AMERICA'S PRO-JEWISH FOUNDING FATHERS

An amazing pro-Jewish sentiment prevailed among America’s Founding Fathers and throughout the new nation. Perhaps this should not be surprising since they both had the common experience of fleeing religious persecution in the Old World. Pilgrims in New England, Baptists in Rhode Island, Quakers in Pennsylvania, and others had suffered in Europe under the same sort of religious tyranny experienced by Jews.

The Hebrew Influence on Early America

Many of the early immigrants to America considered themselves a Second Israel and looked to the story of Israel in the Old Testament for guidance and inspiration. In his excellent book, On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding, the late Michal Novak documents this influence of the Old Testament on America’s founding generation. He says,

Practically all American Christians erected their main arguments about political life from materials in the Jewish Testament. Early American Protestants loved the stories of the Jewish Testament, and from them took many names for their children . . .. For all these reasons the language of Judaism came to be the language of the American metaphysic—the unspoken background to a special American vision of nature, history, and the destiny of the human race.

This love for the Jewish Old Testament was confirmed by a ten-year study to determine where the Founders got their ideas for nation building. The study discovered that they quoted the Bible far more than any other source, and they quoted Deuteronomy more than any other biblical book. This gives understanding to the statement of John Adams, America’s 2nd president, who said,

The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations.

It is then not surprising that Jews were welcomed in July 4th celebrations from the very beginning. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was delighted to see a Jewish rabbi given such open acceptance in a July 4th parade in Philadelphia. Rush, who was a devout Christian, wrote,

The rabbi of the Jews locked in the arms of two ministers of the Gospel was a most delightful sight. There could not have been a more happy emblem of that section of the Constitution, which opens all its power and offices alike, not only to every sect of Christians, but to worthy men of every religion.

George Washington’s Pro-Jewish Stance

In 1790, George Washington visited the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island where he was warmly received by this Hebrew congregation. In his official welcome, Moses Seixas  compared the Revolutionary War to the struggles of ancient Israel and Washington to King David and to Daniel, saying,

With pleasure we reflect on those days—those days of difficulty, & danger when the God of Israel, who delivered David from the peril of the sword, shielded your head in the day of battle: and we rejoice to think, that the same Spirit who rested in the Bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel enabling him to preside over the Provinces of the Babylonish Empire. rests and ever will rest upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of Chief Magistrate in these States.

Washington was obviously moved by these sentiments and responded that same day with a letter in which he addressed the members of this congregation as “children of the stock of Abraham.” He assured them that life would be different in the new nation for all who had fled religious tyranny. They would not experience mere toleration, he said, for religious toleration would give way to religious liberty.

He reassured them that because of America’s commitment to religious liberty they could expect to experience the words of the Old Testament prophet, who in Micah 4:4 said, Each one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree and there shall be none to make him afraid. Washington went on to say,

For happily the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

Yaari Taal, of George Washington University, says that Washington’s remarks to this congregation established a precedent for protecting religious liberty and pluralism in the United States that persists to this day.

Antisemitism is Anti-American

Early America’s embrace of the Jewish people resulted in America becoming a haven for persecuted Jews from all over the world. This resulted in America becoming home to the largest Jewish population in the world. This remained true until 2003 when the Jewish population in Israel surpassed that in America,

It is, therefore, disheartening to see the antisemitism that has erupted on college campuses and in the large cities of America. Such antisemitism is completely out of sync with America’s Founding Fathers. Such Jewish hatred had no place at America’s founding and should be given no place in America today. Antisemitism is truly Anti-American.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt's books on America's overt Christian origins, 1726: The Year that Defined America,  America's Revival Heritage, and others are being widely distributed and are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. 

THE SURPRISING CONVERSION OF AYAAN HIRSI ALI AND THE FUTURE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Many were surprised when the well-known former Muslim, turned atheist, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, recently announced that she has become a Christian. I was not surprised for I have prayed for that very thing. I also wrote about her, without mentioning her name, in the Foreword of Susan Hyatt's latest book, In the Spirit We're Equal, Second Edition. Ali ties her decision to become a Christian with her concern about the decline of Western Civilization.

