Speaking in Tongue (በልሳን መናገር): Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Understanding

Speaking in tongue, or በልሳን መናገር, refers to the ability to speak in a language that is not learned through natural means but is granted through divine grace. This phenomenon, which first occurred during the Pentecost, played a pivotal role in the spread of the Gospel across linguistic barriers. Rooted in biblical events, speaking in tongues became a powerful tool for the early Church's mission. This essay explores the biblical foundations and doctrinal understanding of speaking in tongues and examines whether its present-day practice aligns with biblical teachings.

Tongue (ልሳን) means language, and speaking in a new tongue refers to speaking a language that one did not acquire by birth or learn but speaks through the help of the Holy Spirit. The first and true tongues were revealed on the day of the Paraclete, as described in Acts chapter two. On that day, the apostles spoke in languages that were clearly heard and understood. The account states: “ከሰማይም በታች ካሉ ሕዝብ ሁሉ በጸሎት የተጉ አይሁድ በኢየሩሳሌም ይኖሩ ነበር፤ ይህም ድምፅ በሆነ ጊዜ ሕዝብ ሁሉ ተሰበሰቡ፥ እያንዳንዱም በገዛ ቋንቋው ሲናገሩ ይሰማ ስለ ነበር የሚሉትን አጡ። ተገርመውም ተደንቀውም እንዲህ አሉ፦ እነሆ፥ እነዚህ የሚናገሩት ሁሉ የገሊላ ሰዎች አይደሉምን? እኛም እያንዳንዳችን የተወለድንበትን የገዛ ቋንቋችንን እንዴት እንሰማለን?” (Acts 2፡ 6-8).

When the apostles spoke in tongues, the Jews gathered from all over the world heard them speaking in their own languages. Initially, the apostles only knew their own native tongue. As the verse above indicates, these people came from various nations, yet the apostles spoke languages understood by all. Our Lord’s words in Mark 16:17, “በአዲስ ቋንቋ ይናገራሉ” refer to languages that others could hear and understand.

In 1 Corinthians 14:9-11, it is written that every language has its listeners, and any spoken language should be understood by those hearing it. “እንዲሁ እናንተ ደግሞ የተገለጠውን ቃል በአንደበት ባትናገሩ ሰዎች የምትናገሩትን እንዴት አድርገው ያስተውሉታል ? ለነፋስ የምትናገሩ ትሆናላችሁና። በዓለም ምናልባት ቁጥር የሌለው የቋንቋ ዓይነት ይኖራል ቋንቋም የሌለው ሕዝብ የለም፤ እንግዲህ የቋንቋውን ፍች ባላውቅ ለሚናገረው እንግዳ እሆናለሁ፥ የሚናገረውም ለእኔ እንግዳ ይሆናል።” (1 Corinthians 14:9-11)

True tongues are one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As stated in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11: “የጸጋም ስጦታ ልዩ ልዩ ነው መንፈስ ግን አንድ ነው፤ አገልግሎትም ልዩ ልዩ ነው ጌታም አንድ ነው፤ አሠራርም ልዩ ልዩ ነው፥ ሁሉን በሁሉ የሚያደርግ እግዚአብሔር ግን አንድ ነው። ነገር ግን መንፈስ ቅዱስን መግለጥ ለእያንዳንዱ ለጥቅም ይሰጠዋል።ለአንዱ ጥበብን መናገር በመንፈስ ይሰጠዋልና፥ ለአንዱም በዚያው መንፈስ እውቀትን መናገር ይሰጠዋል፥ ለአንዱም በዚያው መንፈስ እምነት፥ ለአንዱም በአንዱ መንፈስ የመፈወስ ስጦታ፥ ለአንዱም ተአምራትን ማድረግ፥ ለአንዱም ትንቢትን መናገር፥ ለአንዱም መናፍስትን መለየት፥ ለአንዱም በልዩ ዓይነት ልሳን መናገር፥ ለአንዱም በልሳኖች የተነገረውን መተርጎም ይሰጠዋል፤ ይህን ሁሉ ግን ያ አንዱ መንፈስ እንደሚፈቅድ ለእያንዳንዱ ለብቻው እያካፈለ ያደርጋል።”

