Another argument for cessationism that fails

The other day, I saw the following posted on Facebook by the producers of the Cessationist movie:

In Matthew 24:1-3a it says, “Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen…?”

Jesus prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed. That not one stone would be left upon another. Here’s a question: Did that HAPPEN? YES! But the Bible does not say that it happened. It was prophesied that it would happen, but there is not a single verse in the Bible that says “in AD 70 the Temple was destroyed, in fulfillment of what Jesus said.” Most NT scholars place the writing of Revelation after AD 70 but not even there does it say the Temple was destroyed.

But we KNOW that the Temple WAS destroyed dont we? Not just because history books tell us it was, but also BECAUSE BY MERE OBSERVATION, WE CAN PLAINLY SEE THAT THERE IS NO TEMPLE ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT TODAY!

SO THEN, those people who say “Show me the verse where it says the miraculous gifts ceased after the Apostolic age” are on a fool’s errand. I don’t even need a verse to tell me that because by mere observation it is plain that the things occurring in Acts 5 are not occurring today.

I can indeed point you to verses that explain how miraculous abilities were SIGNS of an Apostle, like 2Cor12:12, Acts 15:12, Hebrews 2:4 and other places, but just because there is not a verse that says “the sign gifts have ceased” doesn’t mean that they haven’t. Just like there isn’t a verse that says “The Temple was destroyed.” How ludicrous would it be for someone today to say, “The Bible doesn’t say the Temple was destroyed, so because of Sola Scriptura I believe it is still there in Jerusalem.

Let’s play this game with other doctrines and see how that goes. Muslims LOVE to say, “Show me the verse where Jesus says, “I am God, worship me.” I can show them many verses that indicate His Divinity and worthiness of worship, but they will say “no, show me the verse where Jesus says exactly that, word for word, or I won’t believe it.” Or how about this one, “Show me the verse that says, “God is a Trinity. If you can’t, then how can you believe in the Trinity and still be Sola Scriptura?!” That is the kind of argument that Charismatics use. They have zero evidence of continuing revelation or miraculous abilities, and yet claim that they still exist.

The Cessationist Movie’s argument may sound convincing at first glance (especially to those who already believe the gifts are no longer in operation), but upon closer examination there are some points of failure that keep it from being the grand slam they think it is.

But we KNOW that the Temple WAS destroyed don’t we? Not just because history books tell us it was, but also BECAUSE BY MERE OBSERVATION, WE CAN PLAINLY SEE THAT THERE IS NO TEMPLE ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT TODAY!

While we do not depend ONLY on the history books and eyewitness accounts to know that the temple was destroyed, we DO have those accounts, and they give us a specific time that the Jerusalem temple was destroyed  (AD 70) and the Roman general in charge of the siege that resulted in its destruction (Titus). We do not have any authoritative historical marker for the cessation of the gifts. Cessationists cannot even agree on when the supposed cessation occurred (some say the death of the last Apostle; some say the death of the last disciple the Apostles imparted the gifts to through the laying on of hands; and yet others say with the completion of the canon, whether that be the completion of writing the last book which became part of the canon, or the recognition of the NT canon by the church catholic at one of the councils. So these are not truly analogous situations.

SO THEN, those people who say “Show me the verse where it says the miraculous gifts ceased after the Apostolic age” are on a fool’s errand. I don’t even need a verse to tell me that because by mere observation it is plain that the things occurring in Acts 5 are not occurring today.

The problem with this assertion is that the gifts are not a physical object (or even an observable action) limited to one particular place. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent, and He can be working through believers in the gifts in Jerusalem, Athens, London, Bogota, Sydney, Los Angeles, and Little Rock all at the same time or at different times. The fact that observers are no longer witnessing the gifts in operation in Corinth in AD 350 does not mean the Spirit is not pouring out the gifts in Antioch at that point in history.  

I can indeed point you to verses that explain how miraculous abilities were SIGNS of an Apostle, like 2Cor12:12, Acts 15:12, Hebrews 2:4 and other places, but just because there is not a verse that says “the sign gifts have ceased” doesn’t mean that they haven’t. Just like there isn’t a verse that says “The Temple was destroyed.” How ludicrous would it be for someone today to say, “The Bible doesn’t say the Temple was destroyed, so because of Sola Scriptura I believe it is still there in Jerusalem.

The Bible, while saying that miraculous works were performed by the Apostles as signs of their ministry, does not limit those charismata to the Apostles. Tongues, while being misused by many in the church in Corinth, were practiced by rank-and-file believers, not only the Apostles. Stephen, one of the seven deacons appointed by the church in Jerusalem, “performed great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). In 2 Corinthians 12:12, where Paul writes, “I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles,” he is simply stating that a true apostle will demonstrate these signs (as opposed to those trying to pass themselves off as “super-apostles,” see 2 Cor 11:5, 12:11). He is not saying that only the Apostles performed signs, wonders, and miracles (which seems to be the argument cessationists are trying to make, because then it would lend credence to the idea that the “sign gifts” ended with the death of the last Apostle).

They have zero evidence of continuing revelation or miraculous abilities, and yet claim that they still exist.

Cessationists behave much like Scottish philosopher David Hume when it comes to evidence. Hume claimed that the miracles recorded in the New Testament could not have happened, because “we don’t see miracles happening today.” When presented with accounts of miraculous occurrences in foreign lands where the gospel was making inroads, Hume dismissed those accounts as unreliable and not worthy of belief because they came from “ignorant and uneducated” people (that is, people who weren’t part of Western European Enlightenment thinking).  While cessationists don’t go as far as Hume in rejecting the miracle accounts found in Scripture, they do to an extent follow parallel reasoning when it comes to accounts of contemporary miracle or manifestations of the charismata. I even saw one cessationist call Craig Keener’s heavily-researched two-volume work on Miracles simply a collection of anecdotes, totally dismissing the academic rigor and extensive documentation Keener provides.

I know from experience that one retort cessationists will come back with is, “But the things charismatics are claiming to be examples of the gifts today aren’t the same as the real New Testament gifts.” I’ll be the first to admit that some of the things we see from the charismaniac fringe are likely not true manifestations of the work of the Holy Spirit. I’ve seen my share of doubtful activities over my 55 years on this earth, having grown up in church. But I’ve also seen and heard enough things that are authentic to convince me that “de facto cessationism” (which is itself an argument from experience, and not from Scripture) cannot be accurate. For example, here is an article relating several occurrences of present-day tongues that were recognized and understood as human languages either by native speakers or missionaries who had studied those languages. So blanket claims that modern manifestations of the charismata are not the real thing are in error.