Only a Judeo-Christian Worldview Can Produce a Free and Civil Society

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, recently described the war with Hamas as a war between “good and evil” and between “civilization and barbarism.” I agree with him but with a very important clarification. A just war may protect a good and civil society from a barbaric attack, but war can never produce a good and civil society. Such a society will only emerge from the moral commitment and worldview of its inhabitants.  

This is the insight that led to Ayaan's conversion. The civilization of the West has produced the safest and freest societies in human history, and this has been the direct result of the teachings of the Bible, especially those of Jesus. The noted Yale University historian, Jaroslav Pelikan, has said, “Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about Him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries” (Hyatt, Discovering the Real Jesus, 9).

The Morals of Jesus Urged by America's Founders

America’s founders urged the populace of the new nation to make Jesus their role model for life. In a 1783 letter to the governors of the various states, George Washington exhorted them to make Jesus their pattern for civility and morality, saying, “Without a humble imitation of His example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation” (Hyatt, 1726: TheYear that Defined America, 172). Thomas Jefferson agreed with Washington, and wrote, “Of all the systems of morality that have come under my observations, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 150).

It was a moral system based on the Bible, and particularly the teachings of Jesus, that provided the moral basis for ending slavery in America and the Western world. This occurred at a time when slavery was accepted and practiced in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and most of the world. The distinguished historians, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese and Eugene Genovese, wrote,

Europeans [and Americans] did not outdo others in enslaving others or treating slaves viciously. They outdid others by creating a Christian civilization that eventually stirred moral condemnation of slavery and roused mass movements against it (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 2nd Edition, 57).

The brilliant Black scholar, Dr. Thomas Sowell, has also written about the unique contribution of Western civilization in ending slavery. He wrote, “Slavery was just not an issue, not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders, until the 18th century–and then it was an issue only in Western civilization.” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 90). In my book, 1726, I have documented how this movement against slavery was ignited by the Great Awakening that swept Colonial America in the early 18th century.

Ayaan Sees Christianity as the Only Hope for Western Civilization

Ayaan became a Christian because she came to the realization that only Christianity embodies the moral truths and philosophical structure that can save the freedoms that Western civilization gave to the world. She points out that cherished Western freedoms of speech, of the press, and of conscience, all have their roots in Christianity. She also sees these freedoms being undermined and threatened by woke ideology, Islamism, and authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia. She writes,

We endeavor to fend off these threats with modern, secular tools: military, economic, diplomatic, and technological efforts to defeat, bribe, persuade, appease or surveil . . . But we can’t fight off these formidable forces unless we can answer the question: what is it that unites us? The only credible answer, I believe, lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition . . . Christianity has it all.

Yet I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realization that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable — indeed very nearly self-destructive. Atheism failed to answer a simple question: what is the meaning and purpose of life  (UnHerd, Nov. 11, 2023)?

Only a Christian Awakening Will Preserve Our Freedoms

When we as evangelical Christians talk about praying for revival or a Great Awakening, we must realize what is at stake. It is not just the success of our individual churches or personal ministries that are at stake. Western civilization itself is at stake. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of conscience to worship as one chooses are all by-products of Western civilization, and only a true “Christian Awakening” will preserve these freedoms for the next generation.

Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is a Bible teacher, church historian and ordained minister. This article was derived from his books, 1726: The Year that Defined America and America’s Revival Heritage, 2nd Edition, both available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.

THE UNTOLD STORY OF WHY THE PILGRIMS CAME TO AMERICA

Modern secularists have rewritten the Pilgrim's story and completely left out their faith in God as a motivating factor for them coming to the New World. Others have highlighted that they were fleeing religious persecution; and while this is true, it is only one side of the coin. There was another compelling reason for this small band of devout Believers leaving everything and coming to America. 

This untold reason came to the forefront when I was presenting a “Revive America” event at Abounding Grace Christian Church in Schenectady, NY.  As I was preparing for an evening session, I sensed the Holy Spirit instructing me to have the audience repeat aloud after me the two reasons the Pilgrims gave, in the Mayflower Compact, for coming to America. 

Later that evening, at the appropriate moment, I had the words of the Mayflower Compact flashed on the large screen and asked the audience to read with me their two reasons for coming to the New World. We read aloud together: "(1) For the glory of God and (2) the advancement of the Christian faith." We then read it a second time.

