In What Tongues Did The Apostles Speak On Pentecost? Are Pentecostals And Charismatics Correct In Speaking In Tongues?

Caleb B. -

 
Introduction.
    I grew up as a very Conservative orthodox Wels Lutheran. I grew up with the teaching as a Conservative Wels Lutheran that I, being of the "true faith and being a true Christian," can not pray with any other group that claims Christian. Which always confused me. The teachers and elders said that in no event, can you pray with other groups because their heresies and unfaithfulness to the "truth in Lutheranism" will affect you if you pray along with them. We were allowed to pray in their presence but internally pray our own prayer to God. This will definitely be a topic for separate Article, and it was in "Religion Class" in the Lutheran school that we went over the other denominations of Christianity and one group came up in that discussion. Pentecostals, and Assemblies of God. Now Assemblies of God are apart of Pentecostalism, but are often not associated when spoken of. When we went over these group[s] and suddenly I realized I had seen clips on the internet and on those Christian television channels that are on time to time. If you do not know the "interesting" way of Pentecostal worship/prayer, let me give you this clip. 
    So, now that you have heard the supposed "Holy Ghost language." What are your thoughts? Some Pentecostals also "pray" using what they call tongues. And they believe from what I've seen in interviews and articles, they fully believe they are speaking in tongues because the Holy Spirit descends into them to speak in this way, similar to when the Spirt of Christ was sent to the prophets. [1. 1 Peter 1:10-11]

What are Tongues?
    So what is a tongue besides the organ within your mouth?
"
Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables that lack any readily comprehendible meaning. In some cases, as part of religious practice, some believe it to be a divine language unknown to the speaker.[1] Glossolalia is practiced in Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity,[2][3] as well as in other religions.[4][5]

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    To go further beyond the definition given here, Pentecostals and other Charismatic groups believe the "Holy Spirit will speak with a heavenly/angelic language through the person when the Holy Spirit enters into the person." Where do this group[s] get this idea and doctrine? Well from Pentecost, hence the name PENTECOST—als. 

What actually happened on Pentecost?
    I assume many of you know the account of Pentecost within Acts. Know I will commend the Sola Scriptura Christians, however apart of that group is Pentecostals. They I do not commend and you will see why. I will quote first from the New International Version (NIV) then from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) in both instances. 
    When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
    When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

    We can see that both have a very similar reading which would lead to one understanding you would assume? Yet the Pentecostals will look at this and say, "see, the Holy Spirit filled the Apostles and they spoke in other tongues!" And we know what tongues mean because I gave you the definition. However, do the Pentecostals have any Biblical basis for this based on this section? I would argue yes and no. Yes, if you act by perverting the meaning of the Scriptures here by taking the passage out of context. Context is everything for meaning and understanding. Let's look at the passages after this that may or may not give light to the beginning of chapter 2. 
    5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

    5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 

    Here in Acts 2, we see a multitude of Jews from all backgrounds of the known world in Antiquity and it lists off multiple regions and nations from which these Jews were from, along with converts to Judaism. Notice verse 7, "Aren't all these men who are speaking Galileans?" (NIV) What purpose of use is this? Within Hebrew and or Aramaic, the Jews had multiple Dialects which were derived from accents and influence from the regions. The Jews and converts are pointing out that these men they are seeing, the Apostles are Galileans who have their own Dialect. Dialects are quite distinct and in the case of English, some people cannot understand American Southern Accents because the dialect has become a mixture of different cultures and ways of speaking. The same is the case within the way English is spoken in the United Kingdom. So the same is with Hebrew and Aramaic at this time, someone who spoke Hebrew and or Aramaic would have had a dialect id they were from Egypt then the Galileans or Arabs. The understanding is that the Jews and converts here may have also spoken other languages besides Hebrew and Aramaic. So then notice verse 8, "how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?" The surrounding Jews and converts just confirmed the definition of "tongues" from verse 4. And to further this, in verse 11 we read, "we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Now the Jews and converts say that these Galilean men are speaking in the tongues, languages of the men around them who are not Galilean. What does this mean then? It would be as if, a Midwesterner of the United States began to speak like a New Yorker, or a person from Scotland or Southern England or someone from Texas, and or in a completely different language like Spanish or Japanese. It did not mean some "heavenly or angelic language" because this would not make sense because the others who did not have the Holy Spirit ascend upon them with tongues of fire could understand the Apostles. Yet still the Pentecostals may think they have a chip in the game with the last two verses within this section of chapter 2 in the Bible, if your Bible uses sections.
    12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
    12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

    I was certainly taught in my Lutheran school that verse 13 was addressed towards the Apostles. Which the Pentecostals could use to argue their point suggesting the tongues the Apostles sounded so strange that they could have sounded drunk. However, I decline this idea and understanding and I concur that the speakers of verse 13 were addressing the Jews and converts who were hearing the Apostles and the speakers of verse 13 were suggesting that the Jews and converts were drunk and imagining they were understanding the Galileans. 

My Final Thoughts?
    This is the Scriptural basis, to my knowledge, that is used by Pentecostals and Charismatic Christians to back up their speaking in tongues and it's supposedly "Biblical basis." When in fact there is no basis or evidence because it is a perversion of Scripture by twisting passages and taken them out of context to fool the listener and follower who will accept what is told to them. As I said, I do not know any other verses that are used, but I do know the account of Pentecost is used often so that is what I worked with. Look back to the definition of speaking with tongues, "as well as in other religions." Now remember back to Matthew 6:7a: "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do—" Christ our Lord is referring to how pagan Gentiles pray to their gods, and tells the disciples to not pray like they do and in verse 7b, He, Christ, tells us that the pagan Gentiles use a lot of words to try to be noticed by their gods. I firmly believe this teaching by the Pentecostals and Charismatics to be a false doctrine. They pray in this way, and act in this way as if to get attention from God by "speaking with the Holy Spirit in a language God knows" or to get attention from others around them. So again, speaking in "heavenly, angelic tongues" is not Biblical for what the Pentecostals claim. Yes there is an Angelic language that is alluded to in the New Testament, yet for the New Testament, when it says that someone spoke in tongues it is referring to someone speaking a language that is foreign to them. There are many bonified accounts of this happening still among Christians. Instances with modern Saints even.

"The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you 
and give you peace." ☦
Location: Mt of Olives, Jerusalem

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