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Link States,

Hebrews does not say anything about miracles having ceased. It only points out that when the Gospel was first preached among the readers, it was preached with signs and wonders. To try to read cessationism into this is eisegesis pure and simple.
And where is your evidence? Where is your exegesis? You offer nothing, but personal opinion, not supported by the Greek text! Hebrews reveals the fact that there is a new and final revelation in Christ (Heb 1:1-2). After the age of the Apostles there was no need for miracles to confirm their word, as they were no longer around, et. al.

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Link States,

And as for Montanus, I suggest you read the Britanica Micropedia article on it from… maybe 98 or 99. The author of the article rightly argued that the church in Montanus’ day believed in the gift of prophecy, and that was not the issue. Montanus and his followers apparently had a very ‘ecstatic’ style of prophecy that was different from what the churches were used to. Montanus was generally accepted as a heretic after he appointed rival bishops.
You claim the author “rightly argued” and later you say of yourself, “I am no expert in this area.” <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/drop.gif" alt="" /> However, let us look further at these additional claims you are making.

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Link States,

Eusebius relates an account of a debate between a Christian and a Montanist at a time when the Montanists were apparently not claiming to prophecy.
Bishop Apollinarius found the church at Ancyra which was torn in two by the movement. He opposed the "false prophesy" (Eusebius 5.16.5). Eusebius preserved fragments from the works of two anti- Montanists from the 2nd century. These fragments DO NOT support your claim of “no prophecy.” The summary of them is stated herein:

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Montanus, so we learn, in his boundless desire for preeminence, [Filoprwteia; cf. 3 John 9 concerning Diotrephes] allows the adversary to enter into him, whereupon he falls into a satanic ecstasy and begins suddenly to utter peculiar things that are not compatible with the tradition passed on in the church from the very beginning (EH 5.16.7).
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Link States,

Ireneaus told of revelatory gifts in his own day, which you can also read about in Eusebius Ecclesiastical history when you look up the Montanist debate in the previous paragraph, if you are interested.
Yes there were new revelatory gifts—false ones! Irenaeus, during the height of the Montanists controversy was inspired to write, Adversus Haereses. Ireneaus was against the movement, he was against these “new” revelations (Journal of Theological Studies New Series XX, 1969).

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Link States,

I am no expert in this area. Before you state dogmatically that there is no reference to gifts after the first century, it would be good for the sake of integrity for you to actually look up all references to such gifts.
I did not say gifts, but rather sign gifts (referring to tongues, interpretation, the topic of my post <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/bash.gif" alt="" /> ). For the sake of integrity you had better learn to read!

In addition, there is a difference between no reference and a valid reference—I was speaking of the later. Of course there are references! Heresy always has its pulpit. Although the mainstream church prevailed against Montanism within a few generations, inscriptions in the Tembris valley of northern Phrygia, dated between 249 and 279, openly proclaimed their allegiance to Montanism. This sect persisted into the 8th century. However, this was “all” condemned by the Church as heresy!

What you fail to understand is that “false tongues” were in many faiths, but were looked upon as truthful revelation. While God demonstrated the true gift of “tongues” in biblical times “false tongues” persisted for centuries before and after NT times. In Jeremiah 27:9, it is said that prophets, diviners, and soothsayers were in the neighbouring countries of Judah: in Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon.

Outside of Scripture, we can look at the Report of Wenamon:

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About a hundred years before Wenamon, the Egyptians had expelled the Sea People from Egypt and now Egypt was in trouble. The Sea people had settled in Phoenicia. The Wenamon event occurs within a few years of Saul. Within another hundred years Shishak would invade Palestine and remove the wealth from the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 14:25-26) and return it to the temple in Egypt.

Wenamon was sent to Byblos to buy wood for the sacred boat of Amon. He "carried along" a portable idol of Amon-of-the road. He landed in Dor and had his money stolen by a member of the crew. Wen Amon blamed the local government and therefore "appropriated" some money from a local ship as a "hostage" when he arrived in Byblos.

The ruler refused to see Wen Amon for twenty-nine days and finally one of Zakar-Baals had a frenzy of "prophesying" and demanded that they 'listen" to the idol and Wenamon (wenamun).

Not only did they try to deceive Wenamon with music, but Wenamon's idol got some help from a local charismatic prophet who was like the charismatic prophets in Canaan who "prophesied" ecstatically (spoke in unknown tongues) or in the sense of "singing with instrumental music."

Barton, George A., Archaeology and the Bible, 7Th Edition pgs 449-452 By: Kenneth Sublett
Can Satan imitate the real thing? Of course! Can this type of activity creep into the Church? Of course! In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul warned against the charismatic practice of the pagans (1 Cor 12:3). He is still warning you today!

Even Islam has “ecstatic experiences.”

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Sama'
(Arabic: "listening"), the Sufi (Muslim mystic) practice of listening to music and chanting to reinforce ecstasy and induce mystical trance. The Muslim orthodox regarded such practices as un-Islamic, and the more puritanical among them associated the Sufis' music, song, and dancing with drinking parties and immoral activities. The Sufis countered such attitudes by pointing out that Muhammad himself permitted the Qur'an (Muslim scripture) to be chanted and that the adhan (call for prayer) was also chanted in order to prepare for worship.

Sufis maintain that melodies and rhythms prepare the soul for a deeper comprehension of the divine realities and a better appreciation of divine music. Music, like other beautiful things, draws the Sufi closer to God, who is the source of beauty.

Many Sufis have held that a true mystic does not lose himself in such forms as music but uses them only to bring himself into a spiritual realm, after which he must experience deeper meanings and realities. While Muslim fundamentalist legalists reproved sama' as an innovation (bid 'ah), some Muslim scholars held that it was a useful innovation since it might bring souls nearer to God.

Many Sufis, e.g., the Mawlawiyah dervishes, combined dancing with sama'. Often Sufis requested that after their death there should be no mourning at their funerals, insisting instead that sama' sessions be held to celebrate their entrance into eternal life. The Sufis warned, nevertheless, that the full appreciation of sama' requires strong ascetic training. An individual must be pure in heart and strong in character before indulging in sama';
Sound familiar? Glossolalia is evident in the Oracle of Delphi, whereby a priestess of the god Apollo (called a sibyl) speaks in strange utterances. Glossolalia has also been observed in shamanism and the Voodoo religion of Haiti. The Charismatic movement of today has its roots in paganism! Biblical tongues (which differ from these counterfeits above) lasted only a short time in the history of the church (as already demonstrated from the un-refuted original language of the Scripture). The only question which remains is which one has your tongue?

It is indeed very sad that you are intertwined with this movement. Unfortunately, Charismatic doctrine and missionaries are very active in Indonesia. This is an indictment of the Reformed camp who are not more involved in missions to the extent they should be. However, as the scripture states;

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1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
This is your individual responsibility. Hopefully you will listen to the counsel here and get out of the movement.

Reformed and Always Reforming,