At the end of the service, a young man, who looked to be about twenty years of age, approached me with his face glowing and a note of excitement in his voice. He said,

I am attending a local community college and taking a course in American history. Just this week the professor told us that the Pilgrims did not come here for religious reasons. He said they came for monetary reasons.

He paused and then exclaimed, “But there it is in their own words!” He then stated how he was now inspired to study and teach America’s true origins. I then understood why God had instructed me to have everyone speak aloud the two reasons the Pilgrims gave for coming to America.

But even before the Mayflower Compact, while still in Holland, their missionary vision was clearly stated. William Bradford, who served as governor of Plymouth Colony for over thirty years, explained why they made plans to come to America. He said that they had "a great hope and inward zeal for the propagating and advancing of the gospel of Jesus Christ in those remote parts of the world" (Hyatt, The Pilgrims, 25).

The Pilgrims practiced what modern missiologists would call “friendship evangelism.” They made friends, not only with Squanto, but with countless other individuals and tribes. They established a treaty with the Wampanoag tribe in which they promised to defend each other if either was attacked by an outside aggressor. Dr. Samuel Eliot Morison says the Pilgrims treated the natives with, “A combination of justice, wisdom and mercy” (Hyatt, The Pilgrims, 38).

Their friendship evangelism bore fruit. Bradford told of Squanto falling sick and dying. The Pilgrims cared for Squanto in his sickness, and Bradford said that before he passed, Squanto asked him to pray for him that he would go to the God in heaven he had learned about from the Pilgrims. Bradford described Squanto’s death as "a great loss.”

The Pilgrims’ commitment to missions contributed to the fact that the first Bible published in the New World was not an English language Bible. The first Bible published in America was in the Massachusett language. It was published in 1660 for the purpose of reaching natives with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Pilgrims’ commitment to missions has had far-reaching ramifications and contributed to America becoming a great missionary-sending nation. This missionary vision, that began with the Pilgrims, became so pronounced that it caught the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 1892 ruling of “Church of the Holy Trinity vs. the United States,” the nation’s highest court stated,

The churches and church organizations which abound in every city, town, and hamlet . . . and the gigantic missionary associations, with general support, and aiming to establish Christian missions in every quarter of the globe add a mass of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 170).

 Yes, the Pilgrims were fleeing persecution in England, but that was only part of the story. They had a proactive missionary vision that was pulling them forward. They clearly stated that they had come to America, “For the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.” 

In retrospect, it is obvious that they were successful in their mission. It is also obvious that the modern, self-obsessed American Church needs to acquire a missionary vision of its own. After all, the Great Commission, which commands us to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mk. 16:15) has never expired.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author and ordained minister with a commission to remind America of  her radical Christian roots in the Great Awakening. This article was derived from his books, 1726: The Year that Defined America and The Pilgrims, both available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.

THE PILGRIMS' DEVASTATING EXPERIMENT WITH SOCIALISM

Before Marx, the Soviet Union, Cuba, and Venezuela, socialism was tried here on American soil by the Pilgrims, and it miserably failed.

The Pilgrims were funded in their journey by a group of English businessmen, who required them to live communally for seven years until their debt was repaid with interest. This meant that there was no private ownership and there were no rewards for individual labor.

Instead, everyone worked fields owned by the plantation. The harvest went into a common fund from which each family received an equal portion for their sustenance. The remainder was used to pay their debt. The same was true of goods and money obtained by fishing and trapping furs. The wealth was spread around and evenly distributed. THEY WERE ALL EQUAL!

The Pain of Socialism

William Bradford, who served as Governor of Plymouth for over thirty years, told of the challenges of this socialist system. Young men, he said, resented getting paid the same as older men when they did so much more of the work. As a result, they tended to slouch and give only a half-hearted effort since they knew they would receive the same, no matter how hard they worked.

The older men felt they deserved more honor and recompense because of their age and resented getting paid the same as the youngsters in their midst. Bradford said that the women often refused to go to the fields to work, complaining of headaches, and to have compelled them to go would have been considered tyranny and oppression.

This socialist system discouraged work and innovation. It also produced strife and dissension, which further robbed the inhabitants of energy and output. The system almost destroyed the colony.

When it became obvious that lack and, perhaps, starvation would be their lot, Bradford and the leaders of the colony decided to make a change. After much prayer and discussion, they decided to dispense with that part of the agreement that required them to live communally and to replace it with a free enterprise system.

