Tongues of Fire and the Prophetic Nature of the Charismatic Church

Tongues of fire and speaking in tongues, indicated the spiritual and prophetic nature of the Church, and aided the Church in overcoming and superceding the alternative spiritual systems in the Graeco Roman and Jewish worlds.
I. Tongues and fire in the Bible
A. The role of fire in the Scriptures
1. Fire and God
2. Fire and the word of God
a. Oracles of Jeremiah
i. the role of Jeremiah as prophetic builder
ii. the role of Jeremiah as prophetic destroyer
b. Pentecost and Repentance
c. Corinth Tongues, Interpretation and Prophecy
d. Celsus Testimony of the Christian prophets
e. Ireneaus descripition of Marcos and prophecy
3. Fire and the altars
4. Fire and the guidance of Israel
II. Tongues of fire in Jewish literature
A. Dead sea scrolls and the Urim, Thumim and the prophet
B. Fire and communication a Rabbinic Story
Not Included
III. Tongues and Hellenistic prophecy
A. Pagan oracles and their tongues
B. Plato and the Mantis
C. The counterfeit the Magician and his tongues
a. written
b. spoken
IV The role of Tongues in the Church
Tongues of fire and speaking in tongues, indicated the spiritual and prophetic nature of the Church, and aided the Church in overcoming and superceding the alternative spiritual systems in the Graeco Roman and Jewish worlds.
Introdution
Jesus said to Peter and the Apostles in about the year AD 30 when he was about to go to the cross "Upon this rock I will build (oikodomeso) my Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it" The rock he was referring to was that of the confession of the mouth (tongue) of Peter "You are the Mashiach the Son of the Living God". Immediately after Peter said this Jesus responded "Blessed are you Simon son of John for flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you but my father". And it was the confession of this revelation that became the rock of the Church. If we ask the question How will the Church be built with what tools, with what material, we come across a number of answers. For example Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church " For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building (Oikodome) (1 Cor 3:9). According to the grace of God given to me , as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it, But let each man be careful how he builds (epoikodomei)" Paul laid the foundation of Jesus Christ. Peter confessed Jesus as Christ Son of God. This laid the foundation of the Church. But if we ask how do we build from the foundation up, we can see pointers from Paul later on in 1 Corinthians.
"Ho Lalwn speaking with a glwsse eauton oikodomei. Ho de propheteuwn ekklesian oikodmei
thelo de pantas humas lalein glossais mallon de hina propheteute. meizon gar ho propheteuwn eh ho lalwn glossais, ektos ei me diermeneue hina he ekkesia oikodomen labe"
Two ways then that, Jesus has chosen to build his church on top of the foundation are through prophecy and tongues with interpretation. This paper sets out to show forth the prophetic nature of the message of tongues in the light of the Greek and Jewish and Hellenistic background of the Church.
The Noun Glwssa
In the Diakonia Greek of the New Testament the feminine noun for tongue is glwssa (w acts as omega). The word can mean Tongue as in the organ of speech, the act of speaking and the language spoken whether, known or unknown, human or angelic, meaningful or apparently comprehensible only to God. It appears in the New Testament 50 times, in a number of different ways according to its role in the context of the sentence. If it is the subject of the sentence it appears as glwssa (singular) or glwssai (plural); if it is the direct object in the sentence it appears as glwssan (s) and glwssas (pl); if it is the indirect object it appears as glwsse (s) and glwssais (pl). If it appears as the possession of someone or as originating from somewhere it appears as glwsses (s) and glwsswn (pl). Glwssa is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew words, Kavod, Lashon, Lishan, Peh and Saphah. It equivalent in Classical Greek is Glwtta.
We are interested not so much in glwssa as an organ of speech but in the speech and the language. Tongues, glossai, can clearly be spoken, sung or written through dictation. We are not interested in the glossai of men, spoken by men in the normal mode of speech but we are interested in the prophetic nature of the tongues described first by the Apostle Paul. Our interest is mainly in the unknown and angelic glwsswn. That is the glwsswn described by Paul as being the speech of Spirit or by Luke as being the Holy Spirit’s utterances.