In the days of the apostles, speaking in tongues was a gift given to some, not to all. This is evident from the verse: “ሁሉ ሐዋርያት ናቸውን? ሁሉስ ነቢያት ናቸውን? ሁሉስ አስተማሪዎች ናቸውን? ሁሉስ ተአምራትን ይሠራሉን? ሁሉስ የመፈወስ ስጦታ አላቸውን? ሁሉስ በልሳኖች ይናገራሉን? ሁሉስ ይተረጉማሉን?” (1 Corinthians 12:29-30). Thus, like teaching, exhorting, and prophesying, speaking in tongues is reserved for a few. Yet today, countless individuals claim to speak in tongues.

The idea that speaking in tongues is a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit is not supported by Scripture. There are examples of people in the Bible who were filled with the Holy Spirit but did not speak in tongues. For instance, Luke 1:15 says of John the Baptist, “ገናም በእናቱ ማኅፀን ሳለ መንፈስ ቅዱስ ይሞላበታል,” yet he did not speak in tongues. In Luke 1:41, Elizabeth is described as “በኤልሳቤጥም መንፈስ ቅዱስ ሞላባት,” but she did not speak in tongues. Likewise, in Luke 1:67, it is said of Zechariah, “ዘካርያስም መንፈስ ቅዱስ ሞላበትና ትንቢት ተናገረ,” yet he did not speak in tongues.

The grace of the Holy Spirit is given for use. In 1 Corinthians 12:7, it is written, “ነገር ግን መንፈስ ቅዱስን መግለጥ ለእያንዳንዱ ለጥቅም ይሰጠዋል።” The gift of tongues is part of the Holy Spirit's grace, and like all gifts, it is given for a purpose. God does not give gifts that are not useful. Both in the time of the apostles and today, grace is given for the growth and benefit of the Church. In the apostles' time, tongues were especially given to overcome language barriers as they spread the Gospel worldwide. This gift allowed new believers to hear the apostles in their own languages, glorify God, and believe in Him. Speaking in tongues is not intended for those who believe. Saint Paul clarified this in 1 Corinthians 14:22 stating: “እንግዲያስ በልሳኖች መናገር ለማያምኑ ምልክት ነው እንጂ ለሚያምኑ አይደለም፥ ትንቢት ግን ለሚያምኑ እንጂ ለማያምኑ አይደለም።” The so-called tongues spoken today are of no use. The Bible teaches that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given for profit (1 Corinthians 12:7). If someone claims these tongues serve to teach due to a language scarcity, they hold no meaning. Therefore, these tongues are useless, and if they are useless, we know they are not from God, as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:7.

Saint Paul teaches that tongues are useless unless interpreted explaining that he received this message from the Lord. He said that “በልሳን የሚናገርስ ለእግዚአብሔር እንጂ ለሰው አይናገርም፤ የሚያስተውለው የለምና፥ በመንፈስ ግን ምሥጢርን ይናገራል።” (1 Corinthians 14:2). This means that speaking in tongues is not useful to the community unless interpreted, though it may seem to him that he feels glad. Saint Paul further clarifies in 1 Corinthians 14:9, “እንዲሁ እናንተ ደግሞ የተገለጠውን ቃል በአንደበት ባትናገሩ ሰዎች የምትናገሩትን እንዴት አድርገው ያስተውሉታል? ለነፋስ የምትናገሩ ትሆናላችሁና።” In 1 Corinthians 14:18, he adds, “ከሁላችሁ ይልቅ በልሳኖች እናገራለሁና እግዚአብሔርን አመሰግናለሁ፤ ነገር ግን ሌሎችን ደግሞ አስተምር ዘንድ በማኅበር እልፍ ቃላት በልሳን ከመናገር ይልቅ አምስት ቃላት በአእምሮዬ ልናገር እወዳለሁ።” This shows that the gift of tongues was not as impactful in his time. If it were essential, it would have been interpreted.

