Samson's Jawbone

 We have established that tongues, prophecy and knowledge serve no contemporary revelatory purpose, because the Scriptures are sufficient revelation for life and godliness (John 17:16-19: 2Pt 1: 3&5). We have established that tongues are not the normal or expected sign of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We have established that the 20th and 21st century charismatic phenomenon bears no resemblance to their first century expressions. We can conclude that charismatic gifts as practiced in the first century have passed away. There is no biblical reason to expect them to reappear in the everyday experience of believers.  So instead of defending cessationism we should ask what is the biblical basis for expecting a continuation of Pentecost? My Pentecostal friends are unable to provide a positive defense for their positions, so they offer their experience along with what they believe are negative objections to continuationism. We will raise the common objections and answer each one: 1. Th

Many charismatic acknowledge that the gift of tongues they experience is different from the first century Pentecostal experience. They claim they are a language through which God speaks to the believer in prayer (a false teaching we will address later). They see the continuation of Pentecost in various "signs and wonders," that have reappeared in the life of the church evidence by a more robust wave of Spiritual phenomena predicted to rise in the end times. Does the resurgence of signs and wonders evince a more robust Spiritual life, a continuation of Pentecost, at the end of the age?  The argument is that the prophet Joel predicted that the first century Pentecost would usher in a new age of miracles and signs and wonders: [28] “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. [29] Even on the male and female serv

  One of the most often overlooked aspect of the continuationist and cessationist debate is over the legitimacy of the continuationist claim. In other words, are the charismatic phenomenon which many millions have experienced around the world a continuation of the first Pentecost? What would we expect a continued Pentecost to look like, and how does that compare to the modern Pentecostal experience? What parameters does the New Testament place on the continued use and manifestation of those gifts, and how do they compare to the modern charismatics experience? Cessationism asserts that there is nothing in the modern charismatic movement that remotely resembles a continuation of the first century Pentecost or is consistent with Biblical conditions under which they would expect.  L et's examine what occurred as the twelve waited for what Jesus had promised at the 1st century Pentecost: "And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the enti

  In the Old Testament, the Feast caled Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, celebrated the beginning of the wheat harvest, then later, the giving of the Law to the People of Israel. It celebrated God's past work and foreshadowed and celebrate a coming greater blessing. It is no wonder that the blessed coming of the Holy Spirit, as promised by Christ, came 50 days after Passover, the day of his resurrection, on Pentecost, anticipating a new more glorious coming of the Spirit.  As Jesus prepared to ascend, he promised his followers that the Spirit would come to empower the gospel's promulgation to the Jews, Samaritans and then to usher in the kingdom of God to include the Gentiles. (Act 1:8) Ten days after the ascension, while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Pentecost, all Jews, who could, were expected to pilgrimage to the temple for the event, anticipating the wheat harvest and the giving of the Law, and a greater blessing from God in the consummation of his kingdom. It wa