PROPHESY SIGNS and MIRACLES

[Author’s note: in the following study most of the Scriptures have been printed in full in order to save time for the serious reader who otherwise would have to look them up - by all means check them out in the King James Bible. These are not the only supporting passages ----Ed]

The believer today is bombarded with all kinds of spectacular "proofs" and "evidences" that God is at work and blessing, authorising and authenticating the prophets, teachers and healers of the day.  The Bible teaches that one of the marks of the end time would be a great delusion or deception, sent by God (of all persons), to seal the fate of those who refuse to receive the truth.

-------- 2 Thessalonians 2:1 ---------

1 ¶ Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.

8 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:

9 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Question: Who are the "them" of verse 11?

Apostasy and false prophets, false doctrine and false signs are not new. The first false teacher was the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

Check out the notes on the seminar in Eden:

----------- Genesis 3:1 ------------

1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [she got it right before the teacher began to teach]

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Guilt followed this seminar and its consequent actions. Separation from God, punishment and death.

Every false teacher gets the same results for his pupils if they act on his advice, punishment and death.

A sampling from the O.T. follows:

---------- Jeremiah 14:10 ----------

10 ¶ Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.

11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for [their] good.

12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.

16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.

17 ¶ Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.

18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.

19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and [there is] no healing for us? we looked for peace, and [there is] no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!

20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, [and] the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

21 Do not abhor [us], for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

22 Are there [any] among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? [art] not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these [things].

1 ¶ Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, [yet] my mind [could] not [be] toward this people: cast [them] out of my sight, and let them go forth.

2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as [are] for death, to death; and such as [are] for the sword, to the sword; and such as [are] for the famine, to the famine; and such as [are] for the captivity, to the captivity.

---------- Jeremiah 23:21 -----------

21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

23 [Am] I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

32 Behold, I [am] against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

33 ¶ And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What [is] the burden [explanation - "burden": a message of weight purportedly from God through the prophet to God’s people] of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.

34 And [as for] the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house.

35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.

37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;

39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, [and cast you] out of my presence:

40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

-------- Lamentations 2:13 ---------

13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach [is] great like the sea: who can heal thee?

14 Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

15 All that pass by clap [their] hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, [saying, Is] this the city that [men] call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?

Jesus taught about false prophets in the context of difficulty in finding, and getting on, the right way:

----------- Matthew 7:13 ------------

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Notice that in this teaching Jesus includes the fact that false teachers have false followers who believe themselves to be genuine believers (later on calling themselves Christians).

21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes.

Many take notice in the next two passages of the "false Christs" who are to come, but miss the false prophets who also come in the same passages:

----------- Matthew 24:4 ------------

4 ¶ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

------------ Mark 13:19 ------------

19 For [in] those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here [is] Christ; or, lo, [he is] there; believe [him] not:

22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect.

These false prophets are not like Benjamin Creme who is announcing the Christ of the new age, he is easily detected. These are fake Christians who preach Jesus Christ, except that their Jesus Christ is not the same as the Jesus Christ of the Bible, because our Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible has a different doctrine. Paul the Apostle was "on" to this also when He wrote in Galatians 1:6 ¶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you...

[That is removed from God, for it is God who calls us in Christ Jesus.]

....into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

See the proof that these are fake Christians in Matthew 7: 21, they have even "conned" themselves: ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The only reason these fakes eventually knew the real Christ was because of the "day", because they had taught about that "day" too,  "that day" (v22) when Jesus takes the Church into glory and shuts the door. Woefully they see him go. They recognise Him because they have been using the same Bible, but not because they have been following the same Jesus. They "wake up" too late.

Too often we miss what is there in the Scriptures, things which need to be discerned spiritually. For example the sorcerer in Acts 13 was one of these false prophets. He is reported in the account of the Acts in the way the Apostles saw him, but the way his followers saw him was quite different. They saw him as a son of Jesus (Barjesus as Simon Barjona was the son of Jona Matt 16:17) he was "with" associated with Sergius Paulus who was searching for truth. Elymas or Barjesus was trying to turn Sergius Paulus away from the truth. Sergius Paulus was fortunate to have Paul(Saul) handy to enlighten him concerning the real character of Barjesus. Apparently he could not tell the difference, as many can not tell the difference today.

------------ Acts 13:6 --------------

6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name [was] Barjesus:

7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

9 Then Saul, (who also [is called] Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, [thou] child of the devil, [thou] enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord [is] upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

What Are the Marks of the False Teacher Today?

