The age of miracles

[Athetotheist]

It's not really my intention to make a whole thread out of this; I just mean to pose a question as a point of curiosity: Can anyone refer me to textual evidence that the age of miracles was to end with the passing of the apostles?

[2timothy316]

"Love never fails. But if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we have partial knowledge and we prophesy partially, but when what is complete comes, what is partial will be done away with...Now, however, these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:8-10, 13)

I don't know of a scripture that says specifically that miracles would end with the apostles but only that they would end. Only 3 things will be left, faith, hope, and love.

The only miracle I know of that everyone can perform today on demand is prayer. Communication with a being that doesn't even live in our space-time continuum is quite a miracle. Technologically speaking mankind can't make any form of communication move faster than the speed of light. Yet in prayer we can talk to God who lives in a whole other universe that we cannot measure even less reach and He can, through holy spirit, direct us to the Bible to communicate back to us.

[JehovahsWitness]

Further adding to Tim's response, we can deduce the death of the last Apostle and their contemporaries signalled the end of the "age of miracles" since the ability was primarily transmitted through the laying on of their (the Apostles) hands or in their physical presence - see Acts 8:14-20; 19:6. Although it seems spirit anointed Christians of the first century received certain miraculous gifts such as prophecying and speaking in tongues, only the Apostles (including Paul) that had the ability to perform miraculous healings and resurrections (compare Mat 16:19):

“[W]onders and signs were done through the apostles� (Acts 2:43).

“[ b]y the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought� (5:12).

Logically, when the last Apostle died such wonders originating with God came to an end.


JW

[polonius]

JW posted:

(quote)Quote:
“[W]onders and signs were done through the apostles� (Acts 2:43).

“[ b]y the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought� (5:12).

Logically, when the last Apostle died such wonders originating with God came to an end.

JW


RESPONSE: So you are claiming that all those Catholic miracles are untrue?

What about Lourdes; what about Fatima?

[marco]

Logically, when the last Apostle died such wonders originating with God came to an end.

"Logically", attached to miracles, is maybe a misnomer. One of the amusing miracles conducted after Christ departed is the following:

"Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,� he said. “He’s alive!� 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted."

Anyone who has been forced to listen to the horrors of Paul will sympathise with Eutychus. It is hilarious that Paul, seeing what his ramblings have done, rushed down to announce the dead boy had, of course, been brought back to life. As you say, such things were possible in those days, when people were maybe more superstitious and gods more readily available. They don't happen now that we have the miracle of the aeroplane and telephone.

[2timothy316]

[Replying to post 5 by marco]

You assume it was because it was because of Paul's speech. I could have been he just had a long day at the office. Or perhaps it was a long drive to the meeting place.

Oh wait, they didn't work in offices did they, they worked in fields and other hard labor. Oh and that's right, they didn't have cars but walked everywhere.

Why assume the worst? Just because Paul bores you don't mean everyone is like you. Thinking that everyone is like you is a flawed logic called false-consensus bias.

That man obviously wanted to be there to listen. Otherwise why even be there? He might have had to travel far on foot after laboring all day. Yet does this enter your mind? No, your first thought is Paul's speech was boring....

[JehovahsWitness]

Why assume the worst?

Timothy my brother, have you not been here long enough to know that assuming the worst is a given with certain people. We can only be grateful Paul wasn't called "a potato head" and blamed for the recent outbreak of Abola. (Queue a response devoid of all humour, feigning confusion as to what Abola has to do with anything... and asking if this is an attempt at humour. Possibly with a reference to Zeus)

Anyway to return to the OP for fear of being accused of derailling.... Paul was an Apostle so the resurrection he performed was within the timeframe of the "Apostolic age".


JW

[Tcg]

...but when what is complete comes,

This of course is the key to understanding this passage. Yet no one has addressed it.

What does it mean and even more importantly, how could "what is complete comes" be referring to the death of the apostles.


Tcg

[tam]

It's not really my intention to make a whole thread out of this; I just mean to pose a question as a point of curiosity: Can anyone refer me to textual evidence that the age of miracles was to end with the passing of the apostles?

If by miracles you are referring to gifts of the spirit (and there are many different gifts of the spirit), then there is no textual evidence that this ended with the passing of the apostles.


A gift of the spirit is given upon an anointing with holy spirit (which is what makes a person a christian... aka... an anointed one). The gift of the spirit that was given at the anointing in Acts (at Pentecost) was the gift of speaking in tongues. But there are many different gifts, and Christ (the Spirit) is the One who chooses.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.



And considering that we are still in the last days, the following things have not ended either (from Acts 2):

“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.





Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy

[brianbbs67]

I see no scripture indicating that miracles had an expiration date. Maybe they are few and far because we believe we can't do them? "your belief has saved you. Go and sin no more."