will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the
elect-if that were possible." Similarly, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 says,
"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of
Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders."
When God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt,
He performed miraculous signs through Moses to prove that Moses was
indeed His messenger. However, Exodus 7:22 states, "But the Egyptian
magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's
heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses…" (see also Exodus
7:11 and 8:7). God later demonstrated His superiority by performing
miracles the magicians, or more accurately, the demons who were
empowering the magicians, were not able to replicate (Exodus 8:18;
9:11). But the fact remains that Pharaoh's magicians were able to
perform miracles. So, if miracles can be from either God or the
demonic world, how are we to discern the difference?
The Bible does not give specific instructions on how to recognize
counterfeit miracles. The Bible does, however, give specific
instructions on how to recognize counterfeit messengers. "You will
recognize them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16, 20). First John 4:2-6
elaborates, "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from
God. This is the spirit of the antichrist … They are from the world
and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world
listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us;
but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we
recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."
These two passages present two methods for recognizing a false
teacher. First, examine his/her fruit. Does he/she display the
Christlikeness that is a qualification for a messenger from God (1
Timothy 3:1-13)? Second, examine his/her teaching. Is what he/she
teaches in agreement with God's Word (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; 4:2;
Hebrews 4:12)? If the teacher fails either of these tests, he/she is
not from God. It does not matter how many miracles are present. If a
person does not walk the truth or teach the truth, we can discount any
miracles he/she performs. Miracles performed by a false teacher are
not from God.
In the New Testament, miracles were performed almost exclusively by
the apostles and their close associates. The miracles served to
validate the gospel message and the ministry of the apostles (Acts
2:43; 5:12; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:4). While we should never
doubt God's ability to perform miracles, the biblical purpose of
miracles should give us a degree of skepticism concerning reports of
modern-day miracles. While it is not biblical to say that God never
performs miracles, the Bible is clear that we are to seek after truth,
not miracles (Matthew 12:39).
It is an interesting conundrum that miracles in the Bible validated
the messenger, and yet today, miracles are not necessarily an
indicator for a true messenger of God. The difference is God's Word.
Today we have the complete canon of Scripture, and it is an infallible
guide. We have a more sure Word (2 Peter 1:19) we can use to discern
whether a messenger and a message is from God. Miracles can be
counterfeited. That is why God points us to His Word. Signs and
wonders can lead us astray. God's Word will always light the true path
(Psalm 119:105).
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