Gifts of the Holy Spirit

2. Is it true that tongues plus interpretation is equal to prophecy?

No, it isn’t, because – as we saw before – he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Therefore also the interpretation is directed toward God and not men. I will give you a practical example.

Let us suppose you come to Italy and while you are in a place of worship you are invited to give your personal testimony, and when you begin to speak you say ‘Praise the Lord!’ Now, ‘Praise the Lord’’ must be translated ‘Lode al Signore!’, so how could your interpreter say that you have said: ‘Thus saith the Lord God; Fear not, I am with you’? Your interpreter can’t say that, can he? Therefore, how can a prayer, or a psalm (a song) or a giving of thanks (which are all addressed to God) be interpreted with a message addressed to men?

Do you understand what I mean? In other words, if speaking in other tongues is directed Godward it is obvious and logical that also the interpretation is directed Godward.

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