[wire2john]

This is a forum for ideas that are Biblically based, and much of what gets said around here requires reading between the lines and trying to see the big picture; everything is not spelled out in the Bible in black and white, including the fact that speaking in tongues will always accompany the infilling of the Spirit. God gave us amazing brains and we won't get far if we don't use them. You say Melchizedek was not hired? Fine, offer a competing reason for why Abraham gave the tithe to him and not some other priest. Just bear in mind that anything you say will also be speculative, because the Bible does not tell us why...we have to work that out to the best of our ability on our own, which is what I am trying to do. As to your other remarks, you know very well that most people who use the word dispensation are not referring to its technical meaning or the doctrinal debate that that entails. They say dispensation when they mean epoch, so that is the word I use, because I want to be understood. I have no position on the dispute over the word dispensation, but I will say that just because the word is not used in the Bible it does not make it untrue.

If you truly want to be helpful, show where my propositions are invalidated by other scripture...THAT is something that could help me a great deal, and it is knowledge that I am always hungry to find! But just pounding your fist and saying over and over again, "Its not spelled out that way in the Bible, so its not true!" accomplishes nothing...except perhaps making you feel like a winner.