Who decides expiration dates on New Testament promises?
By Jeff Ward
There is a pretty amazing promise made in Mark 16:17-20:
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. So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Bad news, that expired in the first century
Most Christians will allege those promises expired when the last original apostle died. Wow, so sad. That would be so useful today at a children’s hospital! But the problem is, nowhere in the text does it describe an expiration date or limitation. There is only one limitation prescribed: You must be one who believe.
Expired promises have very narrow boundaries
Let’s look closer at the expiration theory. What happens right before the snake handling clause?
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.
Is there any Christian anywhere that believes The Great Commission above has expired? I don’t know of any.
And what is said immediately after that clause?
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Is that one subject to expiration? Maybe so. The last sentence is indeed stated in past tense.
If we claim:
“Jesus obeyed God’s commandments so we won’t have to.”
…the same logic might lead also to:
“They did the miracles in the first century so we won’t have to.”
Is that really a satisfactory answer?
If someone walked in Saint Jude Hospital and started healing children citing that verse, would we not celebrate? Would we not suddenly reverse our support of the Expiration Theory?
Is it possible the Expiration Theory is really just an excuse we use because we have no better explanation?