Prophecy and the Closed Canon - John MacArthur

Found here. Our comments in bold. 

We previously discussed Dr. MacArthur's perspective here.
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The cessationist point of view, here represented by Dr. MacArthur, is that the miraculous has ceased, that the death of the last Apostle meant the end of what are known as the "supernatural" gifts.

Dr. MacArthur presents his reasons for being a cessationist below. Unfortunately, he does not provide good ones.
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There is no fresher or more intimate revelation than Scripture. God doesn't need to give us private revelation to help us in our walk with Him. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16 - 17). Scripture is sufficient. It offers all we need for every good work. (Dr. MacArthur twists the meaning of the text. Notice that the text makes the point that all Scripture is inspired and profitable, but Dr. MacArthur changes this to Scripture is "all we need." This is dishonest, since the text does not tell us this. And it is false, since we also have the brethren to assist us, authors and preachers like Dr. MacArthur, and of course, the Holy Spirit. 

We also note the irony of Dr. MacArthur's claim that Scripture is all we need, while he himself is providing an extra-biblical resource by writing his article.

Dr. MacArthur therefore appeals to this passage to establish an idea that is foreign to the text.)

Christians on both sides of the charismatic fence must realize a vital truth: God's revelation is complete for now. The canon of Scripture is closed. (We sincerely doubt there are substantial numbers of people who think the canon is still open.) 

As the apostle John penned the final words of the last book of the New Testament, he recorded this warning: "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and from the holy city, which are written in this book" (Rev. 22:18-19). Then, the Holy Spirit added a doxology and closed the canon. (We assent to the closed canon. But this Scripture does not say the canon is closed. The passage speaks warning to those who would add or subtract anything to "the prophecy of this book," That is, the specific prophecy of Revelation. 

When John wrote the book of Revelation, the N.T. did not exist. His writing it was not connected to it being the final book of the canon. The final list of books, regarded as genuine and and authoritative, was established later. 

We therefore believe it does violence to the text in Revelation to apply it to the whole of the N.T.. But even at that, the closing of the canon and the existence of the gift of prophecy are not mutually exclusive. It says nothing about the N.T. gift of prophecy.)

When the canon closed on the Old Testament after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, there followed four hundred "silent years" when no prophet spoke God's revelation in any form. (Dr. MacArthur cannot know this. God may have indeed been speaking to prophets during this time. What we do not have is a record of those prophecies. There is a difference between there being no record and there being no prophecy. 

Jeremy Myers writes, 

"It is not that God wasn’t active in these other years (He was). It is not that nothing was God wasn’t speaking, or performing miracles, or answering prayers (He was). It is not that God was sleeping, was absent, was ignoring humanity, or was off playing a round of golf (He definitely wasn’t).

"God is always active, is always speaking, is always involved, is always answering prayer, and is always working to accomplish His will in the world… even when He is not having people write about it.")

That silence was broken by John the Baptist as God spoke once more prior to the New Testament age. God then moved various men to record the books of the New Testament, and the last of these was Revelation. By the second century A.D., the complete canon exactly as we have it today was popularly recognized. Church councils in the fourth century verified and made official what the church has universally affirmed, that the sixty-six books in our Bibles are the only true Scripture inspired by God. The canon is complete. (Again, few would dispute this. How does it connect to prophecy?)

How the Biblical Canon Was Chosen and Closed

Jude 3 is a crucial passage on the completeness of our Bibles. This statement, penned by Jude before the New Testament was complete, nevertheless looked forward to the completion of the entire canon:

"Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3)

In the Greek text the definite article preceding "faith" points to the one and only faith: "the faith." There is no other. Such passages as Galatians 1:23 ("He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith") and 1 Timothy 4:1 ("In latter times some will fall away from the faith") indicate this objective use of the expression "the faith" was common in apostolic times. Greek scholar Henry Alford wrote that the faith is "objective here: the sum of that which Christians believe" (Alford's Greek Testament, 4:530). (The "faith" is not synonymous with the "canon" or "scripture," and does not speak to the prophetic gift at all.)

Note also the crucial phrase "once for all" in Jude 3. The Greek word here is hapax, which refers to something done for all time, with lasting results, never needing repetition. Nothing needs to be added to the faith that has been delivered "once for all."

George Lawlor, who has written an excellent work on Jude, made the following comment:

"The Christian faith is unchangeable, which is not to say that men and women of every generation do not need to find it, experience it, and live it; but it does mean that every new doctrine that arises, even though its legitimacy may be plausibly asserted, is a false doctrine. All claims to convey some additional revelation to that which has been given by God in this body of truth are false claims and must be rejected." (Jude, 45).

Also important in Jude 3 is the word "delivered." In the Greek it is an aorist passive participle, which in this context indicates an act completed in the past with no continuing element. In this instance the passive voice means the faith was not discovered by men, but given to men by God. How did He do that? Through His Word--the Bible. (Finally Dr. MacArthur makes his leap from one thing to the other, from "the faith" to "the Bible." Jude tells us of the complete delivered faith, which Dr. MacArthur acknowledges by quoting Alford: The faith is "the sum of that which Christians believe." "The faith" is not "the Bible." 

"The faith" was not delivered to the saints via the Bible, it was delivered via the apostles, and it was written down and eventually assembled into the Bible.

Jude 3 is not talking about the Bible at all. In fact, when Jude was written there was still more of the Bible to write. But "the sum of that which Christians believe" was completely established. 

Jude couldn't have been talking about the Bible.)

And so through the Scriptures God has given us a body of teaching that is final and complete. Our Christian faith rests on historical, objective revelation. That rules out all inspired prophecies, seers, and other forms of new revelation until God speaks again at the return of Christ (cf. Acts 2:16-21; Rev. 11:1-13). (The author does a fine job explaining the closing of the canon and the reasons we believe this. 

