Miracles do happen! I have personally seen things that I cannot explain from a natural perspective. And, though that may not be sufficient to convince many of you, there are many things that have occurred that supposed “experts” and scientists cannot explain from a natural perspective either! Yet we cannot attribute EVERY miracle, no matter how good it may seem on the surface, to an act of God. It may be something that God has permitted, (He IS the ultimate authority, after all), but there are plenty of things that occur that seem good but have nefarious intentions.

Jesus warned us of this. John 8:44 says that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Satan can make himself appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He does this to draw people away from God. During the tribulation, the Antichrist “will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). These miracles are explicitly said to be empowered by Satan. Jesus warned that the end times will be characterized by the treachery of counterfeit prophets who “will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive” (Matthew 24:24).

How are we to tell the difference? It is actually quite simple when you break it down according to scripture and our purpose for being. Our whole existence is for the glorification of God. Miracles work to that end! They are evidence of the benevolence of God for our benefit because of His immense love and compassion on His people. Miracles from God, therefore have certain characteristics that we must acknowledge: They cannot be explained by natural means, benefit a person or persons in some way, they do so in a manner that glorifies God, not another person.

This is a hard pill to swallow, in truth, because any miracle that benefits a person we tend to attribute to God and consider it favor shown from Him for an action or belief held by the recipient. But this is also a very powerful tool of the enemy, which uses miracles to draw us AWAY from the God of scripture in order to draw worship or adoration away from Him and toward someone else, or even toward a false religion or faith.

Look at a couple of examples:

1. In March 2015, Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, 25, lost control of her car and landed in the icy Spanish Fork River in Utah. Fourteen hours later, first responders found her 18-month-old daughter, Lily, in her car seat hanging upside down just above frigid river water. Prior to finding Lily, both police officers and firefighters report that they heard an adult voice yell “Help me!” from inside the car. They discovered that the voice could not have come from the young mother, who likely died from the impact. The rescuers still can’t explain the voice or how the girl survived hanging upside-down for 14 hours in freezing temperatures without being dressed for the cold.

This miracle cannot be explained by any natural means. A disembodied “adult voice” called the rescuers to the location of the child. The voice was heard by the rescuers, more than one of them. They all heard it and followed it. There was no physical person who could have been the owner of that voice. The only being to attribute this miracle to would be that of God HIMSELF (or one of His angels sent by Him). Therefore, the miracle can be said to be one of God because it glorifies HIM. HE gets the credit. Now let’s look at another miracle, equally valid, yet troubling in its resultant attribution.

• After a 14-year process, the Vatican released its verdict on a young boy’s sudden recovery from a debilitating gastrointestinal condition: It was a miracle. Doctors tried everything: antibiotics, diets, and tests. But it seemed nothing could stop 4-year-old Luke Burgie from literally wasting away in 1998. The eight to 10 violent bouts of diarrhea he experienced every day for six months forced him to drop out of preschool. After doctors began to suspect cancer, the boy’s mother, a devout Catholic, began looking outside of medicine for a cure. She asked nuns to pray for Luke. Sister Margaret Mary Preister and the late Sister Evangeline Spenner knew what to do. They asked the founder of their order, Mother Theresia Bonzel, a German nun who lived 100 years ago, to intervene. The nuns prayed a novena, a nine-day vigil, asking Bonzel to heal Luke. As soon as their novena was complete, Luke woke up and his stomach no longer hurt him. The illness never returned.  “I knew immediately that it was a miracle,” mother Jan Burgie said.

The miracle DID happen. There is no natural explanation of the healing of this boy. But we have a problem here. Who did the nuns pray to? Did they pray to God? Did they pray to Christ? No. They didn’t even pray to an angel (though we are NEVER to pray to an angel, they are at least heavenly beings). They prayed to a dead nun who founded their order. Who, then, do they give credit for the intervention” The credit Mother Theresia Bonzel for intervening on the boy’s behalf. Many will attempt to justify or skirt this fact by stating that nuns are doing God’s work and so the prayer to the dead nun was, in effect, praying for her to intervene for the boy to God. But this is contrary to scripture.

Angels, themselves would not permit man to fall before them. They consider themselves fellow servants of God to us! We are NEVER to pray to ANYONE but God (any part of the Godhead is acceptable, Father, Son or Holy Spirit). There is no human person between us and God.

What is the result of miracles like this? They draw us away from true worship of God and Christ and toward the worship of PEOPLE. Some try to justify this by stating that they are simply “honoring” the people who represent God, but semantics will not save someone who is placing a PERSON on a footing that puts them between man and God. When Christ died the veil was torn in the temple. This veil separated man from the Holy of Holies, the area of the temple that common man and even the priests, save for the High Priest (only once a year and after rigid preparation as commanded by God) was never permitted to enter as it was the seat of God here on earth.

That tearing of the veil (a veil that was a foot thick) removed the barrier to God. Through Christ then, (His death and subsequent resurrection) we gained direct access to God. He and HE ALONE intercedes on our behalf to the Father. Miracles like the healing of this child cause man to look to other men and women as intercessors, something the enemy loves to exploit. Why? Because to look to an ordinary person as an intercessor is a sin! It is a means of elevating or worshiping that person. GOD GETS THE CREDIT! NO ONE ELSE.

When evaluating the validity of miracles, be sure that you are also evaluating, from a truly scriptural perspective, where the source of that miracle is. As we draw closer to the end we are warned by Christ that “…false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Christian, YOU are the elect. Christ says several times, “see that you are not deceived…”

If the miracle was brought about in a means contrary to scripture, or if the miracles INVOLVES something contrary to scripture, be warned! It is NOT of GOD. He may have permitted it in accordance with His Will and purpose, but WE are to be discerning, and evaluate everything, as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11, through the study of scripture, prayerful consideration, and the asking of assistance of the Holy Spirit. The enemy will perform miracles too. He is the father of lies and very subtle, as described in the Garden. He is the author of confusion. Don’t allow him to draw you into false worship!

~Pastor Brian Wattenbarger