see that these promises were almost all, perhaps all, fulfilled in the time of the
apostles. The verses you have quoted do not assert that these signs will always be
granted to the end of time. On the contrary, in 1 Cor. xiii. 8-10 we are told that these
signs will ultimately cease when Christianity is perfectly established. A celebrated
Christian writer, St. Chrysostom, explains the reason by saying that, when a tree planted
by the roadside is young, it requires to be protected by a fence, lest it should be
trodden down and destroyed: but, when it has taken root and grown large, the fence must be
removed lest it should hinder the further growth of the tree. So when the tree of the
Christian faith was yet tender, it required to be fenced in with miracles, but after a
time these were withdrawn lest they should hinder its growth. If all true Christians could
now work miracles, people would say that there was nothing wonderful in the miracles of
Christ and His apostles, and miracles would cease to be miracles. Moreover, in place of physical
miracles we have now moral miracles, in the changed lives of men who become true
Christians: and we have the fulfilment of prophecy as a better sign and proof of the truth
of the Bible than any other that can be imagined 1.