Question about tongues
 

So here is my question:

If someone speak in tongues and it's the same word over and word is that really God?

I mean, can you speak one word in tongues and repeat it several times?

Example: I have a brother that say E lo lo lo lo lo lo lo lo lo lo lo lo messiah.

So he said two words in tongues and one word in English, correct?

There are languages that have so little inflection changes that it might sound like they are repeating the same word over and over, however, if the person is exercising their gift by faith, it is between them and their God how the language is delivered.

Unless God is revealing some issue of sin, I would recommend leaving it alone and keeping them in your prayers privately.

very wise answer

Amen!

I agree - good answer.

I will send you a PM ................

From my experience tongues is more of an "expressive" than an actual language with "words" and "phrases". For example, a baby's cry. A baby may cry and not utter an intelligible word, however the mother or father may be able to determine the "meaning" or "interpretation" of that cry, rather it be the childing needing food, attention, or to be changed, etc.

For example, I once heard a man speaking in tongues that sounded much like,

"Ma lalala lo key mo la la la la la la."

The gift of interpretation fell and the "interpretation" was, "Thus saith the Lord, I have visited you this night and found your praise a sweet fragrance. You have asked of me and I will answer...."

The "interpretation" continued for nearly a good 5 minutes. The tongues didn't last 10 seconds. The casual observer might say that it makes so sense for the tongues to be less than 10 seconds and the interpretation be nearly 5 minutes long. But they must understand it's an "interpretation" not a "translation". There are no "words" or actual "phrases"...it's like raw unhindered Spirit speaking through pure emotion.

I guess the important point to consider is that one cannot "translate" tongues....they can only be "interpreted".

It's also important to note that when people speak in tongues and are heard speaking in foreign language, most often everyone present hears them in their native tongue no matter what it is. For example a man may speak in tongues in a crowd that has people that speak English, French, Portuguese, Swahili, and Congolese....and all of them will understand him in their native tongue. But if the man were recorded he would only be heard speaking unintelligibly. In this fashion "tongues" often break the language barriers that are present such as at Pentecost.

:popcorn2

I must say I'm not so sure about this.

Yeah, me neither. I don't think that's the case.

I usually quarrel with ChristopherHall, so it is with some disappointment that I find myself in agreement with him here. http://www.apostolicfriendsforum.com...cons/icon7.gif

I think he has introduced a surprisingly sophisticated approach to the "speaking in tongues" phenomena.

I was going to point out that many might be surprised at Heaven's dictionary definition of each word in this expression of the gift of tongues... "Ma lalala lo key mo la la la la la la"... especially the variant meanings for the word "LA" ;)

There was a case with independent Apostolics in Africa in which a minister spoke in tongues during an altar call. Suddenly the crowd began coming forward by the dozens to pray through at the altar. After the meeting there were many discussions about what had happened...those attending all heard him praying for them and calling them forward...in their native tongue. Those who spoke French...heard French. Those that spoke Portugueses heard Portuguese. Think about Pentecost. Do you think the languages present were evenly divided among the 120 or do you think all men heard the 120 in the language wherein they were born?

I do, in Acts 2 it says that "everyone heard them speak in his own language"v6 and "how is it that we hear, each in our own language"v8and"we hear them speaking in our own tongues''v11. than v13 says-Others mocking said" They are full of new wine". Can it be that the apostles were speaking in tongues and those that were meant to understand heard them in thier own languages, but the mockers didn't and thought that they were drunk and babling some unintelligable sounds?
and in ch 10:46"For they heard them speak in tongues and magnify God."
How did they know that thay magnifying God unless some that went with Peter heard them in theur own language.

just a couple things to ponder on................



ARPH :doggyrun

"5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. " - Acts 2:5-13

Notice the crowd heard every man in the tongue wherein they were born. These languages groups weren't divided among the Apostles one 17 speaking one language and another 17 another. These were just "tongues" and all men understood them regardless of their own original language.

In this way a 7 year old girl can be used in this fashion to speak to a crowd speaking 20 different languages if God so desired.

This is a miracle...it's not a person merely speaking a human language

BINGO! You just got a revelation!

