| (Copyright) by Rich Traver (Clifton, Colorado) |
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| This college student writes me from time to time. Tho’ not of our organizational genre, he is unusually astute and very much on track!! _____________________ College Student writes: What would you say regarding the gift of tongues? 1 Corinthians 14 states that “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.” Rich Traver writes: This I would say strongly suggests that the ‘tongues’ being referred to is a known language. A ‘tongue’ that needs no ‘interpretation’ to those who speak that particular language. What confuses the issue is the idea you refer to below, that it means some unique verbalizations that no hearer speaks, or would be expected to speak, needing to be deciphered. (A lot of times (all the time?) when multiple ‘interpreters’ translate what is uttered, they each ‘hear’ something different.) This situation alone speaks volumes! College Student writes: So presumably tongues is lower on the “gift hierarchy” according to Paul at least. But would you say that the gift of tongues has been poured out yet? Rich Traver writes: In the day, where there were many languages spoken, and nationalities co-mingled, (Acts 2:9-11) there was more need for such. But today, we have sources for translation / transcription, where the phenomenon isn’t common, nor is there the same need to have it ‘translated’. Now, another angle on this is the absence of scripture for the first thirty plus years of the NT Church. (New) Truths were revealed by the spoken word, as the LORD gave utterance. In audience, there could be multiple language speakers, thus the situation Paul speaks of. Now, with so much in writing today (the New Testament) there’s less need and less questioning of what’s being ‘revealed’. We have the basis ourselves now to assess the accuracy of such utterances using the WORD! Another factor (benefit) of having the unique utterances ‘interpreted’ is that IF the speaker was off-base, the translator stood as an intermediary to filter out what was being incorrectly alleged. That way, there was some control over what was being disseminated. We assess these scriptures of Paul in the context of today, not factoring-in the situation they had to deal with. Another thought, does the utterer know what he is saying? I never heard of an utterer contradicting his interpreter and say, “NO that isn’t what I said!!” College Student writes: Many profess to speak in tongues, but it is more akin to incoherent babbling than any discernible human language. Rich Traver writes: Right! Those situations that I’ve been exposed to (where there was interpretation) the utterances, when explained, is more often than not just some kindergarten level babble. Things like “Jesus loves you” or “the Lord is coming soon”, things at that level. Nothing everyone doesn’t already well know. No need to have someone make such utterance in some ‘inspired’ unknown (unique) not-real language. If such ‘revelations’ contained something profound, then we might look at the phenomenon differently. But what we see actually, is a ‘show’ on the part of the utterer as though they were extraordinarily ‘spiritual’. It’s just a vanity trip! College Student writes: What language or communication method would you presume to be prevalent in the millennial kingdom and onward. Rich Traver writes: Can only speculate, but likely one that has the enormous vocabulary and a wide spectrum of nuances that English has. Too many ‘dead’ languages don’t have the ability to convey the subtleties that modern languages can. Hebrew and Greek are limited in that respect, as the Bible translators realized. College Student writes: Or would glorified beings not communicate verbally unless necessary? There will be language. Rich Traver writes: Yes, things can also be co-conveyed at the thought level, I suspect. College Student writes: Perhaps telepathy, telekinesis, and the like would be par for the course for all that become part of the God family? Rich Traver writes: Don’t angels have that now? College Student writes: Would you say the Godhead used “language” of any sort prior to their creative efforts in pre-eternity? Rich Traver writes: Well, He communicated with Adam & Eve using a spoken language. What it was before Babel we can’t say for sure. College Student writes: As always, I look forward to your scriptural insights Editor’s Note: See the following “Contending for a More Pure Flow of Prophetic Ministry” by Eddie Hyatt in Issue #24 in regard to the tongues question. “Angel Sighting” by Laura Lee in regard to do angel speak. “Just too Explosive to Tell” by Jonathan Gray in Issue #83 in regard to what language did they speak before Babel. We also have an article coming in the future in regard to the tongues question. Laura Lee ———————————————————————– Reprinted with permission from: Golden Sheaves https://www.goldensheaves.org/ ———————————————————————– |
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