The Early Uses
The first New Testament writer to describe the phenomenon of speaking unknown Tongues (glwssai) was the Apostle Paul. He founded the Church of Corinth around AD 50-5, and after a few years reports were coming to him of practices and beliefs which needed addressing. He sent a letter to them and followed up with our 1 Corinthians. He wrote the letter between AD 55 and AD57. In this letter he mentions Glossas first in chapter 12. Here Paul is informing the Corinthian church about “Spirituals”. It is said that one is given the Charismata (gift) of Kinds of Tongues (gene glwsswn) and Interpretation of (hermeneia) glwsswn. So we see in this first instance that the gift is coupled with an interpretation gift. They are both called manifestation (phanerosis) of the Spirit of God. Paul then is the first person we can turn to in New Testament literature for evidence regarding glwssas. What then do we see that connects the gift to the prophetic? For my case is that tongues are an indicator of the prophetic nature of the Church.
Firstly we find that glwssas are a spoken gift, like prophecy. Secondly we find that if tongues are interpreted as Paul legislates they have to be in common assembly, they have exactly the same effect as prophecy on the Church. They build or edify the Church. Paul says
“One who prophesies (propheteuwn) is greater than one who speaks in glossais, unless he interprets, so that the Church may receive edifying (oikodomen)”. This function of glossai and prophecy edifying is foundational to our case. For edification or building up the communities (he ekkesia oikodomen labe), is a fundamental role of prophecy, as we can see in the call of Jeremiah. Secondly those with prophecy know mysteries and those with tongues speak mysteries and one who interprets tongues makes known to the assembly, the mysteries spoken. Paul says earlier in the letter “we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery (musteriw)…For to us God revealed (apekalupsen) them though the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God…Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom but in those taught by the Spirit” On the other hand when discussing glossas Paul speak of similar ideas. “If I come to you speaking in Tongues (glwssais lalwn), what shall I profit you (wphelesw), unless I speak to you either by way of revelation (apokalusei) or of knowledge (gnosei), or of prophecy (propheteia) or of teaching (didachi)” Why then would they not get these messages? The answer is if the Tongue is unknown and uninterpreted. Therefore with its completion, interpretation, the spoken glossan gives revelation, through prophecy or knowledge through teaching. Hence one who is speaking in tongues is making known the things freely given to us by God with words spoken by the Spirit, not the nous (mind). Since this is words of the Spirit, it is clear that it is a prophetic act for the prophets prophesied as moved by the Holy Spirit.
A third indicator that glossai point to the prophetic nature of the Church is the scripture Paul quotes to showing that tongues were prophesied 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah.
“In the law it is written: With men of other tongues (eteroglossois) and other lips (cheilesin eterois) I will speak (laleso) to this people; and yet for all that they will not hear me”
Paul is paraphrasing Isaiah 28:11 or quoting a textual tradition different from the Masoretes The I in Paul’s rendering is Yahwah. So it is Yahwah who will speak to “these people”. Commentaries on the Isaiah passage indicate that the people were mocking the Isaiah prophecies. “The self-indulgent leaders despised the prophecies of Isaiah and ridiculed him with gibberish, implying that he was lecturing them with baby talk” It was Yahwah who was speaking to the proud drunkards of Ephraim saying he would speaking to them through a foreign tongues and stammering lips. And so it indicated prophecy. Here are just three points in Paul instructions, which indicate that tongues are part of the prophetic nature of the Church. Tongues and Prophecy are compared contrasted throughout 1 Corinthians 14 and we find that the main disadvantage of Tongues is that it needs an interpretation to benefit the Church as a whole. Other than this it may be seen that Tongues and Interpretation may possess advantages for the believers over prophecy. With a Tongue a man can glorify God and cry to him. For Paul says one can pray, sing praises (phalw) and give thanks or bless with ones spirit in a tongue. Now these activities are good for the Church when interpreted, and when not interpreted good for the doer. For Paul thanks God for doing these things in tongues more than all the Church. However in the context of the gathered assembly he would prefer to speak words of instruction. Prophecy is specifically spoken for the blessing of the gathered assembly, so if done without love the prophet is nothing. Love does not seek its own so prophecy is seeking the best for the Church. Prophets speak to the people. The prophet is nothing with out love for it can’t reach the people. However tongues still has some substance without love for it gives forth thanks, blessing, praise and prayer to God. Cymbals do not love but they are required to praise Yahwah.
Halleluyah, says the Psalmist, “Praise God in his sanctuary…Praise him with trumpet sound, Praise him with harp and Lyre. Praise him with timbrel and dancing; praise him stringed instruments and pipe. Praise him loud cymbals. Praise with resounding cymbals.” These are all called forth for the praise of Yah. Paul says the Church is to give thanks in everything, “for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus”. And so giving thanks in Tongues has a validity outside the gathered community where prophecy may not have a validity. As we move through our study we will focus on those elements which point to the prophetic aspect of Tongues.
