural occurrences are rare, as even the Church herself admits. In her entire history, only a select few individuals have received private revelation in the Catholic Church. Most of its greatest saints and theologians make no claim to receiving private revelation. Moreover, the Church has always been infested with charlatans and self-proclaimed messengers of God who make it appear as if miraculous occurrences are the norm rather than the exception. Thus, with the freedom given in the Catholic Church, there is just as much or more caution.

One possibility to be kept in mind when examining the modern tongues movement is that all three causes: (1) the Holy Spirit; (2) the demonic world, and (3) man himself; may be active in producing what we see today and in the recent past. If it is accepted that the Holy Spirit moved saints such as Teresa of Avila, Anthony of Padua, or Francis Xavier to speak in tongues for the benefit of those in their missionary audience, then there is no reason to deny that such an occurrence could happen in our day, especially since the Church has never forbidden speaking in tongues (Also 1 Cor. 14:39: "Forbid not to speak with tongues"). The Holy Spirit moves as He wills, and where He blows is often a mystery to us (John 3:8). That being said, it is reasonable to postulate that, if the true gift of tongues were manifested among certain people today, then either the demonic world or the psychologically unstable and egotistically motivated would seek to mimic such divine manifestations in an effort to grab the limelight and/or to deceive the followers of Christ.

On the demonic side, the counterfeiting of divine miracles is as old as the Bible itself. The first recorded instance occurred during the Israelites' departure from Egypt in the 15th century B.C. The book of Exodus records that Pharaoh's magicians could perform many of the same miraculous feats as Moses (Exodus 7:11, 22; 8:7). These miracles persuaded Pharaoh that there was some legitimacy to his claims against the Israelites. By the same token, Pharaoh's magicians could not perform all of Moses' miracles (Exodus 8:18; 9:11), which shows that the underworld is limited in its power to deceive.

Similarly, Paul warns the Corinthians, in no uncertain terms, that Satan and his angels come into the Church masquerading as an angels of light, disguising themselves as "apostles" of Christ (2 Cor. 11:13-15). In the next chapter Paul specifies what the signs of an apostle are: "The signs of an apostle were performed among you...signs and wonders and miracles" (2 Cor 12:12). The Revelation of John tells us that the demonic world has these same powers (Rev. 13:14; 16:14; 19:20). We also know that when Jesus began His ministry in Israel, demonic activity became quite pronounced, which is the reason we read of so many demon possessions in the Gospels. These simultaneous occurrences show that when God performs miracles it is not unusual to see the demonic world attempt to counterfeit those miracles in an effort to take back control of the people.

We also know that, whether in league with the demonic world or independently initiated, certain men in history have shown the unique ability to gather a following of people. Sometimes it only takes one powerful idea and the ability to communicate that idea to create a huge following. The wise Gamaliel of Acts 5:35-39 recognized this principle when debating whether he should oppose the new Christian movement. Most people are natural-born followers, and since they cannot figure out the sometimes confusing issues of life themselves, they are constantly searching for a charismatic figure to lead them to safety. The demons prey on such mentality, and so do men of ill will. Hence, it remains a distinct possibility that certain men will use human nature's awe and fascination with the miraculous, including tongues-speaking, to draw them away from the truth.

With these biblical guideline in the forefront, we will now proceed to examine the specific evidence concerning tongues in the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 13:8: The Cessation of Tongues

One might wonder if there is any evidence in Scripture regarding whether the gift of tongues would continue past the age of the Apostles or terminate sometime within their ministry. In the midst of his discourse on tongues in the letter to the Corinthians, Paul touches on the cessation of tongues in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12. He writes:

" Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known."

For this particular study, we are naturally drawn to the words "if there be tongues, they will cease," for this tells us quite clearly that tongues will eventually cease. Yet, although the cessation of tongues is clear, the passage is ambiguous as to when this eventuality will occur. Moreover, the verse does not specify whether tongues could cease temporarily and then return intermittently. Since Paul's major concern in the text is the elevation of love as the most superior gift of God, he puts very little concentration on tongues. Nevertheless, there are some hints as to what Paul meant by the phrase "they will cease."

The most interesting piece of evidence is that Paul chose a different Greek word for the cessation of tongues than he did for the doing away of prophecy and knowledge. The Greek word for "cease" is pauvsontai (root = pauomai), whereas the Greek word for "done away" is katarghqhvsontai (root = katargeo). We must assume that this choice of words is no accident. The word katargeo refers to a non-physical destruction by means of a superior power coming in to replace the power previously in effect. It is used in such passages as Hebrews 2:14; 2 Tim. 1:10; 2 Thess. 2:8. In the Corinthian epistle, Paul uses it in 1:28; 2:6; 6:13; 15:24, 26. The other distinguishing feature of this word is that it is in the Greek passive voice, which means that the superior force is acting directly upon prophecy and knowledge in order to replace them.

