[To deny the necessity and the significance of water baptism is to deny God's truth, to make God a liar, and "to withstand God" (Acts 10:44-48; 11:14-18) which even the great apostle Peter was fearful of doing.]

Be a Berean. Search the Scriptures and see whether
these things are so.

And you will discover that ultra- or hyper-dispensationalism [of which Mr. Stam is an advocate] is false doctrine.

Water baptism is (1) a commandment of Christ for all believers in all ages (Matt. 18:18-20); (2) it is a necessity for the believer (Mark 16:15,16) and is tied together with salvation -- repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ; (3) it is symbolic of the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Rom. 6:4,5); (4) it is a testimony of God's grace to the sinner, and the sinner's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 8:36-39); (5) it is the first act of "the obedience of faith" for the believer (Acts 2:37-41).

To deny the necessity and the significance of water baptism is to deny God's truth, to make God a liar, and "to withstand God" (Acts 10:44-48; 11:14-18) which even the great apostle Peter was fearful of doing.

Mr. Stam and those who hold to this teaching -- the rejection of water baptism for the believer -- are playing with fire.

I understand that Jesus is God in the flesh!  But what does it mean in the new testament when it speaks of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God?  It says this several times.  I am having a hard time understanding this.  Any help would be great.Thank You

The Lord Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. God the Father is also King of the whole of earth, and of this universe. There is a throne in Heaven, and the one who sits on that throne is God the Father. Beside Him, on the same throne, sits the Lamb of God at the Father's right hand. He is worshipped with the Father and the Spirit as the one true God -- the sovereign LORD God Almighty.

While we take the truth of the throne of God literally, no mortal man can properly describe the throne of God. Thus Ezekiel speaks of "like unto" and "the likeness of" when describing the throne of God. He is trying to describe in human language something which is beyond human grasp.

Do you believe that Holy Spirit exist?

Not only do I believe that the Holy Spirit "exists", but that He is God the Holy Spirit. So when God tells us something is going to stop, we simply believe Him. That's faith.

I would naturally assume you do, so I ask, do you believe in any of the gifts exist in the world today. If not, what do you believe the Holy Spirit does for a believer?

All spiritual gifts were not intended to continue for all time:

(1) God has only 12 apostles, and Christ very specifically said that they would sit on twelve thrones ruling the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus we find that the Heavenly City, New Jerusalem, has 12 foundations, and that in the 12 foundations of the wall of the city are the names of the 12 apostles (Rev. 21:13) while on the twelve gates of the wall are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel (Rev. 21:12).

(2) Prophecies, tongues, and supernatural knowledge would cease, stop, come to an end (1 Cor. 13: and so they did. Once the New Testament was completed, there is no further mention of these three gifts by the Early Church Fathers, who lived immediately after the apostles. They accepted the complete written Word of God as final revelation.

(3) The "sign" gifts -- signs, wonders, and miracles -- were for the apostles and for the apostolic period also, "GOD ALSO BEARING THEM WITNESS" with these (Heb. 2:1-4). Paul writes about "the signs of an apostle" in the course of establishing his authority as an apostle, and that these sign gifts accompanied His preaching and teaching.  That they were not permanent is evident from the fact that Epaphroditus was very sick "nigh unto death" but Paul does not say anything about healing him, but rather speaks about how "God had mercy on him" lest "I should have sorrow upon sorrow".

So to sum up, the gifts that have ceased are (1 Cor.12:28) --apostles, prophets [and those with supernatural knowledge as in Scripture], miracles, healings, diversities of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Today's tongues are not biblical, but "glossolalia" or babbling.  Today, God works His miracles in His own myterious ways and in response to "the prayer of faith" (James 5:14-20).

Ok a few question, if the calling of a prophet is no longer allowed or given, then how will there be false prophets during the end times. Would seem to me that to have false you must also have true. If the calling of prophet has not been allowed since Christ then what are the ppl to judge by?

Not necessarily the way you have expressed it. When the apostle John closed the Bible with the book of the Revelation, he closed the door to true prophets. However, he could also see that false christs and false prophets would arise, hence the warning to add or subtract from his prophecy. Nonetheless, because people in the end times would insist that prophecies have not come to an end, false prophets would arise to fulfill their expectations.  We can judge a false prophet by his claim to be bringing "new revelations" from God, as Muhammed and Joseph Smith did, for example. We know those "new revelations" are false, because they blatantly contradict and controvert the Word of God.  

