Additional Episodes:
- Episode 1, the Perfect.
- Episode 2, the apostles.
- Episode 3, prophecy.
- Episode 4, the closed canon.
- Episode 5, extra biblical reasons.
- Episode 6, only the apostles had all truth.
- Episode 7, there were only limited periods of miracles.
- Episode 8, tongues.
- Episode 9, the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Episode 10, does God speak only through the Scriptures?
- Episode 11, what about impressions?
- Episode 12, what is discernment?
- Episode 13, the sufficiency of Scripture.
- Episode 14, Was the purpose of miracles restricted to the authentication of the apostles?
- Episode 15, Is revival excluded because of apostasy?
- Episode 16, is prophecy subjective?
- Episode 17, Could only the apostles confer miraculous powers or gifts?
- Episode 18, are charismatics functional cessationists?
- be from the Bible
- Not appeal to contemporary expressions of charismata
- Not appeal to silence
- Not appeal to events or practices of history
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Introduction
A cessationist is a Christian who believes that the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit, including prophecy, tongues, words of knowledge, as well as signs and wonders, did not continue after the death of the last apostle. This is contrasted with a charismatic, or perhaps, a continuationist, who is a Christian who believes the Bible's descriptions of the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit apply to today's church and should be embraced.
From this they conclude that the Bible is the complete and final revelation of God, and thus He speaks only through the Scriptures today.
Part of the reason they make this claim is if they can restrict the supernatural only to the apostles' ministry, they can invalidate the idea that the supernatural persists to present day.
A cessationist is a Christian who believes that the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit, including prophecy, tongues, words of knowledge, as well as signs and wonders, did not continue after the death of the last apostle. This is contrasted with a charismatic, or perhaps, a continuationist, who is a Christian who believes the Bible's descriptions of the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit apply to today's church and should be embraced.
Cessationists also believe that the supernatural existed largely or solely to validate the apostle's ministries, so that their teaching, eventually contained in the NT, would be attested to. With the completed canon of the Bible, there would be no longer a need for these supernatural validations, and thus these things ceased. The reason, they say, is that since signs and wonders had the sole purpose of validating the ministries of the apostles, they are no longer needed because the apostles are gone and we have the completed Bible.
Part of the reason they make this claim is if they can restrict the supernatural only to the apostles' ministry, they can invalidate the idea that the supernatural persists to present day.
This series will examine these and other claims.
The Cessationist Claim
In this episode we are going to examine the cessationist claim that because the canon is closed, there is no present-day prophecy. We have already examined prophecy itself, so this post is to further explore the idea that there is no contemporary prophecy because the canon is closed.
See our discussion regarding the sufficiency of Scripture.
Presumption #4: Authoritative revelation must be added to the Bible.
As we noted before, none of these presumptions can be documented scripturally.
The word "revelation" is closely related to prophecy. For example, 1Co. 14:6:
The word means that something previously hidden is now shown forth. Therefore, prophecy is not something "new." It's not something that might change existing Bible doctrines. It's not novel. It already exists and is simply hidden. If it is not new it cannot violate the canon.
2 Tim. 3:16 - 17:
Certainly this must be the case, for the faith was delivered in its entirety well before the Scriptures were delivered in their entirety. Jude could not have been talking about something that was yet to exist, but he certainly could address the fact of the complete and errorless faith.
Further, cessationists will assert from this verse that there can only be one foundation. Therefore, agreeing to contemporary prophecy means that the foundation is being rebuilt and/or added to. Since we have previously established that contemporary prophecy does not add to the canon, we can confidently assert likewise that contemporary prophecy isn't any sort of second foundation either.
It's possible that Paul in this verse was referring to prophets who were his contemporaries, or he could have been referring to OT prophets. Or both. Regardless, we can easily acknowledge that both foundational apostles and foundational prophets existed, and their ministry established and built up the early church.
If the foundational prophets were NT, we find ourselves unable to determine what contribution the they made to the Church foundation. While we are able to read the results of the apostles' efforts [particularly Paul's] from the biblical record, we don't know what parts of the NT might be as a result of the ministry of the foundational prophets. There are no recorded "foundational" prophecies from "foundational" first century prophets apart from the apostles themselves, as well as other writers of the N.T..
If there were foundational NT prophets, we don't even know who they were. There are lists of NT prophets sprinkled throughout the narratives. For example, Agabus was a NT prophet of particular note, but he only had a couple of prophecies written down, neither of which was foundational. There is no book in the NT called, "The Prophecies of Agabus."
The identity of the foundational NT prophets, as well as those prophecies that became foundational, are a mystery to us.
We could only conclude that foundational prophets, being of uncertain identity, means that the contemporary prophetic gift also does not need to be "foundational." And there is no Scripture that describes "foundational prophecy."
