Are Tongues A Heavenly Language?

What did Paul mean by the "tongues of ... angels?" Many believe Paul was suggesting that the gift of tongues involves some kind of angelic or heavenly language. Indeed, most charismatics believe that the gift of tongues is a private prayer language, a heavenly language known only to God, celestial speech, or some other kind of unearthly idiom. There is no warrant in the text itself for such a view, however. Paul was making a hypothetical case, just as in the subsequent verses, where he speaks about knowing all mysteries and knowledge (even Paul could not literally make that claim), giving all his possessions to the poor, and giving his body to be burned. Paul was speaking theoretically, suggesting that even if those things were true, without love they would be meaningless. To make his point about the necessity for love, Paul was trying to stretch his examples to the outer limits.

Besides, there is no evidence in Scripture that angels use a heavenly language. Whenever angels appear in Scripture, they communicate in normal human language (e.g., Luke 1:11-20, 26-37; 2:8-14).

Nowhere does the Bible teach that the gift of tongues is anything other than human languages. Nor is there any suggestion that the true tongues described in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were materially different from the miraculous languages described in Acts 2 at Pentecost. The Greek word in both places is glossa. In Acts it is clear that the disciples were speaking in known languages. Unbelieving Jews who were in Jerusalem at the time "were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language" (2:6). Luke went on to name some fifteen different countries and areas whose languages were being spoken (vv. 8-11).

Furthermore, the Greek word dialektos, from which we get the English word "dialect," is also used in reference to the languages in Acts 2:6-8. Unbelievers present at Pentecost heard God's message proclaimed in their local dialects. Such a description could not be applied to ecstatic speech.

Many charismatics point out that the King James Version of 1 Corinthians 14 repeatedly uses the expression "an unknown tongue." That, they say, describes a language that is not of this world. The word unknown, however, was supplied by translators and does not appear in the Greek text. That is why the King James Version shows the word in italics. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 13:1 cannot be used to prove that Paul is advocating meaningless, ecstatic speech or some kind of heavenly or angelic language.

Moreover, Paul insisted that when tongues were spoken in the church, someone should interpret (14:13, 27). Such a command would not be apropos if Paul had in mind the ecstatic babbling of a "private" prayer language or spontaneous celestial sounds. The Greek word for interpretation is hermeneuo, which means "translation." (It is so used in John 9:7 and Hebrews 7:2.) The gift of interpretation was a supernatural ability to translate a language one had never learned so that others might be edified by the message (1 Corinthians 14:5). You cannot translate ecstatic speech or gibberish.

Still another indication that Paul had in mind human languages is his statement in 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 that tongues were given as a sign to unbelieving Israel: "In the Law it is written, 'By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,' says the Lord." Paul was referring to Isaiah 28:11-12, a prophecy telling the nation of Israel that God would speak His revelation in Gentile languages. That was a rebuke to Israel in their unbelief. In order to be a meaningful sign, these must have been Gentile foreign languages, not some kind of angelic speech.

(from Charismatic Chaos by John F. MacArthur, Jr.)