Continuationist No More

My pastor convinced me to become a cessationist. I post this here since his stance is edifying.

It was easy to change my mind when he explained a prophet is someone who speaks for Yahweh. That prophets can say to others that the Holy Spirit, God, told me to tell you XYZ. They can say "Thus saith the LORD."

Non-prophecy includes getting a revelatory experience aimed at the self, such as a dream or vision or word to an unbeliever to convict them of the truth. The "prophecy" of Perpetua, the dreams of Joseph, or the dream of Nebuchadnezzar do not make them prophets. Such revelation is not aimed at the Holy Spirit communicating to others as a "thus saith the LORD."

 

Thing is I have a Church membership upcoming that I take seriously. My church's stance is cessationist.

Honestly, I never believed that other people speaking for God like the Old Testament Prophets existed. In the day I thought I was a special "prophet," when influenced by the Charismatics. As my pride subsided, thanks to this board and an apologetical Facebook group, I stopped believing in modern prophets.

I also conflated miracles with the gifts. As Calminian pointed out to me, months ago, that cessationists still believe in mighty miracles, but not in people acting as regular conduits of God's power.

This change in doctrine was years in the making. Now I do believe in historic premillennialism, and that those like the two witnesses of Revelation and the 144,000 will be prophets. Aside from that church history is clear, regular conduits of God's power ceased after the Apostles.

I argued with my pastor at first that the persecuted Roman Church had prophets, but he asked me to show how the prophecies of Perpetua were like the spiritual authority exercised in the first century. I couldn't.

Now I did tell my pastor that I have powerful allegorical dreams that cause me to grow in my beliefs. He knows I also have powerful dreams of warning from the LORD that keep me from flirting with the Charismatics again or doing great wrong. These dreams are usually predictions of the future as well. He also knows my testimony in which God gave me miracles and revelation to convict me, which led to faith in Jesus Christ.

Since the revelation was pointed at the self, to become a Christian, or stay on the narrow way, they are not prophecy according to my church's charter.

I'm sorry. I should have fully explaineed myself and put this in a different forum.

 

I think, since I and my church allow for revelation to all Christians and unbelievers aimed at the self, I am toeing the centerline. I thank for your comment, I respect your opinion Reynolds.

I must ask if you believe there are those capable of "Thus saith the LORD" to other Christians? I was in IHOPKC and only the leaders were ever capable of such "revelation." This seemed to me cultlike in the end.

 

I'm willing to allow such to be true in theory. I also believe we are close to the End Times since the bible will likely reach the whole world by century's end. However, I take a "prove it!" approach to modern prophets, and no one has been able to prove it to me.