Lying Signs and Wonders

God performs supernatural acts for His people but signs and wonders of themselves are no guarantee of Divine Approval.

Many “prophetic” voices are claiming that God is about to pour out tremendous “signs and wonders” the likes of which no man has ever seen, supernatural displays so overpowering that billions of souls will prostrate themselves in repentance before the awesome power of God. Indeed, this super revival will be defined and characterized by mighty signs and wonders.

However, before embracing this Gospel of Signs and Wonders, we should first compare this expectation to the warnings of Scripture. Moses, for example, instructed the Israelites that whenever any prophet or “dreamer of dreams” performed “signs or wonders” while attempting to lure the nation away from Yahweh, they were to pay him no heed. God had sent such false prophets “to put you to the test, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart.”

[Showman Photo by Kyle Smith on Unsplash]

The Great Lawgiver did not say deceivers of this kind would perform fake miracles or deny that Yahweh did intervene supernaturally to help His people. The genuineness of miracles was not the issue. If a prophet misleads the people of God and points them away from the Law of God, he must be rejected regardless of how powerful his miracles are - (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).

Jesus complained when Jews came seeking signs - “Except you see signs, you will not believe!” He certainly did many tremendous miracles, yet he died alone on the Cross in the end, abandoned even by his closest friends. Impressive signs, it seems, create only limited levels of loyalty! – (John 4:48).

When Christ calmed a violent storm in front of his disciples, they could not understand his identity. Even such a tremendous miracle of nature proved incapable of convincing his closest associates of who and what he was (“Who is this man, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”) – (Mark 4:41).

Like Christ’s original audience, we follow him not because he has the “food that abides unto everlasting life,” but for the perishable “loaves and fishes” that feed us for a day or two (“You seek me because you ate of the loaves, and were filled”). We are here for the benefits of the miraculous, not because we follow the Crucified Messiah out of love or theological conviction - (John 6:26, 1 Corinthians 1:17-24).

END-TIME DECEIVERS

The words of Jesus continue to warn us that before his return “many deceivers” will come and successfully “deceive many.” This includes “false prophets” and “false anointed ones” who perform “great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the Elect.”

Paul describes the coming “Man of Lawlessness”, a Master Deceiver who will mislead many saints using “all power and signs and lying wonders,” thereby causing many believers to apostatize from the Biblical Faith. This man’s miraculous deeds will be “energized by Satan.” Many saints will buy what this deceiver is selling “because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Knowledge of the Apostolic Teachings will prove far more pivotal to our perseverance than mighty signs and wonders. As Paul wrote to the Church of Thessalonica after describing this coming Apostasy and Lawless One, “Brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you were taught!” - (2 Thessalonians 2:8-15).

Likewise, in the Book of Revelation, the “False Prophet” deceives many, causing men to give their allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” He will succeed in his task by employing “great signs, which he performed before the Beast” – (Revelation 13:11-18).

Certain critics of the Apostle Paul arrived at Corinth, men who fancied themselves “super-apostles.” They boasted of their anointed speech, their letters of recommendation, and their insights and “revelations from the Lord.” Paul described his opponents as “false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ, and no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

Despite their spiritual “revelations,” these “super-apostles” were “preaching another Jesus and a different gospel.” In response to their challenge of Paul’s authority, he pointed not to the tremendous signs and wonders produced by his ministry, but to the things he had suffered for the Gospel as validation of his apostleship – (2 Corinthians 11:1-33).

The identity of anyone as a prophet or apostle cannot be taken for granted. As Paul warned the Galatians, “If even we or an angel of heaven preach to you any gospel other than that which we preached to you, let him be accursed!” Strong words! – (Galatians 1:6-10).

The ability to heal the sick and cast our demons, or even raise the dead, counts for nothing if the “prophet” or “super-apostle” leads believers into deception, false doctrine, and ultimately, apostasy.

NO GUARANTEE

God does many supernatural things to benefit His people. Nevertheless, “signs and wonders” do not guarantee that someone is from God. The Gifts of the Spirit and other displays of the supernatural may be the means to an end, but they are not in and of themselves the goal of the biblical faith.

Our longing for the miraculous is understandable, but God’s ways and goals differ radically from our expectations and desires. As the Apostle Paul taught, true power is not found in mighty deeds or displays of our super-spirituality, but in the proclamation of “Christ Crucified,” the “Word of the Cross.” Denying myself and taking up the Cross of Christ will never be as enjoyable or appealing as the ability to walk on water or converse with angels.

For many men and women, pursuing the supernatural has become an all-consuming passion, the raison d'être of the Church and their relationship with God. Like the Samaritans, they respond to someone like Simon the Magician “who amazed them with his sorceries.” Powerful miracles are indeed impressive, but also dangerous since God is by no means their only source. “By Babylon’s sorcery, all the nations were deceived” – (Acts 8:9-11, Revelation 18:23).

Not coincidentally, the proponents of today’s Gospel of Mighty Signs and Wonders propagate false teachings and “proclaim another Jesus.” They teach believers to engage in mysticism and occult practices as they pursue miracles and “spiritual realms,” such as astrology, numerology - “stargazers and monthly prognosticators” - and other forms of divination - (Isaiah 47:13).

Most insidious are the attempts by false prophets to steer us away from reliance on the written Word of God. End-time deceivers are driven by the “Spirit of the Antichrist,” prompting them to preach “a different gospel” and “another Jesus” – (Galatians 1:6-10, 1 John 2:18-22).

We are not without hope or remedy. Deceivers including the “Man of Lawlessness” and Revelation’s “False Prophet” will not overwhelm us if we learn and cling to the Apostolic Tradition preserved in the New Testament, and remain focused on Jesus, the same Lord who poured out his life unto death “to ransom many,” the “Author and Finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross, despising shame” – (Mark 10:45, Hebrews 12:2).

During our darkest days, it will not be visions, angelic visitations, or “lying signs and wonders” that will sustain and guide us, but the same Word of God taught by Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the other Apostles.

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SEE ALSO:

• Howling Imposters - (The New Testament repeatedly warns of coming deceivers and false prophets who will cause many to depart from the faith)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned of the future Apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man of Anarchy, the Son of Destruction)

• The Son of Destruction - (Many saints will apostatize when the Lawless One, the Son of Destruction, seats himself in the Sanctuary of God)

• Seated in the Sanctuary - (The Man of Lawlessness will be unveiled when he seats himself in the House of God - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)