Does God Speak to Us Today? - by David Vaughn Elliott

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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Hot on the heels of yesterday's post is this article written by the same author. In our increasingly focused quest to find a coherent scriptural explanation of the cessationist viewpoint, we turn again to Mr. Elliot to see if he can lead us to the doctrinal promised land. Read on:
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Does God speak to us today--audibly, in visions, in dreams, via angels, via prophecy? Should we believe someone who says, "God spoke to me last night"? Or, did God terminate revelations to mankind with the writing of the last book of the Bible? (Yes, these are the key questions, properly asked and phrased. Let's see if he answers them with Scriptural elucidation.)

Let us not confuse prophecy with preaching. Men who preach must study. Prophecy involves no study; it is a revelation by inspiration with words directly from God. "I will raise them up a Prophet... and will put my words in his mouth" (Deut. 18:18). "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21). (Ah, the author touches on something important. What, if anything, is the difference between prophecy and preaching? Should there be an separation between the two? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Scripture treats them similarly, despite the author's protestations. 2 Peter 2:1: 

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 

Notice that there is a shared dimension between prophecy and preaching. There is a common pitfall. There is a coexistence of both expressions in the Body. And as we read the next couple of verses in 2 Peter, we will find there is the same result that comes from their false expression: 2 Peter 2:2–3: 

Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Further, given the many verses in the N.T. regarding the testing of prophecy, it is clear that doctrinal and scriptural conformity is required. Therefore, those who engage in prophetic expressions must be trustworthy, learned, and mature people, as do those who discern prophecy.)

Are visions, dreams, revelations, and prophecies given to everyone? (Wrong question. The title of the author's presentation is, "Does God Speak to Us Today?" Apparently he wishes to change the subject.) 

As for Old Testament times, Heb. 1:1 gives the reply: "God, who at various times and in various manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets." God spoke TO the fathers BY the prophets. Mt. Sinai is the only time God spoke directly to all His people, and the people could not stand it (Ex. 20:18-19). In New Testament times there may have been a larger percentage of God's people receiving revelations; yet, even then, Paul asked the rhetorical questions: "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? (1 Cor. 12:29). The understood reply in each case is, "No." (The author has confused the limitations of the various offices in the Church with the general revelation that comes to all believers as they walk in the Spirit. No one in charismatic circles makes the claim that everyone should be apostles, prophets, teachers, or workers of miracles, so the author is refuting an idea that no one has asserted.)

Not only so, but Hebrews also indicates a finality with Jesus' coming. "God... spoke in time past" (1:1) is contrasted to "has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son" (1:2). "Last days." That has a ring of finality. Plus the fact that Jesus is the supreme revelation of God upon the earth. No one greater could come. (Indeed, Jesus is the Word of God, and we have His mind. 1Co. 2:14-16: 

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 'For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ.

We also have the Spirit of Christ. Ro. 8:9-11:

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

This means that in these last days, we possess the presence and infilling of Christ via the Holy Spirit. His nature begins to transform us, His Word feeds us, corrects us, and enlightens our inner man to receive the truth, to understand Scripture, and to know the will of God for our lives. Romans 12:2: 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Jesus is indeed the supreme revelation, and we have Him.)

Nevertheless, the Son, the night He was betrayed, told His apostles: "I have yet many things to say unto you... when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:12-14). Although Jesus completed His work on earth, the whole truth about Him was not revealed immediately. All truth would be revealed to and by His apostles after He ascended.

Speaking of the mystery of Christ, Eph. 3:5 says: "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." The fact that the apostles and prophets spoke by revelation is precisely the reason why the church of Jesus Christ is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Eph. 2:20).

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into "all truth." (In our previous post we inferred that Mr. Elliot was implying that John 16:12-14 only applied to the apostles. We noted there that this passage is part of a much longer passage starting at 14:1, that clearly is addressed to every believer. 

And 1Jn. 2:20 creates a problem for Mr. Elliot: 

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

Further, John is addressing his "little children," which means he is talking to everyday church people, not apostles, not pastors, not the supermen of faith. These are the rank and file, and he tells them something quite different than what Mr. Elliot says:

1 Jn 2:27: As for you, the Spirit which he gave you is still in you, and you have no need of any teacher; but as his Spirit gives you teaching about all things, and is true and not false, so keep your hearts in him, through the teaching which he has given you.

Mr. Elliot is attempting to yank Jn. 16:12-14 out of its context to make his point. Unless he is attempting to assert that long passages of the N.T. no longer apply. If that is true, we might wonder why they were included at all...) 

Since the apostles received "all truth" in the "last days," there is no more truth to be revealed before the end of time. (Now we know this is false. It really doesn't even stand up to the smell test. The Holy Spirit is in every believer. How is it possible that we would have Him but He is no longer guides us into all truth? How is it that only the Apostles had "all truth?" Where does this artificial distinction come from? It must be because the author goes into his investigation with preconceived notions, where he sets out to prove what he assumes.

"Truth" is ...not merely truth as spoken; truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness. It goes far beyond knowing facts. Truth is revelatory, it is wisdom from above [James 3:17]. 

The Holy Spirit leads us all. His ministry is "...to to be a guide, lead on one's way..." It does violence to Scripture to suggest that only the Apostles benefited from the leading of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is a dangerous false teaching contradicted everywhere by Scripture. 

Ro. 8:9, 14: You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ... because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Therefore, Jude tells us to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). "Once." Many Bibles translate this, "once for all." All truth was delivered in the first century. (Mr. Elliot is term switching. He was talking about "truth," now he's talking about the faith. No one disputes that the one faith by which men can be saved is delivered "once for all." However, truth is what comes to us via the Spirit of truth, This truth saves us, disciples us, and matures us. It is the supernatural work of God in every believer.)

That is why 1 Cor. 13:8 says, "whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away." This does not mean when Jesus returns. Why? Because the same chapter says, "now abides faith, hope, love" (13:13). Faith and hope abide until Jesus returns. But while faith and hope remain, prophecy is done away. When? When the perfect, complete truth was delivered once for all (13:10). (We covered this in my prior post. "Perfect" cannot be the completed canon. This is simply false teaching. 

But again, notice how he substitutes the "truth" for the "faith.")

If someone today has a new vision or prophecy from God, let him add it to the Bible. (Why?) 

If he does not dare add it to the Bible, let him admit it is not a revelation from God. (Why?) 

The Bible is complete. (Agreed.)

We already have all truth. We just need to examine and follow it. (We'll leave it to the reader to decide whether the author actually answered the questions he asked. We don't think he even came close.)