The Sign Gifts (Part 3) – Checking the Legitimacy of a Sign Gift – Prophecy, Healing and Casting Out Devils

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1. All prophets are not God’s prophets.
   1. There are plenty of false prophets in the world pretending to speak in God’s name which He has not sent (Jer 23:21; Jer 27:15; Jer 29:9).
   2. They tell lies that people love to hear and they love them (Jer 5:31; Isa 30:10; 1Ki 22:13).

• God will even send lying prophets to people who want to believe a lie (1Ki 22:20-23; 2Th 2:8-12).

1. People generally hate true prophets which tell them the truth (1Ki 22:8; Jer 38:3-4).

1. The gift of prophecy ended when the word of God was complete.
   1. Prophecies would fail, tongues would cease, and knowledge would vanish away (1Co 13:8).
      1. Fail – I. To be or become deficient. 1. a. intr. To be absent or wanting. 2. a. To become exhausted, come to an end, run short. b. To become extinct; to die out, lose vitality, pass away. c. Of a period of time or anything that has a finite duration: To come to an end, expire.
      2. Cease – II. Transitive. To put a stop to (the action of others, a state or condition of things), to stop.
      3. Vanish v. – To disappear by decaying, coming to an end, or ceasing to exist: With away.
      4. The gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge would all come to an end.
   2. The gift of prophecy was given to the apostles and prophets “in part” while the NT was being written, but once “that which is perfect is come” the prophecy was done away (1Co 13:9-10).
      1. The NT scripture was being given by the apostles in part (1Co 13:9).
      2. Part n. – I. Portion or division of a whole. 1. a. That which together with another or others makes up a whole (whether really separate from the rest, or more often only separated in thought); a certain amount, but not all, of any thing or number of things (material or immaterial); any one of the smaller things into which a thing is or may be divided (in reality or in idea); a portion, division, section, element, constituent, fraction, fragment, piece.
      3. That which is perfect is the New Testament, the perfect law of liberty (Jam 1:25), as opposed to the OT which made nothing perfect (Heb 7:19).
      4. Perfect – 1. Thoroughly made, formed, done, performed, carried out, accomplished. Obs. Of a legal act: Duly completed.
      5. Once the NT word of God was completed (perfect) there was no need for prophesying and it was done away with (1Co 13:10).
      6. Why prophesy when the word of God is complete? All one could say is what had already been written.

• Some say that the perfection spoken of in 1Co 13:10 is the resurrection (Phi 3:11-12).
  1. It would be a bit redundant and obvious to say that tongues and prophesy would cease at the resurrection.
  2. 1Co 13:8-10 is speaking of the perfection of the revelation to which prophecy, tongues, and knowledge were all tied.
     • Prophecy and knowledge which were in part are contrasted with that which is perfect.
     • Prophecy and knowledge were a portion (part) of the whole (perfect) of the revelation, which was the New Testament.
     • The NT is a more sure word of prophecy (2Pe 1:19).
     • Once the whole NT was complete (perfect), the means which were used (prophecy and knowledge) to construct its parts were done away with because they were no longer needed.
  3. 1Co 13:11-13 are speaking of the perfection of the person which will happen at the resurrection (Phi 3:11-12; 1Jo 3:2).
  4. Just as the sign gifts were temporary until the perfection of the revelation, the gifts of faith and hope are temporary until the perfection of the person in glory, at which time they will no longer be needed (Rom 8:23-25).

1. Paul used similar terms to show that prophecy would be done away with as he also did to describe how the OT would vanish away (Heb 8:13), be abolished (2Co 3:13), and be done away with (2Co 3:7,11).
   1. Done – 1. a. Performed, executed, accomplished, finished, ended, settled; also, used up, worn out:
   2. Abolished – Put an end to, done away with, suppressed.
   3. The OT and the gift of prophecy were both put to an end when the NT was complete.
   4. Whereas God spoke in times past to the prophets by divers manners, he hath spoken unto us in these last days by Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1-2).
      • The last days began with the coming of Christ (1Jo 2:18; 1Pe 1:20).
      • Hath spoken is present perfect tense denoting that the revelation of the NT is complete.
      • The faith was once delivered to the saints (Jud 1:3).
      • God speaks to us today through His word (saith is present tense) (Act 7:49-50; Act 13:35; Act 15:17; Rom 9:15; Heb 3:7, etc.).
   5. The gifts of healing and casting out devils
      1. Jesus was prophesied to heal people at His coming (Luk 4:18-21).
         1. Jesus healed many during His earthly ministry (Mat 15:30; Act 10:38).
         2. Healing the sick was often associated with casting devils out of people whom they possessed (Mat 4:23-24).
      2. Jesus instructed His disciples to heal the sick and cast out devils (Mat 10:8; Luk 9:6).
      3. The apostles and some ministers continued to heal the sick and cast out devils during the apostolic times in the book of Acts (Acts 3:2-8; Act 8:6-7; Act 16:16-18).
      4. The early churches had the gift of healing (1Co 12:9,28).
         1. James gave instruction to a church that if a person was sick the elders of the church were to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord (Jam 5:14).
         2. Notice the guaranteed result: “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (Jam 5:15).

• If this ritual is repeated in modern churches, healing and raising up the sick MUST happen EVERY time it is done, or it is not of God.

1. The only other place in the NT where the anointing of oil is mentioned is in connection with the miraculous gifts of healing and casting out devils (Mar 6:7,13).
2. It therefore must be concluded that elders anointing people with oil in the church was a practice that was only to be exercised for the 40 year period of signs and wonders.

1. As has been already proven, the miraculous sign gifts, including the gift of healing ceased at the end of the prophesied 40 year period in approximately 70 AD.
2. This is evident since toward the end of Paul’s life, he couldn’t even heal himself (2Co 12:7-10) or others (Phi 2:25-27; 1Ti 5:23).
3. This does not mean that God cannot still heal people when He chooses to.