Aren't the 2 witnesses that stand proclaiming Christ prophets duirng the first half of the tribulations prophets......how does this fit into believeing that the calling of a prophet was stopped with Christ ascention?

These "two witnesses" -- possibly Moses and Elijah themselves -- are indeed true prophets but their role during the reign of the Antichrist is not to bring more revelations as much as to testify against the Beast.  Notice that (1) they are called "two witnesses", (2) their ministry is limited to the reign of the Antichrist (3.5 years or 1260 prophetic days), (3) "when they have finished their testimony" they are killed.
In other words, they expose the Antichrist by testifying against him, and for this they are executed. But they are also resurrected and then taken to Heaven (Rev.11:11,12).

These two witnesses were ALREADY PROPHETS who come back to earth for a season! That's why they are called "two olive trees" and "two lampstands standing before the God of the earth" (Rev.11:4). They appeared with Christ in His transfiguration and communed with Him about His passion and His departure [exodus] from the earth.

If prophets come to an end with Jesus, then what is Matthew, Mark Luke, John, Paul, and the many who were killed in the early history of the church? What were they if not prophets?

You missed my statement "HIS WORD BEING THE FINAL WORD".  The Word of Christ has been given to us by the evangelists Mark and Luke, as well as the apostles Matthew, John, Paul, Peter, James, and Jude.  This is all prophetic and all Scripture. But it is "THE FINAL WORD". There were also other prophets and prophetesses during the apostolic period who did not write Scripture, but with the closing of the Bible and the end of the apostolic period, all true prophecy has come to an end.
 

IF Christ was the last prophet then what of the prophecy's yet to be fullfilled?

Christ is THE PROPHET predicted by Moses, and His prophetic Word was given to the apostles to be fulfilled in the last days, culminating with the prophecies in the book of the Revelation: "But in the days of the voice of the seveth angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God SHOULD BE FINISHED, as He hath declared to his servants the prophets" (Rev. 10:7). It is Christ who tells John to "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, AND THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER" (Rev.1:19), seeing that
"the TESTIMONY OF JESUS is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10).

Islam, which opposes Christianity, claims that Jesus was "a prophet" and Muhammed is THE PROPHET. That's why we must maintain that Christ is THE PROPHET -- the final Prophet -- and all true prophecy flows from His Holy Spirit and testifies of Him. It is the resurrected Saviour who gave "gifts to men", one of them being prophecy, which Paul said would "fail" or cease (1 Cor. 13: along with tongues and supernatural knowledge.

Who proclaims those? How does the message to get to the world. Sure we have radio, TV, Internet, but what are the persons called who teach about the scriptures, and proclaim the prophecy's that Christ taught about?

Seeing that there are no more true apostles and prophets, it is the evangelists, pastors, and teachers who must now proclaim the written Word of God.  Too often there is little of Scripture in most sermonizing. Christ and the apostles focused on declaring the written Word of God and expounding on it by comparing Scripture with Scripture, and tying Scriptures together to teach the truths of God.
     

[Why should we not believe that Paul, speaking both practically and prophetically, could see ALL the New Testament writings included in "ALL SCRIPTURE"?]

the scriptures refered to in 2 Tim. 3:16 were the Torah and
the Tenach. What you refer to as the Old Testament. The
new testament did not exist at the time that this was
written. Respectfully yours ravenloche

Why should we not believe that Paul, speaking both practically and prophetically, could see ALL the New Testament writings included in "ALL SCRIPTURE"?  

First, he tells Timothy that from a child he has known "the holy Scriptures" speaking of the OT. Then he says "ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD". Paul, in his own epistles, makes it clear that he is writing Scripture (1 Thess.1:13,14), and there are numerous passages to support this.

Peter, in his epistles also makes it clear that he is writing Scripture: "WE HAVE ALSO A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY" (2 Pet. 1:19), but then goes on to place the epistles of Paul on the same level as the OT Scriptures (2 Pet. 3:15-18).  

