Knowing Our God Advanced Exegetical Theology The Knowledge of God Series

Book 10

God’s Miracles How Does God Supernaturally Reveal Himself?

Kurt Jurgensmeier

Copyright © 2012 Kurt Jurgensmeier Available online at www.trainingtimothys.org All parts of this publication may be used in any form if due credit is given. No part of this publication, except brief quotations, may be used in printed material that is to be sold, without the written permission of Kurt Jurgensmeier who can be contacted through the feedback section of www.trainingtimothys.org. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) 1994 edition unless otherwise noted. NIV is a registered trademark of the International Bible Society. ISBN: 978-1-300-11158-0

Dedication To my son-in-law Jon, whose commitment to God and love for my daughter are a great gift from God to me.

Contents The chapters below are marked with the following categories in order to help you prioritize your reading:



Best: The most helpful, interesting and/or important chapters.



Essential: Important chapters to understand the topic of the book.



Specialized: The finer, more complex points of the topic of the book.

Preface

7

Part I: Introduction to Miracles

 10.1: An Introduction to Miracles:

11

A Critical but Confusing & Controversial Subject

 10.2: The Attributes of Miracles:

25

Their Supernatural, Rare, & Awe-inspiring Nature

 10.3: The Proper Expectation & Recognition of Miracles

61

Part II: The Myriad of Miraculous Deeds  10.4: Divine Miracles: The Direct Hand of God

101

 10.5: Human Miracle Working:

113

The Delegated

Power of God

 10.6: Demonic Miracle Working by satan’s Servants

155

Part III: The Myriad of Miraculous Words  10.7: Biblical Attributes of Miraculous Communication: Diverse, Discontinuous

175

& Never “Inspiration”

 10.8: Delegated Miraculous Communication:

193

God Speaking through Angels & Animals

 10.9: Direct Means of Miraculous Communication: From the Writing of God

207

to Living with God

 10.10: Physically Seeing & Hearing God:

229

The Voice & Apparitions of God

 10.11: Mental Visions & Dreams from God

241

Part IV: Extreme & Unbiblical Views of Miracles  10.12: Miracles & Anti-supernaturalism:

279

An Attack on God’s Glory

 10.13: Miracles & Super-supernaturalism:

313

A Monumental Delusion

 10.14: A History of Super-supernaturalism:

337

The Making of a Monumental Delusion

 10.15: An Evaluation of Super-super-

371

naturalism: The Fruit of a Monumental Delusion

 10.16: The Dangers of Super-super-

413

naturalism: The Damage of a Monumental Delusion Resources from TrainingTimothys.org

477

7

Preface Helping the next generation of Bible Teachers

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15) These words were written to a young Teacher of God’s word. They are a reminder of the awesome privilege, responsibility, and accountability that comes with such a divine calling. Being a Teacher is God’s gift to a man, but what kind of Teacher he becomes is his gift to God. And God tells all Teachers something of what He is expecting in the verse above. First, the Teacher is to “present” himself “to God” when he teaches. When we teach it is not only humans that are listening, but Heaven as well, and God is our most important audience. We can be concerned with what people will think of our teaching, but we need to be much, much more concerned with what God will think. And God’s expectations can significantly differ from those of humans. People often expect eloquence and entertainment, God expects accuracy, “correctly” interpreting, teaching, and applying God’s word for God’s people. There is nothing in all the world more important than this because to do otherwise is to misunderstand, misrepresent, and eventually disobey the Author. As in all human endeavors, not even God expects perfection, but He certainly demands that we do our “best.” We need to remember that we do all of this under the watchful eye of the Author Himself, and will one Day be either “approved” or “ashamed” regarding how careful and diligent we were in working to understand, teach, and apply His word “correctly.” This book is offered as a help in obeying the Apostle’s command for those who have, or desire to have, the great responsibility of teaching God’s word to His people. It is part of a series of books written under the title of Knowing Our God: Advanced Exegetical Theology. These books are advanced in that they are an in-depth, scholarly study of very specific and often difficult theological topics. They are uniquely exegetical in that there is a special emphasis on interpreting the Scriptures applicable to the topic. While many

8

systematic theologies would not require much of a Scripture index, a large percentage of the current 5000 pages of Knowing Our God is commentary on Scripture. Finally, these books are theology, because it is in such an endeavor that we bring the pieces of God’s word into a harmonious whole in order to produce the full truth of Scripture. We believe Advanced Exegetical Theology is a great need in equipping Pastors today to defend the faith for this and future generations. Ezra the priest, of course, is our example, of whom it is written: “the gracious hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:9-10). Obeying God’s word was obviously important to Ezra, but so was being “devoted . . . to the study” of God’s word, all so that he could be “teaching” it to God’s people. It is our hope that this book will help you do just that. Finally, a few practical points. First, while we are not aware of anything in it that would be contrary to the historical, Evangelical Christian faith, if you encounter something that differs from the beliefs of your Pastor(s), please discuss it with them if it causes serious questions for you. We desire to respect the pastoral authority God has in your life as much as possible. Secondly, studying God’s word is best pursued in community with spiritual peers, and we encourage you to read this with others and discuss the Gauging Your Grasp questions usually at the end of a chapter. Thirdly, we make an effort to make an organized study of God’s word not just theological but practical as well. So prayerfully consider the sections entitled Pastoral Practices along the way. Fourth, as you read you will notice several references to other writings. This reflects the fact that this book is an excerpt from a larger production entitled Knowing Our God. The entire collection of books on systematic theology that are currently available can be found at www.trainingtimothys.org. Finally, we would appreciate the reader visiting the site and emailing us any feedback on this book, including concerns, comments, and any proposed corrections. We too wish to study God’s word in community, and that community includes you. Pastor Kurt Jurgensmeier New Life Community Church, Cedar Rapids, IA Training Timothys at www.trainingtimothys.org

Book 10 God’s Miracles

Part I Introduction to Miracles

 10.1: An Introduction to Miracles:

11

A Critical but Confusing & Controversial Subject

 10.2: The Attributes of Miracles:

25

Their Supernatural, Rare, & Awe-inspiring Nature

 10.3: The Proper Expectation & Recognition of Miracles

61

11

10.1: Introduction to Miracles

Chapter 10.1

An Introduction to Miracles A Critical but Confusing & Controversial Subject

Table of Topics A) The Importance of Miracles B) Contemporary Extremes Regarding Miracles: Anti & Super-supernaturalism & Mega Mysticism C) A Definition of a Miracle D) Types of Miraculous Deeds Extras & Endnotes Table 10.1: A 3-D View of Miraculous Deeds

12

10.1: Introduction to Miracles

Primary Points  There is no area of biblical truth in which there is more confusion and controversy than on the topic of miracles.  It is difficult to overstate the importance of miracles for the Christian faith. Christianity requires miracles  “Christianity is precisely the story of a great Miracle” C. S. Lewis.  Scripture records approximately 250 miraculous events.  “[The] literature on miracles looks like a jungle.”  Anti-supernaturalists do not expect miracles enough, and supersupernaturalists and mega mystics expect them too much.  Mega mysticism is the popular notion that God regularly communicates to us regarding extrabiblical matters through more direct and miraculous means of divine revelation such as inspired intuitions and miraculous “signs.”  While the danger of is that God does not get the credit and glory He deserves for a miracle, the equal danger of supersupernaturalism and mega mysticism is that people habitually find themselves lying about God, which sounds more like the devil’s work than anything to do with God.  Particularly in the area of miraculous communication it is important to properly distinguish the human from the divine.  The solution to the harmful, even sinful extremes of antisupernaturalism, super-supernaturalism, and mega mysticism is properly recognizing miracles.  A great deal of sound doctrine depends on when a miracle is to be expected. Super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism expect miracles when they are not promised and where they are not needed.  We would suggest that a miracle is: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. This definition reflects the essential nature of miracles, their types, and their purposes.  Three distinctions, physical vs. spiritual, direct vs. delegated, and divine vs. demonic, result in a three dimensional view of miraculous deeds.

10.1: Introduction to Miracles

13

A) The Importance of Miracles There is no area of biblical truth in which there is more confusion and controversy than on the topic of miracles. This should not surprise us, as anything that acts as powerfully as miracles to confirm the truth or deceive the masses will be hotly debated. Indeed, few things are as powerful as miracles. It is difficult to overstate the importance of miracles for the Christian faith. First, neither the Universe nor humans would even exist without one. Secondly, our eternal salvation has been secured by three of the most amazing miracles, including the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ and the regeneration of Christians. The denial of these miracles is a direct denial of the Christian faith itself. Along these lines, C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) wrote: All the essentials of Hinduism would, I think, remain unimpaired if you subtracted the miraculous, and the same is almost true of Mohammedanism. But you cannot do that with Christianity. It is precisely the story of a great Miracle. A naturalistic Christianity leaves out all that is specifically Christian. . . The accounts of the 'miracles' in first century Palestine are either lies, or legends, or history. And if all, or the most important, of them are lies or legends then the claim which Christianity has been making for the last two thousand years is simply false. No doubt it might even so contain noble sentiments and moral truths. So does Greek mythology; so does Norse. But that is quite a different affair. . . The mind which asks for a non-miraculous Christianity is a mind in process of relapsing from Christianity into mere religion. 1 Likewise, the Reformed theologian John Frame writes: Miracle stories are an embarrassment to sophisticated Buddhists, but miracle is the lifeblood of Christianity. Indeed, its central message is about a miracle, the miraculous life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 2 Christianity requires miracles. No matter that rationalists, 3 anti-supernaturalists, 4 and liberal biblicists 5 would cringe at such a claim, it is true. And why wouldn’t it be true of the only religion created by God? It is precisely because we believe God exists and is supernatural, that we would expect a revelation of Him and communication from Him to be supernatural. Not surprisingly then, this is a predominant topic of Scripture, the Christian apologist Norm Geisler noting that Scripture records approximately 250

14 miraculous events. 6 Accordingly, as the eminent Bible scholars John McClintock and James Strong noted: [F]rom first to last, the Bible is a book of miracle. Miracle is present not as an accident, separable from the main thread, but is itself the very essence of the narrative. . . . Without miracle Christianity is absolutely nothing. All that distinguishes it from simple Theism is miraculous. 7 10.1: Introduction to Miracles

B) Contemporary Extremes Regarding Miracles: Anti & Super-supernaturalism & Mega Mysticism One would think that such an important doctrinal topic would be sufficiently addressed in a number of Christian books. However, after studying dozens of them, old and new, we would have to agree with the well known NT scholar Colin Brown, a contemporary authority on the subject of miracles, who writes: A striking feature of [contemporary Christian literature] is a curious absence of reference to the miracles of Jesus in works discussing trends in New Testament studies and even Christology. Clearly, embarrassment with the whole subject of miracles must be in some measure responsible for this act of conscious or unconscious suppression. But even so conservative a scholar as Donald Guthrie could apparently find no room for a discussion of the theological significance of miracles in his massive, thousand-page New Testament Theology (1981). . . . At first sight contemporary literature on miracles [that does exist] looks like a jungle. Wherever we turn we are confronted by dense masses of argument. 8 Part of the reason for the neglect of theological discussion regarding miracles is anti-supernaturalism which generally refers to those who are unnecessarily opposed to, or skeptical of miracles. 9 A contemporary threat here is that God may do miracles for which He does not get the glory for, because people explain it away with naturalistic explanations. Thus, the need for sound biblical discussion of miracles is needed in such an environment. On the other hand, the popularity of what we call supersupernaturalism, prophetism, and mega mysticism gives us plenty of reasons to embark on such a study as well. Essentially, supersupernaturalism is the belief that divine miracles of all kinds are quite common today and that God-ordained miracle workers abound. 10 Prophetism is the belief that biblical Prophets are being given to the Church today to provide new, extra-biblical, divinely

15 authoritative revelation. 11 Both of these perspectives are particularly prevalent in charismaticism. 12 Mega mysticism is the popular notion that God regularly communicates to us regarding extrabiblical matters (e.g. what job to choose) through more direct and miraculous means of divine revelation such as inspired intuitions and miraculous “signs.” 13 We would claim that if such direct revelatory events occurred, they would be miraculous and not a part of God’s normal interaction with us through Scripture, our New Nature, reason, etc. 14 While the danger of anti-supernaturalism is that God does not get the credit and glory He deserves for a miracle, the equal danger of super-supernaturalism, prophetism, and mega mysticism is that people habitually find themselves lying about God, a sin that such camps do not take seriously enough. Unfortunately then, in a desire to glorify God (or in reality to glorify themselves!?), such people claim miraculous explanations for events that actually occurred in more natural, God-ordained ways, or didn’t occur at all. All of which misrepresents God, deceiving others and themselves, which sounds more like the devil’s work than anything to do with God. Particularly in the area of miraculous communication it is important to properly distinguish the human from the divine. Is a thought to move to San Francisco a miraculous, extrabiblical, private inspiration 15 of God that must be obeyed, or just a mental impulse that we have the freedom to discard? Those in the mega mystical camp are in danger of misinterpreting such private inspirations as miraculous communications from God and therefore giving them an authority over their lives they do not deserve, with potentially devastating results. If such extra-biblical 16 thoughts and ideas are properly recognized as having natural sources, we will recognize as well that they are potentially fallible and not worthy of the unquestionable trust we give a word of God. On the other hand, if you think such extra-biblical direction is from God, you will have too much confidence in it and perhaps make a harmful mistake, and be spiritually disillusioned in the process. The solution to the harmful and even sinful extremes of antisupernaturalism, super-supernaturalism, and mega mysticism is the proper recognition of divine miracles. To miss or ignore a miracle when it happens is to miss an opportunity to glorify God. To claim a miracle when one really did not occur is to lie about God, deceive yourself, and to lose credibility with both believers and unbelievers. Therefore, it is vitally important that we have a biblical understanding of the nature and purpose of miracles so that we can properly identify them so that God may be rightly glorified, and the Church’s integrity maintained. 10.1: Introduction to Miracles

16 Therefore, while against super-supernaturalism, prophetism, and mega mysticism we wish to insist on the great sufficiency of the ordinary means of divine operating and communication God has ordained (e.g. natural laws, Scripture, New Nature, etc.), we do not want to be anti-supernaturalists and claim no miracles occur today. In fact, we will offer many examples of modern miracles in this section of Knowing Our God. A great deal of sound doctrine depends on when a miracle is to be expected. Super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism are in error because they expect miracles when they are not promised and where they are not needed. God has not promised to physically heal us or miraculously lead us, nor does He need to in order for His will to be fulfilled in our lives. On the other hand, anti-supernaturalists are in error because they ignore when God has promised a miracle because it is needed. Here is where fairist [Arminian] theology reflects an unbiblical antisupernaturalism. In such a perspective, no supernatural rebirth or action of the Holy Spirit is needed in order for someone to receive the Gospel in a saving way. On the contrary, as we discuss elsewhere, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God [including the Gospel], for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14). 17 Fairist theology ignores the biblical promises and the foundational need for the miracle of regeneration in saving faith, and therefore, can also be categorized as anti-supernaturalists. 10.1: Introduction to Miracles

C) A Definition of a Miracle As a first step in navigating the “dense jungle” that Dr. Brown speaks of regarding the study of miracles, we will offer a definition that we suggest succinctly communicates essentially everything about a miracle. The word “miracle” is a notoriously slippery one to get a hold of, as it can mean different things to different people. What one considers a miracle, may seem a mere coincidence to another. We would suggest that a miracle is: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. This definition reflects the essential nature of miracles, their types, and their purposes. The essential nature of miracles in our definition is communicated in the word extraordinary. In fact, this is perhaps

17 the one best word to reflect the nature of a miracle. Webster’s defines “extraordinary” as: “Going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary; exceptional to a very marked extent; remarkable.” 18 There are several attributes of miracles that make them extraordinary including their power, frequency, and effect. Simply put, the reason a miracle is extraordinary is that it involves a supernatural deed or communication, which because of the great regularity of Nature 19 and the sufficiency of Scripture, makes it extremely rare in frequency, all of which results in its awe-inspiring effect. In the next chapter we will look at each of these extraordinary attributes of a miracle. Concerning the general types of miracles, it is important to recognize that we include both an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power and communication in our definition of miracles. Typically, miracles are only viewed in the realm of supernatural deeds like healings. However, the Scriptures also record several occurrences of miraculous communication such as Angels and visions. It is helpful to distinguish between miraculous deeds and communication not only because there are a confusing myriad of types of miracles, but also miraculous communication can be left out of a discussion of miracles otherwise. 20 Nevertheless, it is a very important category of miracles. We further discuss the types of miraculous deeds in chapters 10.4-6 and miraculous communication in chapters 10.7-11. Here we will discuss the basic nature and purpose of all miracles. The essential purpose of miracles is reflected in our reference to it as a divine revelation. This distinguishes a miracle from other supernatural acts of God. In other words, God may supernaturally and secretly intervene in natural processes and otherwise human events throughout the world, but if His intention is to hide the fact that He is intervening, we would prefer to label such an event as a secret divine manipulation, but not a miracle. The primary reason, is that we define a miracle as something God intends to be a mode of divine revelation, the purpose of which is to glorify God. 21 The fact that God desires miracles to be a divine revelation of Himself gives us a great deal of comfort in the great responsibility we have to properly recognize them. In other words, God Himself works to ensure that miracles are obvious enough to sincere people that they will be properly recognized. We will discuss this more in the next chapter. Finally, an additional purpose of miracles reflected in our definition speaks to the proper expectation of miracles as well. We believe miracles are: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are 10.1: Introduction to Miracles

18 not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. This is perhaps the best explanation of when miracles will occur: in the relatively very rare occasion that the more normal processes God has implemented for the care of His Creation (i.e. natural laws) and communication of His will (i.e. Scripture and New Nature) are not sufficient to do so. As noted above, this is an important issue in our day as antisupernaturalists do not expect miracles enough, and supersupernaturalists expect them too much. It is because God is willing and able to transcend the means of both Nature and Scripture if necessary to accomplish His will, that anti-supernaturalists have an erroneous world view. It is because of the great sufficiency that God has built into Nature and Scripture for accomplishing His will that super-supernaturalists and mega mystics are likewise out of sync with their God on the issue of miracles. 10.1: Introduction to Miracles

D) The Types of Miracles Above we defined a miracle as an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. As such, we discussed the extraordinary nature of miracles and introduced their two basic types: miraculous deeds such as a healing, and miraculous communication such as visions. Here we wish to begin expanding on an understanding of the different types of miracles beyond these general categories, focusing specifically on miraculous deeds, while beginning in chapter 10.7 we further discuss the types of miraculous communication. In general, miraculous deeds can be categorized in three different dimensions. The first is by effect, being physical or spiritual in nature, one affecting the human body and the other the human “heart.” For example, we suggest that raising a dead man to life is a physical miracle, while giving a spiritually dead person spiritual eternal life through the regeneration that occurs with the communication of the Gospel is a greater and spiritual miracle. Secondly, miracles can be distinguished based on their relationship to God as in whether they are an instance of God’s direct supernatural power, or His delegated supernatural power operating through an intermediary, something we often refer to as miracle working. To “delegate” means to “appoint as one’s representative; to assign responsibility or authority.” 22 When power, authority, or ability is delegated, it is not operating directly from its source, but rather through an instrument. For example,

19 there is an important difference between God directly healing someone at rare times, perhaps in answer to prayer, and the abilities of human miracle workers like the Apostles who at times healed instantly on command. God is doing direct miracles today, the Apostles were working delegated miracles then, the latter of which we do not believe is happening today. Thirdly, it is obviously important to distinguish miracles by their morality, or whether or not they are divine or demonic. satan and his servants can clearly perform miracles, and ones as powerful as God’s servants, demonstrating the importance of distinguishing them. We defend the reality of demonically empowered miracles and discuss the critical topic of distinguishing them from the divine in chapter 10.6. 23 These three distinctions, physical vs. spiritual, direct vs. delegated, and divine vs. demonic, result in a three dimensional view of miraculous deeds. This perspective is portrayed in Table 10.1 below under Extras & Endnotes, and because a “picture” is worth a thousand words, we suggest a brief review of the table will better communicate the distinctions we are making for the purposes of the following discussion. Admittedly, such distinctions may appear to unnecessarily complicate the already complex topic of miracles. However, oversimplification of what a miracle is also leads to superficiality or error because what is viewed as a miracle is often too narrow. We hope the reader will agree that a “3-D” view of miracles expands our understanding and perspective of them. 10.1: Introduction to Miracles

Pastoral Practices 

It would be instructive to ponder our own lives and recognize any potential miracles God has performed for or around us. Let us first of all take note of the amazing miracle of spiritual regeneration in conversion, both in our lives and the lives of others. What other miracles have we seen or experienced?