The people of the Corinthian church were generally using tongues improperly, speaking without an interpreter, much like many do today. Saint Paul corrected this, reminding them that it was inappropriate, saying: “እግዚአብሔርስ የሰላም አምላክ ነው እንጂ የሁከት አምላክ አይደለምና፤ በቅዱሳንም አብያተ ክርስቲያናት ሁሉ እንዲህ ነው።” (1 Corinthians 14:33)

Those who claim that we speak in tongues often take a few phrases from 1 Corinthians 14, suggesting that not all tongues are interpreted, may not be a known language, or are only between man and God. However, reading the full context of the chapter reveals that all tongues must be interpreted, and any tongue or language spoken requires interpretation.

In 1 Corinthians 14:6-9, Saint Paul writes: “አሁን ግን፥ ወንድሞች ሆይ፥ ወደ እናንተ መጥቼ በልሳኖች ብናገር፥ በመግለጥ ወይም በእውቀት ወይም በትንቢት ወይም በትምህርት ካልነገርኋችሁ ምን እጠቅማችኋለሁ? ነፍስ የሌለበት ነገር እንኳ ዋሽንትም ክራርም ቢሆን ድምፅ ሲሰጥ የድምፁን ልዩነት ባይገልጥ በዋሽንት የሚነፋው ወይስ በክራር የሚመታው መዝሙር እንዴት ይታወቃል? እንዲሁ እናንተ ደግሞ የተገለጠውን ቃል በአንደበት ባትናገሩ ሰዎች የምትናገሩትን እንዴት አድርገው ያስተውሉታል? ለነፋስ የምትናገሩ ትሆናላችሁና።” Here, Saint Paul emphasizes that if someone speak in a tongue or language that cannot be interpreted, what is its purpose? He clarifies that a tongue or language must be interpreted for it to be meaningful.

Similarly, 1 Corinthians 14:27-28 states, “በልሳን የሚናገር ቢኖር ሁለት ወይም ቢበዛ ሦስት ሆነው በተራቸው ይናገሩ አንዱም ይተርጉም፤ የሚተረጉም ባይኖር ግን በማኅበር መካከል ዝም ይበልና ለራሱና ለእግዚአብሔር ይናገር።” Here, “የሚተረጉም ባይኖር” indicates that if there is no interpreter temporarly, it does not imply that the tongue has no meaning. This clarifies that all tongues are languages that can be interpreted.

Regarding interpretation: One way to interpret is that native speakers of the language (የተነገረው ቋንቋ ተናጋሪዎች) can hear and translate it. Alternatively, if a believer with the gift of interpretation is present, it can be translated through them. However, even if the gift of interpretation is given, the interpreter would translate from a known language to another known language, not from an unknown one. For example, if the speaker uses Guragigna (ጉራግኛ) and the audience speaks only Wolayitinga (ወላይትኛ), the interpreter would translate from Guragigna to Wolayitinga, not from an unknown language.

Is the tongue spoken today truly revealed by God? Is it the same kind of tongue or language revealed in the Bible? To answer these questions, let us consider the following points in light of Scripture. Speaking in tongues disappeared for nearly 1800 years, and only reemerged in the 20th century by a few individuals in 1901 (J. Gordon Melton, 2014). Christians existed between the 1st century and 1901—what new developments occurred after that? The false tongues, now referred to as speaking in tongues, emerged 300 years after Protestantism began. Therefore, those who claim to speak in tongues today are encouraged to prayerfully reflect on this verse: “ስለዚህ ወዳጆች ሆይ፥ መንፈስን ሁሉ አትመኑ፥ ነገር ግን መናፍስት ከእግዚአብሔር ሆነው እንደ ሆነ መርምሩ፤ ብዙዎች ሐሰተኞች ነቢያት ወደ ዓለም ወጥተዋልና። (1 John 4:1)