Both Peter and Paul knew that they too were writing by Divine inspiration, so when Paul says "ALL SCRIPTURE" he cannot possibly be limiting that to the OT, since his own letter to Timothy is also Scripture. In this same epistle, Paul speaks of "the books" and "the parchments", which respectively mean the NT books and the OT scrolls. Paul was fully aware during his own lifetime, that much of the NT was already in existence, since he himself wrote the bulk of it.

The NT did exist [but not in it's fullness] while the apostles ministered on earth. They also knew that it was Scripture:
"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you.  AS ALSO IN ALL HIS EPISTLES... AS ALSO THE OTHER SCRIPTURES..." (2 Pet. 3:15-16).

12. All true prophecy and prophets have come to an end, Christ being The Prophet, and His Word being the final Word  (Heb.2:1-4;  Rev.22:8-21).

If this is the case, and there are no more prophets what do
we do with Eph.4:11-12?
And he gave some apostles, SOME PROPHETS, some evang-
elist,some pastors, and some teachers. For the working of
the ministry, the edifying of the body, and the perfecting of
the saints.

What we do with Eph. 4:11-12 is interpret it in the light of 1 Cor. 13:8, 2 Tim. 3:16, and Acts 22:18. Apostles and prophets were of limited duration, and this is confirmed by the fact that not one of the Early Church Fathers (post-apostolic) claimed to be an apostle or prophet. The same is true for all the Reformers. Pastors, preachers, teachers, evangelists, Yes. Apostles and prophets, No.

Why? because of 2 Tim. 3:16.  A complete revelation for a complete Christian means that all Divinely revealed truth is now in the written Word of God. It is both complete and sufficient for all our needs. The proclamation of the Gospel and the exposition of the Word is what is now commanded.

[Note: There were also some women prophetesses, such as Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Noadiah, Mary, Elisabeth, Anna, and the daughters of Philip. However all those who wrote Scripture were men].

1. A true prophet is a servant of the Most High God (Jer. 7:25)
2. A true prophet is a man in whom the Spirit of God is and who speaks through the prophet (Gen. 41:38; 1Sam. 10:6; Acts 28:25))
3. A true prophet is a man speaking not his own words, but supernaturally the words of God Himself (Exod. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:2)
4. A true prophet speaks “in the name” or by the authority of God Himself (Dan. 9:6; Amos 7:14)
5. A true prophet does not decide what he will speak or not speak. He speaks what God gives him to speak (2 Sam. 23:2; 1 Kgs. 22: 14; Hag. 1:13)
6. A true prophet speaks the truth, whether it be pleasant or unpleasant (1 Kgs. 17:24)
7. A true prophet is in full control of his senses even while he speaks the Words of God (Num. 23:5,12,20,26; 1 Cor. 14:32)
8. A true prophet is also a “Seer” – he sees visions with his eyes open (Num. 12:6; 24:2-4; Hos. 12:10)
9. A true prophet not only “forth-tells” but also “foretells” – predicts future events which must surely come to pass (1 Sam. 9:6; Acts 3:18).  There is no prophet who did prophesy predictively.
10. A true prophet can be greatly troubled by the visions which he is shown (Dan. 10:7-9; Hab.3:2)
11. Biblical tongues were another form of prophetic utterance (Acts 2:1-21;33)
12. All true prophecy and prophets have come to an end, Christ being The Prophet, and His Word being the final Word  (Heb.2:1-4;  Rev.22:8-21).

Who is lord maitreya? Wanna be antichrist or The possible antichrist...

While this man Maitreya is one of the false Christ's predicted in Scripture, he cannot be "the Antichrist".  The Antichrist must be a Jewish Messiah who comes in place of, and in opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ, with signs, and wonders, and miracles.  

Unless he is a Jew, he will not have access to the future Jewish temple, and unless he has access, he will not be able to set up his image within it -- "the Abomination of Desolation" spoken of by Daniel the prophet, and "the image of the Beast" spoken of by the apostle John.

I thank you all for your advise once again.  Follow up question:

What makes you think the compilers of the KJV were any more accurate in 1611 using the TR than the other scholars, using even older manuscripts for their translations?

Did you read about why the Trinitarian Bible Society took it's stand on the KJV? That would have answered your question.  Furthermore, they have published numerous well-researched papers explaining in detail the problems with modern versions. You can request copies and study these for yourself. You will then have the answer.

