The Gift of Tongues and The Old Testament

In 1 Corinthians 13:8 the Apostle Paul, writing under the super­natural influence of the Holy Spirit, declared the following: “Love never faileth; but . . . whether there be tongues, they shall cease.”

Since the Holy Spirit moved Paul to make this declaration of his most extensive discourse on spiritual gifts, it would appear that the apostle’s statement was intended to communicate the following truth: in contrast with love which is permanent (never faileth), the gift of tongues would be temporary in duration (shall cease).

In spite of the fact that Paul taught the temporary duration of the gift of tongues, nowhere in 1 Corinthians 13 did he indicate when that gift would cease. One must look elsewhere in Scripture in order to learn how long God intended tongues to last.

1 Corinthians 14:22

In an earlier article, the following significant principle.concerning spiritual gifts was noted: the duration of a spiritual gift is deter­mined by its purpose or function. Once it fulfills that purpose or function, the gift is no longer necessary, and God does away with it.

In light of this principle, in order to learn how long God intended the gift of tongues to last, one must search the Scriptures to find the God­ intended purpose or function of that gift.

…tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.

There is only one biblical passage which clearly indicates the purpose or function of the gift of tongues. That passage is 1 Corinthians 14:22 where the Apostle Paul drew the following conclusion: “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.”

Several significant things should be noted concerning Paul’s statement in this passage. First, the combination of Greek words which are translated “are for” in Paul’s statement was used in New Testament times to indicate “the vocation, use, or end” which something was to serve.1 In addition, the word which is translated “for” was used by Paul to denote “appointment.” 2 Thus, in 1 Corinthians 14:22 Paul was drawing a conclusion concerning the divinely appointed vocation, use or end which the gift of tongues was to serve. In other words, he was indicating the God-intended purpose or function of that gift. No other biblical passage related to tongues uses such terms which indicate the divinely appointed purpose or function of that gift.

Second, Paul’s statement indicated that God appointed tongues to function as a sign. Thus, God intended tongues to be a sign gift. He did not intend it to be an edification gift by itself.

Third, Paul’s statement also indicated that God appointed tongues to be a sign to unbelievers, not to believers. Thus, God intended the gift of tongues by itself to be exercised for the benefit of unbelievers, not for the benefit of believers. In order for that divine intention to be fulfilled, the gift had to be exercised in public, not in private, by the believer who possessed the gift.

These three things which have been noted concerning Paul’s statement prompt two significant questions. First, God intended the gift of tongues to be a sign of what to unbelievers? Second, did God intend tongues to be a sign to all unbelievers in general or to a specific group of unbelievers?

The opening word of Paul’s 1 Corinthians 14:22 statement gives a clue concerning where the answers to these questions can be found. The word “wherefore” indicates that Paul based his conclusion concerning the purpose of the gift of tongues (v. 22) upon what he had just stated in the preceding verse (v. 21). In verse 21 Paul had stated the fol­lowing: “In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.”

In verse 21 Paul quoted from Isaiah 28:11-12. The context of Isaiah 28:11-12 emphasized the tragic situation which existed in Judah during Isaiah’s time. Through Isaiah the prophet, His spokesman, God had told the leaders of Judah what they should do in order to give the people of Judah rest from conquest and oppression by foreign powers (v. 12). Isaiah spoke God’s word very clearly and repeatedly, “precept upon precept; line upon line” (vv. 10, 13), so that the leaders of Judah could not miss the message.

…they willfully rejected God’s message and prophet messenger.

In spite of Isaiah’s clear, methodical way of presenting God’s message, the leaders “would not hear” (v. 12). They ridiculed the fact that God’s prophet spokesman was trying to teach them, the leaders of the nation, knowledge. They complained that, in so doing, Isaiah was treating them as immature, little children (v. 9). They mocked his clear, repetitive method of presenting God’s Word (v. 10). In other words, they willfully rejected God’s message and prophet messenger.

Because these leaders of Judah rejected God’s message in spite of its clear, methodical presentation by God’s prophet messenger, God declared that He would speak to them in another way -“with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people” (v. 11).

As the Jews would be forced to listen to this foreign language of their oppressors, it would be a sign to them that they were under the judgment of God.

