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Revelation 16:13-14-And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
When Joan (not her real name) and her husband visited with the charismatic church that they had heard such good things about, she was certainly intrigued. Coming from a background of paganism, she was surprised at how many of the things which she witnessed were similar to her former religion of witchcraft. One of the nice church ladies told her that she needed to “receive the baptism of the Spirit and speaking in tongues” before she left. Then she told Joan, “You need to start speaking in tongues by saying these words: shaaa baaa la laaa baaa laa shaba.” Joan did as she was instructed, and before long she was “speaking in tongues.” While in a trance, she saw Jesus dressed as an Egyptian high priest!! As we were studying about this years later, she and her husband told me that it felt very similar to witchcraft.
Of course, that’s because it was witchcraft.
The Bible gift of speaking in tongues was the ability of a person to speak fluently in the language of another nation, without having first studied or spoken that language. Notice how this is emphatically shown to us in the Book of Acts:
Acts 2:4-6-And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues (glossais), as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language (dialectos).
The “tongues” of verse four are identified further as “languages” in verse 6. This shows us that the “tongues” were languages of another nations of men.
“Tongue The Greek word here is the same as what is found in verse 6—dialectos, the common Greek word for “language.” So it definitely should be translated “language” here. In the Greek we have glōssais, “tongues,” in verses 4 and 11, and dialectō, “language,” in verses 6 and 8. This proves conclusively that the speaking in tongues (v. 4) was not ecstatic utterance but speaking in known, intelligent languages of that day (see v. 11).” (Ralph Earl, Word Meanings In The New Testament, 4107 (Kindle Edition); Kansas City, Kansas; Beacon Hill Press).
What about the “shaaa baaa la laaa baaa laa shaba” that Joan was taught to repeat that led her to further gibberish speaking and her “Egyptian pagan Jesus” vision? Joan’s experience differs from the New Testament miraculous gift of tongues in at least two ways. First, the Bible gift of tongues was not something that one taught and practiced at. The miraculous part of the gift of tongues was that it was not taught and learned! Second, the “gibberish speaking” that Joan experienced was a common occurrence in pagan controlled temples of worship in the first century (and beyond).
“The 1972 study by John P. Kildahl “The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues” concludes that: “… from a linguistic point of view, religiously inspired glossolalic utterances have the same general characteristics as those that are not religiously inspired.” In fact, glossolalia is a “human phenomenon, not limited to Christianity nor even to religious behavior.” (Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements by Spittler, P. 340). George Jennings in an article in the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation expands upon the universality of the experience: “… glossolalia is practiced among the following non-Christian religions of the world; the Peyote cult among the North American Indians, the Haida Indians of the Pacific Northwest, Shamans in the Sudan, the Shango cult of the West Coast of Africa, the Shago cult in Trinidad, the Voodoo cult in Haiti, the Aborigines of South American and Australia, the aboriginal peoples of the subarctic regions of North America and Asia, the Shamans in Greenland, the Dyaks of Borneo, the Zor cult of Ethiopia, the Siberian shamans, the Chaco Indians of South America, the Curanderos of the Andes, the Kinka in the African Sudan, the Thonga shamans of Africa, and the Tibetan monks. An article in the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation entitled “An Ethnological Study of Glossolalia” by George J. Jennings, March 1968. Other studies and sources reach the same conclusions: “Summary of Behavioral Science Research Data on Glossolalia: 1. Glossolalia is an ancient and widespread phenomenon of most societies, occurring most usually in connection with religion.” “Behavioral Science Research on the Nature of Glossolalia”, Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation; September, 1968 “There are records of ecstatic speech and the like in Egypt in the eleventh century B.C. In the Hellenistic [Greek] world the prophetess of Delphi and the Sibylline priestess spoke in unknown or unintelligible speech. Moreover, the Dionysianrites contained a trancelike state as well as glossolalia. Many of the magicians and sorcerers of the first century world exhibit similar phenomena.” G.R.Osborne, in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 1984, page 1100. “Descriptions of ecstatic