The Gain of Free Enterprise

According to Bradford, they then divided the land around them, allotting to each family a certain portion that would be theirs to work and use for their own needs. Bradford said there was an immediate change. The young men began to work much harder because they knew they would enjoy the fruit of their own labors. There were no more complaints from the older men for the same reason. And now the women were seen going into the fields to work, taking the children with them, because they knew that they and their families would benefit personally.

Instead of lacking food, each family now grew more food and corn than they needed, and they began to trade with one another for furnishings, clothes, and other goods.

They also had enough excess to trade with the Indians for furs and other items. In short, the colony began to prosper when it got rid of its socialist form of government and implemented a free, entrepreneurial system. Of their experience with socialism, Bradford wrote,

This [socialist] community was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort . . . and showed the vanity of that conceit of Plato's, and applauded by some of later times, that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God.

We Must Learn from History

Bradford believed that socialism did not work because it runs counter to human nature as created by God. In Scripture, God rewards individuals for their labor and good works. Capitalism works because it is compatible with the reality of human nature and the world in which we live.

Whether the Soviet Union, Cuba, Venezuela, or New England, socialism has failed wherever it has been tried. We should, therefore, remember the words of Winston Churchill, “Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.”

This article was derived from 1726: The Year that Defined America and The Pilgrims, both by Dr. Eddie Hyatt and available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.

THE ATTACKS ON SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON ARE ATTACKS ON AMERICA'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLES

"I am a Bible-believing Christian."

If he had identified himself as a transgender, bisexual, socialist Democrat, the mainstream media would have showered him with accolades and commendations. But when the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, described himself as a "Bible-believing Christian," the Left had a total meltdown,  

MSNBC host Jen Psaki called Johnson a "religious fundamentalist" and mocked his faith. The Daily Beast compared Johnson to the "Taliban and the mullahs in Iran." Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority leader in the House, ripped into Johnson, calling him an “extreme, right-wing idealogue.” Others referred to him as "dangerous" and a "threat to democracy."

These attacks, however, merely reveal just how clueless the Left is about America's history, Johnson’s Bible-based faith and Christian worldview are eerily similar to that of Washington, Adams, Madison, and the entire founding generation. These attacks on Johnson are, therefore, attacks on the very principles that made America the most free and prosperous nation in human history, Consider the following.

The Bible in the Lives of the Founders

The Bible was, in fact, the most read book in America at the time of its founding. America’s founding generation found in the pages of the Bible its moral compass, its guide for ethics, and its Christian worldview.

This was confirmed by a 10-year study to determine where America’s Founders got their ideas for her founding documents. This study, which included the examination of thousands of historical documents, concluded that the Founders quoted the Bible far more than any other source (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 13).

It is, therefore, not surprising that when the First Continental Congress opened on September 5, 1774, it opened with an extended time of Bible reading and prayer. Rev. Jacob Duche read the entire 35th Psalm and it had a powerful impact on  everyone present, John Adams, who became America’s second president, wrote to his wife, Abigail,

I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read that day. I saw tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific Quakers of Philadelphia. I must beg you to read that Psalm (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 108).

Every succeeding session of the Congress was then opened with Bible reading and prayer. 

The Founders’ respect for the Bible was also highlighted by their endorsement of the first English Bible printed in America in 1782. The producer of the Bible, Robert Aitken, called this Bible, “a neat Edition of the Scriptures for the use in schools.” Congress enthusiastically recommended the Bible, saying,

Resolved: That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken . . .  and being satisfied from the above report, of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 15).

George Washington daily prayed and read his Bible. Robert Lewis, Washington’s nephew, lived with him and served as his secretary while Washington was president. Lewis said he accidentally witnessed Washington’s devotions morning and evening and that he was kneeling before an open Bible. Lewis believed that praying with an open Bible in front of him was a daily practice for Washington.

It, therefore, was neither strange or unexpected when Washington insisted on taking the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible. A person swears by that which is greater than himself, and for Washington, the Bible was the greatest tangible authority by which he could swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.

James Madison, America’s 4^th president and chief architect of the U.S Constitution, respected the Bible as a revelation from God. He studied at the College of New Jersey under the president, Rev. John Knox Witherspoon, who once said, “Cursed is all education that is contrary to Christ.” After graduation Madison remained at the college where he worked on a project translating the Old Testament from Hebrew into English and the New Testament from Greek into English. The late Dr. D. James Kennedy said, “Madison’s political worldview was one shaped by the Bible more than any other source” (Hyatt, 1726: The Yearthat Defined America, 143).