The next question regards whether there is anything in the context of the passage that identifies this superior force and tells us when it will act upon prophecy and knowledge. The choices are limited to the phrases "when the perfect comes," "face to face," and "then I shall know fully" (1 Cor. 13:10-12). The difficulty with these descriptions, however, is that the identity of the word "perfect" is not specified; "face to face" is more of a metaphor than a time factor; and "then I shall know fully," is not time specific. Nevertheless, the cumulative effect of these three phrases gives a strong indication of the timing Paul has in mind. We could categorize all the phrases in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 with their counterparts as follows:

Knowledge and Prophecies

Present.......................................... Future

"in part"......................................"perfect"

"child"............................................"man"

"mirror dimly"........................... "face to face"

"know in part"........................... "know in full"

If the reference to "face to face" is not merely a metaphor, but a veiled description of some future event, there is only one event to which it could refer. In Rev. 22:4, which is a description of the eternal state, it is said that Christians will "see His face." Similarly, 1 John 3:2, in reference to the Second Coming of Christ, says "when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is." Likewise, Matthew 5:8 states that the pure in heart will "see God." Thus, it seems likely that "face to face" is a reference to the beginning of eternity in heaven.

Regarding Paul's reference to "perfect," he gives a good clue to his intentions in Philippians 3:12, 21. The first verse states that Paul has not yet become "perfect" in this life, and the latter verse explains when Paul expects the imperfect state to cease. It will cease when He "will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory..."

It is also true that Paul refers to our present state as "perfect" or more specifically a striving for the "perfect." For example, in Ephesians 4:13-14 he writes:

" ...until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming."

The words "knowledge" "mature man," "fulness" and "children" are some of the same concepts Paul uses in the verse under study, 1 Corinthians 13:8-12. In both passages, Paul teaches that we are striving for these ultimate levels of attainment. It is only natural to assume that at some point in the future they will be fully realized, and if they don't come sooner, they will definitely come later at the Second Coming of Christ.

One interesting fact about the metaphors Paul uses to describe the passing away of knowledge and prophecy is that after 1 Corinthians 13:8 the gift of tongues has been eliminated from the discussion. Only prophecy and knowledge remain in the discussion at verse 9, and of these two, knowledge seems to be the last survivor in verse 12. In any case, Paul implies that tongues will cease prior to knowledge and prophecy, and thus prior to the arrival of the "perfect" and "face to face." If this is his meaning, he seems to reinforce it by the particular verb he chooses to picture the cessation of tongues. As noted earlier, Paul picks the Greek word pauomai. This word means to stop or cease, usually immediately (cf., Luke 5:4; 8:24; Acts 20:1; 1 Peter 3:10; 4:1). This suggests that tongues will have an abrupt end. It will not linger for a while and then fade away gradually. It will be here one day and gone the next. This conclusion agrees with the testimony of the early Fathers who wrote that, except for fringe reports of tongues, the gift had ceased already by the time of their writing.

There is another dimension to the Greek word pauomai which sets it apart. In distinction to katargeo, which is in the Greek passive voice, pauomai is a middle deponent verb. This means that rather than being acted upon by an outside force, tongues will act on itself to cease. How this will happen is not clear. In the New Testament, there is no other gift that is said to "cease." Since tongues was a gift prompted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:4-11), its cessation must entail a cessation of the power of Holy Spirit for that particular gift. Understanding the Spirit's withdrawal in light of the Greek middle voice of pauomai, we can surmise that tongues would cease when it needed to cease, that is, when there was little need for the gift, rather than, as is the case with knowledge and prophecy, being done away by a major event, such as the Second Coming of Christ. Tongues will cease without incident and without being linked to other historical events.

The likelihood is that the need for such a gift would become less and less frequent as the Church became more established in the world. But this does not mean that when tongues ceased it could never again appear at another place and time, for there is nothing in Paul's writings which explicitly says that the gift could not be manifested, along with the other gifts, right up until the end of time. The cessation of tongues about which Paul speaks could very likely refer to an intermittent cessation, as the Holy Spirit saw fit to do, and as He does with most miraculous activity. Similar to the other miracles of the Holy Spirit (prophecy, miracles, revelation, healing), although they were manifested infrequently, they continue unabated throughout the Church age.

Such intermittent cessation of tongues may help explain why, on the one hand, most Fathers of the Church and medieval theologians report that the gift of tongues was not active in their day, yet, on the other hand, through two millennia of Catholic history, there are scattered yet consistent reports of Catholic saints speaking in tongues. In many cases, the Catholic missionaries would most likely not know the language of the people to whom they wished to preach the gospel, hence the Holy Spirit could have inspired the gift of tongues to help the missionaries communicate with the indigenous people, much like the Holy Spirit did at Pentecost. When used properly, tongues were a means to preach the gospel, as is plainly evident when the apostles spoke in tongues at Pentecost to men from 15 different nations who heard God's word in their own language (Acts 2:1-11). Indeed, the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32, which Pentecost fulfilled, states that God will pour out His Spirit in the "last days...and your sons and daughters shall prophecy..." Since there is nothing specific said about tongues in Joel's prophecy, it must then be assumed that when Joel refers to the "sons and daughter prophesying" he is including tongues under the general heading of prophesying. According to the metaphors of 1 Corinthians 13:9-12, prophecy is said to continue up until the arrival of the "perfect" and "face to face," which, as noted above, refers to the eternal state when the Christian will see God. Moreover, the New Testament gives no time-limit to the duration of the "last days," and, in fact, assumes that the "last days" are an open-ended time interval transpiring till the Second Coming (2Tim 3:1; Heb 1:2; Jam 5:3; 2Pet 3;3; Catholic Catechism, para 732). If so, then there is no reason why tongues could not reappear at the Holy Spirit's discretion.

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