Mark 16:17-18King James Version (KJV)
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
A LOT of religious abuse has occurred from one Christian to another over this verse. First of all, most Bibles have a footnote that this verse is not found in early manuscripts. So some monk copying the Bible must have randomly inserted it. I don't know why God allowed this to happen, but don't let people abuse you due to this verse or tell you that you are less than them because you can't pray in tongues! You DO NOT have to pray in tongues to be saved OR to prove you are baptized in the Holy Spirit! Tongues is still a gift today, yes. Some people legitimately have the gift and it's useful in their personal prayer life just like it was for Paul, but every Christian will not have this gift!
The last two things in this verse have clearly never happened in modern times, of drinking poison or picking up snakes and surviving. I wish we all knew what monk inserted this verse so we could hang him. Just kidding, kind of. But this verse has caused me so much harassment in the Christian community and I just want to speak what I know to be true so others aren't confused anymore about all this.
Just stand your ground if you are debating with a Charismatic about this verse. You do NOT have to pray in tongues. No one has to. It's possible to pick up a demonic tongue too if you are too desperate for the gift so don't be.
If you do find yourself getting the gift of tongues, praise God, but don't then try to tell everyone else they need to have it too. Some are meant to have the gift and some aren't but all Christian are EQUAL and just as valuable to God regardless of what gift they have. Never forget that! God can use you no matter what gift you have. Amen.
May God bless you all!
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