We believe that we live in the days immediately prior to the revealing of the Man of Sin

-------- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 --------

3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

If we are correct we should be observing a great apostasy or falling away from the truth. This is apparent when one examines the teachings of the Apostles and compares them with the teachings of the day. We will keep to the subject at hand, though the temptation is here to digress a little and look at the wider picture.

How can we believers of today, who want to follow the Real Jesus, and who want to obey the truth, discern the difference between the real and the counterfeit, even as Paul did in Acts 13?

1. Rely on the Holy Spirit

Here is a chance to really move in the Spirit.

You will be warned in your spirit when you first encounter false teaching (as long as you are really born-again) But if you listen to friends, or put off the timing of your retreat, or become interested in what this fake teacher is selling, you will quench the Spirit

------- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 -------

19 Quench not the Spirit.

20 Despise not prophesyings.

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

However we must say that this is the first point of failure.

(A) Moving in the Spirit is Instinctive Not Instilled.

That is you can’t learn it and you can’t be taught it except by the Holy Spirit Himself. When the Believer comes to Christ he is baptized in or by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. Jesus Christ lives in the believer vicariously through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ro 8:14; Ro 8:9; Col 1:27) In any given situation where you are called upon to act on that inner "still small voice" there is no auto-prompt from Scripture, stereotype answer you have learned or example from a peer. This situation may happen infrequently depending on how constantly you are praying through the day for wisdom or leading in various situations. The more closely you are involved with a personal walk with Jesus the more He will direct you but, you will sometimes only realize that you were led by the Spirit after the event has come and gone.

(B) Moving in the Spirit is Mostly Not What You’d Wish For.

Mostly God presses us to do things that are beyond us and our wisdom, things we would rather shrink back from. This aligns with His Word (Heb 11:6)

(C) Moving in the Spirit is Mostly Not Popular.

Moving in the Spirit is mostly not popular with believers or unbelievers (Mr 13:13; Lu 6:22)

You will be called to stand for things that are decidedly unpopular when the Word of God does not match up with what others are doing and saying and you are called, by the Holy Spirit, to speak, resist or stand against it.

There will be times when you are led to help, counsel or pray for some person and they will be grateful. When God answers your prayers in this kind of situation remember that it is not due to your abilities but to His. Jesus counsels us to do our acts of kindness pretty much anonymously, and certainly not in order to receive thanks or commendation. (Mt 6:2; Mt 6:5; Mt 6:16)

(D) The Voice of the Spirit Can Be Imitated

The voice of the Spirit can be imitated by the enemy. The devil sends other spirits to whisper to the believer in various ways and impersonate the Holy Spirit.

------------ Luke 21:31 -------------

31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares.

35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

(See also 1Pe 4:7; 1Pe 5:8 )

(E) What Moving in the Spirit is Not.

It is not running across the tops of the chair-backs in the auditorium and calling down "power from God." It is not leading repetitious rhythmical singing until people in the congregation will fall at your beckoning or command. It is not conducting a psychic session where you predict (accurately or not) which members of the eager congregation have a particular ailment, will receive healing or some other experience which may be beneficial to them until "that day"arrives and gives the true revelation of the source of these things.

Am I saying that I do not believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit? NO.

Am I saying that God does not perform miracles today? NO.

What I am emphatically saying is that we live in the day when God said that He would send a strong delusion (see 2 Thessalonians 2:11 above). If He is sending it you better believe that some of the miracles are not fake. I expect that the devil is even "conned" by his own theatre in this respect and probably has himself fooled by some of the stuff he is producing.

How can the believers avoid losing their faith in a Miracle Working God?

2. Rely Even More on the Word of God

(A) God’s Word IS Reliable

Just because you can receive foreign voices mistakenly as the Holy Spirit, you must test all things by God’s Word. God never contradicts Himself - that is called lying and it is impossible for God to lie .

---------- Numbers 23:19 -----------

19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent [i.e contradict Himself like a politician]: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

The only sure anchor for the truth seeker is what God has seen fit to have written down. Sure you can still make a mistake, but it is not as likely if you are sincerely seeking the truth and not simply seeking to justify YOUR ideas.

(B) God’s Word Speaks on this Subject.

------------ 1 John 4:1 --------------

1 ¶ Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Those who are truly of God will heed the Apostle’s doctrine, those who are not will be selective in their use of Scriptures. Remember the cults all use the Bible in an effort to authenticate heresies. Mostly they are practiced at these deceptions and will throw a young Christian easily.

You need to soak in the whole Word of God. Know the Bible from cover to cover. If a preacher or a miracle worker teaches things that are contrary to God’s Word, leave them to it.