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10.1: Introduction to Miracles

Extras & Endnotes

Table 10.1: A “3-D” View of Miraculous Deeds

Effect Physical Physical Miracles Performed by God

Morality

[Ch. 10.5; Book 11] Examples: incarnate Christ, angels, sign gifts of Prophets & Apostles, & exorcism. Primary purpose: authenticating Scripture gifts. Characteristic: occur by the command or touch of a person and never fail.

Example: OT regeneration Purpose: empowering supernatural faith & accomplishing His plan of salvation.

Spiritual Miracle Working [Ch. 10.5] Examples: regeneration through the Gospel, love through regeneration, & abilities through serving gifts. Primary purpose: authenticating the Gospel & building the Church.

Physical Demonic Miracle Working

Spiritual Demonic Miracle Working

[Chs. 10.6; 11.11-13]

[Chs. 10.6; 11.11-13]

Examples: false Prophets & antichrist. Purpose: testing God’s people & deceiving His enemies.

Example: demonic possession Purpose: God’s punishment of rebellion against Him

Delegated

Demonic

Physical Miracle Working

[Ch. 10.4]

Relationship to God

Examples: the initial Creation & final re-Creation, Christ’s Incarnation & Resurrection, & all healings today. Primary purposes: revealing the nature of God & accomplishing His plan of salvation. Characteristic: granted in answer to prayer, but often denied.

Spiritual Miracles Performed by God

Direct

Divine

[Ch. 10.4]

Spiritual

21

10.1: Introduction to Miracles

A Devotion to Dad Dear heavenly Father, we praise You for revealing Yourself through Your miraculous works and words. We will not be antisupernaturalists who shut You out of Your own Creation claiming You cannot and will not interfere. Nor will we be like the supersupernaturalists who demand or need miracles in order to prove Your goodness. Rather, we confess that the miracle of our salvation is enough and rejoice in any others as simply extra manifestations of your power and mercy. Amen. Gauging Your Grasp 1) Why is there so much controversy about miracles? 2) In what ways are miracles important for the Christian faith? 3) Approximately how many miraculous events are recorded in Scripture? What is the message in that? 4) How do we define an anti-supernaturalists? What is the danger of being one? 5) How do we define a super-supernaturalists? What is the danger in being one? 6)

What do we mean by mega mysticism? What is the danger of this perspective?

7) What is the solution to anti-supernaturalism, supersupernaturalism, and mega mysticism? Why would this be so? 8) What do we mean when we say a great deal of sound doctrine depends on when a miracle is to be expected? 9) How do we define a miracle? Is there anything you would change about this definition?

10) What are the different types of miracles based on their effect, relationship to God, and morality? Can you name an example of each?

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10.1: Introduction to Miracles

Publications & Particulars 1

C. S. Lewis, Miracles: 161.

2

John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1987), 302.

3

Rationalism is essentially the belief that there is no such thing as divine revelation, including miracles. For further discussion see chapter 2.9.

4

Anti-supernaturalism is essentially the belief that Nature cannot be interrupted. For further discussion see chapter 10.12.

5

Liberal biblicism is the term we use to refer to essentially the nineteenth century Bible “scholars” such as Rudolf Bultmann who had a lot to say about the Bible, but denied the miraculous.

6

Norm Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999), 482. See extensive list on pp. 482-86.

7

John McClintock and James Strong, “Miracles” in Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (M&S) CD-ROM (Ages Software, 2000), 43-4.

8

Colin Brown, Miracles and the Critical Mind (Eerdmans, 1984), 262, 171.

9

For further discussion of anti-supernaturalism see chapter 10.12

A Preliminary Study (Macmillan, 1947), 83, 97,

10

For further discussion of super-supernaturalism see especially chapters 3.13-16

11

For further discussion of prophetism see Book 9: God’s Prophets.

12

By modern charismaticism we are primarily referring to what is commonly labeled the “charismatic” movement that began with the Pentecostals in the early 1900’s, spread into denominational churches in the 1960’s and 70’s, and has merged with what is referred to as the Third Wave churches today. Pentecostal churches include Assembly of God, Church of God, Open Bible, Apostolic, Foursquare Gospel, and Full Gospel. Third Wave churches include Vineyard and a variety of independent congregations. We thank God for all He has done through the “charismatic” movement, and for the dear Christian brothers and sisters who would claim membership in it. However, throughout Knowing Our God (KOG) we refrain from referring to this movement as “charismatic,” because this erroneously implies a uniqueness and even superiority in Christian grace (charis), and by further implication, a superior possession or experience of the Holy Spirit. Surely no right-minded “charismatic” would desire to claim such a superiority over their Christian brothers and sisters, especially since they cannot demonstrate one. Biblically speaking, being “led by the Spirit,” experiencing His power, and living “not under law” but by “grace [charis]” is most clearly manifested in the “fruit of the Spirit” which the

10.1: Introduction to Miracles

23

Apostle Paul describes as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:4, 18, 22-3). “Charismatic” Christians in general are not superior in these virtues of love and holiness compared to other Christians, and these virtues are the real essence of Christian charisma, making all obedient Christians true “charismatics,” not just a particular sect. In fact, the greatest and most important uniqueness of charismatic churches over other authentic Christian churches is not their love or holiness, but rather an emphasis on, and practice of: 1) emotional worship, 2) speaking and/or praying in an incoherent tongue, 3) claims to direct divine revelation through spiritual gifts such as prophecy, and 4) claims to a greater abundance of miracles in general through the gifts of healing and miracle working. Therefore, throughout KOG we use the terms emotionalism (see chapters 4.8-11), glossaism (Gr. glossa: “tongue,” see Book 12: The Truth About Tongues), prophetism (see Book 9: God’s Prophets), and super-supernaturalism (see chapters 10.14-16) to refer to these distinctives respectively, while recognizing that they may exist elsewhere as well. Accordingly, we believe this allows us to address the areas of concern we have regarding the movement, and avoid speaking critically of the movement as a whole, which has many good, although not unique, attributes as well. Likewise, we refrain from referring to those Christians who would differ from “charismatics” as “non-charismatics,” erroneously implying again that the latter is somehow lacking in grace. Rather, those who oppose the sometimes bizarre worship of emotionalism, the obscure utterances of glossaism, the extra-biblical revelations of prophetism, and the miracle-a-minute mindset of super-supernaturalism are better labeled as historicists. This reflects the fact that for at least 1600 years of Church history, the great majority belief and practice of God’s people was opposed to all of the uniquenesses that the “charismatic” movement claims today. It is a historical fact that miraculous gifts such as healing, tongues, and prophecy ceased functioning in the church in the fourth century when the NT canon had been completed, recognized and sufficiently distributed. Accordingly, the very few people since then who have promoted bizarre forms of worship, obscure utterances in prayer, claims to extra-biblical revelation, and miracle working abilities, were always thought to be deceived and dangerous, and not accepted as biblical Christians. What those in charismaticism also refuse to admit, or take seriously enough, is that the modern versions of the miraculous gifts being claimed do not match the attributes of their biblical counterparts. For a great deal of discussion on these matters see the books in Volume 2 of KOG. 13

For further discussion of mega mysticism see Book 14

14

For more discussion of these more standard means of divine revelation and decision making see chapters 7.7-15.

15

By private inspiration, we mean a type of direct divine revelation that is never described in Scripture, and distinguished from the public revelation

10.1: Introduction to Miracles

of Apostles and Prophets for the purpose of helping other people. further discussion see chapter 14.1.

24 For

16

By extra-biblical we do not mean unbiblical, but simply outside of that which God reveals and instructs in Scripture, and which therefore, has no divine authority over a Christian’s life.

17

For further discussion of the process of saving faith see chapter 4.16 and 6.2-3.

18

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Frederick C. Mish, ed. (Merriam-Webster, 1986), 441.

19

Webster’s defines “nature” in several ways including, 1) “a creative and controlling force in the universe,” and 2) “the external world in its entirety.” (789). Of course a Christian world view would only accept the latter, and this is all we mean by the term.

20

Geisler, 482-86. However, although the list includes occurrences of both miraculous deeds and communication, he does not distinguish them or sufficiently list examples of the latter.

21

For further discussion on the concept of secret divine manipulation in contrast to divine revelation, see chapter 7.16. Some would categorize such clandestine supernatural interventions of God as an aspect of divine Providence. As we note elsewhere, the term divine providence is used in a variety of ways in Christian theology. We use it to refer to God’s ordained natural laws that sustain Creation, and therefore, distinguish it from divine miraculous interventions. For further discussion of common errors associated with divine providence see sections 10.1.C with endnotes; 10.2.A.1; 10.3.D.5; 10.12.B.4.. For further discussion on the need to recognize and authenticate any revelation, including the miraculous kind, see section 3.1.C and 7.1.B.5.

22

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary Frederick C. Mish, ed. (Merriam-Webster, 1986), 336.

23

For further discussion of the distinguishing between divine and demonic miracle working see chapters 11.11-13.

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10.2: Attributes of Miracles

Chapter 10.2

Attributes of Miracles Their supernatural, rare, & awe-inspiring nature

Table of Topics A) Miracles are Extraordinary in Power: Supernatural A.1) Supernaturally Influencing Creation A.2) Supernaturally Influencing Human Events A.3) Supernaturally Transforming Human Limbs A.4) Supernaturally Transforming Human Lives A.5) Supernaturally Providing Divine Communication A.6) Distinguishing the Natural from the Supernatural B) Miracles Are Extraordinary in Frequency: Extremely Rare B.1) The Rarity of Miraculous Deeds B.2) The Rarity of Miraculous Communication C) Miracles Are Extraordinary in Effect: Awe-inspiring C.1) Awe-inspiring Deeds C.2) Awe-inspiring Communication C.3) Ramifications of the Awe-inspiring Nature of Miracles Extras & Endnotes

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10.2: Attributes of Miracles

Primary Points  A miracle is an intervention in the ordinary processes established by God for maintaining His Creation and communicating to His people.  God allows every event in the Universe (cf. Matt 10:29), but there are other events that God supernaturally causes.  When God desires for a miraculous intervention to be recognized, He will ensure that it can be.  Against humanity’s constant selfishness, love is as great a miracle as levitation, violating all kinds of “natural laws.”  It is not only in the realm of divine Creation and human events that miracles occur, but also in divine communication.  It is important to distinguish God’s invested power in Nature from His intervening power in miracles. If we make everything miraculous, then nothing is.  Whether it is the power operating in plants or planets, humans or even demons, all such power is on loan from God.  It is our constant experience with the laws of Nature that trains us to recognize a miracle. Because they are so pervasive, constant, and sufficient in the Universe, any interruption or manipulation of them will be very uncommon  Our claim that miraculous deeds are extremely rare disagrees with the very foundation of super-supernaturalism.  In our mega mystical and super-supernaturalist age, Christians need to remember that God is not in the habit of doing for us what He has already enabled us to do ourselves.  The Scriptures consistently describe miracles in ways that reflect their awe-inspiring nature.  Amazement, astonishment, awe, fear, repentance, and breathless wonder are the normal response of anyone who is exposed to a real divine miraculous deed.  We are not impressed with the claims in super-supernaturalism and prophetism to an abundance of miraculous deeds and communication. “Healed” headaches and “prophetic” declarations by people who cannot foretell the future inspire little of the wonder and awe that biblical miracles did. Such claims only serve to remind us just how far we are removed from “the good ole days” in the early Church when a miracle really was a miracle!

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A) Miracles Are Extraordinary in Power: Supernatural Essentially, a miracle is an intervention or interruption in the ordinary processes established by God for maintaining His Creation and communicating to His people. Webster’s defines “interrupt” as: “to stop or hinder by breaking in; to break the uniformity or continuity of” 1 all of which is a good description of the biblical concept of a miracle. In the realm of miraculous deeds we refer to this as a supernatural intervention by which God overpowers and manipulates the natural processes operating in Creation. As the philosopher Anthony Flew has put it, “A miracle is something which would never have happened had nature, as it were, been left to its own devices.” 2 While this is denied in anti-supernaturalism, this will be illustrated in several ways in this section. 3 A.1) Supernaturally influencing Creation In God’s created order the sun “rises” and “sets” in the sky due to the regular revolution of the Earth. This is a “natural law” 4 that God established in the initial miracle of Creation and which has continually operated millions of days afterward without interruption . . . except for one day. 5 We read in the book of Joshua: On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel! (Josh 10:12-14) So while day after day for millions of days the sun has moved across earth’s sky, on this day, God exercised His supernatural power at the request of Joshua to suspend and temporarily override a “natural law.” Therefore, it should not surprise us that Scripture most often describes miracles in the sense of power. For example, the Greek NT uses the words dynamis and ergon to refer to miracles. Dynamis is used in the NT 119 times and at its most basic level, it simply means “power,” whether it is physical, military, or political. 6

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However, as NT scholar Leon Morris observes, “This word is to all intents and purposes the only word for miracles in the first three Gospels (Matthew uses it 12 times, Mark 10 times, and Luke 15 times).” 7 Likewise, we read in the NIDNTT: “[In] the Synoptic Gospels and Acts . . . dynamis denotes the power of God, the heavenly powers, miraculous power . . . [Christ’s] miracles are called dynameis (cf. Heb. gebûrôt; i.e. “mighty deeds”).” 8 We see then that the Greek word for “power” is often used in the context of miracles, and is referring to God’s power. Likewise the Greek word ergon, simply meaning “work,” is the usual term used in the Gospel of John to refer to a miracle. Again, Dr. Morris comments: John’s characteristic use of ergon is for the works of Jesus. . . . Clearly it applies to the miracles on some occasion; for example [Jesus said], “I did one work [ergon] (NIV “one miracle”), and you are all astonished” (7:21). . . . Jesus’ works are “the works [ergon] that no one else did” (15:24). They are distinctive and are not to be compared to those of other people. 9 Accordingly, a basic biblical idea concerning miraculous deeds is that they are a display of the supernatural power of God. Such is reflected in the Apostle Peter’s response to a gathering crowd after healing a lame man: “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” (Acts 3:12). The Apostle clearly testified that the healing was a display of God’s supernatural power. Nicodemus recognized the supernatural nature of Christ’s deeds when he remarked: “Rabbi . . . no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). Likewise, the man born blind said: “he opened my eyes . . . If this man were not from God [and His power was not from God], he could do nothing [like this]” (John 9:30, 33). When Christ told the paralytic to walk, the crowd who witnessed it knew that such a deed could only be attributed to God and so, “they praised God, Who had given such authority [power] to men” (Matt 9:8). Miracles require supernatural power and this is why when the bleeding woman touched the edge of Christ’s cloak, Mark records that, “At once Jesus realized that [supernatural] power [dynamis] had gone out from Him” (Mark 5:30). Because miracles exhibit supernatural power, the Bible describes them as the working of “the finger of God” (Exod 8:19; cf. Luke 11:20). The supernatural nature of miracles is often not so much in suspending or interrupting natural processes, but rather

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manipulating them to occur at a certain time and place. For example, just before the above record of the sun stopping in the sky, we read of another miracle: As they [the Amorites] fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. (Josh 10:11) Note that there is nothing automatically supernatural about a hailstorm as these have occurred numerous times in the history of humanity, unlike the stopping of the sun. However, God’s manipulation of Nature, resulting in extraordinarily “large hailstones,” falling intentionally “on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah” at the very time the Amorites “fled before Israel,” makes this hailstorm an obvious miracle. Notice as well our description of the events above as intentional rather than random. It implies that there is a Person behind the event deliberately causing it rather than simply allowing it in the natural course of Nature and life. Of course God allows Nature to produce hailstorms all the time, just as He ultimately allows every single event in the Universe (cf. Matt 10:29). But there are other events that God supernaturally causes, exercising His power to ensure they occur regardless of the circumstances, and in fact, by manipulating those circumstances and Nature itself. For example, God says in Amos: I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. (Amos 4:7; cf. Deut 11:13-14, 17; 1 Sam 12:16-18; Jonah 1:4). Normally, the occurrence of rain is a regularly naturally occurring event of God’s providence in order to maintain life on the Earth. But in this case, God intentionally manipulated the ordinary course of Nature to accomplish a particular purpose. It is important to note how Amos knew that God had miraculously intervened in Nature. In this case, Amos needed miraculous direct revelation from God. This is because there was nothing obviously supernatural about a lack of rain “when the harvest was still three months away,” or that it fell in “one town” or “field” but not another. So while normally supernatural manipulations of Creation must be recognized simply by their supernatural nature, here God also provided additional, extrabiblical, miraculous revelation. This illustrates our repeated

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point that when God desires for a miraculous intervention to be recognized, He will ensure that it can be. Perhaps an example of a miraculous manipulation of Creation apart from biblical history will instruct us here. Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) was one of the most powerful, respected, and intellectual Emperors in the history of the Roman Empire. Regarding a particularly difficult battle he was engaged in, he wrote a letter to the Roman Senate entitled: “Epistle of Marcus Aurelius to the Senate, in Which He Testifies that the Christians Were the Cause of His Victory.” The following is an excerpt: The Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Germanicus, Parthicus, Sarmaticus, to the People of Rome, and to the sacred Senate greeting: I explained to you my grand design, and what advantages I gained on the confines of Germany, with much labour and suffering, in consequence of the circumstance that I was surrounded by the enemy; I myself being shut up in Carnuntum by seventy-four cohorts, nine miles off. And the enemy being at hand, the scouts pointed out to us, and our general Pompeianus showed us that there was close on us a mass of a mixed multitude of 977,000 men, which indeed we saw; and I was shut up by this vast host, having with me only a battalion composed of the first, tenth, double and marine legions. Having then examined my own position, and my host, with respect to the vast mass of barbarians and of the enemy, I quickly betook myself to prayer to the gods of my country. But being disregarded by them, I summoned those who among us go by the name of Christians. And having made inquiry, I discovered a great number and vast host of them, and raged against them, which was by no means becoming; for afterwards I learned their power. Wherefore they began the battle, not by preparing weapons, nor arms, nor bugles; for such preparation is hateful to them, on account of the God they bear about in their conscience. Therefore it is probable that those whom we suppose to be atheists, have God as their ruling power entrenched in their conscience. For having cast themselves on the ground, they prayed not only for me, but also for the whole army as it stood, that they might be delivered from the present thirst and famine. For during five days we had got no water, because there was none; for we were in the heart of Germany, and in the enemy's territory. And simultaneously with their casting themselves on the ground, and praying to God (a God of

