Hello,<\/p>\n
I have read articles on your site and they are pretty informative. However, your take on Corinthians 13:8-13, stating that spiritual gifts have ceased, is flawed.<\/p>\n
Verse 8: “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here Paul is simply trying to point out the prominence of Love over all spiritual gifts. He says that spiritual gifts will stop existing. But when?<\/p>\n
Verses 9-10: “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Verse 10 is where all cessationists cling to so as to explain that all gifts have ceased. Cessationists believe that “perfect” refers to the completed Bible so gifts have ceased. But that is incorrect.<\/p>\n
Let’s take a look at verse 12:<\/p>\n
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The phrase ‘face to face’ is used many times in the Bible and each of these times, it has meant a personal encounter. For example, “…for I have seen God face to face” (Genesis 32:30; Deuteronomy 5:4; Exodus 33:11; III John 14; etc.). So it is indeed referring to seeing Jesus face to face because now we have an imperfect vision of reality and our knowledge is incomplete. Now, we only have partial knowledge through the gifts but then (refers to Christ’s second coming), we shall know Him just as God also knows us.<\/p>\n
Some people do not agree that it refers to Jesus’ second coming because that would be using awkward grammar to refer to a person. But then again, it must refer to the entire scenario of Jesus’ second coming and so there would be no incorrect grammar usage.<\/p>\n
Many also claim that spiritual gifts were used only <\/b>for the completion of the Bible and, therefore, are invalid today. But that is a case of faulty interpretation because the Bible itself says revelation were made that were not included in the Scriptures. “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.” (I Corinthians 14:26). This implies that there were “different” revelations, such as revelation for canonization and other(s) for edification of the church.<\/p>\n
I have myself seen many spiritual gifts existing today. For example, a sister of mine was healed by a pastor, many people in our church speak in tongues, there are few prophets in our church, etc. When what I have seen does not match your interpretation, then there must be something wrong with your interpretation.<\/p>\n
I shall give you a real-life example. This is a bit long, however. There used to live a person who was a cancer survivor. He used to lead worship at a very young age. Before he had cancer, his younger brother, a 7th grader, saw a vision of a black cat biting him. He said there was cancer written on the cat. He disregarded it because his brother was only a kid and couldn’t have been spiritually active at all. But he was afflicted by cancer at the age of 17. He had 40 lumps in his body. He went through chemotherapeutic treatment, but the cancer didn’t seem to recede. He still used to conduct worship in his church. Then one day, a small girl in his church prophesied via the Holy Spirit that his cancer would go away that night. Believe it or not, that night, while experiencing extreme pain, a figure of Jesus (in the form of light) appeared to him and said how He would send him to other regions to tell them his testimony. That night, almost all lumps in his body disappeared. He converted many Christians through his testimony and was able to preach the gospel to a lot of people. He passed away at the age of 26 when his cancer returned, but still, he was able to serve God.<\/p>\n
So you see, there were instances of visions and prophecies here. This is a true story and I believe it.<\/p>\n
Spiritual gifts have not ceased. You simply do not desire it due to a flawed interpretation.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
I looked up the person you referred to. The young man was diagnosed with lymphoma in his teenage years. After receiving extensive chemotherapy, his cancer went into remission at the age of 18. At the age of 26, he died after his cancer returned. People noticed about a year before his death that his health was declining, but he denied that cancer could have returned until he reached the day he was appointed to die.<\/p>\n
“According to the American Cancer Society, survival rates for Hodgkin’s\u00a0lymphoma have improved in recent years thanks to advances in treatment. The five-year survival rate is currently about 86 percent. That’s a higher rate than many other cancers. However,\u00a0relapse is still possible.” [“6 Facts About Hodgkin\u2019s Lymphoma Remissions and Relapse<\/a>“, Healthline].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n