However, we believe that because we have Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit for these last days, He will speak to those who would listen. We can hear His voice. The gift of prophecy does not violate the canon.
The Bible is in its final, complete, and unalterable form, which is known as the canon. The overwhelming majority of Christians of every stripe believe the canon is closed. We believe the Bible has been handed down to us through the ages in uncorrupted form, and it is the authoritative Word of God, trustworthy and sure. God has preserved His message, and we can be certain that the Way of Salvation is available to every man today, just as it was 2000 years ago.
We can therefore definitively state that anyone who believes that the Bible can be added to, subtracted from, or supplemented by additional revelation is a heretic.
Since we decline to add to Scripture, we are in no danger of violating this warning.
See our discussion regarding the sufficiency of Scripture.
Does the Prophetic Violate the Canon?
Let's begin with 1Co. 13:8-10 and examine some presumptions required to arrive at the conclusion that the gift of prophecy violates the canon:
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the imperfect disappears.
Presumption #1: Some, though not all, cessationists believe the Perfect is the Bible. Thus the closed canon is tied to the passing away of prophecies and tongues.
Presumption #2. If the Bible is the Perfect, we now possess the totality of God's revelation to man. This would mean prophecy is not possible, for it has ceased.
Presumption #2. If the Bible is the Perfect, we now possess the totality of God's revelation to man. This would mean prophecy is not possible, for it has ceased.
Presumption #3: Contemporary prophecy would violate the canon, because prophecy is on the level of authoritative revelation.
Presumption #4: Authoritative revelation must be added to the Bible.
As we noted before, none of these presumptions can be documented scripturally.
Prophecy is prophéteia, prophecy, prophesying; the gift of communicating and enforcing revealed truth. It is the process of speaking forth revelation from God.
The word "revelation" is closely related to prophecy. For example, 1Co. 14:6:
Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?"Revelation" is apokalupsisan, appearing, coming, manifestation, revelation. Re. 1:1 uses the same Greek word:
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.The same word is used here. Ro. 2:5:
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Cessationist Proof Texts
Let's look at some of the proof texts offered by cessationists regarding the canon and the cessation of prophecy.
2 Tim. 3:16 - 17:
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
We know that Scripture is authoritative for faith and practice. We recognize the wonderful utility, trustworthiness, and full inspiration of the Bible, and thus agree wholeheartedly with Paul's exhortation to Timothy. Absent from this verse, however, is any reference to the canon, prophecy, or a statement that Scripture is the sole source for teaching, correction, and training.
It does not tell us this, nor would it, because we also have teachers, pastors, theologians, books and commentaries, as well as fellow believers to assist us in the ways of holiness and fruitfulness. In addition, and most critically, we have the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. "All truth" is discussed in Episode 6.
We can therefore be certain that this Scripture does not make the case for the Bible being the sole source for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. Paul's readers would have not understood it as teaching this.
It does not tell us this, nor would it, because we also have teachers, pastors, theologians, books and commentaries, as well as fellow believers to assist us in the ways of holiness and fruitfulness. In addition, and most critically, we have the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. "All truth" is discussed in Episode 6.
We can therefore be certain that this Scripture does not make the case for the Bible being the sole source for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. Paul's readers would have not understood it as teaching this.
...seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Once again we note that there is no mention of the canon, prophecy, or the even Scripture. None of these are even being discussed here. The passage refers directly to God empowering believers. The source of everything pertaining to life and godliness is His divine power. It's His divine power at work in us that gives us life and godliness. It's His divine power that give us true knowledge of Him.
Jude 3:
Jude 3:
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.Cessationists conflate terms to twist this verse into a cessationist support verse. Notice that what was once for all delivered is not Scripture, the Bible, or the canon. It is the faith. The faith is not the Bible. The faith is not the canon. The faith is what we believe, the way of salvation, what Jesus did for us on the cross, repentance... all of that was delivered to the early church in singular, unchanging, unmodifiable form.
Certainly this must be the case, for the faith was delivered in its entirety well before the Scriptures were delivered in their entirety. Jude could not have been talking about something that was yet to exist, but he certainly could address the fact of the complete and errorless faith.
Ep. 2:19-21
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.The first thing to note is what is being built here. It isn't the canon, the Scriptures, or the faith. What is being built is the foundation for God's family. It's the temple of God, the Church, made up of us as the Living Stones (1Pe. 2:5). This verse isn't what cessationists want it to be.
Further, cessationists will assert from this verse that there can only be one foundation. Therefore, agreeing to contemporary prophecy means that the foundation is being rebuilt and/or added to. Since we have previously established that contemporary prophecy does not add to the canon, we can confidently assert likewise that contemporary prophecy isn't any sort of second foundation either.
