The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 199

;

APOSTLES TO-DAY?

159

but be it noticed, in the first place, that the signs wrought were far below those performed by the apostles; second, that a man like Pastor Blumhardt has also wrought signs that

ful things;

greatly deserve to be noticed; third, that the Roman Catholic Church sometimes ofifers signs that are not pretended nor artificial lastly, that the

Lord has warned us

Word

in His

that signs shall be

wrought by men who are not His own. us not forget that the apostles of the Irvingites completely lack the marks of the apostolate. These were: (i) a (2) a peculiar qualificacall directly from the King of the Church Moreover,

let

;

Holy Spirit making them infallible in the service of the Church. These men lack both marks. They tell us, indeed, of a call come to them by the mouth of prophets, but this is to little or no purpose, for a call from a prophet is not equal to one directly from Christ, and again the name "prophet" is exceedingly misThe word prophet has, on the sacred page, a wide applileading. cation, and occurs in both a limited and a general sense. The former involves the revelation of a knowledge that mere illumination does

tion of the

while the l?tter applies to men speaking in holy ecstasy We concede that prophesying, in the general to the praise of God. sense, is an enduring charisma of the Church for which reason the

not afford

;

;

reformers of the sixteenth century attempted to revive this office. If the Irvingites, therefore, believe that in their circles the prophetic activity has been revived, we will not dispute it; altho we

can not say that the reports of their prophesying have had a very overwhelming effect upon us. However, let it be granted that the gift has been restored but even then we ask What do you gain by :

;

not the slightest proof that these prophets and prophetesses are like their predecessors in the Old Testament, The unrevealed will of God has not been revealed to them. If

it?

For there

prophets at praise of

is

all,

God

then their prophesying

is

merely a speaking to the

in a state of spiritual ecstasy.

uselessness of an appeal to such prophets for the support It is merely the effort to supof this new apostolate is evident. port an unsupported apostolate by an equally unsupported proph-

The

etism.

be forgotten that the labors of these so-called They have failed apostles have not carried out their own program.

Nor should

it

any perceptible influence upon the course of events. The institutions founded by them have in no respect surpassed the many

to exert

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