David du Plessis, in the early 1950s, believed that God was calling him, as secretary of the Pentecostal World Conference, to make contact with the World Council of Churches. Since then, he has played a leading role in ecumenical circles. Since the 1960s, the penetration of Pentecostalism into older Protestant and Orthodox denominations has been dramatic. James Dunn writes
"The acceptance of Pentecostalism by the leaders of the World Council marks the first time that more traditional Christianity has genuinely welcomed this enthusiastic brand of faith and worship as a valid and important expression of Christianity." (The History of Christianity, Struik Christian Books, p. 621,622)
Previously, such forms of Christianity were either persecuted or only able to flourish outside the organized church. Now the charismatic movement has increasingly broken down many of the barriers and misconceptions on both sides. It has spread across all the traditional classes of society and churchmanship, and Catholic Pentecostalism, particularly, has drawn in a calibre of scholarship, and a respect for authority, sacraments and tradition, which was missing from classic Pentecostalism. Those belonging to classic Pentecostalism are still wary of new developments. However, in recent years many leaders of national churches have moved from a cautious "No comment" to the view that the charismatic movement is the best hope for a renewal of the church in the closing decades of this century. (Ibid, p. 621-622)
It is interesting to note that Catholic Pentecostalism has lead to increased reverence of Papal authority, increased exaltation of Mary and entrenchment of Catholic doctrine. The revival and phenomenal growth of the Church in the last few decades is, according to Padilla, part of a much wider revival of religion that is taking place all over the world.
Evidence of this revival includes the way occultism and Asian religions have come to flourish in the West; the resurgence of Islam in some areas of Africa, Malaysia and Pakistan; together with the revival of Buddhism in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma and Sri Lanka, of Hinduism in India and of Shintoism in Japan; the vitality of Spiritism in Brazil and of Sokka Gakkai in Japan.16 Professor Hollenweger of Birmingham University states:
"The Charismatic movement had a tremendous potential to create trust and destroy suspicion between conflicting groups to provide a platform on which people could talk honestly and openly without being polarized . . . Already by bringing together Roman Catholics and Protestants, the Charismatic movement has worked miracles." (Dimensions, December 1975)
Charismatic churches also subscribe to the futuristic dispensationalist view of prophetic interpretation, and the gifts of the Spirit play an important part in their worship, particularly the gift of speaking in tongues, which is emphasized in many charismatic groups. Scripture clearly teaches that the gifts of the Spirit were given to further the Gospel, and that this would be their function till the end of time. The teaching of scripture is that:
-
The Holy Spirit would bring individuals to repentance of sin, guiding them in a fuller understanding of the truth about God and Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:46-49; John 14,15,16; Acts 4).
- The
fulfillment is to benefit those brought into the Church by the gospel
witness. (John
17:20; Acts 2:38,39,46,47).
- The
gift of tongues was to communicate the gospel to different language
groups. (Acts
2:2-11, 43).
In
both Acts 2 and Acts19, we see that tongues and prophecy are
associated, and thus serve to communicate the Gospel.
- The
gifts were to promote unity within the church.
(1 Cor 12: 18-27).
- In the
lists of the spiritual gifts,
(Rom.
12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-11,28, 31; Eph. 4:11),
only the gift of prophecy (communicating the Gospel) is presented in
all four cases, and tongues only in 1 Corinthians, where it is at the
end of the list.
Ecstatic language was a common form of worship in pagan temples. It was well established in Ancient Byblos (1100 BC) and Plato (429- 347 BC). Plato tells us that a person under divine possession received utterances accompanied with visions not understood by the receiver, which required interpreters. These utterances were sometimes accompanied by physical healings of people present. Virgil (70-19 BC) tells us that the Sibylline priestess, when in prayer, united her spirit with the god Apollo and spoke in strange tongues. (Great Books of the Western World, vol. 3, pp. 6,7)
Glossolalia is mentioned during the early church period, and Irenaeus (114-202 AD), in his work Against Heresies, speaks out against the abuse of the prophetic gift which often lead to violent emotions and loss of chastity. In early times, the gift of tongues was regarded as the gift to speak languages with which to communicate the gospel. Origen (185-254 AD) writes of Paul’s gift of tongues mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:18 :
"Since then anyone received the knowledge of languages, not for himself but for their sake to whom the gospel is to be preached, he is made debtor to all those whose language he received the knowledge from God."
