Note: All Scripture quotations found in this article are from the text of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.
There is a group in Christianity that calls themselves "Charismatics". This word is a Greek word that means "gifted". Charismatics claim to have certain gifts, but in this article we will find out by studying the scripture that they are either lying, deceived, devil possessed or just plain silly. Some even brag about having the gift of tongues and healing, which are not gifts for today.
Proverbs 25:14 "Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain."
The Bible tells us that the Jews require a sign, not us. We live by faith and not by sight(2 Cor. 5:7).
1 Corinthians 1:22 "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:"
The Jews require a sign and tongues are a sign for the unbelieving Jews. The signs were given to the Jews to prove that Jesus was the Messiah(Acts 2:36). Every time tongues are mentioned in the Bible, Jews are always present.
1 Corinthians 14:22 "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe."
We also know that the nation of Israel began with signs. The first time the word sign shows up in the Bible is in Exodus 4:8, where Moses sticks his hand in his bosom and it is leprous then puts it back in and when he takes it back out it is clean. Moses was showing the sign of instant healing to the Jews.
Exodus 4:28 "And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. 29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped."
This is also why the Jewish Apostles and their converts were given the signs(2 Cor. 12:12, Hebrews 2:4). These signs include not only healing and tongues, but also protection from snake bites and drinking poison without dying. Notice that the person being healed does not have to have faith to be healed(Mark 6:4-6). The people that claim that they are healing people instantly today are money hungry liars(1 Tim. 6:10). If they really have the gift of healing then they need to be in the hospitals. In the verse 18, it says the sick SHALL recover, not maybe or sometimes.
Mark 16:17 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
These Jewish signs disappear after the book of Acts because that is when God was still dealing with Israel. We know this because Paul cannot heal Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23. Instead he recommends Timothy to drink a little wine for his sickness. Paul also could not heal Trophimus.
1 Timothy 5:23 "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities."
2 Timothy 4:20 "Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick."
Charismatics use the below verse to try to prove that instant healing and tongues are still for today. They fail to understand the context of the verse though. The context is talking about Jesus Christ being consistent in love and promises about salvation. It has nothing to do with the physical body of Jesus Christ, nor how God deals with people different in different times.
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
They will also try to use this verse even though it is directly aimed at the Jewish Apostles.
John 14:12 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."
In Acts 2, tongues are foreign languages that can be understood by the hearers, not gibberish. The other places in scripture where tongues are spoken are Acts 10 and 19. All three times Jews are present.
Acts 2:6 "Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,"
Charismatics use 1 Corinthians 14 to try and prove that their gibberish is the unknown tongue. What they fail to realize is that this chapter is Paul rebuking them for doing it the wrong way. The tongue is called unknown because the language being spoken is not understood by the hearers, nor the speaker, which is why they need an interpreter(1 Cor. 14:13,27).
1 Corinthians 14:2 "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries."
There are rules that go with the sign of tongues that are covered in 1 Corinthians 14:27-34. No women are to speak in tongues, only three are aloud to speak in a service, it is to be done one at a time and the tongue(language) has to be interpreted. Most Charismatics do not even obey the rules when they are faking this Jewish sign. Consider the below verse.
1 Corinthians 14:19 "Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue."
Some people try so hard to prove that tongues are not for today that they misinterpret the below verses. Some say the "perfect" talked about is a reference to the Bible being completed, but that is false. Verse 12 tells us that the "perfect" is a person, not a book. The expression "that which" is referring to Jesus Christ(1 John 1:1-2). "That which is perfect" is referring to the Second Coming, not the completion of the Bible.
1 Corinthians 13:8 "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
The reason for that is because in the Tribulation, the Antichrist will deceive people with signs. There are evil spirits that can perform miracles(2 Cor. 11:4-15).
2 Thessalonians 2:9 "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,"
The Bible calls the Charismatics that claim to have Jewish signs, LIARS!
Revelation 2:2 "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:"
Finally, I want to make it clear to the readers that I do believe that God can heal by prayer, but I do not believe in healers for today because instant healing was a sign to the Jews, so that they would believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. No one today can put peoples ears back on like Jesus Christ did in Luke 22:51. No one today is blessed with the gift of tongues, rather Missionaries have to learn foreign languages to go witness to people in different countries. It is hard for me to believe that God is giving people the gift of tongues in churches where everyone speaks the same language and no Jews are present. The fact is, most Charismatics are just caught up in their emotions and learned habits without knowing what the scripture say about the subject.