But then he jumps to an unwarranted conclusion, that because the canon is closed, there is no prophecy. He offers no explanation for his leap.)

In the meantime, Scripture warns us to be wary of false prophets. Jesus said that in our age "false christs and false prophets will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect" (Matt. 24:24). Signs and wonders alone are no proof that a person speaks for God. John wrote, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). (So if Dr. MacArthur is correct that there is no prophecy today, shouldn't we simply reject every prophecy? Why should we bother to "test spirits" if none of them are from God?)

Ultimately, Scripture is the test of everything; it is the Christian's standard. In fact, the word canon means "a rule, standard, or measuring rod." The canon of Scripture is the measuring rod of the Christian faith, and it is complete. (We completely agree. But again, this is a separate issue from prophecy.)

From the time of the apostles until the present, the true church has always believed that the Bible is complete. God has given his revelation, and now Scripture is finished. God has spoken. What He gave is complete, efficacious, sufficient, inerrant, infallible, and authoritative. Attempts to add to the Bible, and claims of further revelation from God have always been characteristic of heretics and cultists, not the true people of God.

Although charismatics deny that they are trying to add to Scripture, their views on prophetic utterance, gifts of prophecy, and revelation really do just that. (Ok, finally we get to his reasons as to why he conflates the closed canon with no prophecy for today. Dr. MacArthur will never demonstrate this assertion, and in fact it is false. There is no Bible verse that tells us prophetic utterance is on par with Scripture and must be added to the Bible.) 

As they add--however unwittingly--to God's final revelation, they undermine the uniqueness and authority of the Bible. (How is it undermined, exactly? He provides nothing but an unsupported assertion.) 

New revelation, dreams, and visions are considered as binding on the believers conscience as the book of Romans or the gospel of John. (How, exactly are they binding on all of this? Another unsupported assertion.)

Some charismatics would say that people misunderstand what they mean by prophetic utterance and new revelation. They would say that no effort is being made to change Scripture or even equal it. (Agreed, this is a charismatic perspective.) 

What is happening, they assume, is the clarifying of Scripture (Clarifying Scripture is only one of several possibilities.  And we need to note once again that thousands of pastors stand up in pulpits every Sunday and clarify Scripture. Does Dr. MacArthur have any objections to this?) 

as it is applied or directed to a contemporary setting, such as the prophecy of Agabus in Acts 11:28.

The line between clarifying Scripture and adding to it is indeed a thin one. (Quite right, especially since Dr. MacArthur artificially narrowed the charismatic viewpoint to that of only "clarifying Scripture." But Paul doesn't agree with Dr. MacArthur's definition. 

1Co. 14:3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 

1Co. 14:31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 

Clearly there are other things that happen as a result of the prophetic ministry. 

He now undertakes to dismantle the straw man...) But Scripture is not clarified by listening to someone who thinks he has the gift of prophecy. Scripture is clarified as it is carefully and diligently studied. There are no shortcuts to interpreting God's word accurately (cf. Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 2:15). (We see here that Dr. MacArthur considers scriptural study to be the only way to obtain clarity. This of course obviates his own presentation here. Why would he write something like this very article if it isn't a valid source of information?)

Christians must not play fast and loose with the issues of inspiration and revelation. An accurate understanding of those doctrines is essential for distinguishing between the voice of God and the human voice. (Waaait, I thought information was obtainable only through study? Isn't God silent in our day?) 

Men who professed to speak for God but spoke their own opinions were to be executed under the Old Testament law (Deut. 13:1-5). New Testament believers are also urged to test the spirits and judge all supposed prophecies, shunning false prophets and heretics (1 John 4:1; 1 Cor. 14:29). (Sound advice. Irrelevant to his point, but certainly sound advice. And might we ask why false prophets should not be executed? Why are we exempt from that requirement, sir?)

The Holy Spirit is working mightily in the church today, but not in the way most charismatics think. The Holy Spirit's role is to empower us as we preach, teach, write, talk, witness, think, serve, and live. (Dr. MacArthur now backtracks from his just-stated position. He previously said the only source of revelation is via study. Now he acknowledges that the Holy Spirit does indeed speak, and he even connects the Holy Spirit to preaching. Whaaa?) 

He does lead us into God's truth and direct us into God's will for our lives. But He does it through God's Word, never apart from it. (Another unsubstantiated assertion.) 

To refer to the Holy Spirit's leading and empowering ministry as inspiration or revelation is a mistake. (But... Dr. MacArthur just did. He just told us that the Holy Spirit empowers us as we "preach, teach, write, talk..." That is inspiration. Those things reveal God's truth. Revelation. We no longer believe Dr. MacArthur is thinking clearly about this.) 

To use phrases such as "God spoke to me," or "This wasn't my idea; the Lord gave it to me," or "These aren't my words, but a message I received from the Lord" confuses the issue of the Spirit's direction in believers' lives today. (So then, is it just a semantics problem? Does he just not like it when people speak in certain ways about the truth the Holy Spirit is leading them to? Sigh. We're confused.)

Inviting that kind of confusion (How about creating that kind of confusion, in the manner just achieved by Dr. MacArthur?) 

plays into the hands of the error that denies the uniqueness and absolute authority of Scripture. The terms and concepts of Ephesians 5:18-19 and 2 Peter 1:21 are not to be mixed. Being filled with the Spirit and speaking to one another in psalms and hymns is not the same as being moved by the Holy Spirit to write inspired Scripture. (Having failed to connect the closed canon with prophetic utterance, Dr. MacArthur is content to simply repeat his unproven assertion.)