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whom I am ignorant), water poured from heaven, upon us most refreshingly cool, but upon the enemies of Rome a withering hail. And immediately we recognized the presence of God following on the prayer-a God unconquerable and indestructible. Founding upon this, then, let us pardon such as are Christians, lest they pray for and obtain such a weapon against ourselves. . . . And I desire that these things be confirmed by a decree of the Senate. And I command this my edict to be published in the Forum of Trajan, in order that it may be read. 10 Several factors made this miracle especially evident. Among these is the apparently supernatural fact that a “refreshingly cool” rain fell on the Romans, and simultaneously a “withering hail” on the Germans. However, another factor that was prominent in this miracle was the prayers of God’s people. In fact, it is doubtful that the miracle would have occurred at all if the Christians had not asked for it. As we have noted elsewhere, the overall purpose of all divine revelation is to glorify God, and this miracle certainly did that. 11 We believe in relatively rare instances, such divine interventions into Nature are still occurring. For example, over the years remarkable and believable reports have come out of the growing underground Church in China. Many of these are recorded in the inspiring autobiography of Brother Yun, entitled The Heavenly Man, which includes how God supernaturally cared for Yun’s wife and mother while he was in prison. During this time, the two women had to support themselves through farming, of which they knew nothing. Therefore, when they planted sweet potatoes for food, they planted them inches apart instead of two feet apart which was normal. Their nonChristian neighbors, who knew about Yun’s imprisonment for preaching the Gospel, mocked them bitterly for their apparent foolishness. However, when harvest came, the neighbors were cursing their pitiful harvest of small sweet potatoes while Yun’s wife and mother harvested sweet potatoes the size of basketballs. Even the unbelievers knew the Christian God had taken care of His people, and their attitude changed toward them from that day on. Similarly, Yun’s wife and mother planted wheat another year, and again, mistakenly placed the seeds too close together. About a week before harvest “a severe hailstorm struck. Ice the size of tennis balls fell from the sky.” Yun’s wife continues: Yun’s mother and I fell to our knees and cried out, “God, have mercy on us!” A great miracle happened. Our field was the

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only one protected by the Lord. All our wheat was standing upright, untouched by the hail. Everyone else’s fields in the whole area had been obliterated. People came out of their homes after the storm subsided and saw how the Lord Jesus Christ had protected us. It was another powerful testimony to them. 12 Such miracles obviously illustrate the power of God to interrupt, intervene, and manipulate His Creation however and whenever He pleases in order to accomplish His will. Therefore, it is the supernatural power in a miracle, overpowering the considerable strength of Nature, that allows us to confidently identify something as a miracle. Accordingly, the great Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) wrote concerning the power in miracles that, “the more it exceeds nature’s capability, the greater any miracle is said to be” 13 and the more likely it is to be a real miracle. A.2) Supernaturally influencing human events Of course, God is not interested in merely manipulating Creation for its own sake. As we see with the miracles above, they were to influence human events in some way. Divine miracles are never merely allowed by God as a course of random, natural life, but rather are a deliberate divine intervention into the course or circumstances of our life having a supernatural effect that would not have occurred otherwise. Perhaps the best example of this is the fulfillment of prophecy. Over seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Prophet Micah recorded that the Savior of the world would be born in Bethlehem (cf. Mic 5:2). Luke records what would appear to be a number of divinely manipulated circumstances that occurred in order to ensure that happened, including the timely decree of a Roman Emperor for a census, the special requirement to be counted in the city of one’s ancestry, 14 and the marriage of Mary to a direct descendant of David, whose city of origin was Bethlehem (cf. Luke 2:1-7). This kind of supernatural intervention into world and personal affairs, such that the timing of decisions and events coincide in a way that they would not have otherwise, is a necessary hallmark of all fulfilled prophecy in Scripture and vividly illustrates God’s supernatural power over people when He chooses to exercise it. 15

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The divine, miraculous intervention of God can occur with a great deal of precision and attention to the minutest detail. Accordingly, we read of the Exodus: During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.” (Exod 14:24-25) One wonders if Angels were ripping these wheels off, or just the power of the Holy Spirit somehow, but the Egyptians knew they were not losing their wheels due to random, natural forces. 16 Likewise, we are reminded of the miraculous fulfillment of the Prophet Micaiah’s prediction that King Ahab would die in battle (cf. 1 Kgs 22:28-35). Accordingly, Ahab “disguised himself and went into battle,” even persuading “Jehoshaphat king of Judah . . . [to] wear [his] royal robes” as a decoy. Nonetheless, “someone drew his bow at random and hit the King of Israel [Ahab] between the sections of his armor . . . and that evening he died” (vs. 34-35). In reality, there was nothing at all “random” about that arrow, but we would suggest that God Himself guided that arrow (by Angels or direct action of the Holy Spirit), just as surely as He guided David’s slung rock at Goliath (cf. 1 Sam 17:45-50), in order to fulfill His will, because random natural processes were not sufficient. God’s miraculous interventions on behalf of His people abound in biblical history. One of the most memorable is the Apostle Peter’s release from prison: The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an Angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the Angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the Angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the Angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it.

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When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the Angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent His Angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating." (Acts 12:6-11) God is, of course, continuing to miraculously intervene in human affairs in order to accomplish His will. During one of Brother Yun’s initial arrests for preaching the Gospel, he says, “the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, ‘The God of Peter is your God,’” which reminded him of how Peter had escaped from prison. Immediately, the ropes that bound his hands behind his back snapped apart. A timely phone call distracted the guards and he walked out of the interrogation room. However, he was still inside the prison walls which were eight feet tall with sharp glass embedded at the top, and as he discovered later, a ten foot wide moat of human waste was running the length of the wall on the other side. Brother Yun writes: What happened next is not possible from a human perspective, yet God is my witness that what I am about to tell you is the truth. . . . As I hung grimly onto the side of the wall, all of a sudden I felt as if somebody hoisted me up and threw me over! I jumped so far that I even cleared the septic tank! Upon returning to his Christian friends that night he found them crying out to the Lord for his release and were amazed to see him. 17

Both of the above prison escapes involved not only a miraculous deed, but miraculous communication as well. The Apostle Peter was instructed by an Angel and Brother Yun was given an extrabiblical message from the Holy Spirit. However, God does not always provide miraculous communication with miraculous intervention into human events as illustrated in the story of Esther, as discussed further below. One final example of miraculous divine intervention into human affairs comes from the well-known Bible teacher Charles Swindoll: Several years ago I was asked to speak at a reunion of the Navigators at Estes Park, Colorado. At the end of the week, one of the men drove me back to Denver so I could catch my plane. And on the way, he said, "Can I tell you my story?" "Sure," I said. "Actually, it's a story of closed doors and open doors." "Great," I said, "I've had a few of those, so tell me what yours were.

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"Well," he began, "my wife and I could not find peace, in any manner, staying in the States. And while at a conference years ago with a number of the leaders of the Navigators, I was offered the opportunity to open our work in Uganda. "Uganda," he said. "I could hardly spell it when they pointed to me and said, 'Perhaps that's where the Lord would have you and your family go.' I went home, I told my wife and our children, and we began to pray." I believe he said they had three small kids at the time, and their oldest son was just about to start school. And he said to his wife, "Honey, are you ready to take on the challenge of Uganda?" And she said, "If that's the door God has opened for us, I'm ready for the challenge." Wonderful response. So they flew to Nairobi, Kenya, where he put his family up in a hotel while he rented a Land Rover and drove across the border into the country of Uganda to check out the situation. This was just after Idi Amin’s reign of terror. My friend said, "One of the first things that caught my eye when I came into the village where I was going to spend my first night were several young kids with automatic weapons, shooting them off in the sky. As I drove by, they stared at me and pointed their guns." Nothing happened, but it was that kind of volatile setting. And he thought, Lord, are You in this? His heart sank as the sun began to set. By now the streets were dark, and he pulled up at a little dimly lit hotel. Inside, he went up to the registration counter. The clerk, who spoke only a little English, told him there was one bed available. So he went up two flights of stairs and opened the door and turned on the light-a naked light bulb hanging over a table. He saw a room with two beds, one unmade and one still made up. And he realized, "I am sharing this room with somebody else." That did it. He needed the kind of encouragement only God could provide. "I dropped to my knees and I said, 'Lord, look, I'm afraid. I'm in a country I don’t know, in a culture that’s totally unfamiliar. I have no idea who sleeps in that bed. Please, show me You are in this move!" And then, he said, "Just as I was finishing my prayer, the door opened and there stood this six-foot five-inch African frowning at me, saying in beautiful British English, 'What are you doing in my room?'" "I stood there for a moment, and then I muttered, 'They gave me this bed, but I'll only be here one night."' "What are you doing in my country?" the African asked. "Well, I'm with a little organization called the

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Navigators." "Aahh! The Navigators!" And the African broke into this enormous grin, threw his arms around his new roommate, and laughed out loud. "He lifted me up off the floor and just danced around with me." "Praise God, Praise God," said this African. Finally they sat down at the table, and this brother in Christ, this African fellow Christian, said, "For two years I have prayed that God would send someone to me from this organization." And he pulled out a little Scripture memoryverse pack, and at the bottom of each of the verses it read, "The Navigators, Colorado Springs, Colorado." "Are you from Colorado Springs, Colorado?" the African asked. "I was," said the man. "But I'm coming to Uganda to begin a work for the Navigators in this country." The door of new hope flew open in my friend's life. That African became a member of the man’s board, helped him find a place to live, helped him rebuild a section of his home, taught him all about the culture, assisted him with the language, and became his best friend for the many years they were there, serving Christ. 18 This is a wonderful story of God’s miraculous authentication of his direction for this missionary. However, as we have biblically demonstrated elsewhere, the need and occurrence of such a thing is relatively rare and not the norm for how God wants us to be led. 19 Nonetheless, we rejoice in the wonderful miracle this brother experienced. We see then, that supernaturally intervening in human events is perhaps the most common way that God demonstrates His power in performing miracles. A.3) Supernaturally transforming human limbs While God certainly miraculously intervenes to manipulate human events, He also at times supernaturally works to heal human bodies. To illustrate this type of miracle we will share the following testimony from the Baptist Standard: On January 15, 1990, Duane Miller, the pastor of the First Baptist Church at Brenham, Texas, lost his voice at the conclusion of the Sunday morning service and couldn't preach Sunday evening. His physician told him to take a six-month leave of absence. When he failed to recover, the doctors told him the myelin sheath to his vocal cords had been damaged and that he would not get his voice back. He tried voice

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therapy, but that didn't help, and so he had to resign his pastorate in the fall of 1990. Early in 1992 he began to teach a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church in Houston. He was able to do this by using a special microphone, but even with the special microphone his throat was so sore that he could hardly eat or drink for two days after teaching. On Sunday morning, January 17, 1993, he had just finished reading Psalm 103:3 to his Sunday school class: "Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases." He stopped to comment on that verse, saying that there are two extreme views regarding healing. Listen to Duane's own words: "I had said that on the one side there is the group that believes God always heals miraculously and on the other is the group that says it never happens. But what you have to realize is that puts God in a box, I said, and He won't be put in a box. I told them that what you have to do with divine healing is just stand back and say, "I know God does that from time to time and I can't tell you why. I don't understand why some are healed and some aren't and leave it there and say that is in the Lord's wisdom, so be it." I had just finished saying that and started to read the next line of the Psalm: "He redeems my life from the pit... " And my voice changed. I heard the first word and felt in my throat that what I had been feeling was gone. There was none of the feeling there that I had had for three years. I would love to tell you I knew exactly what it was . . . and that I expected God to do it and wasn't surprised. But it would be a lie. It scared me to death. I stopped, startled, and then said two or three words, thinking, "Am I hearing what I think I hear?" I said to them [in the crowd] that I didn't understand what was going on, but that God was doing something. I tried to get back to the lesson, but I couldn't and nobody cared. People began to applaud. Everybody was weeping. There were about 200 in the class and there were no dry eyes . . . We just thanked the Lord for what He had done and walked out of the church." 20 Is God awesome or what? Let no one in their right mind deny that the God of Creation is performing miraculous deeds in the world today. 21

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A.4) Supernaturally transforming human lives As great as a physical miracle affecting the human body is, a much greater miracle is the spiritual miracle of transforming human hearts. Among the most powerful “natural laws” operating in the Universe today is selfishness. This is the nature of all human beings at physical birth, controlling virtually every thought, desire, and action in their life because they are bound by the “natural law” of hating God and loving themselves (cf. Rom 8:5-8). Therefore, a supernatural spiritual rebirth is needed in order to accomplish the salvation and subsequent ability for holiness and virtue that God desires. This spiritual regeneration fits our definition of a miracle as: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish His will. No human can overcome their God-hating and selfish nature in their own power, but only by God’s power. This is why Christ said in the context of being spiritually born again, “Flesh [naturally] gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit [supernaturally] gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6). Subsequently, the initial miracle of regeneration for salvation, continues to be evidenced in the supernatural power born again believers have to love others like God through their New Nature. Against the backdrop of humanity’s constant and complete selfishness, love is as great a miracle as levitation, violating all kinds of “natural laws” at least as pervasive as gravity. Considerably more is said of these topics elsewhere. 22 A.5) Supernaturally providing divine communication It is not only in the realm of divine Creation and human events that miracles occur, but also in divine communication. Again, our definition of a miracle includes an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural . . . communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary . . . processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to . . . communicate His will. Therefore, a miracle can also be considered an intervention into the normal process established by God to communicate to His people. For example, the most consistent, regular, and established method of personal communication from God has been Scripture. 23 In addition, our New Nature is a constant revelation of God’s will. 24 However, when God sees fit, He breaks through this normal mode of contact and initiates miraculous means such as Angels, voices,

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and visions. These means of miraculous communication have many of the same supernatural characteristics as a miraculous deed. First, miraculous communication is a supernatural intervention in the normally sufficient God-ordained methods of obtaining truth. Accordingly, the Apostle Paul writes of his experience: I want you to know, brothers, that the Gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. (Gal 1:11-12) Here, the Apostle enumerates several God-ordained methods by which humans naturally gain truth. First, by reasoning wisely humans can discover truth. 25 But the Apostle says his knowledge of the Gospel did not come from anyone’s reasoning, or “something that man made up.” Secondly, Scripture and Godgiven Evangelists and Teachers are an essential and predominant means that God has established in order for His people to obtain particularly spiritual truth. However, the Apostle denies that his knowledge of the Gospel derived from “any man” or teaching. Rather, the Apostle experienced a supernatural communication of spiritual truth that transcended both unregenerated human reason (cf. 1 Cor 1:18-25; 2:1-13), and substantial teachings of the OT Scriptures available to him (cf. Gal 5:2-6). Again, such a miraculous communication of information can be contrasted with the more natural means of divine communication such as Scripture. Initially, one might balk at the suggestion that anything about Scripture is natural. However, we would suggest that while its contents certainly are supernatural, and require Spiritliberated reason to understand and appreciate them, its attributes as a means of communication (a book) are not supernatural. A.6) Distinguishing the natural from the supernatural Of course, all power in the Universe is ultimately God’s power, for there is no power, or even mere existence, apart from that which has been granted by the Creator (cf. 1 Chr 29:11-12; John 1:3; 13:3; Col 1:16-17). Whether it is the power operating in plants or planets, humans or even demons, all such power is on loan from God. Accordingly, we read in Colossians concerning Christ: “all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (1:16). Therefore, the power of God can ultimately, and at least indirectly, be observed in essentially everything, potentially making the distinction of a miracle more obscure. As the NT scholar D. A.

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Carson remarks: “The definition of "miracle" is surprisingly difficult. In a theistic universe, everything that takes place is in some sense God's deed.” 26 Accordingly, it is tempting to define virtually everything as a miracle of God, especially with the need to defend the existence of miracles against a host of anti-Christian “isms” including atheism, anti-supernaturalism, deism, Darwinism, humanism, and materialism. Consequently, a sharp distinction between the miraculous and Nature has not always been reflected in Christian theology. For example, Augustine (354-430) wrote in his City of God: Is not the universe itself a miracle, yet visible and of God's making? Nay, all the miracles done in this world are less than the world itself, the heaven and earth and all therein; yet God made them all, and after a manner that man cannot conceive or comprehend. For though these visible miracles of nature be now no more admired, yet ponder them wisely, and they are more astonishing than the strangest; for man is a greater miracle than all that he can work. . . . We do, of course, call all portents [miracles] against nature, but they are not. For how is something against nature that happens by the will of God? How can this be when the will of so great a founder is without a doubt the nature of every created thing? And so a portent is not against nature, but against the nature which is known. 27 Accordingly, it would seem Augustine is saying that the fact that a human being can see or hear is a miracle, and such a view leads him to assert that miracles are not against Nature. John Calvin (1509–1564) implies the same when he writes that a human is: a rare example of God’s power, goodness, and wisdom, and contains within himself enough miracles to occupy our minds, if only we are not irked at paying attention to them. . . . [Humans] have within themselves a workshop graced with God’s unnumbered works. . . . Manifold also is the skill with which it [human mind] devises things incredible, and which is the mother of so many marvelous devices. 28 Such a view has dominated Christian theology such that the Christian apologists Alan Richardson remarks: [T]raditional Christian theology, particularly in its Augustinian form, has always laid great stress upon the fact that the whole universe is miraculous in this sense, becoming for us more and not less miraculous as our knowledge of its processes increases. . . . All the miraculous things in the world are

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themselves a part of the general revelation of the everlasting power and divinity of the Creator. 29 It should not surprise us then, that many modern Christian theologians reflect this same emphasis in their definitions of a miracle. For example, the renowned theologian J. I. Packer writes: A miracle is an observed event that triggers awareness of God’s presence and power. Striking providences and childbirth [a natural process], no less than works of new creative power, are properly called miracles since they communicate this awareness. 30 Labeling natural processes as miracles has precedent in Scripture as well. 31 Accordingly, we read in Job: “He [God] performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He bestows rain on the Earth; He sends water upon the countryside” (Job 5:9-10). Clearly, such a passage implies that rainfall is a miracle. As noted, there is value in such an approach, particularly in an age when the power of God in anything is ignored. However, there are several problems with not distinguishing God’s power in Nature from that in miracles. First of all, there is truth in the maxim that if we make everything miraculous, then nothing is miraculous at all. As a result, we are left with what Albert Einstein (1879-1955) said were the only two ways to live, “One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 32 Along the same lines, “Old Princeton” theologian B. B. Warfield (1851– 1921) wrote: It is not easy to view, therefore, with other than grave apprehension, the breaking down of the distinction between miracles and the general supernatural [in Nature]; because it tends to obliterate the category of the miraculous altogether. 33

Likewise the Reformed theologian John Gerstner (1914-1996) noted, “If all nature became [or was considered] supernatural, there would be no room for miracle; nothing would be miracle because all would be miracle.” 34 Along the same lines, theologian Winfried Corduan writes that, “The whole reason for the concept of a miracle is to distinguish miracles from ordinary, natural events.” 35

Therefore, if a miracle is defined simply as a display of God’s power, then everything would be miraculous, thereby really making nothing uniquely miraculous. So while we certainly recognize the divine power in Nature, we must distinguish it from the