Great posts Bro. Hall.

I mean this with all humility...those who haven't operated on this plane in the Spirit may have difficulty understanding this concept.

I don't agree with this. Not that it matters that much probably. Just want to go on record saying so is all. :)

What do you mean "those who haven't operated on this plane in the Spirit"?

What plane are you speaking of, realizing of course that it isn't Air Canada, West Jet, Southwest or Delta.

:D:D:D

a while back, but almost everyone i mentioned this to kind of pushed it aside.


ARPH :doggyrun

There was a story I heard out of New York. A preacher was preaching and stopped and spoke in tongues during one point in the sermon. After the service a man asked him, "Where did you learn Italian? That was a beautiful prayer!" The preacher said, "I don't know Italian. I'm not sure what you're talking about." The man went on to explain that he heard the preacher speak in Italian. Later the tape was listened to. Italian was found no where on the tape. Where the one man heard Italian, the tape only had the preacher speaking in unintelligible tongues.

This gift cannot be forced. It only manifests as God desires. That was God trying to speak to that Italian man.

Interesting.

I know. People think on a very basic level. They read Acts 2 and see the Apostles actually speaking in these languages. Well let's look at their logic. We see...

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judaeans, Cappadocians, Pontians, Asians, Phrygians, Pamphylians, Egyptians, Libyans, Cryrenians, Romans, Jews, Cretes, and Arabians.

That's 17 language groups. That would mean that out of the 120 at least a group of 7 spoke one of these languages. That means 7 spoke Parthian, 7 spoke Median, 7 spoke Elamite, etc, etc. Because one person cannot speak but one language at a time. I can't speak both English and French at the same time. And if each man shifted from one language to the other 17 times it would hardly be enough to expound upon the wonderful works of God in any intelligible fashion. Also it wouldn't have been miraculous to the hearer...the hearer would only think, "Hey, they know Parthian."

BUT...if they all realized they were each hearing every man in their own language...now that would be a miracle. I can see the Parthians looking at the Medians (and saying in the common tongue they all shared, most likely Aramaic, for they were all Jewish converts come to Pentecost festival), "Wow, those guys speak very good Parthian." Then the Medes would reply, "Wait, they weren't speaking Parthian, they were speaking Mede!" Suddenly they would be wowed by the fact that each of them are hearing the group in their own language.

Look at this verse closely folks,

"And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" - Acts 2:8

That was the miracle folks. Anyone could learn two or three languages and speak in them moving from one to another. The real issue is that the listeners each heard every man in their own tongue. Now that was a noteworthy miracle!

There is a problem that I see some times when it comes to people's expectations of speaking in tongues. Of course, my own view is built up around my own experiences.

I had some "charismatic" guys try to coax me into speaking in tongues once when I was a kid. It ended up going no where. When I finally did receive the Holy Ghost (it was "finally" for me, but ocurred after my first visit to a UPC church) the "speaking in tongues" came like a wave that washed over me. It was great. There was no "progression" from "stammering lips" to "speaking in tongues."

It was only later that I began to hear some Apostolic people describe the "stammering lips" as being a precursor to speaking in tongues. I also heard folks talk about how that you could "have the Holy Ghost all over you" but not be "baptised." "You're almost there," they would say to people. This confused me.

The phrase "stammering lips" appears in Isaiah 28:11 and is then translated and quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:21. In both passages the phrase means "other languages." It does not describe a "process" of receiving the Holy Ghost, but rather is a way of describing foreign languages, albeit in a rather politically incorrect manner.

In the ancient world there was actually a great deal of "prophecy" or ecstatic utterences involved in a large number of religions. There is a famous account of an Egyptian official visiting Byblos in Lebanon. The Egyptian is robbed by one of his own crew men who then flees into the city and hides. The Egyptian protests to the rulers of Byblos who call on their "prophets" for help. A scene of "tongues and interpretation" follows and ultimately, because he was robbed by one of his own crew, the Egyptian is told that he's basically out of luck.

