1Co 14:21 In the law it is written: "With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me," says the Lord.
22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.
Zero in on verse 22, the purpose of tongues was for a sign to unbelievers, specifically hardened Jewish unbelievers, who heard God's message but rejected it.
1Co 1:22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom
Mt 12:39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign..."
There are three things to be considered:
First, tongues simply mean languages.
Re 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Ac 2:8 "And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
Ac 2:11 "...we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God."
Second, tongues are an ominous sign of rebellion, judgment and dispersion.
1) God has a message to a certain people. 2) The people reject God's message. 3) God causes them to hear tongues as a sign of judgment. 4) Then dispersion comes.
In Genesis 11, we see this pattern:
1) God told the people back then to go and scatter and multiply
2) The people decided to rebel against God's will. They built a tower and decided to bond together
3) God came down and confused their tongues
4) They were dispersed into all parts of the world as judgment from God.
In Deuteronomy 28, we see a similar pattern:
1) God told them that He would bless them if Israel obey His voice (see Deut. 28:1)
2) God told them that He would judge them if they disobey His voice (see Deut. 28:15)
3) One of the judgments is that God would sent them foreign invaders of foreign tongues as a sign of judgment (see Deut. 28:49)
De 28:49 "The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,
4) God would then disperse and scatter them (see Deut. 28:64-65)
In Jeremiah 5, a similar pattern is seen:
1) God had a message to Israel. He calls on them to return (see Jer. 4:1)
2) Israel refused to heed God's message (see Jer. 5:3)
3) God then will cause them to hear foreign tongues as a sign of judgment (see Jer. 5:15)
Jer 5:15 Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel," says the LORD. "It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.
4) God will then disperse and scatter them (see Jer. 5:19)
In Isaiah 28, a similar pattern is observed:
1) God calls on Israel to repent and turn to God and find rest in Him (see Isaiah 28:12a).
2) Israel rejected His message which He sent through the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 28:12b).
3) God will cause them to hear foreign tongues as a sign of judgment (see Isaiah 28:11).
Isa 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,
4) God then dispersed and scattered them (see Isaiah 28:13). The words "be caught" here in this verse means be caught in captivity in a foreign nation.
Isaiah 33 states that for Israel not to hear a foreign tongue in their own land is a sign of blessing. During the Millennium, Israel will be ruled by their own Messiah. They will not be judged and be under subjection to any foreign rule:
Isa 33:19 You will not see a fierce people, A people of obscure speech, beyond perception, Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.
Third, tongues then are a sign to unbelieving Jews of a coming judgment and dispersion because they have refused God's message.
1) The Lord Jesus Christ called on the nation Israel to come to Him (see Matthew 11:28)
2) The nation Israel rejected Him. They crucified Him.
3) God then, as punishment, will cause their land to be invaded by foreigners (the Romans). These Romans spoke in a foreign tongue.
Mt 24:2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
When Israel rejected Christ, God set Israel aside and began a new program. He is now calling all people in every nation to come to Christ. He is now building His Church---an international community of believers. Israel is no longer, for now, the focal point of God's program. He shifted from Israel to the nations.
Notice the shift:
Mt 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6 "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
This was before they rejected Him. But when they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, God shifted His program:
Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
A shift from one nation (Israel) to all the nations. From setting aside Israel, to building His Church. At the birth of the Church on Pentecost, tongues of different languages were heard (see Acts 2).
It's as if God is announcing: "I am now shifting gears, from Israel to the nations." A new program is set in place. It's as if God were announcing: "I will stop talking to Israel as a nation, but I will now call on Gentiles, and I will signify this by enabling my Church to speak in tongues of different people all over the world."
The birth of the Church with tongue-speaking was to signify its ministry and composition. It would be an organism that would do evangelism worldwide and it would be an international community composed of different nationalities.
To a stubbornly unbelieving Jew, if he knew his Old Testament Bible, this would tell him that this is a bad sign. It meant that God spoke to them, that they rejected His message and now, God is causing them to hear tongues as a sign of impending judgment.
4) About 40 years after the Lord Jesus prophesied that the Romans would invade them, that the temple would be destroyed, after about 40 years of hearing the sign of the tongues, General Titus of Rome came and attacked Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
The Romans destroyed their center of worship (the temple) and dispersed the Jews to all parts of the world. For 2000 years Israel was scattered to different foreign nations.
Conclusion
The purpose of tongues was to signal the unbelieving Jews that judgment and dispersion is coming. God is now shifting from Israel to other nations. This is seen in the fact that our Bibles was written largely into two languages.
The Old Testament was largely written in Hebrew (the language of the Jews) while the New Testament was written in Greek (the international language during NT times).
Now that the purpose of tongues was fulfilled (it was to signal to unbelieving Israel judgment and dispersion) it is no longer needed. This is confirmed by the testimony of Christians for over 2000 years.
The early Church Fathers, who came on the scene after the apostles died, said that tongue-speaking had ceased during their times. Respected theologians during the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Church taught and confirmed this.
From the Church Fathers down to the Reformers like Luther, Calvin and even down to the 1800s, tongues were conspicuous by its absence in the Church. It ceased on its own.