It's possible that Paul in this verse was referring to prophets who were his contemporaries, or he could have been referring to OT prophets. Or both. Regardless, we can easily acknowledge that both foundational apostles and foundational prophets existed, and their ministry established and built up the early church.
If the foundational prophets were NT, we find ourselves unable to determine what contribution the they made to the Church foundation. While we are able to read the results of the apostles' efforts [particularly Paul's] from the biblical record, we don't know what parts of the NT might be as a result of the ministry of the foundational prophets. There are no recorded "foundational" prophecies from "foundational" first century prophets apart from the apostles themselves, as well as other writers of the N.T..
If there were foundational NT prophets, we don't even know who they were. There are lists of NT prophets sprinkled throughout the narratives. For example, Agabus was a NT prophet of particular note, but he only had a couple of prophecies written down, neither of which was foundational. There is no book in the NT called, "The Prophecies of Agabus."
The identity of the foundational NT prophets, as well as those prophecies that became foundational, are a mystery to us.
We could only conclude that foundational prophets, being of uncertain identity, means that the contemporary prophetic gift also does not need to be "foundational." And there is no Scripture that describes "foundational prophecy."
Hebrews 1:1-2:
The word "spoken" (spoken to us by his Son) is λαλέω, which means, I speak, say... one who utters words with the living voice. This means Jesus is speaking even now, not that He has ceased speaking or that He only speaks through Scripture. Indeed, we are still in the last days, mentioned by Joel and quoted by Peter in Ac. Ac. 2:17. Our sons and daughters will prophesy, our young men will see visions, our old men will dream dreams. This should still be happening.
Jesus is still speaking, and yet the canon is not violated. In fact, He is clearly continuing to speak, for we read in the very next verse, He. 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. He speaks even today, powerfully sustaining the universe.
The writer of Hebrews continues on a couple of chapters, where he quotes a passage from Psalm 95:
The Bible is clear that Jesus continues to speak, even today. He. 12:23-25:
His speaking today does not violate the canon.
Different Kinds of Prophetic ExpressionIn the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.Not to belabor the point, but once again cessationists are attempting to insert their understanding in to a verse that is talking about something else. There is no mention of the canon, the gift of prophecy, or the Scriptures here.
The word "spoken" (spoken to us by his Son) is λαλέω, which means, I speak, say... one who utters words with the living voice. This means Jesus is speaking even now, not that He has ceased speaking or that He only speaks through Scripture. Indeed, we are still in the last days, mentioned by Joel and quoted by Peter in Ac. Ac. 2:17. Our sons and daughters will prophesy, our young men will see visions, our old men will dream dreams. This should still be happening.
Jesus is still speaking, and yet the canon is not violated. In fact, He is clearly continuing to speak, for we read in the very next verse, He. 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. He speaks even today, powerfully sustaining the universe.
The writer of Hebrews continues on a couple of chapters, where he quotes a passage from Psalm 95:
He. 3:7-8 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts..."Today." His voice today.
The Bible is clear that Jesus continues to speak, even today. He. 12:23-25:
You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?Jesus speaks (present tense) from heaven. He warns us from heaven. We must not refuse Him.
His speaking today does not violate the canon.
The primary reason for NT gift of prophecy, in contradistinction to the OT prophet, is to build up and encourage the body to maturity [Eph. 4:11-13].
In fact, it seems that there are at least four different kinds of prophetic expressions:- the OT prophets, who were rare and spoke directly and literally the Word of God
- the NT prophets like Agabus, Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, Saul, Judas, Silas, and Philip's four daughters, who were of special note
- the office of prophet from Eph. 4:11 and 1 Cor. 12:28
- those who have the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1), which is the general and widespread gift of the Holy Spirit (He. 2:4).
Conclusion
We consider it curious that according to cessationists, Jesus spoke to the OT prophets, He spoke to the apostles and NT prophets, he spoke via the NT gift of prophecy to the first century Christians, and He speaks to sustain the universe.
But the only ones He does not speak with the living voice today is... Us. His people, His family, His bride... the Church. That, we are told, would violate the canon. The only place He speaks today, according to cessationists, is through the Scriptures.
We consider it curious that according to cessationists, Jesus spoke to the OT prophets, He spoke to the apostles and NT prophets, he spoke via the NT gift of prophecy to the first century Christians, and He speaks to sustain the universe.
But the only ones He does not speak with the living voice today is... Us. His people, His family, His bride... the Church. That, we are told, would violate the canon. The only place He speaks today, according to cessationists, is through the Scriptures.
However, we believe that because we have Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit for these last days, He will speak to those who would listen. We can hear His voice. The gift of prophecy does not violate the canon.
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