[be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins]

blackeyedpeas,

That is a very good summary. If you guys are heading into Acts 2, I would like to interject something. Pardon me if I'm a little awkward in my timing.

There is a lot of controversy concerning Acts 2:38

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

The problem is, of course, the apparent implication that water baptism initiates something. There are no shortage of groups that have used this as a baseline for what I believe is a flawed doctrinal stance, one that is actually antagonistic to the concept of grace.

I believe that the real thought expressed is about baptism being a reasonable response of obedience, something done on account of sins being remitted rather than causing that remittance. A while back I heard an analogy with regards to this that I think is very good. If you were to see a poster that reads

TXPIPER

WANTED FOR MURDER

this could be interpreted two ways. The intent of the message is to announce that this guy has killed someone and needs to be brought to justice. A misinterpretation might assume that someone wants a murder to be committed and is soliciting tx to do the job. The same concept applies to 2:38.

The reality of why people are really saved is in verse 47:

"...And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved"

Christ is ever and always doing the saving.

Pizza_Mahal,

"Huh , I thought We at beginning of  7 year Tribulation Period  (Whaaaaa! I want to meet Lord Jesus face to face quicking!)"

I think we all do. But the fields are still white unto harvest.

Hello all. Great discussion. I love this subject.

Pardon me if this has been brought up and I overlooked it in my perusal of the thread, but I think the "born again" concept has to be considered. I believe that John 1:12-13 indicate that rebirth happens at the point of belief. If this is the case, then to lose one's salvation would seem to require being unborn and further, recovery from this condition would require being born again, again.

I don't think this happens. "That which is born of Spirit is spirit" is an irrevocable thing in my view. I know of nothing that would indicate that regeneration can be discarded or reversed.

The arrival of the Mahdi is a shiite expectation. What I find interesting about this scenario is the idea of the Mahdi having "Isa", as the Quran calls him, in tow. It is hard to ignore the parallel between a supposed super-muslim and a prophet, and the beast/false prophet duo in Revelation.

I would expect the antichrist to fill a lot of roles. If he finds a footing in Islam, most of the other religions would be along for the ride. (If my theology is correct, this would include a hollowed-out leftover of christianity.) The appeal of a rescue figure could render lots of muslims ripe for the picking.

Hi to all. I'm brand new to this forum but a veteran to lots of others. Always as an ambassador. I've spent lots of time in atheist, muslim and other generally hostile territories and decided to come and spend some time amongst the brethren (and sistren). I found this place doing a search for a great believer, Bronzesnake, who I became familiar with in another Christian discussion group. I hope he is here and well.

I look forward to spending some time here.