Signs, Wonders, and Deceivers

Many voices claim 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 great “signs and wonders,” or so say the “prophets and apostles.”

Let us hope so! I would love to see God’s Spirit move mightily in the days ahead, including miraculous healings and deliverances. Nevertheless, I remain skeptical that “signs and wonders” will achieve what so many are hoping for, and certain warnings and examples from Scripture trouble me.

[Ringmaster Photo by Mark Williams on Unsplash]

Moses warned the Israelites that when any prophet or “dreamer of dreams” came along, performed “signs or wonders,” but attempted to lure them away from Yahweh, they were to pay him no heed. If anything, God had sent false prophets “to put you to the test, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart.”

Moreover, Moses did not say such deceivers would perform fake miracles. If a prophet misleads the people of God, he must be rejected regardless of how powerful or genuine his miracles are  - (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).

Jesus complained when certain Jews came seeking “signs” - “Except you see signs, you will not believe!” He certainly did many tremendous miracles, yet in the end, he died alone on the Cross, abandoned even by his closest friends. When he calmed a violent storm in front of his disciples, they could not understand who he was (“Who is this man, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”).

Like many in Christ’s original audience, we follow him not because he has the “food that abides unto eternal life,” but for the perishable “loaves and fishes” that feed us for a day or two - (John 6:26).

He warned his disciples that before his return in glory “many deceivers” would come and “deceive many.” This would include “false prophets” who performed “great signs and wonders to deceive even the Elect.”

Paul described the coming “Man of Lawlessness” who would deceive many with “all power and signs and wonders of deceit,” a figure he linked to the final “Apostasy.”

Likewise, in the Book of Revelation, the “False Prophet” deceived many so they worshipped the Beast or its image through the “signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the Beast.”

Certain “apostles” critical of Paul arrived at Corinth, men who fancied themselves “super-apostles,” boasted of their anointed speech, of their letters of recommendation, and their insights and “revelations from the Lord.”

Nevertheless, Paul classified these men 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 credentials and super spiritual “revelations,” they were “preaching another Jesus and a different gospel.”

The identity of someone 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. 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 and false doctrine.

God does many marvelous supernatural things for His people. Nevertheless, “signs and wonders” do not guarantee 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 Christian faith.

Our desire for the miraculous is understandable. But God’s ways often differ radically from ours. As the Apostle Paul taught, true power is not found in mighty deeds and displays, but in the proclamation of “Christ Crucified,” the “Word of the Cross.”

Today, for many, pursuing the supernatural has become an all-consuming passion, the raison d'être of the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ, or at least, whatever “gospel” they preach.

It is no coincidence that proponents of the gospel of “signs and wonders” also propagate false teachings and “proclaim another Jesus.” Many of them teach believers to engage in mysticism and other occult practices as they pursue miracles and spiritual realms, including astrology, numerology, and other forms of divination.

Most insidious are attempts by these self-styled “prophets” and “super-apostles” to steer us away from reliance on the written Word of God. These deceivers are driven by the “Spirit of the Antichrist” to proclaim another Jesus – (1 John 2:18-22).

We are not without hope or remedy. Neither the “Man of Lawlessness” nor the “false prophet” can overwhelm us if we cleave to the apostolic tradition preserved in the New Testament.

God had chosen us “for salvation.” We will obtain salvation and the glory of our Lord Jesus at his arrival if we “stand fast and hold the traditions we were taught” by Paul and his coworkers. During the 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 preached by Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the other Apostles.

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RELATED POSTS:

• Apostasy and Misdirection - (Believers who are watching for apostasy outside the Church will be among the first who are overtaken by it as it operates in the Assembly)

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

• Serpents in the Assembly - (The Spirit of Antichrist works to destroy the Body of Christ from within, especially through deceivers and false teachers)