Introduction
Cessationism versus continuationism has become a heated topic in the Church during the past couple hundred of years due to the two Great Awakenings and the rise of Pentecostalism and some charismatic movements. Cessationism is the belief that the sign gifts (tongues, prophecy, healing) ceased with the apostolic age. Conintuationism is the belief that all these miraculous gifts continue for operation today. It is important to realize that cessationists do not claim all miracles have ceased, but rather specifically the sign gifts. All sign gifts are miracles but not all miracles are sign gifts. It is also important to note that when I use prophecy, I am referring to the prediction of future events, not prophecy in the sense of prophesying (teaching) truth, unless otherwise noted. In this article, I will argue why I think the cessationist position is biblical and refute some of the verses continuationists use in support of their view. Coming from a partial preterist presupposition (see my article: Brief Arguments for the Preterist View of Revelation), I will use Acts chapter two to show the purpose of these gifts was for the first-century and Ephesians 2:20 for the use of prophecy laying the foundation of the church. I will also show why 1 Corinthians 13 does not prove the continuationism case.
Peter’s Sermon in Acts Two
After Peter and the disciples began speaking in tongues, meaning other literal languages they had not learned to speak, Peter delivers a sermon that applies what the crowd witnessed to Joel’s prophecy. Acts 2:17-18, quoting Joel 2:28-32 says, “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” All these miraculous events occur with the purpose of signifying the coming of the Day of the Lord. Acts 2:19-21 continues saying “And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Peter applies what was happening in his time to the audience right in front of him since the time had come when Joel’s prophecy would be fulfilled. So then these signs and wonders have a specific purpose, namely showing the day of the Lord is near, and hence are called sign gifts. Now, if the thing signified has already passed then there would cease to be a use for the sign. This is where my preterist presuppositions come into play, so I would recommend reading my article called “Brief Arguments for the Preterist View of Revelation.” The apocalyptic imagery used here is similar to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. I can not give a full exegesis of Matthew 24 here, but I will note some key points. Matthew 24:29-30 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in the heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and great glory.” There is an obvious similarity between the two passages and their uses of apocalyptic literature. But the question is when does this occur? Does it apply to the original audience’s time or does it apply to an event that would take place a couple of millennia in the future? Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 24:34 saying, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Why would “this generation” not refer to the generation Jesus was talking to? Jesus says this generation to those whom he was talking to, not that generation, as in the future. Therefore, Matthew 24:15-31 would have necessarily happened in the past. Thus, that which the sign gifts signified has already happened, so then it would follow that the signs have naturally ceased. There is much more to be said about Matthew 24 but it cannot be done here.
The Foundation: Ephesians 2:20
This will be a bit of a shorter point than the last one and much simpler. Ephesians 2:19-20 says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone[.]” The apostles and prophets are said to be the foundation of the house, that is the church. Is the foundation not yet already laid? As you see here, the apostles and prophets had a special purpose in the church of the first century to lay the foundation for the rest of the house to be built upon. Cross-reference this verse to Ephesians 4:11-12 which says, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” What part did the apostles and prophets play in building the body of Christ? It is the foundation. Since the foundation has already been laid, it would logically follow that the office of apostle and prophet (i.e. predicting the future, not prophesing/teaching truth, since teacher is listed afterward) ceased.
Supposed Proof: 1 Corinthians 13
Firstly, 1 Corinthians 13:1 does not prove tongues can be an unknown language of angels. Paul is merely using hyperbole to prove a point and this is found nowhere else in Scripture, but that’s beside the point. The main verses in focus are 8-12 which say, “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up my childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” I agree with continuationists that “the perfect” refers to the eternal state where we are in the perfect presence of God since he is the only one that knows us fully. However, this does not prove tongues continue for today’s use. Prophecy in these verses is used in conjunction with knowledge to connotate teaching or professing of truth, not prediction of the future. It should be noted that prophesy and knowledge will pass away while tongues will cease. The Greek word used for prophecy and knowledge implies that something is putting a stop to them, while the greek word used for tongues implies a natural cessation rather than having something put an end to it. Furthermore, prophesy and knowledge is what is done in part; therefore, the partial that passes away when the perfect comes is prophecy and knowledge, not tongues. So then, we can conclude that tongues ceased before the perfect comes without contradicting these verses.
Conclusion
Due to the first-century fulfillment of Acts 2 and Ephesians 2:20, the sign gifts ceased with the apostolic age. Furthermore, the go-to support passage for coninuationism does not actually prove the continuation of tongues till Chrit’s return. This article is nowhere close to exhaustive on the argumentation between both sides, but hopefully it showed how cessationism has biblical foundations. Cessationism is not the denial of God working in miraculous ways in modern times but rather a denial of the supposed prophecies, healings, and speaking in tongues in the charismatic movement.