Cessationist
The revelatory and sign gifts served to authenticate the apostles and establish the church, and ceased when that foundation was complete.
What it claims
Miraculous signs cluster in Scripture around three moments: the exodus, the crisis of Elijah and Elisha, and the ministry of Christ and the apostles. They authenticate new revelation. With the complete, that function is finished. Prophecy that carries God's authority would compete with Scripture, and modern claims to it do not match the biblical standard of accuracy.
Who holds it
Much of confessional Reformed and theology, many Baptists, and teachers such as B. B. Warfield and John MacArthur. The Westminster Confession's statement that former ways of God revealing his will have ceased is often cited.
The texts it stands on
- 2 Corinthians 12:12 The signs of an apostle, which suggests these signs marked out a particular office.
- Ephesians 2:20 Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, a foundation laid once.
- Hebrews 2:3-4 Confirmed by those who heard, God testifying with signs and wonders, described in the past tense.
Strongest case
It accounts for the clustering of miracles at particular points in redemptive history, and it protects the finality of Scripture against a stream of new claimed revelation, which is a real and demonstrable danger.
Hardest question
No New Testament text plainly says these gifts will stop before Christ returns, and 1 Corinthians 13 says they cease when the perfect comes, which most take to be the return rather than the canon. Critics also note that the historical claim that the gifts vanished after the apostles does not hold up cleanly.