The Cessation of miracles (in the first century)

[KUWN]

apter Heb 2: 3, 4In the sometimes heated discussions over the question of the duration of certain spiritual gifts, one argument has persisted from the side of charismatics: There is no prooftext that any spiritual gift has ceased. As impressive as this argument sounds, a couple of responses should be given. First, if the NT was written by men who in fact exercised these sign gifts, why should they say that such had ceased? It would be difficult to find a text in which this point would be explicit. Second, the NT apostles by and large expected the Lord’s return in their lifetime (cf. 1 Thess 4:15: “we who are alive, who are remaining until the coming of the Lord”). Hence, we should not expect them to make any statements regarding the cessation of gifts, since that would presuppose that they knew the Lord’s return would be delayed. In order to find such a statement, we would need to construct the following scenario: A member of an apostle’s band writes a letter after that apostle had died. Further, in the letter he finds some reason to explicitly mention something about sign gifts.

Such a scenario is difficult to imagine. Happily, the NT provides not only one, but two books that fit such a picture: Jude and Hebrews. And both address--to some degree at least--the issue of gifts and authority. Our purpose in this paper is to look more closely at one text, Hebrews 2:3-4.

Hebrews 2:3-4 is a text often put forth by cessationists that certain spiritual gifts have ceased. The text reads as follows: (3) pw'" hJmei'" ejkfeuxovmeqa thlikauvth" ajmelhvsante" swthriva" h{ti,” ajrchVn labou'sa lalei'sqai diaV tou' kurivou, uJpoV tw'n ajkousavntwn eij" hJma'" ejbebaiwvqh, (4) sunepimarturou'nto" tou' qeou' shmeivoi" te kaiV tevrasin kaiV poikivlai" dunavmesin kaiV pneuvmato" aJgivou merismoi'" kataV thVn aujtou' qevlhsin.(“[3] How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which was at first declared by the Lord, and was attested to us by those who heard him, [4] while God was also bearing them witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will”).

The argument that this text refers to the cessation of certain gifts is based on an inference in the text, viz., that since the first generation of Christians were explicitly eyewitnesses to certain sign gifts, the second generation of Christians was not. Usually books that address the issue of gifts don’t go further than this point. One has to wonder how valid it is, however.

Several things in the text need to be examined to see whether this text has any validity for the cessation of sign gifts. First, the genitive absolute in v 4 (sunepimarturou'nto" tou' qeou'/ “God bearing witness”) needs to be addressed. A couple of points should be mentioned.

(1) On a purely syntactical level, the genitive absolute does not of course relate to anything. But it is not like the vocative--that is, it is not extra-sentential. Rather, it is virtually a constructio ad sensum. That is, it is merely a Greek convention for expressing adverbial relations, usually of a temporal nature.

(2) Thus, it is neither helpful nor accurate to leave a genitive absolute dangling. The genitive absolute exists precisely because the subject of the genitive participle is different from the subject of the verb in the main clause. But the genitive absolute construction is still dependent on the time of the main verb.

(3) So to what is it semantically dependent? The genitive absolute is most naturally subordinated to the aorist ejbebaiwvqh (“was attested, confirmed”). To take it back to the future ejkfeuxovmeqa (“shall we escape”) in v 3 is stretching things, although the meaning would fit a continuationist position (“How shall we escape . . . while God bears witness with signs and wonders . . . ?”). Still, not only the distance, but the awkwardness of meaning poses a problem. That is, the conditional participle (ajmelhvsante") makes perfectly good sense (‘if we neglect. . .’) as the modifier of the future verb. But what is the relation of the genitive absolute construction to the verb? Over 90% of genitive absolute constructions are temporal (the next largest category is causal). If that is the case here, what is the meaning? Is it something like, “by what means can we possibly escape this great salvation while God is bearing witness to us”? The sense connection is lacking, no matter how you construe it. Take this a step further. It is even more improbable that the genitive absolute is subordinated to the conditional participle: “if we neglect . . . while God is bearing witness . . .” The force of the argument would have been considerably strengthened had the author said, “if we neglect so great a salvation which God bears witness to . . .” But that would require an adjectival participle--which, by definition, does not fit the genitive absolute construction. This leaves one of two options left: (a) the aorist indicative, ejbebaiwvqh, as the word to which the genitive absolute is semantically (not technically syntactically; see above) subordinate to. This makes perfectly good sense; besides, the structure fits most naturally: “it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God bore witness . . .” Or (b) the substantival aorist participle tw'n ajkousavntwn: the idea then would be that when eyewitnesses heard the message, God bore witness to them. This also makes good sense, and seems to be allowed for by the loose connection of the GA (genitive absolute construction) with the verbal element in the substantival participle. As such, it yields a nice text for cessationism. There are, however, three problems with it: (i) the aorist indicative is closer to the GA; (ii) GAs are normally semantically related to finite verbs (though they sometimes are attached to infinitives; I do not know of any examples off-hand in which they are attached to substantival participles, though this does not strike me as impossible); (iii) the overall meaning is more logically connected if the author is arguing that the confirmation was made by accompanying signs, rather than that the hearing was accompanied by such signs.