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supernatural power in miracles. And it is in the ability of the supernatural to overpower the natural that makes the power of miracles so superior and evident. 36 Scripture itself reflects this. Theologians are right to point out that the biblical writers are often indifferent about the distinction between the divine power in Nature and that in miracles, and this is no doubt because of a desire to portray God’s power as the foundation of everything in the Universe. Nonetheless, we would suggest that Scripture does distinguish between miracles and Nature. Accordingly, the great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) wrote: God's . . . works are frequently described in Scripture as wonders (Ps. 77:13; 97:3; 98:1; 107:24; 139:14). From this fact, however, we must not infer . . . that Scripture makes no distinction between nature and miracle. Certainly the notion that a miracle would be contrary to the laws of nature and therefore impossible does not arise. All of Scripture proceeds rather from the belief that nothing is too wonderful for God (Gen. 18:14; Deut. 8:3f; Matt. 19:26). This does not imply, however, that Scripture lacks the distinction between the ordinary order of nature and the extraordinary deeds of divine power. The OT knows a stable natural order, ordinances that apply for heaven and earth and are firmly established in the expressed will of the Lord (Gen. 1:26, 28; 8:22; Ps. 104:5, 9; 119:90, 91; 148:6; Eccles. 1:10; Job 38:10f; Jer. 5:24; 31:35f.; 33:20, 25). And the NT makes an equally clear distinction between the two (Matt. 8:27; 9:5, 24, 33; 13:54; Luke 5:9; 7:16; 8:53; John 3:2; 9:32; etc.). 37 Therefore, while we wish to maintain the biblical idea that God’s power is behind any power on this planet, for the sake of clarity in discussing the particular phenomenon of miracles, we wish to distinguish the divine power that works in Nature, and that which operates in miracles. Our distinction between natural and supernatural power reflects the fact that when the supernatural action involved in a miracle ceases, the object involved in a miracle often immediately returns to operating under natural laws. 38 For example, when God stopped doing whatever He did to stop the sun in Joshua’s day, it then continued as it had, and has, for centuries. Likewise, after the Holy Spirit supernaturally impregnated Mary, the physical aspects of Jesus’ birth was just like any other. When the King and the Apostle Peter stepped into the boat after walking on water, the natural laws of gravity resumed (cf. Matt 14:25-33). Once the King

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supernaturally transformed the molecular structure of water into wine, the resulting wine had precisely the same chemical properties as any other wine, although apparently particularly good wine (cf. John 2:1-11). This process of the power of Nature resuming after the power of a miracle has had its effect has been the course of Creation since the beginning. As we wrote elsewhere: At the beginning of Creation, all kinds of supernatural, one-ofa-kind types of things were done. But after Creation was complete, those acts recorded in Genesis 1-2 were no longer needed or repeated. Instead of the initial and more supernatural act of creating a human from dust or a rib, God thereafter created them in a more natural fashion in a womb. 39

In other words, we would suggest for the sake of clarity that the initial act of creating humans from dust was a supernatural miracle, but the subsequent event of childbirth occurs through natural processes implemented by God, and is not a miracle. Likewise, when the King healed lame, blind, or dead people, it required supernatural power, as such things are impossible with the power God has instilled in Nature. However, after such people started walking, seeing, or living, the power by which they did so was natural in nature, not supernatural. 40 It is precisely because the supernatural returns to what becomes natural, that the natural must be kept in mind for a miracle to be recognized. For example, only those who knew Christ’s wine had been instantly created from water could know the resulting wine was a miracle because now it seemed rather like normal wine. Likewise, only those who knew a blind or lame man before Christ healed them, could know that their now normally operating eye or arm was a miracle. Creation is recognized as a result of supernatural power because we know of no power in Nature able to produce such a thing. Even while we may recognize divine power in the orderliness sustained by God’s natural laws, we have no evidence that those laws are capable of producing new universes. Finally, the miracle of the “new creation” (cf. 2 Cor 5:17) of Christian people who supernaturally obey God and love people can only be recognized as we compare our new selves with our old selves and with the rest of the unregenerated world. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between the supernatural power in miracles from the divine power working in Nature, if we are to distinguish miracles at all. Accordingly, Dr. Gerstner notes:

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Indeed the argument for miracle rests on the regularity of nature generally. There is no such thing as supernatural events except as they are seen in relation to the natural. And they would not be extraordinary if there were no ordinary against which background they are seen. They could not be signs of anything if they were not different from the status quo. When one argues for the occasional miracle, he is in the same breath arguing for the usually nonmiraculous. If all nature became supernatural, there would be no room for miracle; nothing would be miracle because all would be miracle. 41 In fact, it is our constant experience with the laws of Nature that trains us to recognize a miracle. Along these lines, Bernard Ramm (1916-1992) wrote: No matter where man has lived he has become directly acquainted with his own powers and those of his environment. He learns how much he can lift, how long he can work, and how far he can run. He has some sense of the strength of the wind, the bite of the frost, the heat of the sun's rays, the force of a flood, and the violence of a lightning bolt. His life is a constant pitting of his powers against those of his environment. The psychological intensity of this struggle is greatest at times of sickness and death. In his experiences with power-his own and that of nature-he develops an alphabet (or calculus) of power. This alphabet is never the same with all peoples, and may change much within the historical existence of a particular people. But man is aware when something transcends his alphabet of power. Something which suddenly stands outside this alphabet speaks to him of a power greater than what he has heretofore experienced, and usually points man to an Omnipotent Spirit. Christian evidences deals with the action of God in transcending the alphabets of power of the various cultures and periods into which his revelation came. When God so transcends an alphabet of power, he has prepared the situation. God has controlled the alphabet of power of the people to whom he shall speak; he has chosen, furthermore, to act supernaturally in connection with his plans of revelation and redemption. 42 Not only must we distinguish between the natural and supernatural in order to recognize miracles, but such a distinction is an important concept in the debates concerning super-

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supernaturalism and anti-supernaturalism. Due to the many claims to miracles of the former, it is important to recognize whether these truly are supernatural. As we discuss elsewhere, many of these occurrences turn out to be rather more natural or psychological than supernatural upon closer investigation. 43 On the other hand, as discussed further elsewhere, some strains of anti-supernaturalism deny that divine miracles violate “natural laws” at all. 44 However, the supernatural characteristic of miracles need not be interpreted as a disparagement of Nature, but is actually a recognition of its God-ordained power. In other words, it is because the natural processes that God has established in Creation are so stable and strong that the supernatural intervention of them is so recognizable and miraculous. How then do we best distinguish supernatural events from natural ones? Essentially by their frequency, which in turn determines their effect, both of which are topics to which we now turn.

B) Miracles Are Extraordinary in Frequency: Extremely Rare B.1) The rarity of miraculous deeds A miracle then is extraordinary because it supernaturally intervenes, interrupts, and even violates the consistent “natural laws” and processes that God has ordained to maintain and communicate to His Creation. This attribute results in another essential characteristic of miracles, namely their extreme rarity. Because God has created the processes of Nature to be so pervasive, constant, and sufficient in the Universe, any interruption or manipulation of them will be very uncommon. Therefore, it is the extreme rarity of the miraculous that is also essential to its nature and recognition. 45 While we would certainly claim that God is still performing miracles today, it should be kept in mind that divine intervention of any kind into His created order is a miracle, and miracles are miracles because they are not the norm. Accordingly, NT scholar Collin Brown writes: [F]amiliarity breeds contempt. . . . The difference between a miracle and an ordinary event in nature lies ultimately in the rarity of the former. Both, in fact, are wonders and both are ultimately the work of God. 46

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As we have already noted, while Dr. Brown affirms the fact that God’s power is behind everything in Creation, it is the extreme rarity of miracles that best enables us to distinguish the divine power operating in them from that which empowers the regular processes of Nature, which is necessary if we are to recognize miracles at all. Subsequently, the rarity of a miracle results in the awe that is the proper response to a miracle. For example, some acts of God’s power, such as the “rising of the sun,” are more frequent than others, and because of its frequency, it is less remarkable, and might we say, not miraculous. Compare this, however, with the one recorded time that the sun “stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day” (Josh 10:13). Both the rising and stopping of the sun depend on divine power, but the latter is understandably more awe-inspiring than the former because it is considerably less frequent, disrupting the normal processes of Nature, and therefore a miracle. This is why the extraordinary nature of a miracle must be defined in terms of frequency, not its source, because God is the ultimate source of everything. Erroneously defining a miracle in the simple sense of God’s power results in even a great theologian as J. I. Packer writing, as we quoted him above: A miracle is an observed event that triggers awareness of God’s presence and power. Striking providences and childbirth, no less than works of new creative power, are properly called miracles since they communicate this awareness. 47 Unfortunately, such a perspective on miracles makes the topic even more confusing than it already is by failing to distinguish between the divine power invested in Creation and the supernatural power intervening in a miracle, both of which can “trigger awareness of God’s presence and power.” By invested divine power we mean that energy which God put into Nature at the beginning of Creation and which continues to propel its natural laws without God needing to constantly intervene. For example, after Jesus changed the water into wine He did not need to continue to exercise miraculous powers over it to keep it from turning back into water. The invested energy of the original miracle changed its DNA and it simply continued to exist as it was created to. Defining a miracle as simply an act of divine power, or in its effect of awe leads Dr. Packer to define normal childbirth as a miracle. However, most child births are no miracle, while the virgin birth of Christ was. This is not because only Christ’s birth required the power of God, since all childbirths ultimately do. Rather, it is

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the rarity of the virgin birth that makes it extraordinary enough to be a miracle. The extreme rarity of the miraculous is not only required in order to distinguish it from the common, but it is demonstrated in Scripture as well. Unfortunately, super-supernaturalists have used several Scripture passages to support their claim that miracle workers are to be abundant in the Church today. This is usually accomplished by presenting a list of all the miracles in the Bible, which admittedly is large. Along these lines, super-supernaturalist author Jack Deere writes: No one ever just picked up the Bible, started reading, and then came to a conclusion that God was not doing signs and wonders anymore and that the [miracle working] gifts of the Holy Spirit had passed away. The doctrine of cessationism [historicism] did not originate from a careful study of the Scriptures. The doctrine of cessationism originated in [a lack of] experience. 48 Of course, all kinds of error could come from just picking up the Bible and reading. For example, a more careful student of Scripture will notice: every God-sent miracle worker in the Bible was also a messenger of new extra-biblical divine revelation, primarily in the context of implementing a new divine/human covenant. The Scriptures constitute a very special history of such covenant making which required miraculously authenticated divine messengers. Because such covenant making is not occurring today, we should not expect to see the numbers and kind of particularly human miracle working as in Scripture. 49 In addition, miracles were not nearly as consistent in even biblical history as super-supernaturalists would have us believe. Accordingly, Robert L. Saucy, Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Talbot School of Theology writes: Some times of [biblical] history far eclipsed others in the magnitude of miraculous activity. The very fact that miraculous phenomena were not constant throughout the history of God’s people in the Old Testament should caution us against assuming that the level of miracles in the early church of the Apostles is constant for all of subsequent church history. 50

The super-supernaturalist’s reference to Jeremiah 32:20 does not change this fact. There the Prophet says, “You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and

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have gained the renown that is still Yours.” No one is denying that God performed signs and wonders throughout Israel’s history, precisely because God was sending messengers of new extrabiblical divine revelation throughout Israel’s history. But to use this verse to suggest that the same hyper-level of miracle working occurred throughout Jewish history as it did in Egypt, and as it is supposedly today, cannot be substantiated. 51 Consider for example what the Psalmist says about the Exodus miracles hundreds of years after they had occurred: I will utter . . . things from of old—what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, His power, and the wonders He has done” (Ps 78:3-4; cf. vs. 12-14). Why would it be so important for a generation hundreds of years removed from miraculous events, to pass it on to the next generation, if God was doing an abundance of miracles in every generation? The necessity of the Psalmists words stems from the fact that the miraculous was extremely rare even in biblical times. Our claim that miraculous deeds are extremely rare disagrees with the very foundation of super-supernaturalism. It is common for those in this camp to amass rather large lists of miracles in Scripture, or those that have, or are happening around the world, and then suggest that miracles are common. What is left out of such a list is the almost infinite number of non-miraculous moments occurring constantly in the lives of both biblical characters and those living today. For example, imagine how many times in the life of Philip the Evangelist that he took a normal, natural step with his human legs and feet to get somewhere? Thousands a day? Hundreds of millions in his life? However, there was one recorded time that God miraculously and instantly transported Philip from a desert road to Azotus (cf. Acts 8:39-40). It’s safe to say that Philip would tell us this miracle was extremely rare in his life and that normally he had to simply walk to get to where he was going. If we will compare the relatively few recorded miraculous events in Scripture or the world today, with the innumerable non-miraculous natural events also constantly occurring, we will maintain a true perspective on the extreme rarity of miracles and not be skewed in a deceptive supersupernaturalist way. And it is important that divine miracles are understood as rare. It is precisely the super-supernaturalist teaching that miracles are abundant that has discouraged and disillusioned a multitude of

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God’s people. If, for example, miraculous healings are so abundant, then what are the vast majority of people who are not miraculously healed supposed to think? Contrary to supersupernaturalism, divine miracles are extremely rare and understanding this attribute keeps such miracles in their proper perspective. 52 B.2) The rarity of miraculous communication In a subsequent chapter we will encounter means of miraculous revelation that God used temporarily, maybe even once, and then it was discontinued. 53 In fact, to our knowledge, no one has claimed their use for thousands of years. We are not aware of anyone alleging since OT times to have heard God in a burning bush (cf. Exod 3:1-4) or through a donkey (cf. Num 22:24-31). God manifested Himself to His people as a “pillar of cloud” by day and a “pillar of fire” by night (cf. Exod 13:21) for only a relatively short time. We no longer expect to hear from God through an ephod (cf. 1 Sam 23:9-12) or the Urim and Thummim (cf. Exod 28:30) because He has discontinued these means of communication with no expectation of their return. Accordingly, Gary Friesen remarks, “God spoke to Balaam through a donkey. Should each believer keep one in his back yard just in case?” 54 Likewise, OT scholar Bruce Waltke rightly notes, “Hearing the voice of God in an audition or seeing His messengers in a vision are rare events, and the Bible records them precisely because they are so significant,” 55 and so rare. It is understandable, of course, that we would desire God to speak to us apart from Scripture in more miraculous ways. However, because such methods as Angels, audible voices, and visions are miraculous, they are extremely rare. This does not mean they are non-existent, but their miraculous nature makes the all too common claim to them very suspect. Miraculous communication is extremely rare not only because anything miraculous is, but also because of the great sufficiency of the more normal means of divine communication established by God, including Scripture. Again, we are claiming that miracles of divine communication occur only when the ordinary processes He has ordained are not sufficient to communicate His will. And this simply isn’t very often. As we discuss elsewhere, mega mysticism consistently disparages the value of the Bible for personal guidance in order to claim a need for the mystical guidance it promotes. A foundational error in mega mysticism as well, is the belief that God has a specific

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extra-biblical will for the amoral issues in our life. On the contrary, God rarely has a will for such things, and has given us reason in order to make wise decisions, based on the revelation of Scripture and the moral desires of our New Nature, negating a large part of the reason mega mysticism claims we need miraculous communication. 56 In our mega mystical and super-supernaturalist age, Christians need to remember that God is not in the habit of doing for us what He has already enabled us to do ourselves.

C) Miracles Are Extraordinary in Effect: Awe-inspiring C.1) Awe-inspiring miraculous deeds It is no surprise that if an event is extraordinary in supernatural power and extreme rarity, that it will have an extraordinary effect as well. In a word, miracles arouse “awe” which Webster’s defines as, “inspiring emotion in which dread, veneration, and wonder are variously mingled.” 57 Practically speaking, the emotional response of awe is perhaps the easiest way in which we know that a miracle has occurred. In fact, we get our English word “miracle” from the Latin miraculum which means something that evokes wonder. 58 The reason that miracles inspire awe is because of the two attributes already discussed: their supernatural power and their extreme rarity. These combine to produce the effect we expect from a miracle. Accordingly, the Scriptures consistently describe miracles in ways that reflect their awe-inspiring nature. NT authors use Greek words such as thaumazō (“be astonished”), thambos (“amazement”), existēmi (“amazed”), ekplesso (“astonish”), ekstasis (“awe”), and teras (“a wonder”). This rather bewildering array of words used in the NT to describe the miraculous suggests the difficulty that the NT authors had in describing such events. When a miracle occurred, believers and unbelievers alike were profoundly affected. For example, Matthew records that, “when [a] demon was driven out, [and] the man who had been mute spoke . . . [t]he crowd was amazed [thaumazō] and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel"” (Matt 9:33). We see here that both the obvious supernatural nature of the event, and its infrequency, made this the “amazing” event that is a miracle. Luke records the same incident and adds that the witnesses, “were filled with awe” [ekstasis] (5:26).

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Likewise, at the healing of a boy the people, “were all amazed [ekplesso] at the greatness of God . . . [and] was marveling [thaumazō] at all that Jesus did” (Luke 9:43). Understandably, when the King raised a young girl from the dead, “Her parents were astonished” [existēmi] (Luke 8:56). Christ obviously noticed this repeated response when He comments to a crowd, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished” [thaumazō] (John 7:21). Similarly, when the King made the fig tree whither, the disciples “were amazed” [thaumazō] (Matt 21:20). The kind of miracle working that occurred through the Apostles resulted in the same public astonishment. When the Apostle Peter and John healed a lame man, the people, “were filled with wonder [thambos] and amazement [ekstasis] at what had happened to him. While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished” [ekthambos] (Acts 3:1011). When the Apostles were given the miraculous gift of speaking in tongues, the crowd was, “Utterly amazed [existēmi thaumazō] [and] asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?” (Acts 2:7-8). 59 Simon the magician in Samaria, “followed Philip everywhere, astonished [existēmi] by the great signs and miracles he saw” (Acts 8:13). It is interesting to notice that fear was often mixed with the astonishment. We read of the early Church that, “Everyone was filled with awe [phobos: “fear”], and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles” (Acts 2:43). Luke tells us that a miraculous fishing expedition caused the Apostle Peter to fall “at Jesus' knees” in fear and confess his sinfulness because, “he and all his companions were astonished [thambos] at the catch of fish they had taken” (5:8-9). Likewise, after the King miraculously stilled a storm, the disciples, “In fear [phobeo] and amazement [thaumazō] . . . asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him."” (Luke 8:25). A short time later, after Christ had cast a “legion” of “demons” into a “large herd of pigs,” sending them to their death, Luke records, “all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them; for they were gripped with great fear [phobos]” (cf. 8:30-37). 60 There is no doubt that the consistent use of “wonder(s)” (teras) to refer to the miracles recorded in the Bible is a reflection of the utter amazement that surrounded them. In fact this Greek word occurs 16 times in the NT and it only refers to miracles, and is always used in conjunction with “signs” (sēmeion) which also refers to miracles. For example, the Apostle Peter says, “Men of Israel,

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listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders (teras) and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22; cf. 4:30; 5:12; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 3:4). This same attribute of causing wonder was accredited to miracles by God Himself in the OT. He tells Moses, “I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders [pala’] that I will perform among them” (Exod. 3:20; cf. 15:11). Amazement, astonishment, awe, fear, repentance, and breathless wonder are the normal response of anyone who is exposed to a real divine miraculous deed. 61 C.2) Awe-inspiring miraculous communication Obviously, occurrences of miraculous communication normally have an awe-inspiring effect on people as well. For example, when Zechariah saw an Angel, “he was startled and was gripped with fear” (Luke 1:12). Likewise, when some shepherds received a message from an Angel they were, “terrified” (Luke 2:9), and a similar encounter for some women left them, “trembling and bewildered” (Mark 16:8). When Jacob realized God had spoken to him in a dream, “He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place!’” (Gen 28:17). Those who experienced visions of God or Christ like the Prophet Daniel and the Apostle John, “turned deathly pale” and “fell at His feet as though dead” (Dan 10:8; Rev 1:17). Therefore, we are not surprised at the following account of King Belshazzar’s encounter with miraculous revelation at a banquet he was hosting: Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The King watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. (Dan 5:5-6) Of course, some of the overwhelming emotion experienced in miraculous communication is due to the content of the message and perhaps not only its supernatural means (cf. Dan 4:4-5; Job 7:14; Luke 1:29). However, this is not always the case as demonstrated in the example above of King Belshazzar who didn’t even know what the inscription meant and needed Daniel to interpret it (cf. Dan 5:7, 13-17).

