A Message to Pentecostals
The Truth About Tongues and Spiritual Gifts
If you're not mad at me already, this may very well be the page that triggers a reaction.
I have had many Pentecostals and Charismatics express outrage over what I am about to say, yet not a single person, not a preacher, not an evangelist, etc. can produce one solid, conclusive shred of evidence to dispute it. Not a single person out of 1.3 million+ (yes million) visitors to the Elijah Project has been able to refute this.
it matters very little just how long you’ve laid claim to the “gift” of the Holy Ghost. You had better stop right now and examine the tongues you are speaking in to see if they ARE REALLY THE TONGUES SPOKEN OF IN THE BIBLE.
Throughout the book of Acts we see several passages dealing with tongues (or with speaking in tongues) and they describe tongues very clearly. Unfortunately, the tongues of the bible are often not the same gibberish you hear today.
Before you get angry, remember this: You CAN be deceived even if you DO claim to have the Holy Ghost. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Jesus even warned us in Matthew 24:4 "...Take heed that no man deceive you." If you believe you cannot be deceived, you're deceived already.
The passages in the book of Acts that deal with tongues are: Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 10, Acts chapter 19. There are other passages in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14.
About Tongues
Before I go any further let me say that there are WAY TOO MANY Pentecostals today who believe “tongues” are the FINAL evidence of having the Holy Ghost. That, my friend is not true. The bible itself does not promote that and it is not to be held as any evidence at all that someone is filled with the Holy Ghost.
Satanists speak in tongues. What will you say if and when you hear that?
According the the Bible: speaking in tongues is the INITIAL evidence of the infilling of the Holy Ghost. That is what the Word of God teaches and I’ll challenge you to dispute that. If you wish to argue that point, then please provide the Book, Chapter and Verse that states otherwise.
I’m sure that most of you who have been Pentecostal for any length of time have heard such things coming from the pulpits as: “If you’re filled with the Holy Ghost, you should be speaking in tongues right now.” This is usually followed by a coaxing or an encouragement to open your mouth and “start speaking in tongues right now”.
You’ve also seen those who come down to an old fashioned altar who really are seeking the Lord, begin to stammer and stutter during their prayers. It is usually at this point that somebody will begin to tell them “that’s it!”, “you’ve got it” (referring of course to the Holy Ghost).
This is pure baloney.
A quivering lip is no more a sign of the infilling of the Holy Ghost than a milk sign is that there is a cow inside. NO ONE has to tell anyone else when they receive the Holy Ghost. No One! If they aren’t sure, then they don’t have the Holy Ghost and your telling them they do is only going to cause confusion and it will ultimately destroy them.
If and when they turn their back on God because of this, it is YOU, my friend who will answer to God Almighty on the day of judgment for their soul! Is that a laughing matter to you? Is it a light matter to you? May God help and have mercy upon you if it is.
Proverbs 18:19 "A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle."
Let me get back to the “speak now” thing. If you don’t heed anything else I say, I will warn you very sternly to heed this: IF you think you can turn your ‘speaking in tongues’ on and off according to YOUR WILL, friend, you are deceived and you DO NOT have the Holy Ghost. Oh, I believe you have SOMETHING, but there is nothing HOLY about it. You are a fake and a deceiver and very likely have a lying spirit versus the Holy Spirit. You cannot provide one single scripture that allows YOU to control YOUR particular brand of “speaking in tongues”. Not One.
If you begin to just "speak" in tongues because you remember what it sounded like, you are dead wrong. Let me put it this way: If you were to mimic everything I said while I was speaking to you, I would consider it very disrespectful. If you mimic and mock what the Spirit of God has spoken through you, it is considered Blasphemous. You need to be VERY VERY Careful that you are NOT mocking God.
The bible is very clear on this matter: Speaking in tongues is AS THE SPIRIT gives utterance. Don’t try to say that you are “so in tune with the Holy Spirit” that you can just speak anytime you want to. That is not true and there is NO scripture to support it. You cannot command the Spirit of God “at your will”.
There is one thing the Pentecostal Church of today needs to get right: Tongues are the LEAST of all gifts.
It is better for you to covet to PROPHESY. Those aren't my words, my dear ones. It is not my intention in this particular study to get into the descriptions of the gifts and their operation. It is my intention to call a church to repentance over the deception that is being allowed to flourish.
For a study on the gifts and exposing the abuses of them please see the page entitled Exposing False Gifts. In that study, every gift is covered and is explained in detail. Don't misunderstand me: I DO believe in the Gifts of God. I just believe there has been too much deception in their occurrences.