As to "older manuscripts", that is where the deception begins. Normally, older would be closer to the originals and therefore better. But in this case older means those which were the most corrupt, therefore left unused, and one of them [Aleph]was found in a wastebasket ready to be burned!  Why would monks throw a manuscript in a wastebasket unless they considered it worthless? So Codex B and it's allies were the most corrupt manuscripts to be discovered, yet, through a process of "smoke and mirrors" eleveated above all the others.

For those interested in knowing why the Trinitarian Bible Scoiety takes such a strong position on the KJV, please go to the following link, which has lots of other sound teaching also.


http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/kjvdefenderstrinitarian.htm

[For over 400 years God has blessed this faithful translation, and even after all the attacks heaped on the Textus Receptus and the KJV, this translation stands supreme as evidence of God's hand upon it.]

I am talking about Bible versions.  I have had a run in with a few unofficial members of the KJV Only cult, and am asking the average Christian here, does it matter what version of the Holy Bible you use?  My Preacher and 99.9% of the congregation of my Church does not mind at all that I use the NAB.  

Yes it does matter, and no, those who uphold the KJV are not a cult but simply committed to holding fast the faithful Word.  In other words, modern bible versions are unfaithful to the true Hebrew and Greek texts, and have also made doctrinal changes through alterations throughout the Scriptures. I will not go into details, since you should search this matter out for yourself, and there's plenty of information out there.

The real "cultists" are those who will support the unfounded theories of Westcott and Hort through rain or shine, even when presented with the facts. In the end, it is no longer a matter of facts [which are deliberately ignored anyway] but of faith -- "The just shall live by faith" and those who maintain the authority of the Authorized Version believe that God not only preserved His word, but protected it through the meticulous care of the King James translators, who were all outstanding scholars in their own right -- probably more highly qualified than any modern scholars, and faithful to boot.

Even the Geneva Bible, which is a faithful Reformation Bible, and which was predominant before the KJV among English-speaking Christians, eventually gave place to the KJV.

For over 400 years God has blessed this faithful translation, and even after all the attacks heaped on the Textus Receptus and the KJV, this translation stands supreme as evidence of God's hand upon it.

Just because your church has no qualms bout using the NAB does not mean that the KJV is inferior. It simply means that your congregation has never been shown the truth behind modern translations. Even the NAB and the NKJV are seriously flawed. That's why the Trinitarian Bible Society publishes nothing but the KJV and corresponding translations in other languages. Contact them for more information.

["Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him"]

I think the clearest verse is from the Gospel of John.
Joh 14:2,3

Absolutely. Within Heaven we have the Heavenly City, New Jerusalem, and within this city we have the true Eden -- the Garden or Paradise of God, with the Tree of Life as well as the "mansions" described above. Every saint also has an eternal inhertiance reserved in Heaven.  Thus Heaven is the home of the saints from Abel to the Second Coming of Christ.

Bu there will also be a Millenium on this earth, when Christ is truly King of kings and Lord of lords.  Beyond the Millenium will be the New Heavens and the New Earth, which will be a righteous earth -- "wherein dwelleth righteousnesss" -- again under Christ.

Thus the earth will be peopled with those who love and obey the Lord, while Heaven continues to exercise authority over the earth for all eternity. That is when the saying will be fulfilled -- "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven". All the unrighteous will be eternally confined to "outer darkness" where the Lake of Fire is situated.

When the Heavenly City comes "down" from Heaven, it hovers over the earth. The light of the glory of God the Father and of the Lamb become the light of this earth, since there is no more sun or moon. There is communication between earth and the Heavenly City, but the inhabitants are not the same. The inhabitants of Heaven are revealed in Hebrews 12:22-24. The inhabitants of the future redeemeed earth are revealed in the Psalms and other portions of Scripture.

While we accept all these truths literally by faith, we who are mortal have ABSOLUTELY NO CONCEPT of what it is really going to be like. As Scripture says, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him" (1 Cor. 2:9).

[prophecies,]

If no one has any objections I would like to start by focusing on 1 Cor 13 and discussing whether it supports a ceasing of the gifts or not.

It's a good thing you brought up 1 Cor. 13 as the point at which to decide whether some gifts cease and others do not.  

