“If I speak human or angelic languages…”
1 Cor. 13:1a
“Languages” – Γλῶσσα – glōssa – “the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations.”
Thus, a “tongue” is a “language” that is KNOWN by a particular people distinct from that of other nations; and those other “tongues” are unique to those other distinct people. This is the word The Holy Spirit had the author Paul use, translated from Konia Greek into English.
What language do angels speak?
They are only recorded in scripture as speaking known human languages. Even in heaven they are speaking a known human language that the prophets (Isaiah) and apostles (John) speak; and is never noted as using any unknown language or babbling sounds.
Nowhere in Scripture is it stated that a Prophet or Apostle had to “reinterpret” or “translate” the words spoken from an angel into human language. However, Scripture does tell us when various human languages are translated, such as in Acts and the Tower of Babble. So, if the Holy Spirit wanted to reveal to us specifically about a heavenly language that needed to be translated into an earthly language, he would have and the authors could have; but didn’t. Not a single mention of the need to translate from an heavenly language to an earthly language in any part of scripture.
What would the difference between Human languages and “angelic languages” be?
Humans are imperfect, ignorant, less intelligent than the mind of God, so their language reflects imperfection, brokenness, incompleteness, and unholiness. Angels only speak what God tells them to say, only what God authorizes them to reveal; and they live in heaven, in the presence of God. Thus, their speech would be perfected, complete, exact, fully true and holy just as God commands. Also, since it is coming from God, it would be beautiful, soul touching, spirit activating, and majestic words and messages, more so than any human could speak. There would be no confusion or misunderstanding when hearing and comprehending a genuine message from heaven. Adam and Even knew what God meant, which is why they were able to repeat it to Satan when they were being tempted. Jonah knew exactly what God wanted him to do which is why whe did the exact opposite. All the prophets and apostles wrote exactly what God wanted them to write in the way he wanted it written.
Literary Expressions
If someone went to a concert and listened to their favorite singer, they might say “that singer has the voice of an angel”. That is a hyperbolic expression. The voice was not literally an angel from heaven voice. It is describing the impressive positive effect from the human voice. Or if a speaker gives an amazing speech with authority, power, reverence, honor, awe-inspiring, motivating, and has a lasting impact on the hearers, some might say he “gave a divine and angelic speech!” Or when you hear someone give an extremely passionate, inspirational, and motivating heart wrenching speech, you might call them “a gifted speaker” even though they don’t actually possess some sort of power or “thing” as the source of their speaking abilities. All these are figures of speech, hyperbolic expressions, that highlights and accentuates the message, increasing its impact, and how skillfully the speaker manipulated your feelings with the words they used and how those words were presented to you in such a way it was almost “divine.”
THIS is why people fall victim to cults and false teachers. They hear these skillful and gifted speakers and they are so good at how they speak, it leads people to think they have a divine, heavenly, presence; when they don’t.
A huge and critical consideration in proper interpretation of Scripture is the application of Historical, Cultural, and Literary elements for accurately understanding a literary writing. This is also the most missed element by unqualified teachers and religious leaders. Some even prey on the fact that most people do not understand their own language that well. Most people now-a-days have the bare minimum literary education. When the Bible uses a Euphemism or a Simile, how would the hearer/reader know how to properly interpret and understand what is stated if the hearer/reader does not know what a Euphemism or a Simile is?
What about Mark 7:35?
Some try to claim that Jesus “Spoke in the heavenly tongue” when he stated: “And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” The word used, by Jesus, is NOT some sort of phrase or word of an heavenly language translated for us, but “Ephphatha” comes from an Aramaic root word pᵊṯaḥ, verb, and Hebrew word, “to open”– ἐφφαθά, ephphatha, Aramaic אֶתְפָּתַח (the ethpaal imperative of the verb פְּתַח, Hebrew פָּתַח, to open). Jesus is NOT speaking an unknown heavenly language.
John quoting the voices in Heaven:
John was in the middle of a direct vision from God about the future and was about to write down some quotes, but was explicitly instructed NOT to write them down (Rev. 10:4). Why not, if it would have been in an unknown heavenly language that no one would be able to understand? God could just prevent anyone from translating, interpreting, and understanding it. But, he didn’t. And what he was going to write would have been readable by everyone who knows how to read the language he was writing Revelation in. No hint of a heavenly language being used in heaven either.
