Where does this belief originate, this is something I don’t understand. Because in Ephesians (after Christ’s mortal ministry and mission were completed) it clearly still states that “He gave some… prophets”. Prophets reveal truth from God, if there was no more to come, why was calling prophets still necessary?
It’s a little complicated, but basically, Jesus is the Messiah. All messages from the prophets that came before Him, focused on the Messiah coming into the world. They told men how they would recognize Him and how they should prepare themselves for His coming. Now that Jesus has already come, there’s no more need for anyone else to prophesy about how we should prepare ourselves, because He’s the fulfillment of all of those prophecies, the Son of God that came to save us.
From the Resurrection of Jesus, the time of the Old Testament and the need for prophets is ended, because the Messiah has already come. He fulfilled the promise of a Savior that was to be sent by God to all mankind. So, the focus of the Church shifted from the need for prophets having to tell men about His coming, to some of them being called as evangelists who are sent, by Him, to spread the Good News (Gospel) that He’s here. Some are called to be teachers, that tell us what we all must do to follow Him. He revealed Himself to all of His Apostles, then sent the Holy Spirit to remain with them, to help them to carry out their mission of proclaiming Jesus to the world, as He instructed them to do. Each one has their own special calling, so working together as One Body, they can accomplish the mission of His Church. The basic structure of the Church was given to them, and passed on to their successors, exactly as Jesus told them to do it. Over the years it’s developed into the Church we have, today.
I’m not saying that the Church or Her members have no means of communicating with God, because they most certainly do. Those holy men who began setting up the Church, and the rest of the people who have followed them from that time on, have all been inspired by the Holy Spirit, to know exactly what God wants them to do and how to do it. But, there is nothing new that can ever change anything that Jesus has already revealed to the Apostles. The basic beliefs of His Church can never be changed. He already revealed everything we need to know to get to Heaven. It’s actually a very simple plan, based on following Jesus and the love of God.
What about John’s prophecies about the end of days? He didn’t receive them until after Jesus’ death, and they clearly have not been fulfilled.
What about all the scripture throughout the New Testament that prophesy about times to come: clearly these could not have been fulfilled by Christ’s coming into the world either.
John was one of the original Apostles, that was given the task of recording that book by Jesus. The Apocalypse is actually a revelation of the whole mission of Jesus, that describes everything about Him from the time of creation to the end of the world. But, it’s all things that were revealed to John by Him. John followed Him from the very beginning of His public ministry, and was very special to Jesus. That book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. (read the very first line)
Like I said, there might still be many private revelations. Saints of the Church have frequently received those kinds of ‘messages’, visions and manifestations, but they can never become part of the Deposit of Faith, nor can they ever be adopted as new doctrine to change or replace anything that the Church already teaches. God is finished revealing anything other than what Jesus has already revealed.
The scripture does not explicitly state that He was promising that the Spirit would always remain with the church, rather with the faithful.
As to ‘gates of hell’; the root of the word used can more accurately be understood as hades: the realm where all departed spirits go. For gates to prevail they either keep things in, or they keep things out. Therefore what He was promising is, in fact, that the effects of His true gospel would reach past mortality and into the afterlife, and that the church (I.e. it’s members, the faithful) would not be confined to hades. Part of Christ’s mission through His death and ressurection was to open those gates to allow souls to also be resurrected and thus not be ‘prevailed upon’ by death for evermore.
I’m sorry, but your church’s interpretation isn’t even close to what it really means. I know that’s what you believe, so I do understand why you’re presenting it as the truth, from your perspective.
Matthew 28: [18] And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying:
All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. [19] Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and
behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.
They did exactly as He instructed them to do. So did all the men who
they taught to continue their mission, after they were gone. The Church (the Body of Christ) has never failed to carry out His mission, and it never will.
From what I gather, maps of Joseph Smith’s time (compiled, naturally, by those who we knowledgeable - printing was not so cheap and readily available to waste on drivel as it is today) showed mostly blank landmass across pretty much the whole of Arabia. Other than the people who lived in Arabia at the time, it was generally ‘known’ to be desert through and through.
I never said anything about maps. I said written records and stories were available to glean knowledge of the area, from various literary sources, during JS’s time.
