000 - Introduction
INTRODUCTION This book is a brief history of glossolalia throughout the centuries. It is designed to give my readers a basic understanding of the great history of speaking in tongues in Modalist Monarchian Churches, Catholic Churches, and Protestant Churches throughout the centuries. Since most people have a basic knowledge of the Catholic and Protestant denominations, no explanation of who they are is needed. Now the Modalist Monarchians is probably a term most are not familiar with. Today these people would be called the “Oneness Believers,” or as some prefer, “One God, Jesus Name Believers,” or “Apostolic Pentecostals.” Now that we have identified all the major religious groups, who have received the glorious experience of glossolalia, let us proceed. Lets define the term “glossolalia” for those who are not familiar with it. The Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99 under the heading of “Glossolalia” stated:
(Greek glossa,’tongue’; lalein,’to speak’), [a] religious term for the ancient and modern practice of speaking in a state of ecstasy…. Two New Testament authors, Paul and Luke, indicate that speaking in tongues was a notable part of early Christian church life. The descent of the Holy Spirit at the festival of Pentecost that followed the first Easter marked the first exercise of this gift of speech (see Acts 2:1-42) in the church…. The consistent element in the New Testament references to glossolalia is the belief that the Holy Spirit causes Christians to speak in tongues…. Speaking in tongues is thus considered a manifestation of one’s being under the direction of the Spirit rather than of one’s own rational faculty.
Thus, glossolalia is speaking in a modern or ancient language, which is known somewhere in the world, but it is unknown to the speakers, for they were not taught those languages (Acts 2:6-11), but they spoke as the Holy Ghost of Christ anointed each one to speak, by giving them the words to speak! In other words, the language each individual speaks in does not come from their mind, but the Holy Spirit anoints their human spirit to speak. It is the Holy Spirit anointing their spirit to converse with its creator. It is not the soul of man that is communicating with God in a language that it has been taught, but it is their human spirit that is pouring out its heart to God in prayer or worship (1 Corinthians 14:14). As one who has been praying, worshipping, and singing in tongues through the Holy Ghost for 34 years, and as one who is sometimes used to give a message or interpret a message in the church (1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:15, 1 Corinthians 14:27-28), I can say without any hesitation or doubt, this is one of the greatest and most glorious experiences I have even had with my God and Savior. I have always been amazed and awed by the reality of God’s beautiful and exciting presence in my life, in which I am so thankful! No one deserves to receive this great and holy gift, but our sweet Lord gives it to the undeserving, who truly believes and repents of all his or her sins.
Now, according to the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ opened up the New Covenant on the Day of Pentecost by pouring out the great, wondrous, and holy gift of His Spirit on approximately 3,120 souls (Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:41). Professor Phillip Schaff in his History of the Christian Church, spoke of this when he wrote: The ascension of Christ to heaven was followed ten days afterwards by the descent of the Holy Spirit upon earth and the birth of the Christian Church…. The communication of the Holy Spirit was not confined to the Twelve. It extended to the brethren of the Lord, the mother of Jesus, the pious women who had attended his ministry, and the whole brotherhood of a hundred and twenty souls who were assembled in the that chamber. They were ‘all’ filled with the Spirit, and all spoke with tongues. [1]
Speaking of glossolalia that took place on the Day of Pentecost, A New Standard Bible Dictionary made this interesting statement: The Church of Christ, as it appears in the NT, is essentially Spirit-anointed and conscious of a heightened religious experience, a new quality of life, communicated through Jesus; and all this goes back to an initial experience of Spirit-baptism through faith in the Name (1 Corinthians 1:21 f.). From the opening of the Apostolic Age, however, the Spirit-baptism of Jesus the Christ (cf. John 7:39, John 16:7), a sensible [or rational or conscious] experience and one recognizable by outward signs (e.g. rapt utterance, glossolalia, Acts 2:4, Acts 10:46, Acts 19:6), was associated with water-baptism (Acts 2:38).... [The] Spirit-baptism was the ‘seal’ of Divine acceptance. [2] According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica speaking in tongues:
Appeared as a sign of the Holy Spirit, which marked the character of the earliest Christians.... The account in Acts (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 11:15; Acts 19:1-7) indicates that in the beginning of the Christian Church the phenomenon reappeared whenever conversion and commitment to Christianity occurred. In time the Church began to expect and very nearly demand its manifestation to verify the possession of the Holy Spirit. [3]
After this initial outpouring of God’s spirit, we can see in the Book of the Acts, the Holy Ghost being poured out on a multitude of hungry hearts from 30-96 AD. After this period of time, the only records that survived the fires of Roman Catholicism are Catholic records. So, we only have a sporadic record of God’s Spirit and His gifts operating in any church after the first century. John Sherrill, in his book entitled They Speak In Other Tongues, reveals that glossolalia or:
Tongues continued to play a part in Christian experience down through the centuries. [4]