Paul legislates regarding the spiritual activity of the Church
I. Tongues and fire in the Bible
A. The role of fire in the Scriptures
1.Fire and God
If we turn to the next record of Tongues in the Scriptures we see Tongues as of fire falling and landing on the heads of the disciples at Pentecost. Thy then began to speak in non Galilean tongues the wonders of God. The image of fire is very important in the Scripture. Yahwah revealed himself to Moses in a burning bush. The 10 commandments were spoken from a smoking mountain. The altars of God for the offering of animals and incense were lit by God’s fire and with the sanctuary of Moses, the altar of David on Mount Moriah and the Temple of Solomon and the altar of Elijah were all lit by God’s fire descending from heaven. The source of the fire was very important. The worship of Yahwah required his fire and he himself is called a consuming fire.
Fire and the word of God
Yahwah’s words is also described as a fire which has specific relevance to our case. For in acts a fire came from heaven and out of that fire came tongues, tongues of fire became tongues of speech on the wonders of God. So we are reminded of the burning bush speaking to Moses and of the prophecy of Jeremiah.
The prophets who made Yahwah people forget his name were rebuked as false prophets and deceivers. Yahwah made a contrast between these prophets and his word “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is chaff to wheat? Says Yahwah, Is not my word like a fire?” says Yahwah. We also have the testimony of Jeremiah as to how the word of Yahwah burned inside himself so powerfully that he couldn’t hold it in. The light of those days came from fire. So we have the example of Isaiah’s servant.
“Who among you fears Yahwah? Who obeys the voice of his servant? Who walks in darkness and has not light? Let him trust in the name Yahwah and rely upon his God. Look all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks; walk in the light of your fire and in spark s you have kindled- This you shall have from my hand; you shall lie down in torment”.
Here again we see the message of the true light or fire compared to the self made fires. Fire often points to the prophetic nature of the words spoken. And so in the case of the Tongues of Pentecost.
a. Oracles of Jeremiah
The role of Jeremiah as prophetic builder
We have already referred to the prophetic role of building communities given to Jeremiah. This prophetic role is assigned by Paul to interpreted Tongues. This points then to their prophetic nature in the eyes of the early Church. When they saw the manifestation of the fire many of the scriptural associations we mentioned would have entered the mind of the Church.
The role of Jeremiah as prophetic destroyer
Pentecost and Repentance
The goal of prophecy is to keep people or return people to the way of Yahwah. When the people when astray Yahwah would send forth his prophets rising up early and speaking. They stood in the counsel of Yahwah and there goal was to see men turn back to Yahwah. And so it was on Pentecost. When the fire came, followed by the languages, Peter was lead to interpret the events for the men of Jerusalem. He then pointed to the prophecy of Joel which said Yahwah would pour our prophecy on all his people. And secondly he said this tongues speaking was that. He explained that all who called the name Yahwah would be saved and called the people to repentance. This all on the basis of interpreting Tongues to the crowd; It was these tongues which became the means of people turning to God in their thousands. The production of repentance indicates against the prophetic nature of Tongues in the scriptural Palestinian context.
Celsus Testimony of the Christian prophets
Celsus, a Graeco Roman non Christian apologist indicated that he had seen Christian prophets outside the temples of idols. In his testimony along with prophecy he saw something which sounds conspicuously like tongues. First they would prophesy such things as
“I am God, or a Son of God, or a Divine Spirit, And I have come. For the world is perishing, and you oh men, are dying because of wickedness, but I want to save you. And you shall see me coming hereafter with heavenly power. Blessed is he who has now worshipped me. Upon all others I shall cast eternal fire, on both cities and country regions. ..But I shall preserve eternally those who believe in me.”
This says Celsus, in his anti Christian polemic, was an example of Christian prophecy. But then he goes on to link to this act of prophecy the following
“To these things which were held up before men were added unheard of raving, and entirely unknown speech, the meaning of which no rational man was able to determine; for being obscure and meaningless they allow any irrational person to cheat to make of the words whatever he wishes”
So we see even into the second century Church the coupling of Tongues and prophecy was continued according to the eyewitness testimony of an anti Charismatic. Perhaps we see here a pattern of the street preacher of yester year. Prophecy,tongues, interpretation of tongues, even this would seem to indicate a team ministry outside the temples. Celsus reaction appears to be the kind of reaction Paul expected from idiotai or the apistos of Corinth. The term apistos to one without faith. The word idiwtes is defined by the Strongs concordance as “a private person, by impl…an ignoramous (comp idiot):- ignorant, rude, unlearned”. So it is the disbelieving and the ignorant who are said to call the Church mad. Celsus would clearly fall into the category of disbelieving for he wrote books against the faith.