The high priestess at Delphi in Greece is another example of ecstatic speech. She was called the "Pythia" because when she spoke in a trance it was heard to have a lot of lisping sounds. When she was consulted, as famously by Agamemnon and Menelaus in the Illiad, she would speak incomprehensibly to the unitiated but was understood by the priests. For a few gold coins (or a lot) the priests would provide an interpretation. Themistocles gained valuable information from this oracle and was able to save the people of Athens thanks to the Pythia's prophecy during the Persian invasions in 480 B.C.

The Old Testament describes "the prophets" and "sons of the prophets" speaking ecstatically. Saul famously prophesied (1 Samuel 10). There is no indication that this "prophecy" was speech that was intended to be understood necessarily by "outsiders." The prophets spoke in ecstatic utterences and praised God. In the case of Saul, "the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man" (1 Samuel 10:6).

Critics of speaking in tongues will often try to say that the "tongues" are not "languages" and that even when an interpretation is given, the interpretation is often far more complex and much longer than the "tongues." But I think these critics err in expecting to always see a one-to-one correlation between tongues and interpretation. Also, I think it is an error to expect the "language" of speaking tongues to contain obvious syntax and grammar. The Bible doesn't make these claims for the experience, so why should anyone else?

In a study that I read of this past year (I'll try and find the reference) MRI and CAT scans were done of the brains of people who were speaking in their everyday language and of those who were "speaking in tongues." Now, the authors of the study didn't provide a lot of background info on the subjects involved, so I'm just left to assume that the "tongues speakers" were genuine and sincere. In any event, they found that two different parts of the brain lit up when the person was speaking. One part when they spoke in tongues, and the expected region that had been mapped long ago lit up when they spoke naturally.

Then it's really not so much speaking in tongues, it's hearing in tongues.

its speaking in tongues and someone else hearing in thier own language.


ARPH :doggyrun

The miracle is that the spirit tongue break the language barrier and all hear in their own language.

The miracle is speaking in tongues period, because that happens everywhere. It's much more a rarity if anybody were to hear tongues in their own language. All the Biblical references focus on the speaking being the point, not the hearing.

pelathais, here's the science article,

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1030183100.htm

They established that the areas of the brain active in speaking and singing were not as active in subjects speaking in tongues...the conclusion...the subjects aren't the one's speaking. ;)

We're not talking about speaking in tongues in general. We're discussing aspects of speaking in tongues in relation to translation vs. interpretation and glossolalia vs. xenoglossy.

Thanks. What happened to you? We never agreed before. http://www.apostolicfriendsforum.com...ons/icon12.gif

LOL

Bro. Hall ......

Could you please explain this please?

now there's some amongst us that don't believe you have to speak in tongues to get the holy ghost but I wont say any names

I've known of people who have spoken in tongues that someone who was present in the meeting recognized it as their own language.

I also know of a Chinese girl who my husband prayed through in Malaysia who spoke in a Chinese dialect unknown to her but known to one of the other young women attending the meeting. She wrote down what the girl who had just received the Holy Ghost was speaking and translated it into English.

It was a synopsis of the messages my husband had been speaking all week during revival meetings. That was pretty amazing! :thumbsup

I agree with Seth. Speaking in tongues is a miracle! It's awesome! It's powerful and it can be very effective!! It's the initial sign of Holy Ghost baptism! :thumbsup

Well if you're talking about all that go ahead.... :p

lol

I'm not saying it can't happen that way, but you make it sound like it generally does happen that way, as a rule. I don't believe we can say it does (as a rule), although I'm sure the Lord can certainly allow it to happen that way as he sees fit.

I don't know if there's enough there for us to teach this as being a biblically-based fact. The evidence for this seems to be mostly anecdotal.
In the end, Its not a life or death issue anyway. Interesting to know, but not necessarily critical.

:stirpot:stirpot:stirpot

Answering the original question, Imo... I wouldn't judge people. Let that be between them and God....If it is not directly affecting you, I'd leave it alone.

I'm an Assembly of God member and I'm sad to say this is becoming very common in our churches. Some offer "courses" on speaking in tongues while others will have an instructor "teach" you how to speak in tongues.

Thank God for the true, Baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues, that doesn't require any coaxing, instructing, or learning.