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Is the present tongues/charismatic movement really of God, or of someone else?

   I have a question about being baptized with the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues. I have a brief testimony, I've been saved about 2 years now and before then I haven't been to church in years, I knew nothing about the Holy Ghost and tongues. The day when I asked Jesus to come into my life, that next moment I begin to thank Him and praise God for saving me and as I was doing so I felt a weakness in my legs until it overwhelmed me and as I begin to drop to the floor and yet still giving God thanks an uncontrollable utterance came out of my mouth which I could not understand. I now have more understanding, hunger, and thirst for Gods word. Was that of God or the devil. please explain Mark 16:17, 1 Cor.14:39, Thank you.

  There is only one way to be saved; that is, to repent of your sin and place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him alone. Luke 13:3 says, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." John 14:6 says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Acts 4:12 says, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." These verses make the matter very clear. We know that salvation is not granted by the pope or priest, and that salvation does not come through Mohammed, or Buddha, etc. Why? Because the Bible clearly says that salvation is only of the Lord.

Now when it comes to the matter of the Christian life, the Bible is just as authoritative. Your experiences are not the authority — the Bible is. Isaiah 8:20 says, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." If your experience does not agree with what the Bible says, then your experience is not from God.

When the light of God’s Word is shone upon your experience, and it does not appear as Biblical, then your experience is from the "angel of light," the devil. II Corinthians 11:13-15 says, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

You stated, "The day when I asked Jesus to come into my life, that next moment I begin to thank Him and praise God for saving me and as I was doing so I felt a weakness in my legs until it overwhelmed me and as I begin to drop to the floor and yet still giving God thanks an uncontrollable utterance came out of my mouth which I could not understand. I now have more understanding, hunger, and thirst for Gods word. Was that of God or the devil."

You stated that "an uncontrollable utterance came out of my mouth." That is the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. I Corinthians 14:32,33 says, "And THE SPIRITS OF THE PROPHETS ARE SUBJECT TO THE PROPHETS. FOR GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." God moves His people to say certain things, but He does not force them to say it. A Christian is in control of what he says. God did not make us as robots. We can obey the Holy Spirit as He leads us to speak something, or we can quench the Holy Spirit and grieve Him.

It is demons that take people and cause them to speak uncontrollably. In Mark 5:2-9, we see a man coming to the Lord Jesus, but it was the demons in him that took charge of the talking. "And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many."

You asked about I Corinthians 14:39, "Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues." That would only be true if those people claiming to speak with tongues were following the Scripture and its rules regarding tongues. The Charismatic Movement is using the matter of speaking in tongues exactly opposite from what the Scripture teaches about it. When a Charismatic hears that another person has spoken in tongues, then they take that as a sign that that person is saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. That is exactly opposite of what the Bible teaches. I Corinthians 14:22 says, "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe."

Tongues were NOT given to be a sign to one believer that another person is also a believer and Spirit-filled. Tongues were given to be a sign to the lost — NOT to the saved. "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." Please keep this thought in mind, and we will come back to it in a moment.

Secondly, it is Jews that require a sign — not Gentiles. I Corinthians 1:22 say, "For THE JEWS REQUIRE A SIGN, and the Greeks seek after wisdom." On the day of Pentecost, when tongues were used, it was to convince the Jews that they needed Christ. Acts 2:1-11 says, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And THERE WERE DWELLING AT JERUSALEM JEWS, DEVOUT MEN, OUT OF EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God."

So it was Jews from all of these different nations and languages that heard the wonderful message of salvation in their own language. It was a sign from God to them, because they knew that these men did not know their languages. It was a sign from God to them that they had better get saved.

God could reverse the effects of the Tower of Babel, and cause the whole earth to be of one language again, but He has not done so. God could easily give every missionary the gift of tongues so that they would not have to learn foreign languages, but He has not done so. There is a good reason, because tongues are a sign to Jews, not to Gentiles.

If the Charismatics had the true gift of tongues, and if it would convince the Gentiles that they needed the Lord Jesus Christ, then why are the Charismatics not sending forth thousands of missionaries right now to different countries with no language training? They would be seeing thousands and thousands of people saved, and their missionaries would need absolutely no training in foreign language. That is not happening for several reasons.

Number one, because Charismatics are not using the sign Scripturally. They are using it as a sign from one believer to another that the person is saved and Spirit-filled. That is not the purpose of tongues at all. I Corinthians 14:22 says, "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, NOT to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe."

Number two, if the true sign of tongues was used today, it would be used to reach the Jews — not the Gentiles. I Corinthians 1:22 says, "For THE JEWS REQUIRE A SIGN, and the Greeks seek after wisdom."

Number three, if the Charismatics had the true gift of tongues, they would be sending out missionaries with absolutely no language training needed, but they are not.

Number four, if a person reads one chapter of the Bible alone, I Corinthians 14, he would see many unscriptural practices of the Charismatics in regard to tongues. Verse 34 says, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law". As it has been said by someone, if that one verse alone were obeyed, the tongues movement of today would dry up overnight. Women played a prominent role in starting the modern day tongues movement, and still do. And yet the Scripture clearly commands them not to speak in tongues in the church, nor even to ask questions about what was said. Verse 33 shows another very clear indication that Charismatic churches are not following the Bible, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." There is no denial that Charismatic services are full of confusion. People talking all at once when they are praying and speaking in tongues. People running around the church dancing, writhing around on the floor, etc. That is pure confusion. Verses 27,28 say, "If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God." A person is not to even speak in tongues unless it is first seen if an interpreter is present. That is not what is normally done at all in Charismatic services. What happens is that someone jumps up and starts rattling off something which no one understands. Then, someone in the congregation just jumps up and gives a so-called interpretation. The whole thing is phony and totally unscriptural.

We could go on from just I Corinthians 14 alone, and show more errors of the Charismatic Movement. But the truth of the matter is that the Bible is no longer the authority of the Charismatic Movement. Their authority is their own experiences. I have talked to them, and their final answer is, "I do not know about what the Bible says, but I know what I have experienced! And you are not going to convince me otherwise!"

The Charismatic Movement is the preparation of the antichrist to come in with his signs and lying wonders. II Thessalonians 2:3-12 says, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is AFTER THE WORKING OF SATAN WITH ALL POWER AND SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

The Charismatic Movement has taught people to believe signs and wonders above all else, and that is exactly what Satan wants. That is how he will convince people to believe his lie.

Notice how Matthew 7:21-23 exactly describes the Charismatic Movement, and its end. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

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