Matt. 28:18-20 is generally referred to as the Great Commission:
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And Mark 16:15-18 seems to say about the same:
And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
My question is if the Mark passage gives validation to the wild "revival" services we hear so much about today. I mean, it says that those who believe will be followed by such signs; not seeming to limit the signs to the presence of the disciples or apostles? Does God not perform the miraculous? Or is it "looking forward" to the gifts of the Spirit to come? Is there a reason to accept the Matt. passage and not the Mark passage?
(P.S. I am honestly not trying to cause a stink. I'm just having a hard time formulating a defence in my mind against such practices when these verses in Mark 16:17&18 are presented as validation.)
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And Mark 16:15-18 seems to say about the same:
And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
My question is if the Mark passage gives validation to the wild "revival" services we hear so much about today. I mean, it says that those who believe will be followed by such signs; not seeming to limit the signs to the presence of the disciples or apostles? Does God not perform the miraculous? Or is it "looking forward" to the gifts of the Spirit to come? Is there a reason to accept the Matt. passage and not the Mark passage?
(P.S. I am honestly not trying to cause a stink. I'm just having a hard time formulating a defence in my mind against such practices when these verses in Mark 16:17&18 are presented as validation.)