When we turn to verses 8-13 we learn that (1) prophecies, (2) tongues, and (3) knowledge* would FAIL, CEASE, AND VANISH AWAY, which all mean the same thing -- STOP.

There's always argument about this by those who claim to speak in tongues ( but actually speak something else). However, while the apostles were on earth ,the NT Scriptures were being completed or "perfected". When the book of Revelation was completed, then Scripture was indeed perfected, and it is GOd-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). We should strive to be satisified with Scripture, not go chasing after gifts which actually ceased.

We also know that the sign gifts -- signs, wonders, and miracles accompanied the apostles, and when the apostles left this scene, those also disappeared (Heb. 2:1-4). So in facts, many spiritual gifts are not operational today, and when claims are made about healing miracles for example, we discover that these are generally false claims. Also there can be real miracles from demonic sources which are meant to deceive.

Therefore we are left with all the gifts given for the edification of the saints. There's a considerable list, which is derived not just from 1 Corinthians, but from other portions of Scripture as well.

*which is not ordinary knowledge but supernaturally given knowledge of things not revealed earlier, such as revelation of the Church the body of Christ, with both Jews and Gentiles in it

I am deist and I believe in God because of the universe. How can everything be here if there is no being that created it all.

Take that to the next level. If God is God then He created this universe as a perfect universe. But that is not what we find. We see that mankind is under a curse and all human beings die. So the same Creator provided a remedy. He chose to intervene in the affairs of humanity by Himself becoming the Saviour. And that's what the Gospel is all about.

Deism says that God wound up the "clock" of this universe and walked away. Christ says that God -- as Christ Jesus -- gave His own lifeblood and life for our redemption instead of walking away. Thus Deism has only questions, while the Gospel has the answers. Repent and be converted.

["THEREFORE BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,: BY WHOM ALSO WE HAVE ACCESS INTO THIS GRACE WHEREIN WE STAND, AND REJOICE IN THE HOPE OF THE GLORY OF GOD"]

Show me in scripture where it defines salvation as a soul being saved and remaining saved and then I will believe God's word but I will not believe your definitions when they are unsupported as they always are.

Michael:

The real issue really is believing God when He makes a declaration. Salvation, justification, remission of sins, imputed righteousness, are all one -- included in the gift of eternal life.

So let's look at some key verses in Romans 3:21-5:2. The subject is justification by faith and the meaning of jusitification [dikaioo] is the same as that of righteousness [dikaios] and they are used interchangeably:

1. The righteousness of God WITHOUT THE LAW is manifested, which is [the gift] of the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ UNTO ALL AND UPON ALL THAT BELIEVE (Rom. 3:21,22).

2. We are justified FREELY BY HIS GRACE through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24)

3. THrough FAITH IN HIS BLOOD we are declared righteous and our sins are remitted (Rom. 3:25)

4. God can be just as well as the Justifier of him that believes because of God's own righteousness, in that Christ met every demand of the Law on behalf of the sinner, including the demand of the wages of sin being death (Rom. 3:26).

5. Justification by faith is illustrated by the "Father of faith" -- Abraham (Rom. 4:1-5) -- Abraham BELIEVED GOD and it was COUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore when we believe God it is also imputed to us for righteousness (Rom. 4:24,25).

6. Remission of sins by faith is illustrated by David who says "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Rom. 4:5-9).

7. Christ's death was for the payment of our sin-debt, and His resurrection was for our receiving of the gift of eternal life through our justification (Rom. 4:25).

8.  "THEREFORE BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,: BY WHOM ALSO WE HAVE ACCESS INTO THIS GRACE WHEREIN WE STAND, AND REJOICE IN THE HOPE OF THE GLORY OF GOD" (Rom. 5:1,2).

This "hope of the glory of God' is our firm expectation of being glorified -- perfected in our bodies, souls, and spirits, when we see Christ (1 Jn. 3:1-3).

You have all the Scriptures you need now. Do not try and dispute with God, but rather humbly believe His Word. SALVATION IS THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE TO EVERY SINNER WHO BELIEVES ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. PERIOD.

The Roman Catholic Church has robbed it's adherents of (1) the absolute assurance of being justified by faith, (2) the absolute assurance of peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ at all times, (3) the absolute assurance of access into the presence of God by His grace at all times, (4) the absolute assurance of being glorified by God's grace without any such thing as purgatory.