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Likewise, when some men traveling with Saul heard an invisible Jesus speak they were, “speechless” (Acts 9:7), but not because of the content of the message, as the Apostle describes later, “they did not understand the voice of Him Who was speaking to me (Acts 22:9). Understandably their response was simply due to the overwhelming emotion that humans naturally feel when they experience miraculous communication from God. Perhaps Eliphaz the Temanite expresses this best in a description of his own apparent experience with a supernatural means of divine revelation: A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?’ (Job 4:12-17) C.3) Ramifications of the awe-inspiring nature of miracles A sense of awe, an “emotion in which dread, veneration, and wonder are variously mingled” then, are God’s intended affects for His miracles. Nonetheless, while the inspiration of awe is an important attribute of miracles, it is not sufficiently objective enough in itself to recognize one. As Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) remarked long ago, “it may seem astonishing to ignorant people that a magnet attracts iron.” Astonishing, yes, but it is neither a supernatural, nor extremely rare occurrence. Likewise, most first-time fathers will insist that childbirth is an extraordinary miracle from God, and while it is difficult to disagree, a delivery room doctor would testify that it is neither supernatural nor rare. Again, as Colin Brown put it, “familiarity breeds contempt [the opposite of awe]. . . . The difference between a miracle and an ordinary event in nature lies ultimately in the rarity of the former,” 62 not how wonderful we think it may be. In addition, it is because of our confidence that God will supply what is needed in order for a miracle to be recognized among regenerated believers, that we are not impressed with the claims particularly in super-supernaturalism and prophetism to an abundance of miraculous deeds and communication. “Healed” headaches and “prophetic” declarations by people who cannot foretell the future inspire little of the wonder and awe that biblical miracles did. Simply put, such claims only serve to remind us just

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how far we are removed from “the good ole days” in the early Church when a miracle really was a miracle! 63

Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Our Father in Heaven, we praise You for Your miraculous works. We are so thankful for all the ways You have revealed Yourself to us! Help us to properly recognize Your work around us so that we may give You the glory. But also help us not to exaggerate miracles so that we do not lie about You. But God. We pray today for a miracle. During this time of studying miracles, we simply ask You out of Your power and goodness to do an unmistakable miracle as an object lesson for us and a glory to You. Gauging Your Grasp 1) We claim that the supernaturalness of miracles may not so much be in interrupting processes, but in manipulating them to occur at a certain time and place. What are biblical examples of this? 2) What is the difference between God allowing something and causing it? How does this relate to recognizing the occurrence of a miracle? 3) Why are we certain that real miracles will be readily recognized? 4) Why do we claim love is as great a miracle as levitation? you agree or disagree and why?

Do

5) What other category of miracles is important to recognize besides just miraculous deeds? 6) What do we mean by God’s invested and intervening power in Nature? Why is it important to distinguish the two? 7) How does living in the world train us to recognize a miracle?

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8) We claim that in our mega mystical and super-supernaturalist age, Christians need to remember that God is not in the habit of doing for us what He has already enabled us to do ourselves. Do you agree or disagree and why? What ramifications does this have on our lives? 9) What are some ways that Scripture describes the response of people to miracles? 10) Why aren’t we impressed with many of the claims in supersupernaturalism to miracles? Do you agree or disagree and why? Publications & Particulars 1

Webster’s Dictionary; online at www.merriam-webster.com.

2

Norm Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999), 450

3

For further discussion of the denial of the manipulation and violation of natural laws in miracles see section 10.12.A.3.

4

We use the term “natural law” here and throughout this chapter to refer to the physical laws perceived to govern the Universe, including such laws as gravity and thermodynamics.

5

Many in and outside the Church are skeptical that the Earth actually stopped revolving for a day. For further defense of this miracle see section 10.12.A.3

6

Dr. Geisler notes: "Power" (dunamis) is sometimes used in the New Testament to refer to human power (2 Cor. 1:8) or abilities (Matt. 25:15) or demonic powers (Luke 10: 19; Rom. 8:3 8). Like its Old Testament parallel, the New Testament term is often translated "miracles." Dunamis is used in combination with "sign and wonder" (Heb. 2:4), of Christ , s miracles (Matt. 13:58), of the virgin birth of Christ (Luke 1:35), of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:8), of the "power" of the Gospel to save sinful people (Rom. 1: 16), of the special gift of miracles (I Cor 12: 10), and of the power to raise the dead (Phil. 3: 10). The emphasis of the word is on the divine energizing aspect of a miraculous event (481-82).

7

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (NICNT) (Eerdmans, 1995), 607.

8

O. Betz, “Might” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT) Colin Brown, ed., 4 vols., (Zondervan, 1986), 2:603.

9

Morris, 611.

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10

Marcus Aurelius, “Epistle of Marcus Aurelius to the Senate, in Which He Testifies that the Christians Were the Cause of His Victory”; Online at www.ccel.org.

11

For further discussion regarding the relationship between prayer and miracles see section 10.3.C.2.

12

Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway, The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun (Monarch Books, 2002), 1615.

13

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, Q. 105, art. 6; online at www.newadvent.org/summa.

14

Jack Finegan notes that there is some evidence that such a Roman census occurred every fourteen years. And while Finegan gives evidence that the requirement to return to one’s homeland was not unprecedented, this requirement would not appear to be the norm. Light From the Ancient Past: The Archeological Background of Judaism and Christianity (Princeton University Press, 1959), 260-61.

15

For further examples of fulfilled prophecy in Scripture see chapter 9.8.

16

It is unlikely that anything regarding the terrain of the Red Sea floor caused the wheels to fall off, the text even specifying that, “the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground” (Exod 14:22).

17

Yun, 63-9

18

Charles Swindoll, The Mystery of God’s Will (Word, 1999), 193-5

19

For further discussion on a biblical perspective of divine guidance see chapter 7.15.

20

Quoted by Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), 145-6. This story originally appeared in the Baptist Standard, February 7, 1993, page 24. One of the ironic things about this healing is that Duane Miller was a former Assemblies of God Pastor and had left that denomination because he disagreed with their theology of speaking in tongues and divine healing (282, n. 1). Unfortunately, Mr. Deere is among the most guilty for using such miracles as proof that faith healers are legitimate today.

21

For further discussion on miraculous healing see Book 11: Miracle Working

22

For further discussion on the miraculous nature of Christian virtue see Book 5: Biblical Apologetics. Regarding the New Nature as an essential means of divine revelation see chapter 7.12.

23

For further discussion of Scripture as a revelation see chapters 7.7-10

24

For further discussion of our New Nature as a divine revelation see chapter 7.12

Human

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25

For further discussion regarding the God-ordained place of human reason in the Christian life see chapters 2.4 and 4.4-5.

26

D. A. Carson, in Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church, Michael S. Horton ed. (Moody, 1992), 118, n. 6.

27

Saint Augustine, City of God, 12, 21.8; online at www.ccel.org.

28

John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, I.5.3-5; online at www.ccel.org.

29

Alan Richardson, Christian Apologetics (Harper, 1948), 155-56.

30

J. I. Packer, Concise Theology (Tyndale House, 1993), 57. The confusion of God’s power in Nature and in miracles is also found in the writings of such great modern theologians as Norm Geisler and Wayne Grudem.

31

An example of an apparent attempt to equate the natural and supernatural is found in the article on miracles in the New Bible Dictionary by M. H. Cressey, Principal of Westminster College at Cambridge: A great deal of confusion on the subject of miracles has been caused by a failure to observe that Scripture does not sharply distinguish between God's constant sovereign providence and his particular acts. Belief in miracles is set in the context of a world-view which regards the whole of creation as continually dependent upon the sustaining activity of God and subject to his sovereign will (cf. Col. 1:16-17). All three aspects of divine activity- wonder, power, significance- are present not only in special acts but also in the whole created order (Rom. 1:20). When the psalmist celebrates the mighty acts of God he moves readily from the creation to the deliverance from Egypt (Ps. 135:6-12). In Job 5:9-10; 9:9-10 the [Hebrew] word niplā’ ôt [“miracle”] refers to what we would call ‘natural events’ (cf. Is. 8:18; Ezk. 12:6). Thus when the biblical writers refer to the mighty acts of God they cannot be supposed to distinguish them from 'the course of nature' by their peculiar causation, since they think of all events as caused by God's sovereign power. The particular acts of God highlight the distinctive character of God's activity, different from and superior to that of men and more particularly that of false gods, almighty in power, revealing him in nature and history. (New Bible Dictionary, J. I. Packer, et al. eds., 3rd ed., [Intervarsity, 1996], 771. Again, there is truth here, but seeing the world this way obliterates the category of miracle.

32

David Myers, Intuition: 2002), 243.

33

B. B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (Banner of Truth Trust, 1972), 164

34

John Gerstner, Reasons for Faith (Harper & Row, n.d.), 90.

35

Winfried Corduan, “Recognizing a Miracle” in In Defense of Miracles, Douglas Geivett, Gary R. Habermas, eds. (InterVarsity, 1997), 104-5.

Its Power and Perils (Yale University Press,

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58

36

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) also felt that the indirect divine power in Nature must be distinguished from the direct divine power working in a miracle: Some have understood God to work in every agent in such a way that no created power has any effect in things, but that God alone is the immediate cause of everything wrought; for instance, that it is not fire that gives heat, but God in the fire, and so forth. But this is impossible. First, because the order of cause and effect would be taken away from created things; and this would imply lack of power in the Creator; for it is due to the power of the cause, that it bestows active power on its effect. Secondly, because the active powers which are seen to exist in things, would be bestowed on things to no purpose, if these wrought nothing through them. Indeed, all things created would seem, in a way, to be purposeless, if they lacked an operation proper to them. . . . We must therefore understand that God works in things in such a manner that things have their proper operation. . . . (Summa Theologica, I.105.5) Christian apologist Peter Kreeft comments regarding this statement: “Note that the misdirected urge to give God more glory and power denying the efficacy of creatures [i.e. Nature] really detracts from God, like refusing to admit a ruler's representatives. (A Summa of the Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica Edited and Explained for Beginners [Ignatius, 1990], 236).

37

Herman Bavinck, Prolegomena, Church Dogmatics, Vol. 1 (Baker, 2003), 336-7. Admittedly, while Dr. Bavinck is quoted here as saying, “Scripture makes [a] distinction between nature and miracle. . . between the ordinary order of nature and the extraordinary deeds of divine power,” he seems to contradict himself shortly several pages later when he writes: While Scripture does know a distinction between the ordinary course of things and the extraordinary works of God, it does not posit a contrast between "the natural" and "the supernatural." This contrast first surfaces in the works of the church fathers. (355)

38

While natural laws do take over after a miraculous event, this does not negate the continuing existence of the miraculous change effected by the miracle. In other words, Creation did not return to chaos and the wine Jesus created did not go back to being water.

39

Excerpt from section 7.3.C.

40

While this distinction between the supernatural and natural can be made in the case of many miracles, there is one miracle that does not revert back to natural laws and which actually empowers its subjects to produce more miracles. This is the miracle of regeneration by which we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit and enabled to produce the supernatural

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virtues of love and holiness. 10.5.B.3.

For further discussion of this see section

41

John Gerstner, Reasons for Faith (Harper & Row, n.d.), 90.

42

Bernard Ramm, in Revelation and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical Thought, Carl F. H. Henry, ed. (Baker, 1958), 261.

43

For further discussion regarding the distinction between supernatural and natural healing especially in the context of claims within charismaticism see chapter 11.9.

44

The interruption of Nature in a miracle is denied by anti-supernaturalists and is discussed further at section 10.12.A.3 and B.4.

45

The extreme rarity of miracles would seem to make the charismatic theologian Wayne Grudem’s definition somewhat of an understatement when he says a miracle is merely, “a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself” (Systematic Theology [Zondervan, 1994], 355). On the contrary, miracles are a lot less common kind of God’s activity, which, as we discuss elsewhere, super-supernaturalists like Dr. Grudem wish to deny.

46

Colin Brown, Miracles and the Critical Mind ( Eerdmans, 1984), 7, 9.

47

Packer, Concise Theology, 57.

48

Ibid., 99; italics in original.

49

For further discussion of the purpose of miracle working see section 3.1.D; 7.1.B.5; 11.1.F.

50

Robert L. Saucy in Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?, Wayne Grudem, ed. (Zondervan, 1998), 104.

51

For further discussion of the discontinuous nature of miraculous revelation see section 10.7.C

52

For further discussion of super-supernaturalism see chapters 10.13-16.

53

For further discussion of the discontinuity in methods of miraculous communication see section 10.7.C.

54

Gary Friesen and J. Maxon, Decision Making and the Will of God (Multnomah, 1980), 89.

55

Bruce Waltke, Finding the Will of God: 1995), 52.

56

For further discussion regarding the will of God in relation to mega mysticism see section 7.15.B.4. For the importance of reason in decision making see chapters 2.5 and 4.4-5.

57

Webster’s, 120. This definition is a combination of the Webster entry for “awesome” defined as “inspiring awe” and the entry for “awe” itself.

58

Norm Geisler also defines each of these terms more specifically:

A Pagan Notion? (Eerdmans,

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60

"Wonder" Often the words signs and wonders are used together in the Old Testament of the same event(s) (Exod. 7:3; cf. Deut. 4:34; 7:19; 13:1, 2; 26:8; 28:46; 29:3; 34:11; Neh. 9: 10; Ps. 135:9; Jer. 32:20-21). At other times the Bible describes as "wonders" events that are elsewhere called "signs" (Exod. 4:21; 11:9-10; Pss. 78:43; 105:27; Joel 2:30). Sometimes the word is used of a natural "wonder" (Ezek. 24:24) or a unique thing a Prophet did to get his message across (Isa. 20:3). The word wonder usually has supernatural (divine) significance. The Greek word teras means a "miraculous sign, prodigy, portent, omen, wonder" (Brown, 2:633). It carries with it the idea of that which is amazing or astonishing (ibid., 623-25). In all sixteen of its New Testament occurrences, "wonder" is used in combination with the word "sign." It describes Jesus' miracles (John 4:48; Acts 2:22), the Apostles' miracles (Acts 2:43; 143; 15:12; Rom. t5:19; Heb. 2:34), Stephen's miracles (Acts 6:8), and Moses' miracles in Egypt (Acts 7:36). It connotes supernatural events before the second coming of Christ (Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22; Acts 2:19). Signs" or "wonders" or both (Exod. 9:16; 32:11; Deut. 4:37; 2 Kings 17:36; Neh. 1:10). Sometimes Hebrew words denoting power are used in the same verse with "signs and wonders." Moses speaks of the deliverance of Israel "by miraculous signs and wonders.... by a mighty hand" (Deut. 4:34; cf. 7:19; 26:8; 34:12). (481-82). 59

The awe which surrounded the first occurrence of the authentic gift of speaking in languages is in sharp contrast to the effect of the private prayer language version practiced today. This is because the latter is not a miracle as it was intended to be, and is not a genuine gift of the Holy Spirit either. For further discussion of the biblical gift of tongues see Book 12: The Truth About Tongues.

60

W. Mundle relates in the NIDNTT that the same is seen in the OT by the use of the Greek thaumazō (“astonished”) to translate the Hebrew words šāmah (“petrified with fear”) and tāmâh (“astounded, horror-stricken”) in the LXX in such passages as Lev. 26:32; Job 17:8; 21:5; Dan. 8:27; Ps. 48:6; Jer. 4:9; Heb. 1: 5. Mundle adds, “The latter passages, in particular, show how the idea of astonishment passes over to that of horror. The human reaction to God's activity, which is here depicted for us, is an astonishment mingled with fear and horror.” (2:622)

61

Except for the unregenerated insane humanity whose response to miracles we discuss at section 4.13.B.

62

Brown, Miracles, 7, 9.

63

For further discussion specifically regarding the fraudulent claims of miracles in super-supernaturalism see sections 11.7.B.9; 11.8.E-F.

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Chapter 10.3

The Proper Expectation & Recognition of Miracles

Table of Topics A) The Importance of Having a Proper Expectation of Miracles: Trusting God instead of testing Him A.1) Avoiding the sins of anti and super supernaturalism A.2) Determining doctrinal matters A.3) Trusting instead of testing God B) Reasons to Not Expect Miracles B.1) Miracles are rarely needed to accomplish God’s will B.2) Relatively few miracles are promised in Scripture B.3) Miracles are not needed to demonstrate God’s love B.4) New divine revelation has ceased C) Reasons to Expect Miracles C.1) God’s promises for the present C.2) The power of prayer C.3) Controlling calls C.4) Severe persecution C.5) New fields for Christianity

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Table of Topics Continued D) The Proper Recognition of Miracles D.1) The Biblical Definition and Attributes of Miracles Must be Met D.2) God Desires that People Recognize Miracles D.3) Born Again Christians are Really Good at Recognizing Miracles D.4) Caution is Better than Lying D.5) Hindsight is Better than Foresight D.6) Recognize the Possibility of other Explanations Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points  Perhaps the most pressing question we have about miracles is why do they occur at one time and not another? We don’t know and the Scriptures do not say.  There are some biblical principles that can be applied to having a proper expectation of miracles.  The super-supernaturalist expects miracles constantly and often falls into the sins of fraud in claiming a multitude of miracles, and testing God by expecting a multitude of miracles.  Many areas of sound doctrine are determined by correctly ascertaining when a miracle is needed.  The devil would have us expect miracles where God has not promised one, so that when it does not happen, we conclude there is something either wrong with God or us.

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Primary Points Continued  Super-supernaturalists forget that God will not do for us what He has already enabled us to do. This, coupled with the fact that He has enabled us to do everything He has commanded, is a significant reason why miracles are so extremely rare. And more often than super-supernaturalists want to admit, the things we cannot do, simply do not need doing.  Super-supernaturalists speak as if God owes us miracles.  The measure of God’s love for us is the cross of Jesus Christ, not the number of miracles we experience.  Everyone wants a miracle, but no one wants to really be in need of one.  Super-supernaturalists insist that the reason there are not more miracles occurring in American churches is because nonsuper-supernatural Christians abound in skepticism and lack faith and openness for more miracles to occur. On the contrary, the reason America does not experience as many miracles as China is because we abound in churches, Bibles, preachers, freedom, and even comfort. What we lack is persecution, not faith.  Who ultimately decides what makes a miracle a real divine revelation of a miracle? Our answer is God. God decides what is sufficiently supernatural, rare, and awe-inspiring enough in order for an event to be recognized as a miracle.  Super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism are silly for accusing their brothers and sisters of intentionally disregarding the miraculous, as if the danger is that we would have a hard heart toward glorifying God. On the contrary, the greater danger is that we really want to glorify ourselves. We must admit that miraculous interventions in our lives make us feel very special, and make us look special to others, and because we may crave such things, we might look for and claim miracles in events in which they really did not occur.  “That a particular specified event or coincidence will occur is very unlikely; that some astonishing unspecified events will occur is certain.”