What did God mean by this declaration? He meant that He would speak to these rebellious Jews through judgment—the judgment of conquest and oppression by foreigners whose language the Jews would not understand. As the Jews would be forced to listen to this foreign language of their oppressors, it would be a sign to them that they were under the judgment of God and that God was working with those who spoke the foreign language.

Several other Old Testament passages demonstrate that this is what God meant by His Isaiah 28:11 statement. In Jeremiah 5 God accused Israel and Judah of treacherous dealings against Him (v. 11). They had denied the truthfulness of what God had said about them through His prophets (v. 12). They had accused God’s prophets of being windbags who proclaimed something other than the true Word of God (v. 13). In other words, these Jews willfully rejected God’s message and prophet messengers.

Because of this treachery by the Jews, God said that He would do the following to them: “I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD; it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say” (v. 15). Thus, here again, because of their rejection of His message and prophet messengers, God declared that He would judge the Jews through conquest and oppression by foreigners whose lan­guage the Jews would not understand.

Very early in Israel’s history, God mapped out the future course of His dealings with that nation in another significant Old Testament passage. In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 God declared that, if the people of Israel would listen to and obey His Word, which was delivered through Moses His prophet (v. 1), He would bless them more than any other nation on the earth. But in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 God warned that, if they would not listen to and obey His Word, which was delivered through Moses His prophet (v. 15), He would curse them severely. One of the curses which God promised to bring upon Israel was this: “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand” (v. 49). Once again God associated the speaking of a foreign language, which the Jews could not understand, with His judg­ment of the Jews because of their rejection of His message delivered through His prophet.

In Deuteronomy 28:46 God made the following statement concerning His promised curses of Israel: “And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever.” This declaration by God is most significant for several reasons. First, it indicates that God intended His promised curses upon Israel to function as a sign -a sign to the effect that God was intervening into the course of history to judge the Jews. Since one of God’s promised curses was the speaking of a foreign language which the Jews could not understand (v. 49), this means that God intended the speaking of such a foreign language to function as a sign of His judgment.

Second, in light of the fact that the curses of Deuteronomy 28 were promised by God specifically for the people of Israel, God indicated that those curses would function as a sign specifically for the Israelites.

Since one of those promised curses was the speaking of a foreign language which the Jews could not understand, this means that God intended the speaking of such a foreign language to function as a judg­ment sign only for the Jews. He never intended such speaking to function as a judgment sign for the Gentiles.

God intended the speaking of such a language to function as a sign of God’s judgment to every generation of Jews which He judges for rejecting God’s message

Third, in His Deuteronomy 28:46 statement God indicated that His promised curses of Deuteronomy 28 would function as a sign of God’s judgment for the seed of Israel forever. In other words, they would function as a sign of God’s judgment to every generation of Jews which would be exposed to those curses as the result of rejecting God’s mes­sage which had been delivered to that generation by God’s prophet. Since one of those promised curses was the speaking of a foreign language which the Jews could not understand, this means that God intended the speaking of such a language to function as a sign of God’s judgment to every generation of Jews which He judges for rejecting God’s message delivered to it by God’s prophet. Because of this, as noted earlier in Isaiah 28 and Jeremiah 5, since the Jews of Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s times rejected God’s message and prophet messengers, God declared that He would speak to them in another way—through judg­ment. A sign of this judgment to those rebellious Jews would be as fol­lows: they would be forced to listen to a foreign language which they could not understand.

In light of this meaning of Isaiah 28:11, and in light of the fact that Paul used Isaiah 28:11 as the basis of his conclusion concerning the God-intended purpose of the gift of tongues in the Church, a significant question must be asked at this point. Since God made His Isaiah 28:11 statement several centuries before He gave the gift of tongues to the Church, what possible connection could there be between His Old Testament statement and the gift of tongues in the New Testament Church?

The next article on spiritual gifts will deal with this question.

ENDNOTE
  1. 1 William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (4th rev. ed.; Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957), pp. 228, 224.
  2. 2 Albrecht Oepke, “eis,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. II (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), p. 428.

5 thoughts on “The Gift of Tongues and The Old Testament

  1. 1 Cor 13:8-10 lists prophecy, tongues and knowledge. vs 9-10 says that prophecy and knowledge in part will end when perfection or completion occurs in future. these two verses do not include tongues. therefore, tongues are free to cease according to when the goals for gift of tongues were fulfilled. for example, when tongues are replaced by the written Word of God. also, when foreign tongues of the Romans were a warning sign to alert the Jews that God will bring judgment on ISR in 70 AD.