By the fourth century, there is no record of glossolalia in the Church. The reformists believed that tongues referred to known languages. Luther referred to translation as the ability to translate one known language into another. Calvin’s study on tongues is also exhaustive and in line with the reformist view. (Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, vol. 1, p. 403) Wesley also believed that tongues were foreign languages.
Modern glossolalia has its origin among the Irvingites (after Edward lrving,1792-1834). During the civil war years, religious emotionalism was strong, and the inner light of the Spirit made the Bible subordinate to the witness of the Spirit. The Age of Law had passed and the Age of the Spirit had come. Faith became a matter of feeling, power and enjoyment, and various interpretations of the gospel such as dispensationalism crept into the Church.
Supernaturalism became supreme, and superseded the logic and the will. These preachers describe in their diaries how they would sing and dance and utter ecstatics while under the influence of the Spirit. George Tarter writes:
"I was taken in a most pleasant manner, and was forced to lie singing and whistling; and then to rise out of my bed between one and two a clock for to dance; and so continued singing and dancing near upon two hours by the clock.... and why I counted singing, is because I did (as being overpowered with joy) crie ha ha tall; toll lall derab la loll; la dero tall derall tall toll dero tall aroll atoll loll loll dero in such a way I did breake [sic] forth....I desired my brother that lay with me to lie upon me, and so he did, to try whether I should then shake, and I did tatter him up and down and shake so much, that he could not make me lie still... I shoke [sic] him as if he had been in a cradle." (V.N. Olsen. The Gift of Tongues - A study of historyical theology to the 18th century. In The charismatic movement - a report of the special committee meeting in Camp Cumby-gay, Georgia, January 4-9, 1973)
When the Irvingites experienced glossolalia in England, the Mormons under Joseph Smith, also spoke in tongues in the United States.
"Father Smith would call upon some illiterate brother to rise and speak in tongues in the name of Jesus Christ. The order was given...Arise upon your feet, speak or make some sound, continue to make sounds of some kind, and the Lord will make a tongue or language of it." (C.B. Cutten. Speaking in Tongues, p. 71)
Brigham Young also spoke in tongues and interpreted his own messages. (History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
The modern Pentecostal movement grew out of the Holiness Movement of the late nineteenth century. The Kentucky Revival was characterized by falling, jerking, rolling, running, whining, whooping, holy laughter and barking exercises. All these movements have as common denominator an unshakable belief in the immortality of the soul.
The charismatic movement has welded together ecumenical forces and brought about reunification with Rome. A power that brings about a return to the acknowledgement of the supremacy of an apostate church in world affairs cannot be equated with the power of God.
We know that God has an original will, a permissive will, and an ultimate will. In the Hebrew mindset, God's permissive will is what he permits so that His ultimate will (peace and harmony for all) can be realised. When the text says that God sends them a powerful delusion, it refers to His permissive will, as God never tempts anyone. They are permitted to be deluded because they have refused to love the truth. The truth was revealed to them in the Reformation. A rejection of this truth would lead to ultimate spiritual decline, and the acceptance of false doctrines. These doctrines are not doctrines of men, but doctrines of devils.
As the churches move closer to Rome, the delusions of the so-called outpouring of the Holy Spirit reached a climax when the so-called ‘Holy Spirit’ first descended on Toronto on the evening of January 20, 1994 , when a congregation of some 450 people in the small airport Vineyard church burst into uncontrollable laughter. The laughing in the Lord phenomenon led to a state of drunkenness in which outward physical manifestations were common. Drunkenness, trembling, deep sobbing, as well as healings are common at such meetings. These events have been hailed as the great outpouring of the Spirit. This brand of worship spread within months to churches all over the world, even as far as the Czech Republic, Cambodia, and Indonesia. In Britain alone, 3500 churches were laughing in the Lord affecting even members of the Salvation Army. God is not honoured by such manifestations.