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A) The Importance of Having a Proper Expectation of Miracles: Trusting God instead of testing Him There is, of course, a great deal about miracles that we cannot explain. Their supernatural nature not only makes them rare and awe-inspiring but also rather mysterious. Perhaps one of the most pressing personal questions we have about them is why do they occur at one time and not another? Why does God do miracles for some and not for others? Why did God allow “King Herod” to have the Apostle “James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword” (Acts 12:2), but a few days later miraculously rescue the Apostle Peter from prison and spare his life (cf. Acts 12:6-11)? Concerning examples we shared in the previous chapter, why was Brother Yun miraculously delivered from prison several times, while many other Christians remain rotting there right now? (cf. 9.2.A.2). Why was Duane Miller’s physical ailment healed and a host of others are left unhealed? (cf. 9.2.A.3) We don’t know and the Scriptures do not say. God has not revealed the reason behind all of His deeds. Accordingly, we read in Ecclesiastes, “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things” (Eccl 11:5). Likewise the Apostle exclaimed, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!” (Rom 11:33). Nonetheless, there are some biblical principles that can be applied to having a proper expectation of miracles. And the application of such principles is important for several reasons. A.1) Avoiding the sins of anti and super supernaturalism First, having a proper perspective on expecting and recognizing miracles will help us have a biblical balance between antisupernaturalism and super-supernaturalism. The former expects and recognizes no miracles and therefore denies God glory that He deserves. The super-supernaturalist expects miracles constantly and often falls into the sins of fraud in claiming a multitude of miracles, and testing God by expecting a multitude of miracles.

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A.2) Determining doctrinal matters Secondly, many areas of sound doctrine are determined by correctly ascertaining when a miracle is needed. For example, fairist [Arminian] theologians suggest that no miracle is necessary prior to someone’s saving faith in the Gospel, but that conversion is a rather natural process. Gracist [Reformed] theologians correctly understand, in our opinion, that humans are not naturally able to produce saving faith in the Gospel and that God must first supernaturally enable them before they can savingly receive the Gospel. 1 Likewise, Reformed theologians have insisted that an ongoing miracle of illumination by the Spirit is needed in order for us to properly understand and apply Scripture. To the contrary, we claim that the one-time miracle of regeneration gives us a Spirit-liberated reason which now rather naturally receives Scripture properly without needing a continual supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit to “illumine” the Bible for us. 2 Again, a decision on both of these important doctrinal issues rather depends on when and where we believe a miracle is needed. A.3) Trusting instead of testing God Finally, if we do not have a proper and biblical expectation of miracles, we will be in danger of sinning against God by testing Him. This is something our super-supernatural brethren often do not take seriously enough. Simply put, we test God when we expect, rely on, or demand a miracle that God has not promised. As we discuss in section C.1 below, there are relatively very few promises of miracles to the Christian in Scripture for this present life. Therefore, we had better be very careful about the miracles we expect, claim, or otherwise demand from God. The devil tempted Christ to ignore this in his temptations of the King in the desert. We read: Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command His Angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matt 4:5-7)

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On this passage, NT scholar Leon Morris (1914-2006) commented: The servants of God cannot demand that God should keep on intervening with miraculous provision for their needs. To jump from a height and then look to God to avert the natural consequences of such an act is just such an offense [because the devil was taking the biblical promise out of context like so many super-supernaturalists do]. Furthermore, it is worse than what happened at Massah, for at least the people there were in real need of water [cf. Deut 6:16]. What satan is suggesting is that Jesus should needlessly thrust himself into danger; he would be creating a hazard where none previously existed. And for what? To compel God to save him miraculously. It is a temptation to manipulate God, to create a situation not of God's choosing in which God would be required to act as Jesus dictated. Jesus rejects the suggestion with decision. He prefers the way of quiet trust in the heavenly Father, a trust that needs no test, and a ready acceptance of his will. He refuses to demand a miracle even if from the perspective of someone on earth that might seem desirable, even compelling. 3 The devil would have us expect miracles where God has not promised one, so that when it does not happen, we conclude there is something either wrong with God or us. Also, if we presume upon God for a miracle in order for Him to prove His love for us we are committing the egregious sin of testing Him. Likewise, if we take a particular risk, depending on God for a miracle He has not promised, we test God as well. 4 Unfortunately, mega mysticism and super-supernaturalism consistently promote this very thing. Mega mysticism would have us think and expect that God has promised to lead us specifically and personally throughout life with His “still small voice” or miraculous “signs.” As we demonstrate elsewhere, there are no clear biblical promises of such guidance, and if we expect it, we may be testing God. 5 Likewise, super-supernaturalists often speak as if we have a right to be miraculously physically healed and that God has promised this. Therefore, when such an expectation is developed, it is testing God, and when it doesn’t happen the natural conclusion is that there is something wrong with God or us. Supersupernaturalists promote the idea that God must give us a miracle beyond our salvation in order to prove His love for us. In supersupernaturalism God exists to serve and impress us, instead of the

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fact that we exist to serve and please Him. Super-supernaturalists need to be reminded of St. Augustine’s warning that: God is tempted in religion itself, when signs and wonders are demanded of him, and are desired not for some wholesome purpose but only for experience of them. 6 We are testing, not trusting God when we are asking for a miracle when we don’t need one. God will not do for us what He has enabled us to do. And if we expect Him to, we are testing Him in an illegitimate way. Super-supernaturalism encourages the expectation of spiritual shortcuts, looking for a miracle instead of an opportunity to develop our character. Along these lines, the great missionary statesman, E. Stanley Jones has written: I believe in miracle, but not too much miracle, for too much miracle would weaken us, make us dependent on miracle instead of our obedience to natural law. Just enough miracle to let us know He is there, but not too much, lest we depend on it when we should depend on our own initiative and on His orderly processes for our development. 7

B) Reasons to Not Expect Miracles In the previous chapter (10.2) we have already discussed one reason not to expect miracles: Their occurrence has been relatively very rare in both biblical and secular history. There are other reasons to expect miracles to be rare as well. B.1) Miracles are rarely needed to accomplish God’s will For understanding the proper expectation of miracles it is important to understand their purpose. We note this in our definition of a miracle when we state it is when God intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. Such an understanding helps us to have a proper expectation of miracles. For example, the natural processes of Nature are very sufficient for sustaining life on Earth and miraculous intervention is rarely needed. Also the more natural process of divine communication through Scripture is extremely “sufficient to accomplish or communicate God’s will” and extrabiblical revelations would rarely be needed. 8 In our own personal lives as well, it should be recognized that by virtue of being made in the image of God and the indwelling

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Spirit, God has given us some remarkable abilities that do not require the constant, direct intervention of God. God has required all kinds of things of us, but our one-time regeneration rather naturally causes all kinds of subsequently supernatural things to occur such as love, and our spiritual growth. Like the initial miraculous physical Creation of the Universe, the initial miraculous New Creation of the Christian enables supernatural things to occur without the divine intervention of God. Therefore, a helpful perspective on the issue of when we can expect a miracle is to remember that God will rarely, if ever, do for us what He has already enabled us to do. The healthy human does not need a miracle to walk across the room. The born again human does not need a miracle to love or forgive someone. They have already been miraculously equipped to do so, and God expects them to do so without further miraculous intervention on His part. Super-supernaturalists insist miracles are needed in abundance for all sorts of reasons. Part of the problem is that they forget that God will not do for us what He has already enabled us to do. This, coupled with the fact that He has enabled us to do everything He has commanded, is a significant reason why miracles are so extremely rare. And more often than super-supernaturalists want to admit, the things we cannot do, simply do not need doing. Even in the case described in the previous chapter of the missionary to Uganda (cf. section 10.2.A.2), a miraculous communication would not have needed to occur. We already have the commandment in Scripture to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19) and therefore already know it is God’s will to do so in Uganda. And many people in ministry work in particular places with no such miraculous authentication, and God expects them to. Therefore, it would be a mistake to suggest, as mega mysticism and super-supernaturalism would, that such a supernatural extra-biblical communication is the norm. On the other hand, when it happens, it should be recognized and celebrated. And like the miracle of our salvation, any experience of subsequent miracles will “not [be] because of righteous things we [have] done, but because of His mercy” (Tit 3:4). Therefore, the claim of super-supernaturalists that miracles happen more abundantly to them because of something special about them is unbiblical, untrue, and arrogant. 9 Super-supernaturalists speak as if God owes us miracles. We pray for miracles because they may happen, and we are free to ask, but we normally have no reason or promises in Scripture to know they will happen.

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B.2) There are relatively few miracles promised in Scripture for this life There are Scriptures that promise every Christian certain miracles in their life. These will be discussed below. However, we have written elsewhere: [W]hile they [the promises for present miraculous intervention in our life] are wonderful, they are relatively few, much fewer than many believe or would hope. It is, in fact, a vital need for Christians to recognize that the vast majority of God’s promises in Scripture relate to His Second Coming, and not to this life at all. The Beatitudes are a good example of this (cf. Matt 5:3-12). This is why the Apostle told us: “set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet 1:13). 10 B.3) Miracles are not needed to demonstrate God’s love for us Super-supernaturalism can promote the idea that one of the greatest proofs and demonstrations of God’s love for us in this life is His miraculous interventions for us. If this is true, then we would expect a great number of such interventions because God certainly desires to communicate His love for us. However, the Scriptures simply do not teach that miracles are to be a normal demonstration of God’s love. The measure of God’s love for us is the cross of Jesus Christ, not the number of miracles we experience. Accordingly, the Apostle wrote: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). If the cross is not enough proof of God’s love for us, then nothing else will be. Contrary to a great deal of thinking in American Christianity, it is not God’s love for us that continues to be on trial and needing to be tested and demonstrated. On the contrary, the purpose of the Christian life is to test our love for God, which is usually best accomplished when God does not miraculously intervene on our behalf. While God’s supernatural intervention on our behalf certainly demonstrates His love for us, it does not mean He loves us less when He does not miraculously intervene for us. Anyone demanding a miracle as proof of God’s love is sinfully testing Him. Suffering is not the punishment of God for His children, nor an indictment on our lack of commitment to Christ, but rather an

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opportunity to glorify Him and be greatly rewarded. Accordingly, the King said: Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the Prophets who were before you (Matt 5:11-12). “The Prophets” were plenty committed and pleasing to God yet they suffered in their service to Him. We tend to think the one who would receive a miraculous rescue from persecution is blessed, while the King said the one who remains in persecution is blessed. No doubt those who have not been miraculously rescued from such suffering will have greater rewards in eternity than those who experienced a miracle. And miracles from God do not always deliver us from our circumstances, but, rather, help us gracefully endure them with “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Phil 4:7; cf. 2 Cor 12:7-10). B.4) New divine revelation has ceased One thing that might be helpful at this point is to eliminate the possibility of human miracle working from the miracles we might expect. While we hesitate to add this here, the question we are addressing is simplified by distinguishing between miracles and miracle working which we begin to do in the next chapters. Direct divine miracles are those supernatural events that are performed by God alone with no intermediary. The healing of Duane Miller described in the previous chapter is an example. There was no “healer” involved, not even a prayer, but God just did it. On the other hand, there is human miracle working in which God delegates His miracle working abilities to a person (i.e. Prophet or Apostle) who can then work miracles on command. This is the type of healing miracles we most often see in Scripture. The reason this distinction is important in our current discussion is that direct divine miracles can occur any time and without a clear reason (e.g. Duane Miller). However, as we argue elsewhere, human miracle working occurs only to authenticate messengers of new extra-biblical divine revelation. 11 In fact, in Scripture, you will not find a single God-sent miracle worker who was not also a source of new extra-biblical divine revelation. Therefore, Scripture tells us clearly when and why human miracle working will occur, and if God is not sending any messengers of new extra-biblical divine revelation for His people, then there will not be any God-sent

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miracle workers today. And there are none. Again, this will be discussed further in subsequent chapters, 12 but we wanted to specify that our discussion here concerning why and when miracles occur does not include the issue of human miracle working, but only direct divine miracles.

C) Reasons to Expect Miracles In spite of all the above, the Scriptures do indicate some circumstances in which direct divine miracles (as opposed to human miracle working) may be expected. Here we are reminded of our definition of a miracle as: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. This would seem to be the best answer as to why miracles occur sometimes, but not at other times, and generally very rarely. The natural processes God has implemented to maintain Creation (e.g. natural laws) and communicate to His people (e.g. Scripture) are usually very sufficient to accomplish or communicate God’s will. In the extremely rare cases they are not, a miracle may happen. Such circumstances are reflected in some of the environments we describe next in which miracles are more likely to occur. C.1) God’s promises for the present God has made some promises concerning this present life on Earth that require supernatural intervention in order to be fulfilled. These promises are in two categories, unconditional and conditional. God’s unconditional promises for all Christians in this life include:  Saving His elect for eternity by grace, who were chosen by grace, before the creation of the world (cf. John 6:37-39; 10:28-29; Acts 13:48; Rom 9:10-23; 11:5-6; Eph 1:3-14; 2:1-10);  Indwelling us with His Spirit to give us a New Nature (cf. John 14:17, 20; 15:5; Gal 2:20; Eph 4:24; Matt 28:20);  Conforming us to the image of Christ (cf. Rom 8:28-29; Phil 1:6);  Building His Church (cf. Matt 16:18);  Not allowing us to be tempted or tested beyond what we are able (cf. 1 Cor 10:13).

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 Giving us a spiritual gift, ability, and desire to serve Him in a unique way (cf. Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:7,11) The conditional promises of God include:  Meeting our needs if we give generously, trust Him, and pursue God’s will first (cf. 2 Cor 9:6-13; Phil 4:14-19; Ps 50:15; 55:22; Matt 6:11, 33; Luke 18:29-30);  Giving us the desires of our heart if we delight in Him (cf. Ps 37:4);  Giving us grace, comfort, and peace when we trust, obey, and pray to Him with thanksgiving (cf. 1 Pet 5:5-6; 2 Cor 1:3-4; Phil 4:6-7);  Protecting us from evil if we pray (cf. 2 Thess 3:3; Eph 6:18; Matt 6:13);  A divine blessing for children who honor their parents (Eph 6:1-3);  Granting our prayer requests if we pray and act according to His will (cf. John 14:13-14; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15). We would suggest that the fulfillment of all these promises would require some sort of miraculous intervention on God’s part. Accordingly we have written: The greatest unconditional promise we have for this life is the conversion of all of God’s elect for the salvation of their souls. Contrary to fairist [Arminian] theology, humans are not able to receive the Gospel because of both sinful and demonic forces operating in and around them (cf. Rom 8:3-11; 1 Cor 2:1215; 2 Cor 4:3-6). This is why they must be supernaturally born again and enlightened, and why saving faith is purely a gift of God, not something originating from spiritually dead humans (cf. John 3:3-8; Acts 16:14; 2 Cor 4:4-6; Eph 2:1-9). 13

Likewise, the promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which comes with our regeneration and conversion is unconditionally made to all of the elect and requires a miracle to fulfill. In addition, the subsequent New Nature gives us the ability to perform a multitude of spiritual miracles of supernatural virtue in our lives. . . . This indwelling of the Spirit also results in supernatural spiritual gifts which are also discussed further below. Likewise, God has promised that He, “works” “all things . . . for the good” of all His elect, “For [because] those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Rom 8:28-29). Of course the final consummation of this will occur in the Resurrection, but God is

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working now through the indwelling Spirit, and our circumstances, to help us renew our mind and be more consistently transformed into the character of Christ, “until the day of Christ” (Phil 1:6). No doubt, this may include supernatural intervention in the events of our life to expose areas of need, and teach us in specific ways. Not only does God never “let you be tempted [peirasthēmai: “tested”] beyond what you can bear” (1 Cor 10:13), but He may ordain certain tests and circumstances for the purpose of being “conformed to the likeness of His Son (Rom 8:29). Certainly, a great deal of divine intervention is needed and experienced in our life to ensure none of them are more than what we can handle. The Christian lives a divinely filtered life, revealing the compassion and care of God virtually everyday. Finally, the unconditional promise of building His Church (Matt 16:18) and never letting the forces of Hell stop it, has certainly required a multitude of obvious, miraculous interventions of God. Beyond the supernatural things that accompany any conversion to eternal life, God has miraculously guided and protected Missionaries, provided Teachers and Pastors (cf. Eph 4:11-16; Acts 20:28), and performed a myriad of deeds in and around Christians and churches to ensure His Church is built. 14 While the promises of God for this life are relatively few, they are the most wonderful promises we could imagine, and we can expect God to do miracles in order to fulfill them. C.2) The power of prayer One will notice in the examples of miracles shared in the previous chapter that many of them occurred in response to prayer. We are told, for example, that in regard to the Apostle Peter’s miraculous escape from prison that, “the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5). Likewise, people were praying for Brother Yun’s release as well. Would these miracles have occurred without prayer? Perhaps, as it seems that Duane Miller’s healing did. Nonetheless, asking God for miracles certainly increases the likelihood of their occurrence. One reason for this is that God wants to be glorified by miracles and when we pray for them and receive them, they are usually more appreciated and readily recognized. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere: The last conditional promise . . . [1 John 5:14-15] opens up all kinds of possibilities for God to personally and miraculously reveal Himself to us. There are a multitude of things that can and will happen because we ask God to do them, and they

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would not occur without us asking. We do not have specific promises for them, but we do have this remarkable promise: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us— whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. Certainly, “His will” includes those things promised and prescribed in Scripture, but it can also include things we simply ask for and God grants. With such a promise we can significantly influence God’s intervention and direction for our life, and see significantly more miraculous deeds occur in and around our life. We refer to this as the prayed-for will of God which we discuss further . . . elsewhere. 15 Accordingly, there are many stories in the Church of miracles occurring in answer to prayer. Accordingly, C. S. Lewis (1898– 1963) writes: I have stood by the bedside of a woman whose thighbone was eaten through with cancer and who had thriving colonies of the disease in many other bones as well. It took three people to move her in bed. The doctors predicted a few months of life; the nurses (who often know better), a few weeks. A good man laid his hands on her and prayed. A year later the patient was walking (uphill, too, through rough woodland) and the man who took the last X-ray photos was saying, "These bones are as solid as rock. It's miraculous." 16 Along the same lines, a biographer of the great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) writes: Spurgeon prayed for persons in sicknesses of various kinds, and although in many a case there was no betterment, in others there was improvement that appeared miraculous. Dr. Conwell examined several of these experiences, and in 1892, the year of Spurgeon's death, he declared: There are now living and worshipping in the Metropolitan Tabernacle hundreds of people who ascribe the extension of their life to the effect of Mr. Spurgeon's personal prayers. They have been sick with disease and nigh unto death, he has appeared, kneeled by their beds, and prayed for their recovery. Immediately the tide of health returned, the fevered pulse became calm, the temperature was reduced, and all the activities of nature resumed their normal functions within a short and unexpected period. If