Andrew Jackson, America’s 7th president, once gestured toward a Bible and said to the person with whom he was conversing, “That book, sir, is the rock on which our Republic rests.”

In a December 1982 article in Newsweek entitled “How the Bible Made America,” the authors declared,

For centuries [the Bible] has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 7).

Summary Statement

It is the modern Democrat Party and their accomplices in the media, not Speaker Johnson, who have departed from the faith and vision of America’s founding generation. Their attacks on Speaker Johnson are attacks on America's founding principles. Speaker Johnson's simple, yet profound, faith in God and biblical principles are refreshing and offer hope for America's future.

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s groundbreaking book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, which documents the direct bearing of the First Great Awakening on both the founding of America and the ending of slavery on the American continent.

WHY ISRAEL HAS A BIBLICAL AND MORAL OBLIGATION TO DESTROY HAMAS

We live in a fallen, sinful world where evil abounds. We just saw a startling demonstration of this evil with the violent attack of Hamas on innocent Jewish citizens. According to reports from those on the scene, women and children were raped, beheaded and their bodies burned.

One woman who observed the grisly aftermath of the attack told how she is the daughter of Holocaust survivors and heard their stories of the Nazi concentration camps. “This,” she said, “Is even worse!” Perhaps we should not be surprised, for the Hamas Charter calls for the killing of individual Jews and destruction of the Israeli state.

What would be a Biblical response to this massacre? Does the Sermon on the Mount apply to this situation? Is Israel supposed to “turn the other cheek?”

When it comes to individual, personal relationships, we are not to retaliate and seek revenge. We are to treat others the way we want to be treated. This is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about. It is the civil government to which God has given the right and responsibility to use force in dealing with evil.

This is made clear in Romans 13:1-4 where Paul lays out the role of civil government in using force to protect those who are good from those who are evil. He wrote,

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities . . . For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

This passage makes clear that civil government exists for the people--to protect its citizens from evil. When a government thinks the people exists for it, and uses and abuses its citizenry for its own ends, it has become an illegitimate government.

This is the situation with Hamas and Gaza. The people of Gaza elected Hamas to be their governing authority, but Hamas does not care for the people they govern. They are obsessed with destroying Israel, and they are willing to use and abuse the Palestinian people to achieve their goal.

America’s Founders understood the reason for civil government as delineated by Paul in Romans 13:4. In their 1776 Declaration of Independence, they clearly stated that human governments exist to secure for the people their God-given rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. They wrote,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government . . .. 

Israeli citizens have a God-given right to live securely in peace. The Israeli government exists to secure this right for its citizens. Since Hamas is committed to destroying the people of Israel, the Israeli government has a Biblical right and obligation to protect its citizens from those evil intentions. They must, as Paul said in Romans 13:4, execute wrath on him who practices evil (Romans 13:4).

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, historian, and Bible teacher. His books are available on Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. His book 1726: The Year that Defined America, documents America's Christian origins out of the First Great Awakening and offers hope for her future.

DEBUNKIING THE CESSATION THEORY

I read with interest James Lasher’s excellent review of the Cessationist movie. I also noted that earlier this month, Pastor John MacArthur hosted a Cessationist Conference at his Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA. I was reminded of an interesting encounter I had years ago that highlighted how flimsy is their argument for the cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I Challenge A Seminary Professor with Historical Facts

I had just published the first edition of my book 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity (now published by Charisma House) and was attending the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. ETS is an academic society whose members are, for the most part, cessationists.

I attended a workshop attended by about 200 pastors and college professors in which a white-haired seminary professor presented an argument for the cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. His argument centered around I Corinthians 13:9-10 where Paul said, For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

He argued that the “perfect” to which Paul refers is the New Testament canon. Therefore, when the New Testament canon was completed in the final decade of the first century, the miraculous Spiritual gifts were no longer necessary and were withdrawn from the Church.

When it came time for questions, I raised my hand. Based on the documented evidence in my book, I asked, "How does your cessation theory deal with the fact that church fathers, including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Augustine, all speak of miraculous gifts in their midst, including speaking in tongues?"