Ireneaus descripition of Marcos and prophecy
We have second source of evidence between tongues and prophecy in the writings of the early Church. Here however we are looking at the description of a Christian Gnostic Marcos. It is made by the early Church Apologist Ireneaus and so is likely to be late second century. He relates what appears to be an eye witness testimony of Marcos transferring his spiritual gifting to one of his disciples. We remember that the gift of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speking in Tongues was transferred by Paul to the Ephesian brethren in Acts 19. Marcos the Valentinian Gnositic very much influenced by Neo Pythagoreanism, is here in view
Marcos says to the disciple
“ ‘Receive from me a spouse, and become receptive of him, while thou art received by him. Behold Charis has descended upon thee; open thy mouth and prophesy’”
[The women replies]
‘I have never at anytime prophesied nor do I know how to prophesy’;
then engaging for a second time in certain invocations, so as to astound his deluded victim, he says to her
‘ Open thy mouth , speak whatsoever occurs to thee, and thou shalt prophesy. She then , vainly puffed up and elated by these words , and greatly excited in soul by the expectation that it is herself who is to prophesy, her hear beating violently (from emotion), reaches the requiste pitch of audacity, and idly as well as impudently utters some nonsense as it happens to occur to her, such as might be expected from one heated by an empty spirit”
Our attention is drawn to the words I have highlighted. Some nonsense, although it doesn’t say they were not Greek words, would appear to indicate that the words were apparently gibberish. And so could qualify as tongues on the ground that those who do not speak in tongues often see them as nonsense. We add to this the fact that Marcos describes her as prophesying, So we find we have evidence in a second century Christian Gnostic community that Tongues point to the prophetic nature of the Church. For even if Marcos is considered as outside the Church is evidence may speak of Tongues being linked to prophecy in early New Testament times.
3. Fire and the altars
4. Fire and the guidance of Israel
II. Tongues of fire in Jewish literature
A. Dead sea scrolls and the Urim, Thumim and the prophet
Let us now look for evidence from outside the Christian community and her scriptures and in the area of the Judaisms that were the background to the New Testament. Do they present examples of the link of Tongues and prophecy. We first turn to the Qumran community that from which we get the Dead Sea Scrolls. We find here a fragment dealing directly with this subject called Tongues of fire. Tongues of fire, reflect a tradition as to how the Urim and Thummim of Exodus 28, helped the community make decisions. The Dead Community and Josephus (Ant 3.214-215)
“agree…that God would make the answer known by causing the appropriate stone to shine forth with a brilliant light”. The scroll are 1Q29, and 4 Q 376 and Wise et.al tell us that “The author of Tongues of Fire expected that the Urim [Lights] and the Thumim [Perfections] would be called upon for especially momentous decisions. Luke who wrote at the latest by 95 AD says what came down on the Apostles was “glwssai hosei puros” “Tongues like Fire”. Now if we ask ourselves what would this have signified to the Palestinian Jewish community or at least one community of separated Zadokite priests and their community at that time, we have evidence from these scrolls. The particular case being dealt with in the text we have was that of discerning whether a prophet was true or not. However the key point for us is the link with prophecy and in this case the connection with the idea of an oracle and gaining divine knowledge to help make a decision. On Pentecost the idea of momentous decision maker came up after Peter had interpreted the meaning of the phenomena the people were seeing. They asked the prophesying Church community
Ti poiesomen Andres adelphoi
What shall we do brothers?
Much in the same way as one approaching as Oracle or David inquiring of Yahwah what to do. We see here, perhaps, the universality of the Spiritual practice of consulting God or the perceived gods in making decisions. The answer is decided by who is the person you are calling out to. Whether in the Hellinistic prophetic world of the Jewish prophetic world. And Peter gave the most prophetic answer he could give:
“Metanouesate, kai baptisthetw heskatos humwn epi tw onomati Iesou Christou eis aphesin harnatiwn , kai lepsesthe ten dwreian tou agiou pneumatos”
Repent and be baptized each one of you, upon the name Jesus Chriat into the forgiveness of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.



