Current events are not signs that the return of Christ is imminent. Paul clearly said there are no signs for the Lord’s return: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thess.… Read more
Month: March 2022
The Great Commission Commands Water Baptism, Not Prayer
Do you know how John prepared people for the Savior? He was “preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk. 1:5; cf. Lk. 24:47; Acts 2:38). People were being baptized in water “to flee the wrath to come…unquenchable fire” (Mt. 3:7-12). John was getting people ready for the Great Commission of Jesus, who had come to save people from their sins and would thus command the whole world to be baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins.… Read more
“He Breathed on Them and Saith…Receive Ye the Holy Ghost”
What is meant by the words above recorded in John 20:22? Did the apostles “receive the Holy Spirit” when Jesus was speaking to them on earth, or did that happen after Jesus returned to Heaven, on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts chapter two?
The context of John 20:22 should first be considered. On the day Christ was resurrected, the first day of the week, He appeared to His disciples and said:
…Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.… Read more