Today, I thought I would make a post explaining why I hold to a cessation position of tongues, prophecy and healing in relationship to the sign gifts.
First of all I still believe God heals today and miracles happen in relation to prayer still today. However, when it comes to healing I do not believe there is any particular people with a monopoly on healing. That individual people have a "sign gift" of healing. Anyone that gets really healed by someone claiming such a gift are getting healed in response to prayer to God. The "sign gift," however stopped or ceased a long time ago.
All the sign gifts existed for one reason and one reason only that was to authenticate that Jesus Christ was The Messiah and God The Son. They existed because there was not yet what Paul calls the perfect in Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13:10) which we now have The Written Words of God as available in the Scriptures.
They also were for demonstrating to the Jews and Gentiles Jesus was The Messiah. It is made clear that tongues were for a sign to unbelievers and particularly the Jewish people. They were also real languages people speaking actual languages they never learned they just were given by The Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
The people hearing them specifically asked how they spoke in their languages. Meaning the languages were those belonging to the people groups around them. They were not ecstatic utterances as modern day tongues are. (Acts 2)
As for prophecy: as in the Lord says to me blank type. That is not prophecy as talked about in the Bible. Which means the fulfillment of things actually written in the Scriptures for the future. There is no such thing as prophecy as in New words from the Lord. The Bible is The Word of God and has a clear warning in Revelation you are not to add to this book. Something which direct revelations from God would do.
This means I am a cessationist when it comes to Apostles, Prophets and "sign gifts." Whch means that our way of learning God's Will is by being steeped in The Word of God and that means constantly being in The Bible. God speaks in the Written Word and only the Written Word or by bringing to mind that Written Word. Which you than get context by going back to the Written Word.
