Tongues and Miraculous Signs Have Ceased

Testimonies from Church History

Eusebius (A.D. 126 – 180) Church History - Chapter XVI.—The Circumstances related of Montanus and his False Prophets

[Tongues were real languages, not gibberish.]

. . .a recent convert, Montanus by name, through his unquenchable desire for leadership, gave the adversary opportunity against him. And he became beside himself, and being suddenly in a sort of frenzy and ecstasy, he raved, and began to babble and utter strange things, prophesying in a manner contrary to the constant custom of the Church handed down by tradition from the beginning Some of those who heard his spurious utterances at that time were indignant, and they rebuked him as one that was possessed, and that was under the control of a demon, and was led by a deceitful spirit, and was distracting the multitude; and they forbade him to talk, remembering the distinction drawn by the Lord and his warning to guard watchfully against the coming of false prophets . . . And he stirred up besides two women and filled them with the false spirit, so that they talked wildly and unreasonably and strangely, like the person already mentioned

Chrysotom (A.D. 345 – 407) Homily XXIX - I Corinthians 12

[Miraculous gifts had already ceased by this time.]

This whole place is very obscure: but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as then used to occur but now no longer take place.

Augustine (A.D. 354 – 430) Homily 6 on the First Epistle of John

[Tongues had passed away by this time.]

In the earliest times, "the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed: and they spoke with tongues," which they had not learned, "as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4 These were signs adapted to the time. For there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all tongues, to show that the Gospel of God was to run through all tongues over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening, and it passed away.

… whether there be tongues, they shall cease ... I Corinthians 13:8

James Utter