Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

(Mark 15:15; 16:6), the initial coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–4), the believers’ judgment (Rev. 11:18), the return of Christ (Rev. 19), and the new heavens and new earth (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21). These are basic doctrines upon which evangelicals can agree. The greatest difference from some mainline churches and certain full gospel groups stems from the opposing opinions concerning whether God performs the supernatural today, or if the supernatural was simply to assist the first-century church. The doctrine of miracles ceasing is called cessationism , meaning “coming to an end.” There are two common teachings from the schools of the cessationists. One group believes that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7–10) and the miraculous ceased after the death of the apostle John, somewhere around a.d. 96. They hold that only the apostles were given the ability to perform signs and wonders; thus, when John, the last of the original twelve apostles, passed, the miracles passed with him. The second group traces the time of cessation to when the biblical canon (books) were compiled in the fourth century. They suggest that when the Scriptures were completed in book form, there was no further need for healings, spiritual gifts, or the miraculous. The full gospel school teaches that there is no such thing as a day of or season of miracles, only a God who never changes and who still answers prayers and performs His mighty works. The ability for full gospel people to believe in the