  2. Why is nobody bringing up that Jesus himself said that you will speak with new tongues? What are “New tongues” if a language has existed for thousands of years? The word “new” wouldn’t cross my mind if I could suddenly be speaking it. Why is nobody mentioning that Paul talked about tongues that he doesn’t understand but his Spirit does? Why is nobody bringing up when Paul said forbid not to speak with tongues? Tongues are for a sign to people in public who do not speak your language. I understand that to mean even though you don’t understand the tongue, the person receiving the message speaks that language and understands it. Paul spoke about speaking in tongues where his understanding was unfruitful, but his spirit was edified. He also said to not forbid it. Too many scholars with answers here, and not many with questions. Thought I’d do my part in salting the earth a little.

  3. Actually the end of tongues was at the destruction of the temple that completed the forty years of 360 day years in August of 70 AD. The beginning of the forty years of 360 day years was in March 31 AD at the death of John the Baptist a year before the resurrection on April 13, 32. There was a prophecy in Micah that as of days of the jews coming up out of Egypt God would be showing a mysterious “him” marvels. Who could that be? Most folk think it Israel sometimes referred to as a person. But Jesus actually identifies that mysterious “him” in John 5:19-20 as Himself.

    John 5:19–20 (KJV (WS))
    19Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
    20For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may MARVEL.

    Compare that to Micah 7:15:

    Micah 7:15 (KJV (WS))
    15According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him MARVELOUS things.

    Where a got the 360 day years, that was the years happening during the Exodus until about 700 BC when the world was shocked with a change in number of days it took to make a year. I had to say that also because instead of “as years” it said “as days” and because of the 360 day years of that, I calculated that evil generation that was a peer of Jesus and the Apostles as ending in August 70 AD, and March of 31 because of the coming full moon holiday of the Jews, and at that time Jesus speaks of John the Baptist in the past tense. The doing away with that Paul speaks of was of John dealing with eyewitness testimony being the basic KNOWLEDGE and Prophecy. It was a prophecy of someone who was the last living eyewitness of what Jesus said and did that had Holy Spirit enhanced memory, and when he archived the last eyewitness (Gospel of John) and the last prophecy (Revelation) then there would be no more prophecy until the end of the church age. It had to do with the law of two or three witnesses that establishes a matter. Paul used this Moses rule to establish doctrine whether by tongues or by prophets, two or three. Apostle John happens to be the one who was the last of both eyewitness testimony in his Gospel and prophetic eyewitness testimony in his Revelation. After this the only credibility giving gift left to the church was agape love, where Jesus said that “in this shall all know that ye are my disciples in that ye have love (agape – translated charity in 1 Cor. 13) one to another.” This means that unconditional love can be KNOWN by men but unless they are disciples of Jesus, they cannot have it in themselves (but the stage actors can get so close it even makes me weep when they act it out on the stage, but again, the Anglicized Greek word for a Greek Stage Actor having a thespian mask they cover their true face with is called HYPOCRITE.

  4. This article shows that Dr. Showers as good an expositor as he was is in error. He makes the statement that nowhere does Paul say when the tongues would cease. Indeed he does say so and in the same chapter as he said they would cease. Verse 10 says “but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.” That’s pretty plain, clear, straightforward and specific. It’s an obvious reference to the completion of Scripture which occurred in John’s day when he penned Revelation and subsequently died. I’m not sure how Dr. Showers could miss this. I’m only aware of two other errors on Dr. Showers part, both coming from the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. They couldn’t be considered major errors really but they are of significant passages, just not relative to salvific issues.

    1. “Is an obvious reference to the completion of scripture”??
      Mr Osborne I think you missed the essence of what Dr Showers was trying to communicate – he actually raised a very good question and you have zeroed in on one portion to try and highlight an error and promote your faulty idea. I’m not sure what dark corner of faith you are in, but it must be dark because the church of Jesus Christ around the world is continuing to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit as we read of in the book of acts and countless (no exaggeration) men and women and even children are receiving the gift of tongues amongst the other gifts of the spirit. It seems to me you are searching for errors, when you should be searching for the Holy Spirit. ‘The perfect’ Paul refers to is when Jesus comes back – until then the gifts are fully need and fully operational, after His return they will have no use.

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