In Revelation 5:11-12 we see this: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” ” Now, notice, John is literally quoting what angels are saying, in heaven. Also notice how he does not mention anything about a heavenly tongue or needing to translate a heavenly tongue into Konia Greek. Or any sort of comment or remark about the beauty of the sound of some sort of perfect holy language.
Angels talk to each other:
The angel Michael even spoke a known human language with the Devil (Jude 9). You would think, 2 spiritual creatures would speak their spiritual language with each other, if there was no need to speak a human language. But, they didn’t. Nothing notated as if they spoke in any different way that needed translation or interpretation to then be written down. No hint of a heavenly language in the spiritual realm either.
*For full disclosure, this example is taken from The Epistle of Jude; but Jude was drawing from a story recorded in The Book of Enoch, which is not canon. But, for millennia and in some orthodox circles, this book holds some serious weight; and at some points in history it was thought to be inspired. Jude uses this concept not as a validation of divine inspiration for the Book of Enoch, but as a simple example to highlight the point he is making that people in that culture would understand.
Satan And God Communicate:
Also, we can look at Satan’s communication with God about Job. Nowhere is it stated or hinted that they are speaking in some heavenly language with each other. In fact, it would seem odd that God would speak to Satan using some sort of unique prestigious divine and holy language, with him.
When Jesus communicated with Satan at his temptation, again, nowhere is it stated or hinted that they are speaking in some heavenly language with each other. In fact, Jesus quoted, verbatim, Arabic and Hebrew scripture. Satan too quotes from the Arabic and Hebrew writing and not paraphrases in a spiritual tongue.
Angels speaking with humans:
The angel that appeared to Mary, spoke her language and no mention of it needing to be interpreted or of a different language is mentioned (Luke 1:30).
The author of Hebrews even states what angels could/may/should never say, but in his language. He does not mention them speaking in a different language that needed to be interpreted and translated by the human mind (Hebrews 1:13-14 ESV). He also mentioned that we may run into an angel, and not even know it, which implies that they will appear and sound normal to us, speaking our language (Hebrews 13:2)
The angels that met with Abraham and later Lott, did not need a translator when communicating with both of them (Genesis 19:1-22). Nor did they need a translator or interpreter for the people of Sodom. They all knew what each other were saying.
The angel that spoke to John, did not need a translator and knew how to read the human writings of Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek (Revelation 22:9-10).
The angel that appeared to Joseph in his dreams, spoke to him in his own language (Matthew 2:13)
The angel in Isaiah’s vision spoke to him in his own language (Isaiah 6:7).
Could Angels know how to speak all human languages, and still know a heavenly tongue they reserve for the holiest of moments? That is a nice idea, but there is no support for this anywhere in scripture. Sure they may know most or all human languages, they are smart and empowered by God. But, that is an extra-biblical thought, injected into Scripture. The other part to that idea must be false given that we have recorded instances of what is said in heaven.
Angel Names are from human languages
Angels can even have human names, such as Micahel and Gabriel (Daniel 10:13, 21; Jude 9; Luke 1:19) and not some sort of unknown heavenly name with an unknown meaning in its heavenly language. This is Michael’s name in the original language is was written/spoken: מִיכָאֵל The roots for his name is from מִי (H4310) and (the prefix derivative from) כִּי (H3588) and אֵל (H410). Similarly, Gabriel also has root words that form his name in Hebrew. Not from some unknown heavenly language.
Animals Spoke Languages
Let us not forget when God empowered animals to speak. Also, consider that Satan spoke through a creature, a snake; who spoke the first human language to Adam and Eve. Then we have Balaam’s Donkey in Numbers 22:22-40 where “the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey” and it began to speak to Balaam in his native tongue. Scripture goes on to quote the donkey. Another instance is when John records an Eagle flying around warning people in human langues recorded in scripture (Revelation 8:13). These all have something in common. No mention of any sort of heavenly language or need of interpretation or translation. You would think, something so supernatural as domesticated and feral animals speaking a comprehensible language would use a more majestic heavenly language. But, they didn’t and there is zero indication of anything more than the use of human languages.