Speaking in the tongue revealed in the Bible was a language that people could understand, but today’s so-called tongues are not recognized by anyone. In Acts 2:7-8, the Jewish people describe the event after they heard the apostles speaking in tongues: “ይህም ድምፅ በሆነ ጊዜ ሕዝብ ሁሉ ተሰበሰቡ፥ እያንዳንዱም በገዛ ቋንቋው ሲናገሩ ይሰማ ስለ ነበር የሚሉትን አጡ። ተገርመውም ተደንቀውም እንዲህ አሉ። እነሆ፥ እነዚህ የሚናገሩት ሁሉ የገሊላ ሰዎች አይደሉምን ? እኛም እያንዳንዳችን የተወለድንበትን የገዛ ቋንቋችንን እንዴት እንሰማለን ?” This shows that the language or tongue revealed by the Holy Spirit is both understandable and audible.

Today, no one speaks a true tongue or language they have not known before. For instance, a speaker of Amharic has never spoken in Oromigya or Tigrinya while speaking in tongues. No speaker has ever done this, except for yelling meaningless words.

In the present day, what is called speaking in tongues is also spoken by non-Christians, such as Hindus (Languages of Light: Speaking in Tongues of the Divine, 2016). If these tongues were truly revealed by the Holy Spirit, non-Christians would not be able to speak them.

In Mark 16:17, it is written: “ያመኑትንም እነዚህ ምልክቶች ይከተሉአቸዋል፤ በስሜ አጋንንትን ያወጣሉ፤ በአዲስ ቋንቋ ይናገራሉ፤ እባቦችን ይይዛሉ፥ የሚገድልም ነገር ቢጠጡ አይጎዳቸውም፤ እጃቸውን በድውዮች ላይ ይጭናሉ እነርሱም ይድናሉ።” This verse shows that if those who claim to speak in tongues had said, “We believe and we speak in tongues,” they would have also performed the other signs mentioned here. For example, regarding casting out demons: They do not do this, though some may claim to perform false miracles. Historically, the blind have never been seen to see, nor the deaf to hear through them. Some might say, "I was healed of back pain," but no one with a chronic disease has been seen to be healed.

Similarly, the verse above states that they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them. Yet, none of them have attempted this. They may avoid it, saying, "Attempting this is tempting God," but they believe they would die. However, those who truly spoke in tongues and had the Spirit of God did this. For example, when Saint Paul was bitten by a snake, it caused him no harm (Acts 28:3-5).

The True Understanding of Speaking in Tongues:

a.     Orthodox Christians understand tongues as languages. The true gift of tongues, spoken during the time of the apostles, helped overcome language barriers to spread the Word of God. This gift ceased after the first century, as it had fulfilled its purpose.

b.     The tongues spoken today are not the same as those described in the Bible.

c.     The benefits of speaking in tongues, as outlined in Scripture, are not present today.

d.     With many deceiving spirits active today, distinguishing these meaningless tongues from the spirit of deception is difficult.

e.     After the apostles, true tongues have not been seen in church history.

f.      It is impossible to claim that God has granted the gift of tongues today, as those who claim it often have doctrinal issues and fail to live by Christian morality, as seen in numerous media.

In conclusion, speaking in tongues, as understood by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, is a divine gift given to further the mission of the early Church. Rooted in biblical tradition, it was bestowed upon the apostles to overcome language barriers and proclaim the Gospel. While it was a specific gift for certain individuals in the early Church, its primary purpose was not to serve as a sign of the Holy Spirit’s presence, but rather to glorify God, spread the Gospel, and strengthen the Church. The Church teaches that all spiritual gifts are meant for the common good and that the present-day practice of speaking in tongues does not align with biblical teaching. Instead, it misleads and deceives innocent individuals with a false and pointless practice.