The term cessationism, as I understand it, is the ending of the apostolic gifts because there are no apostles now (unless the alleged apostles are 2000 years old, according to Acts 1:21-22). To me, cessationism means that extraordinary gifts (such as healing, foretelling the future and adding to God revelation) no longer are given to individuals to exercise (eg., no one now may speak a word so that a blind persons sees because of that spoken word). God still gives gifts of healing to people who study medicine, to other people God gives the gift of being able to learn languages, and to others is given the gift of understanding and explaining the word of God written. Again, cessationism, as I understand it, does NOT mean that God no longer does as He pleases. He still heals and converts people (the miracle of regeneration). Our God is free to work by, without, or against means.
Some non-cessationists say that they believe in the continuance of prophecy, but maintain that the Scriptures are complete. It is hard to understand what they mean, then, by prophecy. This is my take on the idea.
The word ‘to prophesy’ in Scripture can mean to foretell or to forth tell (announce). The spiritual gift of foretelling future events was a very limited gift and had definite proof. If the thing foretold did not occur, then the person who ‘foretold’ it was a false prophet (Deut 18:22), on the other hand if the prophet gives a miraculous sign and then tries to turn people from the already written Word of God, then that prophet is a false prophet (Deut 13:1-3). The prediction of a true foreteller will ‘come to pass’ and the prophet will turn people back to the written word (see major and minor prophets of the OT). In the NT we have, apart from the Lord Jesus and the apostles, a person called Agabus (Acts 21:10) who foretold Paul’s arrest. I believe that prophecy in this sense has ceased.
On other occasions in the NT ‘prophecy’ seems to mean a forth telling of the Word of God written. This can be by the direct speaking of the written word in public, such as in 1 Corthinians 14:24 where it may be a reference to congregational singing of the Psalms (the whole Church forth telling the word of God; see also 1 Corthinians 11:5 for another possible example of congregational prayer — led by men [1 Tim 2:8] — or the whole church singing). Prophecy can also mean the teaching the Word by uninspired men (1 Corthinians 14:29-34). Here whatever is forth told was to be judged by others. Such judging is not an appropriate attitude to the Word of God, but it is an appropriate attitude to take toward the words of those who claim to interpret the Written Word.
In 2 Peter, the apostle indicates that he is writing things down against the day of his death (2 Peter 1:12-14). Peter did not believe that further revelations of the Spirit will be available after the death of the apostles (1:15) and he pointed his readers to the Written Word, of which his letters (and Paul’s) formed a part (the ‘prophetic word’ is the written word — 2 Peter 1:19-21). John made similar statements about his writings, ‘These things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and by believing have life in his name (John 20:30).’ But finally, if modern ‘prophecy’ provides new revelations of the Holy Spirit then necessarily the Scriptures would not be the sole source of God’s revealed word.
Don't take it from me 