speech are common in the study of comparative religions…. The Delphic and Pythian religions of Greece understood ecstatic behavior and speech to be evidence of divine inspiration by Apollos.” C.M. Robeck, Jr., in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1988, page 872. “… Glossolalia is a very ancient practice it is still practiced nowadays in many religions, especially those where one seeks contact with the spirit world (witchcraft/ shamanism, voodoo) or a union mystical with the “All”. Mohamed, the founder of Islam, is probably the most famous of those who have practiced glossolalia.” “Glossolalia (Tongues) and 1 Corinthians 14” Bruno D. Granger http:// http://www.apologetique.org/ en/ rticles/ neomontanism/ BDG_glossolalia_en.htm. “Enthusiastic, ecstatic, mystic, possession, trance and other kindred phenomena have long been of interest to anthropologists. Cross-cultural reviews of ethnographic data on glossolalia in particular have been published by L.C. May, Jennings, M. Eliade, among others. The practice was known in ancient India and China, and ethnographies describe glossolalia in almost every area of the world… speaking-in-tongues is widespread and very ancient.” E. Mansell Pattison Behavioral Science Research On The Nature Of Glossolalia Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, September 1968 Research conducted by Al Carlson at the University of California and Werner Cohn at the University of British Columbia indicate that anyone can produce glossolalic speech which sounded genuine even to believers. Jimmy Jividen, “Glossolalia: from God or man?” p 163. “This survey has shown that speaking-in-tongues is widespread and very ancient. Indeed, it is probably that as long as man has had divination, curing, sorcery, and propitiation of spirits, he has had glossolalia … Whatever the explanation, it is clear that pagans as well as Christians have their glossolalia experiences.” Jimmy Jividen, “Glossolalia: from God or man?” p 74,75.” (C. Alan Martin, Scientific Observations of Speaking in Tongues, 437-516 (Kindle Edition): Low Tide Press)
As you can see, the gibberish speaking of the ancient world was a trademark of paganism.
One author, Doug Batchelor, has expressed his belief that the modern day charismatic movement may have been prophesied about in the Book of Revelation.
“Why is understanding the subject of tongues so essential for us today? I believe the modern charismatic movement was foretold in Bible prophecy….We must remember that one of the principal characteristics of ancient Babylon at the tower of Babel was a confusion of tongues (Genesis 11: 7–9). Revelation is telling us that in the last days, God’s people are to be called out of Babylon and its confusing counterfeit religious systems. “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet” (Revelation 16: 13). The phrase “out of the mouth” represents speech, and please don’t miss the fact that a frog’s main weapon is its tongue. Unclean tongues? Perhaps God is trying to tell us something. Remember that the confusion of tongues at Babel was not a blessing of the Spirit, but rather a curse for their rebellion. In fact, we get our modern word “babbling” from the story of ancient Babel.” (Doug Batchelor, Understanding Tongues, 317-329 (Kindle Edition);Roseville, CA; Amazing Facts, Inc.).
Let’s think about applying this knowledge.
First, religious experiences can be very deceptive in the emotions that they can trigger. Joan felt a great sense of ecstasy when she began speaking in gibberish. (Thankfully, her spirit discerned that there was something amiss about Jesus being dressed as a pagan Egyptian priest). The point is that religious experiences can be triggered by Satan as well as by God. That is why we must walk by the Word of the Holy Spirit and not trust in our emotions (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Jeremiah 17:9-10). Let us be constantly aware of “seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1-5), even when they are performed in the name of Christ but are not according to the Father’s revealed will (Matthew 7:21-23).
I find it very concerning that so many churches of our time are practicing ancient demonic forms of paganism in the name of Christ, and they don’t even realize it.
Second, the miraculous gift of tongues was something very different from the pagan gibberish speaking of the ancient (and modern) world. People were able to clearly see a difference between the two (cf. Acts 8:4-18). How thankful we today should be for the Word of God which has been so powerfully and incontrovertibly confirmed by the Holy Spirit!
What a privilege it was to baptize Joan and her husband into Christ. It took tremendous faith and courage for them to follow the Lord. May we have their strength of will.
Lord, thank You for Your Spirit confirmed Word. Help us to discern the imitations and deceptions of the enemy, and help us to reach others who have been trapped by these dangerous practices. Amen.