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a meeting were called of all those who attribute their recovery to the prayer of Mr. Spurgeon, it would furnish one of the most deserved tributes to his memory that could possibly be made. Conwell goes on to report seven specific instances of what was considered healing in response to Spurgeon's prayers: The belief in Mr. Spurgeon's healing power became among some classes a positive superstition, and he was obliged to overcome the very false and extravagant impressions . . . by mentioning the matter from the pulpit, and rebuking the theories of the extremely enthusiastic. He felt it was becoming too much like the shrines of Catholic Europe. Spurgeon declared that the subject of divine healing was very much a mystery to him. He said he prayed about sickness just as he prayed about anything else, and that in some instances God answered with healing, whereas in others, for reasons beyond our understanding, He allowed the suffering to continue. 17 We need not doubt then that more miracles occurred in Spurgeon’s life because he asked for them. Yet we see a balance here that is important in our day. Spurgeon didn’t claim some sort of apostolic “gift of healing” as many do today, in spite of the fact that Spurgeon’s rate of success in healing is superior to many of them. As we point out elsewhere, the biblical gift of healing worked instantly on the command of a person, not over time through someone’s prayers. 18 And, as also discussed elsewhere, while our super-supernaturalists brothers and sisters are right to encourage us to be praying for healing, they are wrong to suppose that they actually do so more than other segments of the Church. C.3) Controlling calls Scripture reveals the fact that miracles are relatively more abundant in the life of someone who has a divine “controlling call” for special service to God in his or her life. In chapter 7.15 we noted several biblical attributes of “controlling calls” including: 1) their extreme rarity, applying only to those divinely chosen for very unique and pivotal tasks in the accomplishment of God’s plan for His people in the world, 2) are clearly communicated through miraculous means such as a vision from God, 3) often involve great suffering, and 4) they involve God’s predestined will, and therefore, by definition, will be done. No one chooses a “controlling call,” and

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in fact their recipients are often reluctant to fulfill them. Nevertheless, God chooses them, and they do fulfill the “controlling call.” It is possible that there have been people since biblical times whom God has dealt with in a similar way. The life of Brother Yun, for example, would seem to fit all of the necessary biblical criteria for recognizing a “controlling call” on his life, which may explain the relative abundance of miracles (and suffering!) he has experienced. 19

C.4) Severe persecution Two of the most prolific and amazing miracle workers in Scripture were Elijah and Elisha. Why was this so? For one thing, as is the case with all God-sent miracle workers, they were a divinely authoritative source of extra-biblical revelation from God. But there is another characteristic of their age that helps to explain the relative abundance of miracles occurring in their lifetime as well: severe persecution and/or apostasy among God’s people. Elijah describes the situation to God when he says: The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, broken down Your altars, and put Your Prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. (1 Kgs 19:10) It is in such circumstances that God may provide more miraculous interventions than normal. Accordingly, Colin Brown writes: [M]iraculous signs are not uniformly distributed throughout the OT. They are largely grouped in three main periods, each of which was marked by a life-and-death struggle for the people of God and which put Yahweh’s saving power and will to the proof. . . . The common feature of these periods is the extremity of the people of God which is answered by Yahweh’s action in abnormal events. 20 Likewise, the influential twentieth century British preacher D. M. Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) wrote: [S]urely, we must deduce from the Scriptures that if you say that the Holy Spirit was given to the early church to start it off, then these things [miracles] are necessary, indeed essential, at all times when the church is down in the depths and the world is loud and strong and powerful. Surely that is

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just the time when you would expect a manifestation of some such power. 21 This criteria also reflects the circumstances of Brother Yun in China. Accordingly, Xu Yongze, Chairman of the Sinim Fellowship of House Church Leaders in China writes in the introduction of Yun’s biography: In 1949 persecution of God's people commenced and the churches have suffered from all kinds of attacks since. By 1958 the government had closed all visible churches. Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, told foreign visitors, "Christianity in China has been confined to the history section of the museum. It is dead and buried." In the 1970s a visiting Christian delegation from the United States reported, "There is not a single Christian left in China." At the start of the Book of Genesis we read that the earth "was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Genesis 1:2. This was also the state of the Chinese church at this time. The church in China, at least on the visible surface, was dead. In those days nobody dared to proclaim, "Jesus is Lord." The church was stripped from top to bottom, and for all intents and purposes, had died. 22 It has been in such an environment that our Chinese brothers and sisters have experienced some of the most amazing and abundant miracles of our time. Accordingly, excerpts from Yun’s book illustrate both an environment of persecution and miracles. For example, before becoming a Christian, Yun’s wife Deling suffered from haemophilia such that she was constantly having to wrap rags on her feet and hands to stop any bleeding from cuts. She writes, “I first came to Jesus because of my terrible physical affliction. My neighbor, a Christian lady, gave me a simple promise: “If you believe in Jesus, he will heal you.” At the age of 18 she committed her life to Christ and on that very night she was taken to a house church meeting. Unfortunately, the Chinese authorities ambushed the meeting and everyone had to flee in the darkness. Deling writes, “This was my first introduction to what it would be like following the Lord!” Later Deling was baptized and a few days later dreamed that she would be healed from her bleeding disorder. When she awoke, she sensed a difference in her skin and never again suffered from haemophilia. Deling writes: “Because of this great miracle the Lord was very real to me. Even though our lives were difficult and we

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faced persecution every day, I committed myself to follow Jesus regardless of the cost.” 23 Severe suffering and the miraculous are repeatedly and inseparably intertwined in Brother Yun’s life. In one of his imprisonments for preaching the Gospel, he ate no food and drank no water for 74 days. Yun testifies, “From 25 January to 7 April 1984, I ate and drank nothing.” While this is a remarkable miracle, it was surrounded with remarkable suffering. While in prison, Yun was severely beaten and shocked repeatedly to the point that when his wife and mother were finally allowed to visit him, they could only recognize him by a birthmark. 24 During this same imprisonment, Yun was taken to a torture room, handcuffed, whipped, beaten with sticks, and shocked until his, “flesh was ripped open and wounds covered my body,” and he went unconscious. Later that night God gave Yun a vivid dream in which his handcuffs were snapped and he was free. Yun writes: When I awoke from my dream I found that the handcuffs were still on my hands, but the Holy Spirit told me, "Relax your hands." As soon as I did, the handcuffs fell off! I prayed to the Lord according to what I'd seen in the dream. I said, "Lord Jesus, I love you. Thank you for allowing me to sing. Please give me a Bible." At around 8 a.m. the next morning a remarkable thing happened. The prison director opened the iron gate and came to my cell. He called out my name, "Yun, although you've committed many crimes, we still respect your faith. Yesterday we had a meeting and decided to give you a Bible. Come, take it!" For the next three months Brother Yun was kept in a small, dark, dingy isolation cell. However, there was just enough light for him to read his Bible and he memorized its last fifty-five chapters, from Hebrews through Revelation. 25 After another release from prison, Yun was captured again and cruelly beaten. In trying to escape he had jumped from a second story window and broken both of his legs. He was brought before a judge who told him: “Yun, I’m sick of you. For many years you’ve opposed our government and turned our society upside down. You’ve escaped from custody on numerous occasions.” At the hearing, Yun answered the judge honestly, that if given the opportunity, he would try to escape again and preach the Gospel. The judge was furious, promising to have his legs permanently damaged so that he could never escape again. Even though he begged the guards not to beat his already broken legs, they did so mercilessly. Yun writes: “I lay on the ground screaming like a wounded animal. Excruciating pain surged through my body and mind. . . . My legs below my knees turned completely black and there was no feeling in them at all.”

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At this point Yun was placed in solitary confinement at the Zhengzhou Number One Maximum Security Prison. Yun was beaten every day from eight in the morning until the evening, the guards taking shifts in order to keep up the beatings. He was given no food or water during this time. 26 Yun became very depressed during this imprisonment and writes: As the weeks slowly passed, I became more and more depressed at my situation. It seemed as if the Lord had rejected me and left me to rot in prison forever. My legs were crippled and my spirit crushed. Each night I propped my lame legs up against the wall to try to lessen the pain. My beloved wife Deling was in the women's prison, and I had no idea what had become of my two children. It was the lowest point of my life. . . . I was 39 years old but saw no hope or future for me. I told the Lord, "When I was young you called me to preach your gospel in the west and south. How can I do that now? I'm sitting here in this prison with crushed legs and I'm resigned to rot in this place until the day I die. I'll never see my family again. You have cheated me!" And yet, Yun was to experience his greatest (although not last) miraculous escape from prison at this time. Here, we would make a very important statement regarding a proper expectation of miracles: Everybody wants miracles, but far fewer really want to be in a position to need them. American super-supernaturalists are simply mistaken to expect an abundance of miracles when we also have an abundance of churches, Christians, and religious freedoms. Which would we choose, if it were our choice: miracles or severe suffering? An abundance of the former rarely comes without the latter. This is yet one more reason that we are rather suspicious of all the claims to miracles in American super-supernaturalism. We believe that miracles without suffering are even more rare than miracles with suffering. Along these lines, C. S. Lewis writes words that are worth pondering, especially for super-supernaturalists: God does not shake miracles into Nature at random as if from a pepper-caster. They come on great occasions: they are found at the great ganglions of history, not of political or social history, but of that spiritual history which cannot be fully known by men. If your own life does not happen to be near one of those great ganglions, how should you expect to see one?

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If we were heroic missionaries, apostles, or martyrs, it would be a different matter. But why you or I? Unless you live near a railway, you will not see trains go past your windows. How likely is it that you or I will be present when a peace treaty is signed, when a great scientific discovery is made, when a dictator commits suicide? That we should see a miracle is even less likely. Nor, if we understand, shall we be anxious to do so. "Nothing almost sees miracles but misery." Miracles and martyrdoms tend to bunch about the same areas of history-areas we have naturally no wish to frequent. 27 Indeed, as we have said, everyone wants a miracle, but no one wants to be in need of one. Super-supernaturalists insist that the reason there are not more miracles occurring in American churches is because non-supersupernatural Christians abound in skepticism and lack faith and openness for more miracles to occur. In other words, we are not super-supernatural enough in our beliefs. On the contrary, the reason America does not experience as many miracles as China is because we abound in churches, Bibles, preachers, freedom, and even comfort. What we lack is persecution, not faith. And the American super-supernaturalists make it worse by trying to compete with our brothers in China by faking an abundance of miracles. They are the reason for much of the skepticism they complain about in the American Church. Their fraud has been obvious and exposed consistently. 28 Brother Yun is the real thing. Benny Hinn is a fake. 29 And his fraud is even more embarrassing when we consider the luxury and popularity ones like him enjoy, all the while claiming to have experienced and even worked many, many more miracles in America than Brother Yun in the underground Church in China. And yet the day will come when even Christians in America will experience “great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” (Matt 24:21). It is in the End Times that perhaps all in the Church will experience the miraculous on Earth in greater measure. Yet even here caution must be exercised, as we see no biblical promise of this. Scores of Christians have suffered and died for the faith without any miracles except the grace which gives them that “peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Phil 4:7). And as for the End Times, the only “great signs and miracles” that are clearly promised in Scripture are those that “false christs and false prophets will appear and perform to deceive even the Elect” (Matt 24:24). Perhaps the reason that the “distress” of

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the Great Tribulation will be “unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” is that only satan will be providing miracles, while God will not, all to test the faith of His people. C.5) New fields for Christianity Another related environment in which we may expect more direct divine miracles is when the Gospel is being newly introduced to a particular geographical area or culture. Accordingly, Campus Crusade for Christ has reported the following occurrence in India: In the state of Bihar, India, there is a notoriously anti-Christian tribe called the Malto. When a crew with Campus Crusade's Jesus film attempted to schedule a showing there in 1998, they were strongly rebuffed. A few days later, a 16-year-old Malto girl died. But that evening, just as her parents were about to bury her, she came back to life. As an awed crowd gathered around her, she told them that the God of the film crew had sent her back for several days "to tell as many people as I can that He is real." The girl and her mother went searching, and the next day, they found the crew in a nearby village and invited them back for a showing. For seven days she told her story in every village they could get to, drawing large crowds for the film. Hundreds of people became Christians and started churches. After seven days the girl still looked fine, but she collapsed and died once again. 30 Likewise, it has been reported: In the last ten years, more Muslims have come to Christ than in the previous thousand years. And reports from numerous missions agencies say that many conversions come from the Lord Jesus himself or an angel directly appearing in the extramental world or in a vision or dream to individuals or entire villages. In a recent newsletter from Campus Crusade's Jesus Film Project, Jim Green-- highly respected Crusade staffer for forty years--reports that if you were to gather a typical group of one hundred new converts from Islam and ask them how they first learned of Jesus, ninety-nine of them would say, "I saw Him in a vision. He appeared in brilliant white light and told me that He was the Way and that I was to seek Him out." When missionaries find such people, they have the joy of explaining more fully the gospel of the Lord Jesus. One of several incidents reported by Green is worth noting: The next report comes from a traveling Jesus film team that was working in one of these countries. The team was driving

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through a remote, dangerous region that had hardly been touched by the good news. A policeman flagged down the team's car which was filled with 16mm projection equipment and gospel literature. The policeman asked the team to give a ride to an Islamic teacher who immediately got in. You can imagine their anxiety when this highly respected teacher asked "Tell me, are you the ones planning to tell people about God? Entrusting themselves to the Lord, they responded, "Yes, we are." Astonishment followed. Bouncing along the dusty road the teacher told the team how he had experienced a vision, a unique dream. "I was told to come to this spot in the road, at this time, that I would encounter someone who would tell me about God. It must be you. 31 The introduction of the Gospel to a new people group is certainly behind the story of Brother Yun as well. Yun became a Christian at age sixteen in 1974. Several years before his father had contracted incurable lung cancer that had spread to his stomach. Nonetheless he lived several years in agony lying on a bed. Because Yun’s father was superstitious he called a Daoist priest to come and expel demons, because he feared he had upset them in some way. However, Yun’s mother was a Christian and called the family to pray for her husband. After an all night prayer session, Yun writes: “The very next morning my father found he was much better! For the first time in months he had an appetite for food. Within a week he had recovered completely and had no trace of cancer!” Yun’s parents wanted to share their experience with their village, but such gatherings were illegal. Nonetheless, they simply sent their children out to invite people to their home and people came, many expecting Yun’s father to be dead, and coming dressed for the occasion. Behind locked doors and covered windows they explained that he had been completely healed by praying to Jesus. Yun writes, “All of our relatives and friends knelt down on the floor and gladly accepted Jesus as Lord and Master.” 32 Another attribute of an area in which Christianity is being introduced and severely persecuted is the absence of Bibles. It is in such situations that we might expect particularly more occurrences of miraculous communication such as divine visions and dreams. Accordingly, this too is reflected in Brother Yun’s biography. Early in Yun’s life he had asked his mother if there were any words of Jesus available for him to read. She said there were none, because during the Cultural Revolution in China, Bibles could not be found there. Nonetheless, Yun desperately wanted a Bible. He and

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his mother traveled to a far away village to visit a man whom they had heard had a Bible. Upon asking him to see it, the man was fearful, because he, “had already spent nearly 20 years in prison for his faith.” Regarding the man’s fear of showing Yun his Bible, Yun writes: I don't blame him because in those days there were very few Bibles in the whole of China. Nobody was allowed to read any book other than Mao's little Red Book. If caught with a Bible, it would be burned and the owner's whole family would be severely beaten in the middle of the village. The old man simply told Yun to pray for a Bible, which is the only prayer Yun prayed every evening for over a month. When nothing happened, Yun traveled back to see the old man, who told him he needed to also fast. For one hundred days Yun ate nothing until the evenings when he ate a little rice, and he constantly cried out to God for a Bible such that his parents thought he was insane. After months of this had transpired, Yun received a vision from the Lord one day as he knelt down for his evening prayer. In the vision a man gave him a Bible, and when the vision had ended he proceeded to search his house for one because the vision had been so real to him. Waking his parents, he told them of his vision, which convinced them all the more he was crazy, and his parents desperately prayed for him. About that time, there was a faint knock on the door of their house and standing outside was the man who had given him the Bible in his vision. And that is exactly what happened. Yun discovered later that another missionary three months before had received a vision in which, “God showed him a young man to whom he was to give his hidden Bible.” For some reason, the missionary had delayed obeying the vision, but eventually gave it to the man who then walked through the night to reach Yun’s home. 33 So we see several aspects of the spiritual environment in China that would lead us to expect more divine intervention, including the nonexistence of churches, the Gospel, and the Bible, but the prevalence of severe persecution. Accordingly, we might expect God to provide miracles with the introduction of the Gospel to a new people group. Unfortunately, super-supernaturalists have distorted and exaggerated this principle under what they call “power evangelism” suggesting God wants to use the biblical gifts of miracle working everywhere to authenticate the Gospel. While this error is dealt with fully elsewhere, 34 we will make two observations here.

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First, it should be noticed that despite all the incredible direct divine miracles Brother Yun seems to have experienced, there are no reports of human miracle working in his biography which match the characteristics of the biblical gifts of miracle working and healing. These include healing instantly and organically on command, rather than merely through a prayer. 35 In other words, even the unique circumstances and supernatural nature of ministry in China offers no convincing evidence that the sign gifts of the early Church have been restored to the Church. The miracles that are truly happening are direct divine miracles that God performs, not delegated miracle working through a miraculously gifted person. This is an important distinction that we discuss in the next couple chapters. 36 Secondly, even for those missionaries today who might introduce the Gospel to a new people group, the Gospel is not new extra-biblical divine revelation. This is an important point for promoters of “power evangelism” to consider because, as we demonstrate elsewhere in KOG, every God-sent miracle worker in Scripture was also a messenger of new extra-biblical divine revelation to be believed and obeyed by all. 37 Since even the Gospel is recorded in Chinese Bibles, human miracle working is unnecessary, and accordingly, we see no believable evidence for it. C.6) The exercise of visionary faith Elsewhere we describe visionary faith as the faith to pursue human plans in the pursuit of obeying God’s commands. 38 This faith is unique in that it does not have a specific divine revelation as its object. This is because God has not, and usually will not reveal specifics on such things as when, where, and with whom to plant a church, or where to go as a missionary, 39 even though Scripture reveals these acts as part of God’s general will to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20). We would suggest that those who are pursuing a visionary faith in order to fulfill God’s commands for the advancement of His Kingdom, can expect more divine intervention than others. In fact, this may include what Christ is referring to in the Great Commission when He adds, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20). Perhaps this is a rather conditional promise specifically for those engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission. 40 It seems Christ is promising to be “with” such people in a special, even supernatural way. And indeed, those fulfilling the Great Commission obviously require a good deal of miraculous intervention on God’s part just to bring about the

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necessary spiritual conversions, which we have claimed elsewhere is the greatest miracle of all. 41 Indeed, as discussed more thoroughly elsewhere, 42 we believe Paul is praying for miraculous deeds in the context of visionary faith when he writes the Thessalonians: [W]e constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess 1:11-12) As the Thessalonians pursued “every good purpose of [theirs] and every act prompted by [their visionary] faith, Paul felt it was necessary and appropriate to pray “that by His power He may fulfill” those “good purpose[s]” and “act[s] prompted by [their] faith.” In other words, he recognized that our pursuit of fulfilling God’s commandments often requires God’s intervention and blessing. And fulfillment of God’s will through our “good purpose[s]” and the accompanying miraculous divine intervention all work “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified.”

