The Truth About Miracles!

Are Miracles Always from God? Do Miracles Prove Truth?

We are living in very serious times right now! When Jesus was talking about our end time days, the first thing He said to His disciples was: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:4, 5.

Then later, He again repeated: Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Matthew 24:23-25.

This is a serious situation indeed--even the 'very elect' are in danger of being deceived! What is the only way that we can avoid being fooled? How will we know the false from the true? There is only one way and sadly few people today are prepared to use it! It is by the written Word of God--the Bible!

We are warned that in these last days Satan is going to be very busy: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1Peter 5:8.

"Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Revelation 12:12.

Can Satan work Miracles? "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." 2Corinthinans 11:14.

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Revelation 16:13, 14.

What do we see here in this prophecy? We see religions of the world being tricked into following Satan and they are fooled by the Miracles, Signs and Wonders being done by Satan and his angels!

HOW CAN WE KNOW THE TRUE FROM THE FALSE? ?

Today, right now as I write, this world is being flooded by people claiming to be Christ and by false miracles, apparitions, and supernatural happenings. How can we know who is behind it? For those who study and believe the Bible it is not hard to tell.

"To the law [10 Commandments] and to the testimony [Scriptures]: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20.

SO--if I see idols or statues of Mary, and they are weeping or bleeding or something like that--Question: is that from God?

The 2nd commandment tells us:  "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:" Exodus 20:4.

So there is no way that the God of Heaven will have anything to do with images or idols! So we know it is Satan that is behind these things.

What about apparitions and spirits claiming to be 'departed masters' or 'Mary' or other dead people? Well the Bible tells us:  "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."  Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6.

So we know again that any such thing is not from God, but from the devil. It is easy for fallen angels to appear to us like people who are dead. Mary was a wonderful lady it is true, but now she is dead, asleep in her grave like any other dead person, so we know it is Satan or one of his angels that is responsible for these apparitions. It is not from God at all!

What about people falling over and rolling around the floor and making strange noises, laughing or crying uncontrollably in church meetings? There are people claiming this is from God and is the Holy Spirit! It is no such thing--the Holy Spirit never caused such things to happen in the Bible-but it often happens in pagan worship of voodoo ceremonies! This is an un-holy spirit that wants to fool the people into following false religious systems and breaking God's Holy Law.

The Prophecy warns us that in these last days there will be all kinds of false miracles to deceive people into worshipping  devils disguised as Christ! In fact we are told that Satan himself will appear on earth as Christ and all who do not know the truth will worship him thinking he is Jesus! What a terrible thing!

 "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10.

We can always know the miracles are false if the people that are doing them or upholding them are teaching things that the Bible tells us are wrong. If they tell us that we do not have to keep God's 7th day Sabbath and tell us we should keep another day, or they tell us that dead people can talk to us, or they tell us we should pray on beads or adore images or idols-- we know that they are false because the Bible does not tell us any such thing.

It is good also to look carefully at the kind of miracles that were done by Jesus and others in the Bible. God never did any miracle just to show off. Any miracle done by Jesus or His disciples or prophets were to meet a real need. As you read the true stories of answers to prayers and God's interventions on this site, notice carefully what these miracles are like--they are never showing and like party-tricks--they are quietly done and meet a real need. It is important to know the difference between God's help to His faithful ones and Satan's tricks to deceive!

Never do we see things in the Bible that were just to show off--rose petals falling from the air; pictures appearing on windows; statues bleeding or idols drinking milk; fancy shows in the sky or people having the bleeding wounds of Jesus. NONE of these things are found in the Bible at all. God does not sanction any of this--BUT records of such things are found in pagan and heathen history!

We see supernatural things happening that honor Idols and heathen gods, we know that God does not honor any such things-- this is the deception that Jesus warned us about!!

Serious Times!

It was by Satanic aid that Pharaoh's magicians were enabled to counterfeit the work of God. Paul testifies that before the second advent of Christ there will be similar manifestations of Satanic power. The coming of the Lord is to be preceded by "the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness." [2 THESS. 2:9, 10.] And the apostle John, describing the miracle-working power that will be manifested in the last days, declares: "He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do." [REV. 13:13, 14.] No mere impostures are here foretold. Men are deceived by the miracles which Satan's agents have power to do, not which they pretend to do. The prince of darkness, who has so long bent the powers of his master-mind to the work of deception, skillfully adapts his temptations to men of all classes and conditions.

As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour's advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. . . . The shout of triumph rings out upon the air, "Christ has come! Christ has come!" The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him. . . . In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed. . . .

Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures, and who have received the love of the truth, will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive.

 The Saviour has warned His people. . . , and has clearly foretold the manner of His second coming. "There shall arise false Christs. . . . Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:24-27. This coming, there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It will be universally known--witnessed by the whole world. . .

Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His Word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible, and the Bible only?

"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:15-17.

God will never change His laws nor will He ever do anything contrary to the Bible! God can work miracles and He will care for His faithful people when the storm of persecution breaks on them as they refuse to bow to Idols or keep a false sabbath.

 "He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." Isaiah 33:16