Glossolalia occurred among adherents of various ancient religions, including some of the ancient Greek religions. There are references to ecstatic speech in the Hebrew Bible (1 Samuel 10:5–13, 19:18–24; 2 Samuel 6:13–17; 1 Kings 20:35–37), and in Christianity it has occurred periodically since the early years of the church. According to the New Testament, glossolalia first occurred among the followers of Jesus at Pentecost, when “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts of the Apostles 2:4). The Apostle Paul referred to it as a spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12–14) and claimed that he possessed exceptional ability in that gift (1 Corinthians 14:18). The account in Acts (4:31, 8:14–17, 10:44–48, 11:15–17, 19:1–7) indicates that in the beginning of the Christian church the phenomenon reappeared wherever conversion and commitment to Christianity occurred.
The Testing of Our Faith