The Language Barrier Dilemma
Speaking in tongues proves that God is not limited by language and or by the language barriers that HE imposed at the Tower of Babel. An unknown heavenly language still perpetuates that which God sought to prove he overcame. If there is an unknown heavenly language, then language barriers still exist, even within his own. But The Holy Spirit, when giving someone the ability to break that barrier and speak or understand an unstudied language, won’t create another new language barrier when his whole point was to not be limited by one. That is illogical, contradicting, and self defeating. When someone is babbling sounds and no one is understanding, there still exists a barrier of understanding and nothing is actually accomplished. Thus contradicting the use of the gift of tongues by babbling some sort of sounds and claiming it’s a language and means something, while no one knows what it means, no one is being edified or growing in the knowledge of God; and no unbelievers are being drawn to the knowledge of the gospel and who Jesus is. God doesn’t contradict himself, is not illogical, do anything self-defeating, or do things in vain.
Paul says they will be done away with
1 Cor. 13:8-10 states this: Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know in part and prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.” Paul explicitly states that “if there are tongues, they will cease” But if they are speaking some sort of heavenly language, which would be a tongue as well, it too will cease. Why? Well, when “the perfect comes” it will render tongues and the gift of speaking in tongues useless. The Perfect is either the completion of Holy Scripture or Jesus Christ and our eternal state after this world. Either way, tongues will cease in the eternal state. This almost seems to allude to the idea of a heavenly tongue is just a humanistic worldly idea in a spiritual sounding context. Why would we need a heavenly language if we would know all languages and all things in our eternal state already? Maybe we will all go back to speaking the first language that Adam and Even all the way up to all the people of the Tower of Babble were speaking, on earth. Who knows, but all that is just extra-biblical speculation.
Irrelevance of an unknown heavenly language
Even in the afterlife, there is no language interpretation or translation needed and no difference in languages anymore (Luke 16:19-31). Almost like thoughts are communicative without choosing a specific language to communicate that thought. Now, the Bible does NOT reveal this nor hint at this except the fact that everyone in heaven all perfectly understands each other somehow. ANY explanation as to “how” is pure conjecture and NOT revealed in scripture, including some kind of unknown heavenly language. But, let’s ponder this extra-biblical concept just as the “unknown heavenly language” has been pondered.
The ‘No Need for Language’ Theory:
This is not an organized structured language of its own, a unique heavenly language, but an self-aware, conscious ability to communicate and understand thoughts, ideas, and messages without the barrier of language differences. Similarly to how there was 1 universal language spoken on earth, a single human language, prior to divine intervention at the Tower of Babel; still a single earthly human language none-the-less. You can even conclude that in heaven, its own supernatural heavenly language is irrelevant if there is no use for languages to convey ideas and thoughts, if everything is already made known. Would spiritual-telepathic communication require the mental understanding of sentence structures of Latin and Koine Greek? No. The thought and idea is simply projected to another party and just simply and instantly transferred and understood by the recipient. No language structures and formations, literary styles, interpretation and translations needed. This is plausible given the communicative abilities in dreams and visions. There is no use for marriage in heaven, why would there be English or French languages in heaven too? Do you think angels are utilizing their voice box to generate sounds in such a way as to formulate words and sentences in the Hebrew dialect, in heaven? What about their communications in dreams and visions? And what about The Holy Spirit, through Paul, revealing to us that “if there are tongues, they will cease?” Why would they cease if we would still need to use them in heaven?
Knowing all languages makes knowing 1 heavenly language irrelevant:
There are humans that know 10 or more different languages. Since angels are from God, why can’t angels know ALL the human languages, and be empowered by God to speak and understand them all fluently? Again, another example of the irrelevant nature of some sort of unknown heavenly language. If the ability to speak all languages is in heaven, another distinct language such as a heavenly one would be irrelevant if everyone can speak all languages already.
Thus, the gift of tongues will not speak some sort of babbling “heavenly” language that only God would understand. THIS (babbling noises) concept is NOT found in Scripture, since God speaks to his creation in every way (physically, dreams, visions) with actual known languages they know already; and NO mention of any Prophet mentioning that they spoke in an unknown heavenly language when receiving a revelation from God in a dream, vision, or audible voice.
A supernatural heavenly language is either irrelevant and moot or incorrectly assumed in error; therefore we can conclude that it is NOT part of any sort of genuine and true Gift of Tongues practice.
Let us know what you think!