Deception
Allow me to present some examples that I have seen personally. I know that you have seen these atrocities if you've been anywhere around Pentecostal or Charismatic Churches:
There are those who will jerk their bodies, swing their arms, double over, etc. then break into speaking some nanananababababa gibberish and will instantly open their eyes to see who is watching. If someone happens to be staring straight at them, they’ll break back into their little routine.
THAT is deception and it is NOT of God. It is time to call things for what they are.
There are others who come up for prayer then as the minister and other elders lay hands upon them, they look back just before falling? Do you know why they have to do this? Because they are FAKES and they are trying to deceive you into thinking that they are somehow more spiritual than you. It is deception.
I can say that in every church in which I have ministered, I do not EVER allow a “catcher” to stand behind someone. If you fall back onto a carpet padded concrete floor, you had better KNOW that it is God who is moving upon you, otherwise you will be going to the hospital. Sue me in a court of law if you wish, but I will be glad to go to court to expose you for the deceiver you are.
For the real ones, there is testimony after testimony, however that “someone” caught me and laid me down. I have NEVER seen an injury to anyone who is overwhelmed by the power of God and I don’t expect to ever see one. I will not and cannot support deception or deceivers by placing a “catcher” behind them!
There are still others who will shout, praise and speak in their (ahem) "prayer language” all during the music, but the very instant the music stops, so does everything else. Yeah..sure...whatever. You can believe those deceivers if you wish. The Spirit of God is NOT SUBJECT to whether music is playing or not.
I was at a recent Youth Camp in which the young people were allowed to run (supposedly in the “spirit”). Well, it was SOME spirit, but not a HOLY ONE. Get mad at me if you will but someone has to speak the truth about the lying chaos that has entered the church in the name of "spirituality". This chaos continued for quite some time and I witnessed many of these young people pushing people, running into and nearly over people, tripping over chairs, knocking a table over in one instance, and even falling upon an elderly man. Godly? I think not. Good order and discipline? I think not. Lack of Proper Teaching, Instruction, Guidance and Understanding of the Holy Things of God? Absolutely.
Do I fault the young people? Not in the least. I fault the propagators of this deceptive behavior and those who will not lift a finger to correct, in love, the offenders. I know many of you are probably thinking very ill of me by now and that’s ok.
The truth of this matter is that we ALL need to examine whether these things are of God. If they are of God, why then do many of them violate the scriptures? If they are not of God, why do you support them and even encourage them? If you are ignoring these types of things and looking the other way, then YOU are propagating a lie and encouraging those who do these things to continue. It would do you well to read Romans 1:32.
Summary on "Speaking in Tongues"
There are many, many other examples of abuses, but I think these will suffice for now. Let me briefly touch on Tongues again before we move on.
Once again, you may read the study entitled Exposing False Gifts for more information on the real gifts of the Spirit.
I’ve heard Saints say “I’ve known "so and so" for X number of years and I’ve NEVER heard them speak in tongues”. My question for you is “So”? Just because you have never heard them, does that mean they haven't nor does it mean they should!
Does it mean that YOU "must" hear them in order to believe they are filled with the Spirit of God? I personally have never seen many of these people read their bible, conduct personal prayer time, pray with their families, pray over their children or testify under the anointing of God, but I don't necessarily doubt that they do. No one has a right and certainly has any biblical precedent to tell someone “if you’re not speaking in tongues, you’re going to hell”.
It is by your FRUIT that I can see your life, not by the manifestation of ANY spiritual gift. I read that though Paul spoke in tongues on a regular basis, it was apparently a rare thing to hear him speak in tongues in church. 1 Corinthians 14:18-19. It would do you well to read and understand 1 Corinthians 12:27-30.
One more issue before I cease speaking about this matter: Don’t ever fall for the “just say ______" over and over catch prases routine (insert your favorite phrase here..Jesus, hallelujah, etc). There are NO phrases you can say to “make" God give you the Holy Ghost.
To even attempt such things is an attempt at manipulating God which is in effect, Witchcraft!
Additionally, the repetition of a phrase over and over at it's very least, is CHANTING and "VAIN REPETITION". There was a time when practical holy living, not tongues, was the final test of the Pentecostal religion.
The tragic trend now is to tone down the separated life of holiness and emphasize the matter of some sort of Holy Ghost manifestations and tongues-speaking. The church has turned from being a lifestyle oriented church to one of following signs and wonders.
Tongues-Speaking is not and should not ever be the identifying mark of a holy life. If that is your belief and your basis, dear one, you are quite deceived in your religion and you need to re-examine (perhaps even examine for the first time) the scriptures.
"For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (I Corinthians 4:7).
Enough on Tongues. Let me move on.