Here again instructions are very plain, yet they are set aside by this movement.
We read, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak: but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
In the meeting at which the writer was present, already referred to. FIVE women and SEVEN men took part. The number, as we have seen, was a gross violation of the plain instructions of Scripture, which was still further set in defiance when women, and that to the number of five, spoke. The writer carries a very vivid and unhappy recollection of one woman in particular. She got up, began to speak in a shrill voice, got excited to a painful extent, her volubility became worse and worse, her shrill voice went off in a series of hysterical screams, her subject matter was incoherent and commonplace to the last degree. At length even nature could stand the strain no longer, and she sank down out of breath and completely exhausted. How could one believe that such conduct was the product of a special reception of the Spirit of God, as it was claimed to be?
There are different ways of attempting to get rid of these plain instructions of the Spirit of God. One is to say that the word, "speak," in the verse means to chatter. The verse is said to be a rebuke to the women, who chattered in the assembly whilst the service was going on, thus causing scandal and confusion.
The word, "speak," here is the ordinary word for speak. It is used twenty times in the Chapter (1 Cor. 14) we have just quoted from. It is the word used when God speaks, when the Lord Jesus speaks, when the Holy Spirit speaks. It is a pure fabrication to say that it means to " chatter." It means no such thing: To assert this is either culpable negligence or downright dishonesty.
Then again we are told that the word for woman means a married woman, and is no prohibition to the unmarried woman, who has no husband of whom to ask questions at home. But this contention will not hold. The word used means a woman, a wife. It is the very general word for woman, and occurs nearly one hundred times in the New Testament.
The Apostle presents these instructions with peculiar emphasis. Did the Spirit of God foresee that this Scripture would be resented and flouted?
We read, "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant "
(1 Corinthians 14:37, 3837If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 38But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. (1 Corinthians 14:37‑38)). Can there be a more solemn description, or one more binding, than that which is given? They are called, "THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD." Have these commandments been abrogated? We read, " Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression " (1 Timothy 2:11-1411Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (1 Timothy 2:11‑14)). These instructions are not confined to the assembly, but forbid women publicly to teach men in religious matters. It does not hinder women speaking to their own sex, and what happy useful work they have done in this way.
The prohibition of the public spiritual ministration of women to men is given under two heads. First, the order of creation. Adam was first formed. Man is the head of the woman. Second, woman was first in the transgression.
It is not a little significant that some women, who have transgressed the Scriptures, have been responsible for bringing very evil things into the world. It was a woman, Mrs. Eddy, who introduced that frightfully evil system into the world, miscalled " Christian Science," and who gained great riches through her evil work. It was a woman, Mrs. White, who was the chief instrument in propagating " Seventh Day Adventism." It was Mrs. Blavatsky who introduced Theosophy to the western world. Her successor was the late Mrs. Besant. It is well known that for one male medium in Spiritism there are a dozen women mediums. " That woman Jezebel " stands as a figure of horrible portent in the Word of God. It seems as if women from the days of Eve were more open to Satanic snares.
The writer will yield to none in his appreciation and admiration of Christian women. They have their sphere, clearly defined by Scripture, and they play a very wonderful and blessed part in the church of God. But God knows best, and He has not endowed women with the capacity to be leaders in the things of God. Their physique, their emotional nature seem to lay them more open than men to these snares of the devil. It is well when men have their proper place in the things of God. It is well for Christian women to have the cooler judgment of men to rely on in these matters. It is well for men to have the complementary gifts of women to be their helpers as designed of God.
We have already thrown out a challenge that there should be a reliable test made of the reality or otherwise of the healings that are claimed by these Pentecostal systems. We should like to throw out another challenge, viz., that a number of able Christian linguists should be invited to listen to these tongues. In the main, we believe, they are gibberish. They are no language at all. We have been told that in some cases where there are real languages spoken, the persons speaking have rolled out floods of obscenity, which they would never have dreamed of uttering in their sober senses. In that case the tongue is clearly Satanic, for the Scriptures repeatedly speak of unclean spirits.
The following testimony shows what would be likely if a real test were made as we suggest. The Rev. S. E. Polovina, who was known as being a great linguist, relates the following experience of the Tongues Movement: " Some time ago these people were carrying a meeting on, and claiming they were receiving the gift of tongues and that they could speak foreign languages. As I am a foreigner myself and speaking five or six languages, I desired to be in one of their meetings and see if they got the gift of any language that I could speak. I went to their meetings and took the front seat, but to my surprise they never spoke a sound of any language I ever heard. I have heard numbers of languages in my travels through Europe and Asia, and have heard and seen many different nationalities of people. But among all these people I never heard any such jabbering as that before in my life.
" But to investigate more thoroughly than that, next day I went and gathered seven more foreigners, those who can speak a number of languages. I told them just what I wanted them to do, to be sure and watch when they began jabbering, and see if they could catch just one word in any language. So that night we went to their church, and took front seats. After they had a few songs and prayer, they had a testimony service before the preaching. They also had a man who claimed that he had received the gift of interpretation, and could interpret everything that they said when they spoke in that ' unknown tongue.' They began to testify in the English language, but they soon turned to that jabbering. When one would get through with his ' unknown tongue,' this man, who claimed to be an interpreter, would tell them what they had said, and what language they had spoken in. And behold the first interpretation he made he lied. He told the man that he spoke in the Russian language, and I know he did not, because I can speak Russian just as good, or possibly a little better, than he could English. I never said anything, and let them all testify and him interpret. He interpreted them one by one, and told them they spoke in different foreign languages. So it happened that every language that he said they spoke, one of us knew that language, but we failed to catch one single word.
" So when they had all finished testifying, I arose to my feet and began to testify, saying in the English language, ' I love to praise God's name for saving and sanctifying power,' then I changed right into my language, and quoted part of the third verse of the third Chapter of John... I turned to him and asked him what I had spoken and what language, and he told me that I had spoken in French, and that I quoted the nineteenth Chapter of Acts, and the second verse, ' Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?'
" Then I said to him, Brother, that is the biggest lie you ever told since you came into the world. I quoted part of the third verse of the third Chapter of John in the Magyar language. Not only did you misinterpret this testimony, but every testimony that was given here tonight.' Then he said to me, ' How do you know?' I said, ' There are eight of us here, who can speak all these languages you have referred to. We are willing for you to take us before any consul and let you find out that we can speak these languages if you don't believe we can.' "