Being a well-known theologian, I expected him to have some sort of answer. I was, therefore, surprised when he said, "I can't answer that," and quickly moved on to the next question.

No Historical Evidence for the Cessation of Miracles

Indeed, the cessation argument from the Bible is very flimsy. That which is “perfect,” on which the professor based his argument, is not referring to the New Testament canon, but to the Lord Jesus Himself when He comes the second time in power and glory.

In addition, there is absolutely no historical evidence for a cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those who succeeded the Twelve Apostles as leaders in the Church express no knowledge of a cessation theory and they report healings and miracles of which they are personally aware.

For example, Augustine (354-430), considered one of the greatest of church fathers by both Catholics and Protestants, describes various miracles of which he is aware. These include healings of blindness, gout, hemorrhoids, and even one person raised from the dead. He then says, “I am so pressed by the promise of finishing this work that I cannot record all the miracles I know” (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 44-45).

The Contextual Reason for a Cessation Theory

A Cessation theory did eventually emerge in the Church after the time of Constantine to explain the absence of miracles in most of the Church. With Constantine’s conversion and the church becoming the “official” religion of the empire, she became obsessed with her newly found wealth and political power. This, in turn, had a devastating effect on her spiritual condition.

For example, John Chrysostom (347–407), patriarch of Constantinople, complained that the character of the church of his day was no different from that of the marketplace or theater. He wrote,

If anyone is trying or intending to corrupt a woman, there is no place, I suppose, that seems to him more suitable than the Church. And if anything is to be sold or bought, the Church appears more convenient than the market. Or if any wish to say or to hear any scandal, you will find that this to be had here more than the forum without (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 34-35).

It is, therefore, not surprising that when he came to I Corinthians 12 in his commentary, Chrysostom admitted to having no knowledge of these miraculous gifts. He says, “The obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and their cessation.”

This correlation between the moral corruption of the Church and the absence of miracles was pointed out in a humorous manner by the famous theologian, Thomas Aquinas (1225-74), when visiting Rome and being shown the church’s wealth by Pope Innocent IV. Innocent said to Aquinas, “You see that the Church is no longer in an age in which she can say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” Aquinas replied, “It is true, nor can she say to the lame man, ‘Rise up and walk.'"

John Wesley made this same point after reading a book published in 1713 by John Lacy who presented a powerful Biblical and historical argument for the continuation of the miraculous gifts in Church. Lacy also defended the Montanists, a 2nd century prophetic movement, that was declared heretical by the Council of Constantinople. After reading the book, Wesley wrote,

I was fully convinced of what I had once suspected: (1) That the Montanists, in the second and third centuries, were real Scriptural Christians; and (2) That the grand reason why the miraculous gifts were so soon withdrawn, was not only that faith and holiness were well nigh lost, but that dry, formal, orthodox men began even then to ridicule whatever gifts they had not themselves, and to decry them all as either madness or imposture (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 29).

This was the also the of argument of the noted Baptist pastor, A.J. Gordon (1836-95), founder of Gordon College in Wenham, MA. In his book, The Ministry of Healing, he wrote,

It is not altogether strange that when the Church forgot her citizenship in heaven and began to establish herself in luxury and splendor on earth, she should cease to exhibit the supernatural gifts of heaven (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 36).

The Conclusion of the Matter

The modern cessationists are wrong, without a leg to stand on, either Biblically or historically. They seem to try and make their case by cherry picking the most bizarre examples they can find of charismatics supposedly expressing gifts of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, they have a lot to choose from.

However, examples of charismatics acting in a fleshly and eccentric manner does not invalidate the real gifts of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the false does not call for a rejection of all Spiritual gifts, but a call to be more diligent in testing the spirits as we are admonished throughout Scripture, including I John 4:1.

Indeed, miracles have been a part of the life of the Church throughout history. Their presence has waned at times in history, not because of some fiat from God, but because of the backslidden condition of the Church. When times of revival have been fanned into flame, and the lost passion for the Lord renewed, miracles and answers to prayer once again have become a part of the life of the Church.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt has created a course on the continuance of Spiritual gifts throughout Church history. It consists of the textbook, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, and the 20-Lesson Study Guide entitled Revival History. Both are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. To access a video discussion of this issue, click this link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChHxRXr3vaE