Tongues of Today Cannot Be That of Pentecost:
There are several reasons why the so called tongues spoken today are not the same as on the day of Pentecost.
1. It Is For The Wrong Motive.
The languages spoken on Pentecost were spoken for God's glory. You do not find in Acts 2 where any of those that spoke in tongues ever used this to judge the spirituality of other persons or themselves. Tongues advocates claim this for their glory as a sign of their mature spirituality. Yes, they say it comes from God, praising Jesus! But, in reality, they glory in their own manifestation of speaking in tongues as "evidence" of the Spirit's working in them.
2. It is For The Wrong Purpose.
On the Day of Pentecost, God wanted His Word preached so that all would understand, regardless of nationality. That was God's purpose and He accomplished it. Is this the purpose of tongues speakers today? If so, why do they not go to the foreign fields with God's Word, and not waste time training in the language schools. If they want all nations to hear, as the Lord did, why are they not preaching in tongues to the various nationalities abroad? (I understand those who actually try this are soon home again!). No, their purpose is not that of the Lord's, nor do their activities match what took place on Pentecost.
3. It Contains The Wrong Manifestation.
Of all the nationalities present on the Day of Pentecost, each one understood. I have never understood nor heard of anyone who understood any of the words spoken in tongues, let alone those speaking a foreign language. Something is wrong. The problem: It is not the same thing that took place on the Day of Pentecost.
4. They Have The Wrong Spirit.
It is either the Spirit of the Lord or the spirit of the Anti-Christ. You may say, "This is too narrow-minded." Do you remember what the Lord told the Church of Laodicea "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." - Revelation 3:15,16. In 1st John 4:1 we are told to, "...believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
If what is being done in the name of the Holy Spirit coincides with the working of the Holy Spirit as portrayed in the Bible, then I can be sure it is of the Holy Spirit! If it does not coincide, then we can rest assured that the working is that of a foreign spirit trying to counterfeit the working of the Holy Spirit.
God told Isaiah to warn Israel about going after familiar spirits, "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." - Isaiah 8:18,20. The "familiar spirits" were those doing things by some spirit other than the Holy Spirit. Wizards that "peep and mutter" is actually "to chirp faintly, by ventriloquism." The soothsayers caused a low sound to proceed as from a grave or a dead person. They were the mediums of today. God tells us how we can tell the True Spirit from a false, or counterfeit spirit. Remember, speaking in tongues is today accredited to the Holy Spirit, yet the true manifestations of the Holt Spirit do not coincide with the tongues speakers' activities, motives, or purposes. Thank God for the Bible, His Word, to which we can go to find the truth. This is exactly what God tells us to do. The Word of God is the Final Authority to determine the true from the false.