Fire and communication a Rabbinic Story
Tongues of Fire and Philo
Pentecost was the festival in which the Jewish community remembered the established of the Covenant of Sinai and its declaration by the voice of Yahwah. In that respect it is likely that it was also the time when prophecy was also very much encouraged in Israel. For having heard the voice of God, they appealed to Moses for him to speak lest they die on hearing the voice of Yahwah. Yahwah then promises that he will send prophets to them. But is there any link in Jewish tradition between the speaking of the covenant by Yahwah and fire? We find in Philo that he preserves a tradition which links fire with the voice of God in the speaking of the Covenant. In two places we can see evidence of the connection between fire and prophecy and hence tongues and prophecy. In The Special Laws I, 65 and IV, 48. In Tongues like in prophecy the messenger speaks not his words but the words of the Spirit speaking through. This is one conception of prophecy in both the Hellenistic Jewish and Gentile think. So we see in Philo Decalogue X, 33-37 that man had an innate desire to know the future. And to attain this he will turn to various forms of divination (mantikes) which Philo says God forbids. However since the desire in man is strong God will send a prophet. God tells man
“if they do not swerve from piety they will not be denied the full knowledge of the future. A prophet (prophetes) possessed by God will suddenly appear and give prophetic oracles. Nothing of what he says will be his own, for he that is truly under the control of divine inspiration (enthusiwn) has no power of apprehension when he speaks but serves as a channel for insistent words of Another’s prompting. For prophets are the interpreters (hermeneis) of God, who makes full use of their organs of speech to set forth what he wills”
Although the example here of Philo’s description is referred as evidence by various scholars Some have noted that the prophecy in Philo appears to be in a known language or at least a language those present could understand. However in my understanding this point really is not material. If the Spirit of God has taken over the organs of the person and is speaking through that person which language he speaks really is secondary to the fact that he is speaking. In Tongues we have the clearest example of people speaking in such a manner that “nothing of what he says” is his own, for “no man understandeth him”, as Paul would say, “howbeit in the he speaks mysteries”. Philo as a Jewish Hellenistic writer representing the Alexandrian Theology contemporary to the birth of the Church has great importance in helping us understand how the Jews of that period would have understood Pentecost.
It is interesting to note that the experience here does not seem limited to Jews or Hebrews, it is man’s hunger for the future that calls forth the prophet. It would appear that Hebrews or Gentiles could receive prophets and to this agree the scriptures with the examples of Balaam of Moab and perhaps the Cretan prophet quoted by Paul according to the recollection of Luke and in the Epistle to Titus.
Another point is that initially the hunger in man was to know the future. However the prophet lets man know what God wills. And as we have noted Paul says the Spirit is given that we may know the things freely given to us by God. A prophet knows these mysteries by revelation and a tongues speaker speaks them and on interpretation the Church knows them.
Philo also makes the point that the prophet is the interpreter (hermeneis) of God. Again we see a connection with Paul description of prophecy and tongues. it is through interpretation that the tongues speakers equates with the one who prophesies as a blessing in the Church.
Now we turn to the Philo reflection on fire as linked with God’s voice. Here we turn more to Jerusalem and the Palestinian Jewish Church on whom the Spirit was poured out as fire. It is I Philo’s Decaloge where we see the references to fire. Philo notes that for the people to hear God’s voice he gave
“shape and tension to the air and changing it to flaming fire, sounded forth like a breath through a trumpet an articulate voice so loud that it seemed to be audible to the farthest as well as the nearest”
So we see hear a clear connection in the understanding of Philo, it does not appear to be a tradition received but his own understanding, between the voice of God and fire. The comparison with trumpet also in a negative way brings back to the purpose of interpreted tongues “For also, if a trumpet shall give an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle” (1 Cor 14:8). He explains that to make sure the sound of the words spoke is clear the Tongues speaker should pray that he may interpret his tongue.
The other interesting element is the hearing factor of the Covenant.
“But the new miraculous voice was set in action and kept in flame by the power of God, which breathed upon it and spread it abroad on every side and made it more illuminating in its ending than in its beginning by creating in the souls of each and all another kind of hearing far superior to the hearing of the ears... the hearing of the mind possessed by God makes the first advance and goes out to meet the spoken words with keenest rapidity…He thought good in proclaiming His ten oracles (logiwn) to address each not as several persons” (Philo, Decalogue ix and x)
We can see again parallels to Pentecost. The tongues distributed on the dispels causing it to spread further abroad. And even though the miracles of Pentecost was a speaking miracle yet hearing is noted. And each one heard in his own dialect as though the word were spoken for him. So we see Philo draw on the point that they all heard and heard words addressed to them individually, in their own dialect. And each one who received the words entered into the New Covenant.

If you have any comments or would like to see the completed version of this paper write to Evangelist Edi Nachman at mashiacana@hotmail.com