AN ATTEMPT TO DEVELOP SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING THE MIRACULOUS IN THE BIBLE
WITH AN ATTEMPT TO CONFIRM THESE PRINCIPLES
WITH BIBLICAL SUPPORT
MIRACLES PART 2A
Principle #3. There were many ages in the Bible when there were no
professional Prophets or AMiracle-workers.@
(Judg 6:13 NIV) "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ’Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
(John 10:41 NIV) and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true."
(John 10:42 NIV) And in that place many believed in Jesus.
(Mal 4:5 NIV) "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.
(Mal 4:6 NIV) He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
(Luke 1:5 NIV) In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
(Luke 1:6 NIV) Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.
(Luke 1:7 NIV) But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
(Luke 1:8 NIV) Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
(Luke 1:9 NIV) he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
(Luke 1:10 NIV) And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
(Luke 1:11 NIV) Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
(Luke 1:12 NIV) When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
(Luke 1:13 NIV) But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
(Luke 1:14 NIV) He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
(Luke 1:15 NIV) for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.
(Luke 1:16 NIV) Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.
(Luke 1:17 NIV) And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous??to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
(Luke 1:18 NIV) Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
(Luke 1:19 NIV) The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
(Luke 1:20 NIV) And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
(Luke 1:21 NIV) Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.
(Luke 1:22 NIV) When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
(Luke 1:23 NIV) When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
(Luke 1:24 NIV) After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
(Luke 1:25 NIV) "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
Consider the relationship between the passages in Malachi and that in Luke. Consider the human reactions to angels in this passage and in all other passages in the Bible.
(2 Pet 3:1 NIV) Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
(2 Pet 3:2 NIV) I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
(2 Pet 3:3 NIV) First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
(2 Pet 3:4 NIV) They will say, "Where is this ’coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."
(2 Pet 3:5 NIV) But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
(2 Pet 3:6 NIV) By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
(2 Pet 3:7 NIV) By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
(2 Pet 3:8 NIV) But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
(2 Pet 3:9 NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(2 Pet 3:10 NIV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
(2 Pet 3:11 NIV) Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
(2 Pet 3:12 NIV) as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
(2 Pet 3:13 NIV) But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
(2 Pet 3:14 NIV) So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
(2 Pet 3:15 NIV) Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
(2 Pet 3:16 NIV) He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
(2 Pet 3:17 NIV) Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
(2 Pet 3:18 NIV) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
(Deu 34:10 NIV) Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
(Deu 34:11 NIV) who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt??to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land.
(Deu 34:12 NIV) For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
(Josh 10:8 NIV) The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."
(Josh 10:9 NIV) After an all?night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.
(Josh 10:10 NIV) The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
(Josh 10:11 NIV) As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
(Josh 10:12 NIV) On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
(Josh 10:13 NIV) So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
(Josh 10:14 NIV) There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
(Mat 17:1 NIV) After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
(Mat 17:2 NIV) There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
(Mat 17:3 NIV) Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
(Mat 17:4 NIV) Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters??one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
(Mat 17:5 NIV) While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
(Acts 12:1 NIV) It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
(Acts 12:2 NIV) He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
(Acts 12:3 NIV) When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
(Acts 12:4 NIV) After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
(Acts 12:5 NIV) So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
(Acts 12:6 NIV) The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.
(Acts 12:7 NIV) Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
(Acts 12:8 NIV) Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him.
(Acts 12:9 NIV) Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.
(Acts 12:10 NIV) They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
(Acts 12:11 NIV) Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
(Acts 12:12 NIV) When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
(Acts 12:13 NIV) Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door.
(Acts 12:14 NIV) When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"
(Acts 12:15 NIV) "You’re out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."
(Acts 12:16 NIV) But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
(Acts 12:17 NIV) Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.
(Acts 12:18 NIV) In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
Principle #4. We must make a distinction between the personal and
professional lives of the Prophets. The Prophets generally did not perform miracles for their own personal satisfaction.
Consider the number of times in the Elijah stories when Elijah might have been tempted to perform miracles for his own personal satisfaction. Apply this same principle to Christ and to Paul. Compare Elijah in 1 Kings 19 and Christ in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46).
(1 Ki 19:1 NIV) Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
(1 Ki 19:2 NIV) So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
(1 Ki 19:3 NIV) Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
(1 Ki 19:4 NIV) while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
(Mat 26:36 NIV) Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
(Mat 26:37 NIV) He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
(Mat 26:38 NIV) Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
(Mat 26:39 NIV) Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
(Mat 26:40 NIV) Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
(Mat 26:41 NIV) "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
(Mat 26:42 NIV) He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
(Mat 26:43 NIV) When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
(Mat 26:44 NIV) So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
(Mat 26:45 NIV) Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
(Mat 26:46 NIV) Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
(James 1:2 NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
(James 1:3 NIV) because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
(James 1:4 NIV) Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
(James 5:7 NIV) Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
(James 5:8 NIV) You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
(James 5:9 NIV) Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
(James 5:10 NIV) Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
(James 5:11 NIV) As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
(James 5:12 NIV) Above all, my brothers, do not swear??not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
(James 5:13 NIV) Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
(James 5:14 NIV) Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
(James 5:15 NIV) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
(James 5:16 NIV) Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
(James 5:17 NIV) Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Principle #5. We must not assume that physical miracles are restricted to
Aprofessionals.@ The significant factor in our age is that miracles are not restricted to professional individuals. Because this is true, one might say that miracles are more abundant today than they ever were, certainly more abundant than they were in the times of Elijah and Elisha.
(Acts 2:17 NIV) "’In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
(Acts 2:18 NIV) Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
(Acts 2:19 NIV) I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
(Acts 2:20 NIV) The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
(Acts 2:21 NIV) And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Principle #6. See also Principle #8.
God does not squander the power manifested in physical
miracles. Therefore it is wrong to Aseek signs.@ If God were to perform one physical miracle for you, what would you ask for? See also APower Priorities.@
(Judg 6:11 NIV) The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.
(Judg 6:12 NIV) When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
(Judg 6:13 NIV) "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ’Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
(Judg 6:14 NIV) The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?"
(Judg 6:15 NIV) "But Lord, " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
(Judg 6:16 NIV) The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
(Judg 6:17 NIV) Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.
(Judg 6:18 NIV) Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."
(Judg 6:36 NIV) Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised??
(Judg 6:37 NIV) look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said."
(Judg 6:38 NIV) And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew??a bowlful of water.
(Judg 6:39 NIV) Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew."
(Judg 6:40 NIV) That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
(Mat 12:38 NIV) Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, ATeacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
(Mat 12:39 NIV) He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
(John 4:48 NIV) "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
(1 Cor 1:22 NIV) Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
(1 Cor 1:23 NIV) but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
(1 Cor 1:24 NIV) but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
(2 Ki 20:12 NIV) At that time Merodach?Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness.
(2 Ki 20:13 NIV) Hezekiah received the messengers and showed them all that was in his storehouses??the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine oil??his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
(2 Ki 20:14 NIV) Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, "What did those men say, and where did they come from?" "From a distant land," Hezekiah replied. "They came from Babylon."
(2 Ki 20:15 NIV) The prophet asked, "What did they see in your palace?" "They saw everything in my palace," Hezekiah said. "There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them."
(2 Ki 20:16 NIV) Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD:
(2 Ki 20:17 NIV) The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.
(2 Ki 20:18 NIV) And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
(2 Ki 20:19 NIV) "The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?"
(2 Ki 20:20 NIV) As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
(2 Ki 20:21 NIV) Hezekiah rested with his fathers. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
(Psa 106:15 NIV) So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