[1213]

apter Heb 2: 3, 4In the sometimes heated discussions over the question of the duration of certain spiritual gifts, one argument has persisted from the side of charismatics: There is no prooftext that any spiritual gift has ceased. As impressive as this argument sounds, a couple of responses should be given. First, if the NT was written by men who in fact exercised these sign gifts, why should they say that such had ceased? It would be difficult to find a text in which this point would be explicit. Second, the NT apostles by and large expected the Lord’s return in their lifetime (cf. 1 Thess 4:15: “we who are alive, who are remaining until the coming of the Lord”). Hence, we should not expect them to make any statements regarding the cessation of gifts, since that would presuppose that they knew the Lord’s return would be delayed.....

Do you mean we should not find this scripture?

Love never fails. But if there are prophecies, they will be caused to cease; if tongues, they shall cease; if knowledge, it will be caused to cease. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect thing comes, then that which is in part will be caused to cease.
1 Cor. 13:8-10

[KUWN]

Do you mean we should not find this scripture?

Love never fails. But if there are prophecies, they will be caused to cease; if tongues, they shall cease; if knowledge, it will be caused to cease. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect thing comes, then that which is in part will be caused to cease.
1 Cor. 13:8-10

Forgot about this post for a while, Sorry about that.

This passage you cite demonstrates the cessation of these particular sign gifts (Apostolic gifts). They were not distributed by the HS after 70 AD per Heb 2:3,4. So, that is why the apostolic gifts completely ceased by the second century (100 AD), to today.

[1213]

...They were not distributed by the HS after 70 AD per Heb 2:3,4. So, that is why the apostolic gifts completely ceased by the second century (100 AD), to today.

I don't think that is what the Bible tells. And I believe the same gifts are still available.

[A Freeman]

Joel 2:26-32
2:27 And ye shall know that I [am] in the midst of Israel, and [that] I [am] the "I AM" your God, and none else: and My people shall never be ashamed.
2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
2:30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
2:31 The "sun" shall be turned into darkness, and the "moon" into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the "I AM" come.
2:32 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the "I AM" shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the "I AM" hath said, and in the remnant whom the "I AM" shall call.

Acts 2:16-21
2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel;
2:17 And it SHALL come to pass IN THE LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
2:18 And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
2:19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the Earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
2:20 The "sun" shall be turned into darkness, and the "moon" into blood, before that great and notable Day of the Lord come:
2:21 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.


The Holy Spirit

[KUWN]

[Replying to 1213 in post #4]

The miracles were the signs of the Apostles. See 2 Cor 12:12
Hebrews 2:3,4 show that the miracles ceased in the first century.
Individual believers had a gift during the Apostolic Age.
By the Second Century the gifts had ceased.
This is attested by the early Church Fathers in the Second Century.
There is no noticeable miracles reported throughout Church History, nothing remotely like the First Century.

(Benny Hinn (who claims to have healed thousands of people) was unable to document one miracle when he was asked to by Hank Hanegraaff (the Bible Answer man) to produce one undeniable miracle. He was unable to produce one. Google it.)

No need to reply. I know your arguments.

[1213]

[Replying to 1213 in post #4]

The miracles were the signs of the Apostles. See 2 Cor 12:12
Hebrews 2:3,4 show that the miracles ceased in the first century.
Individual believers had a gift during the Apostolic Age.
By the Second Century the gifts had ceased.
...

I believe the gifts are still possible, because the promise of the Holy Spirit is still valid.

[A Freeman]

Miracles happen everyday, despite very few taking any notice, or writing them off as "coincidences".