D) The Proper Recognition of Miracles While the above section dealt with the proper expectation of when a direct divine miracle could occur, here, we discuss some of the biblical principles of properly recognizing when such a miracle has occurred. This relates, of course, to the core problems of antisupernaturalism and super-supernaturalism. The former is in the habit of giving naturalistic explanations for the supernatural acts of God and therefore depriving Him of some of the glory He deserves for those acts. This is something our super-supernatural brothers and sisters are concerned about, and rightly so. On the other hand, super-supernaturalists are in the habit of giving miraculous explanations for things that do not deserve such a lofty title or claims, and in the process, end up lying about God, deceiving other people, and intimidating those who do not experience miracles as often as they supposedly do. Therefore, some guidelines in recognizing the truly miraculous may be helpful, and below is our attempt to do so.

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D.1) The biblical definition and attributes of miracles must be met An important starting point for a discussion on the proper recognition of miracles is to note both the definition and attributes of a miracle discussed above. Our definition for a miracle is: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. It is the fact that miracles interrupt Nature in a supernatural way, coupled with the fact that God-ordained “natural processes” of divine operating and communication (e.g. natural laws and Scripture) are so sufficient for accomplishing and communicating God’s will, that miracles are extremely rare, all resulting in their ability to cause awe, wonder, and fear in humans. Therefore, if an event is not supernatural, but can be explained by natural events or processes without divine intervention, then it is not a miracle. If an event occurs repeatedly and commonly, then it suggests there is a natural process operating, and not a miracle. In other words, when a “miracle” becomes commonplace, it probably is not a miracle, nor will it be recognized by humans as such. Finally, and especially among believers, if an event does not make an exceptional impression as a supernatural and rare intervention of God, then it probably isn’t a miracle either. For example, Vern S. Poythress, Professor of NT at Westminister has written: This God brings us the spring winds and rains and May flowers. But He also brings hurricanes that exhibit the power of His word: "The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; ... The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire" (Psalm 29:5, 7). 43

It is being implied here that all wind, rain, and hurricanes are a result of a direct intervention and manipulation of God causing such things that would not have otherwise happened by natural processes. On the contrary, such occurrences are quite natural and require some sort of miraculous authentication before we interpret them as something else. Accordingly, in the previous chapter we wrote of a drought that God did miraculously manipulate and cause (cf. Amos 4:7): It is important to note how Amos knew that God had miraculously intervened in Nature. In this case, Amos needed miraculous direct revelation from God. This is because there was nothing obviously supernatural about a lack of rain “when

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the harvest was still three months away,” or that it fell in “one town” or “field” but not another. So while normally supernatural manipulations of Creation must be recognized simply by their supernatural nature, here God also provided additional, extrabiblical, miraculous revelation. This illustrates our point above and below that when God desires for a miraculous intervention to be recognized, He will ensure that it can be. 44 D.2) God desires that people recognize miracles Perhaps most importantly on the topic of properly recognizing miracles, we need to remember God’s own great desire for His miracles to be recognized. Therefore, He ensures that they are obvious enough that people have no good excuse not to. For example, the miracle of Creation is so miraculous that even God says all people are “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20) for not recognizing it as such. How then do we interpret those times in which a miracle occurs and people do not recognize it as such? In other words, who ultimately decides what makes a miracle a real divine revelation of a miracle? Our answer is God. God decides what is sufficiently supernatural, rare, and awe-inspiring enough in order for an event to be recognized as a miracle. For example, the Apostle Paul says that one of God’s purposes for the miracle of Creation is the same as any miracle: to display “God's . . . power” (Rom. 1:20). While God intends that Creation be a miraculous display of His power, a good deal of humanity has refused to accept it as such. Does Creation then cease to be a miracle? Is it necessary for someone to recognize a miracle for it really to be a miracle? No. Miracles do not become miracles just because they are supernatural or wonderful enough for our criteria for a miracle. Rather, a miracle is a miracle because God intends it to be and humans have no excuse for believing otherwise. Such is the case with the miracle of Creation. All humanity is “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20) for not recognizing that what God intended to be a miracle, is a miracle. No one has a legitimate reason for demanding that more supernatural phenomena must be displayed in order to call Creation a miracle. Indeed, as we have demonstrated elsewhere, the devil-darkened reason of unregenerated humanity makes them insane when it comes to recognizing the work of God. Therefore, a supernatural regeneration, granting us a Spirit-liberated reason, is necessary to properly receive, understand, and process the divine revelation that

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is communicated through such things as Creation, the Gospel, and miracles. 45 Ultimately, then, what amount and kind of evidence necessary to call an event a miracle is determined and supplied by God because He intends it to be a divine revelation for a particular purpose. This is why we see in Scripture, as noted above, God even providing miraculous communication in order to ensure that a miraculous deed is not misinterpreted (cf. Amos 4:7). This is also why the revelations of biblical Prophets and Apostles normally came in the form of visions they could physically see and a voice they could physically hear, not just mental impressions. Why was the Apostle Paul absolutely certain he had received a direct, miraculous understanding of the Gospel (cf. Gal 1:8-12)? Because Jesus Christ personally and physically appeared to him to explain the Gospel, which was Christ’s habit throughout the Apostles’ lives (cf. Acts 10:9-16; 23:11; 2 Cor 12:1-4; Rev 1:9-12). 46 It is because God Himself wants us to know when a miracle has occurred that He will make the event miraculous enough for especially His people to recognize it. D.3) Born again Christians are really good at recognizing miracles God’s people are really good at recognizing real miracles. This is because they have already experienced the greatest miracle occurring today: supernatural regeneration for salvation. Contrary to the accusations of super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism, more discerning Christians are just as eager to see real miracles of God as they are. This is because they love God and desire His glory just as much as anybody else. It is unregenerated unbelievers who have a sinful, illegitimate, distorting skepticism of miracles, not true Christians. 47 Because God intends miracles to be a divine revelation of His glory, you have to have a really hard heart toward God to not recognize them when they occur, which is not an attitude consistent with being a Christian at all. Therefore, the deception of super-supernaturalism is a much greater temptation among born-again Christians than anti-supernaturalism.

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D.4) Caution is better than lying Elsewhere, regarding divine intervention in our life, we write: So, did God cause us to get a particular job, marry a particular person, or live in a particular place, thereby manipulating the ingredients of our life to supernaturally result in a miraculous outcome that would not have occurred apart from God’s intervention? Was God behind such things, or were they simply the result of more common, natural processes like wisely choosing a job we like, simply marrying someone we were naturally attracted to, or merely choosing to live where our relatives do like many others do? More specifically, did such events and decisions involve divine intention or were they simply random, natural human events that God essentially allowed? First of all, the fact that God has a desire to ensure we properly recognize real miracles, should make us more comfortable with simply and often admitting we do not know! We may not know because God may supernaturally, but secretly intervene in our life, with no desire for us to know. 48 Contrary to mega mystics, recognizing direct divine intervention in our decision making is much more difficult than they suggest. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to matter. While God will always supernaturally authenticate divine revelation that is to be authoritative for others, such as the words of a Prophet or Apostle, He does not seem to be in the habit of supernaturally proving, or revealing when He is directly intervening in the decision making process concerning our own lives. In other words, when it comes to decisions for our own life, God does not seem to care if we know we are being guided by direct divine intervention or simply our own free will using other God-given means of guidance such as logical and moral reason, biblical convictions, or living according to our New Nature. Such things involve the unrevealed predestined will of God as discussed elsewhere. 49 An additional legitimate reason that we may not properly recognize a miracle is that, as noted below, even miraculous looking things may be remarkable coincidences. God knows we have all these limitations in properly recognizing miracles, and therefore, when He wants them to be recognized, He makes them supernatural, rare, and awe-inspiring enough that sincere Christians will properly recognize them. As noted above, super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism are silly for accusing their brothers and sisters of intentionally

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disregarding the miraculous, as if the danger is that we would have a hard heart toward glorifying God. On the contrary, the greater danger is that we really want to glorify ourselves. We must admit that miraculous interventions in our lives make us feel very special, and make us look special to others, and because we may crave such things, we might look for and claim miracles in events in which they really did not occur. Therefore, in many cases, while we may personally believe God has performed a miracle in a certain instance, we must be careful of making dogmatic claims of such things, admitting our human limitations in such matters. When we disrespect the need for obvious divine authentication of a miracle, we can constantly misinterpret circumstances and events as the miraculous and direct intervention of God for the purpose of communicating something, often resulting in misplaced blame against God. As we have written elsewhere: [D]ivine authentication is essential to determining whether or not an event is a miracle of God or a natural occurrence. For example, when a hurricane hits the Louisiana coastline, is God sending a message as He did when He caused other weather anomalies in Scripture (cf. Jonah 1:4)? If we are experiencing painful circumstances is God causing them in order to discipline us (cf. Heb 12:5-13)? How many would have interpreted Job’s trials as divine discipline, just like his friends, even though by God’s own admission Job was blameless? When bad things happen to good people is it God’s doing or the devil’s? If an opportunity for a job we want becomes available in another city, is this God directing us to move there? The only way such events can be confidently attributed to the direct intervention and manipulation of God is if and when they are accompanied by something we would consider divine authentication. Otherwise, the causes of such things are best assumed to be their more common and natural ones (e.g. natural weather patterns, 50 the normal struggles of being human, etc.). 51 In other words, contrary to super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism, it is better to be cautious about miracles, then to be lying about them. D.5) Hindsight is better than foresight An obvious question is what would miraculous authentication of God’s supernatural intervention look like today? Perhaps, for

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example, the timing and nature of the event would strongly suggest divine intervention. Accordingly, we would tend to agree with the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius mentioned in the previous chapter (sec. 2.4.2.A.1), that he and his troops did indeed experience a miracle, especially in light of the fact that God’s people were praying for it. Likewise, Christian apologist Norm Geisler writes: A fog at Normandy aided the Allied Forces' invasion of Europe on D-Day and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. Fog has natural causes, but the timing of this one was an evidence of God's [miraculous] providence. 52 Likewise, Reader’s Digest relates: [T]here are those weather oddities that would confound even the Weather Channel. For instance, the British burned Washington, D.C., in 1814, and out of nowhere came the first recorded tornado in D.C. history. It trashed the British army and conveniently doused the flames on the federal buildings. 53

It would seem reasonable to conclude that the unique circumstances and characteristics of such an event may be sufficient evidence that God was taking sides in this historic and monumental battle and miraculously intervening. This would especially be the case if some Christians had actually prayed that such a thing would occur, all of which would legitimately add to the perceived divine intentionality, and therefore, miraculous nature of the event. However, apart from immediate miraculous authentication, this type of revelation can often only be confidently recognized in hind sight, as we look back over the course of events and see God’s guiding hand. One of the more profound examples of supernatural manipulation in human events is the story of Esther. God sovereignly ordained many events surrounding her life, including being chosen as the King’s bride out of a myriad of other women (cf. Esth 2:8-9, 17). It was through her God-ordained circumstances that she was able to be used by God to avert the destruction of the Jews (8:3-8). However, this very example illustrates the difficulty we have in recognizing such circumstances as the hand of God. As we have written elsewhere: For all she [Esther] knew, especially before experiencing what seemed to be divine intervention on God’s part for His people, she was simply following the circumstances dictated to her. Initially, even Mordecai was unsure of the purpose of Esther’s circumstances and even when her position seemed

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providential he could only say, “who knows, you may have been chosen Queen for just such a time as this” (Esth 4:14 NCV). Because the eventual outcome of her circumstances were clearly miraculous and applied directly to God’s plan of salvation, she could be relatively certain only in hindsight that those circumstances had been manipulated by God. 54 D.6) Recognize the possibility of other explanations Of course, anti-supernaturalists are so eager to explain away miracles, that they often come up with rather absurd ways of doing so. 55 Nonetheless, super-supernaturalists need to recognize that some things that appear supernatural, simply are not. Take for example the reality of plain coincidence in a world where a vast multitude of rather random events are constantly occurring and by chance at times coincide to give the appearance of a miracle. Along these lines, David Myers writes: If we can't find or even imagine a natural cause for an unsolved mystery, we may presume a paranormal one. Moments after a friend from long ago crosses our mind, the friend calls. Too weird, too improbable to have any explanation other than telepathy? But some weird coincidences are inevitable. . . . What shall we make of these weird coincidences? Was James Redfield [popular New Age author] right to suppose, in The Celestine Prophecy, that we should attend closely to "strange occurrences that feel like they were meant to happen"? Is he [and Christian mega mystics] right to suppose that "they are actually synchronistic events, and following them will start you on your path to spiritual truth"? Without wanting to rob us of our delight in these serendipities, much less of our spirituality, statisticians agree: they tell us absolutely nothing of spiritual significance. "In reality," says mathematician John Allen Paulos, "the most astonishingly incredible coincidence imaginable would be the complete absence of all coincidences." . . . Eight golfers witnessed Todd Obuchowski's hole-in-one on the Beaver Brook golf course in Massachusetts. His shot soared over the green, onto a highway, hit a passing Toyota, and ricocheted back to the green and into the cup. The moral: That a particular specified event or coincidence will occur is very unlikely; that some astonishing unspecified events will occur is certain. 56

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Which again is why truly miraculous events are noted in hindsight, not predicted with foresight. This points up the danger in mega mysticism of seeking divine guidance through coincidental “signs” thought to be miraculous messages from God. Question: is there any place in Scripture where God expected someone to discern His will or recognize divine revelation in merely a set or string of circumstances that appeared supernaturally connected? No. God has no expectation of us recognizing such a thing because He does not work this way, which is why He always provided obvious, supernatural miraculous communication (i.e. vision, voice, angelic appearance, etc.) to explain the events, if He desired them to be recognized as a divine revelation of anything. 57

Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Our Father in Heaven, we thank praise You for Your power to perform the miraculous. We are grateful for those times in biblical history and in our personal lives that You have revealed Your love and might. Help us to understand the doctrine of miracles better so that we might avoid error and sin regarding them and help others do the same. Gauging Your Grasp 1) What is our answer to the question of why do miracles occur at one time and not another? Do you agree or disagree and why? 2) What are some biblical principles that can be applied to having a proper expectation of miracles? 3) What are the two sins we claim that super-supernaturalists are especially in danger of committing? Do you agree or disagree and why? 4) We claim that many areas of sound doctrine are determined by correctly ascertaining when a miracle is needed. Can you think

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of some examples? 5) How does the devil use an over-expectation of miracles to deceive us? 6) What is the significance of the statement: God will not do for us what He has already enabled us to do in regards to the expectation of miracles? 7) What is the significance of the fact that God has enabled us to do everything He has commanded? 8) We claim that super-supernaturalism is in danger of placing too much emphasis on God doing miracles in our life to prove His love for us. Do you agree or disagree and why? Have you experienced examples of this in your life or observed it in others? 9) What are God’s intended proofs of His love for every Christian? 10) List all of the unconditional divine promises we have for this life revealed in Scripture? What kinds of miraculous works do each of these require? 11) List all of the conditional divine promises we have for this life in Scripture? What kinds of miraculous works do each of these require? 12) What do we mean by saying: “Everyone wants a miracle, but no one wants to really be in need of one”? 13) Why do particularly American super-supernaturalists insist nonsuper-supernatural Christians are not experiencing as many miracles as they should? What is our response? Do you agree or disagree and why? 14)

Who ultimately decides what makes a miracle a real divine revelation of a miracle? What are our reasons/examples for suggesting this?

15) Despite the accusations of super-supernaturalism, why is this error more tempting for Christians to fall into than antisupernaturalism?

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16)

What is the significance of David Myer’s statement: “That a particular specified event or coincidence will occur is very unlikely; that some astonishing unspecified events will occur is certain”?

17)

Why wouldn’t we call “Todd Obuchowski's hole-in-one” a miracle? Publications & Particulars

1

For further discussion of our view of the process of salvation see chapters 4.16; 6.2-3.

2

For further discussion of the “illumination of the Spirit” see chapter 3.5.

3

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Eerdmans, 1992), 76.

4

For further discussion of testing God in the context of what biblical faith is see section 6.13.F.

5

For further discussion of mega mysticism see Book 14.

6

Augustine, Confessions, 10.35; online at www.ccel.org.

7

Ruth Tucker, God Talk: (Intervarsity, 2005), 118.

8

For further discussion of the sufficiency of Scripture as a divine communication see chapter 7.9.

9

The claim of super-supernaturalists that miracles happen more abundantly to them because of something special about them is unbiblical, untrue, and arrogant. This is primarily because of the attributes of miracle faith which is a gift from God. For further discussion see chapters 11.4-5.

10

Excerpt from section 7.11.C.1.

11

For further discussion of the biblical purpose for human miracle working see sections 3.1.D; 7.1.B.5; 11.1.F.

12

Further discussion of the distinction between direct divine miracles and delegated human miracle working see section 10.1.D. For further on the cessation of the latter see chapter 11.7.

13

For further discussion on the ultimate need for divine intervention for our salvation see sections 2.2.B-C and chapters 4.12-16; 6.2-3.

14

Excerpt from section 7.11.C.1.

15

Excerpt from section 7.11.C.1. For further discussion regarding what we call the prayed-for will of God see section 7.15.B.5.

16

C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study (Macmillan, 1947), 97.

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17

Arnold Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography (Banner of Truth Trust, repr. 1999), 140-41.

18

For further discussion of the biblical nature of human miracle working see Book 11: Human Miracle Working, esp. chapter 11.1.

19

For further discussion of the biblical concept of a “controlling call” see section 7.15.B.1.b.

20

Colin Brown, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT), Colin Brown ed., 4 vols. [Zondervan, 1986], 2:627. See also Merril F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Moody, 1966), 748-9, which also fails to distinguish between direct divine miracles (which God may do) and delegated human miracle working.

21

Lloyd-Jones, The Sovereign Spirit: 1985), 46.

22

Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway, The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun (Monarch Books, 2002), 7.

23

Ibid. 31-2.

24

Ibid. 124-8.

25

Ibid. 178-80

26

Ibid. 241-44.

27

Lewis, 70.

28

For further discussion of the fraud in super-supernaturalism see 11.7.B.9 and 11.8.E-F.

29

For further discussion of the fraud in the ministry of Benny Hinn see section 11.8.F.4.

30

J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007), 169.

31

Jim Green, The Jesus Film Project (Campus Crusade, 2005), 1-2.

32

Yun, 25-26.

33

Ibid., 27-30.

34

For further discussion of “power evangelism” see chapter 11.6.

35

For further discussion of the biblical attributes of the gifts of healing and miracle working see chapter 11.1.

36

For further discussion on the important distinction between direct miracles and delegated miracle working see chapters 10.4-5.

37

For further discussion of the fact that every God-sent miracle worker in Scripture was also a messenger of new extra-biblical divine revelation to be believed and obeyed by all, see section 11.1.F.

38

Regarding visionary faith see chapter 6.7B.

Discerning the Gifts (Harold Shaw,

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39

Regarding our claim that God has not and will not reveal a specific will for our lives see section 7.15.B, especially B.4.

40

Carson writes on the possible conditionality of this promise: “if not made explicitly conditional on the disciples' obedience to the Great Commission, is at least closely tied to it.” (Matthew in the Expositors Biblical Commentary, Frank Gaebelein ed. (Eerdmans).

41

Regarding the miraculous nature of spiritual conversion see section 10.5.B.2.

42

Regarding the visionary faith spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 see section 6.7B.B.

43

From an article in World Magazine. Specifics unavailable.

44

Excerpted from section 10.2.A.1.

45

Regarding the necessity of spiritual regeneration to correctly perceive miraculous revelation see section 4.13.B.

46

For further discussion on the obvious, objective nature of apostolic revelation see chapter 8.3.

47

Ibid.

48

As discussed above, because we define a miracle as a divine revelation, we would not consider such secret supernatural acts a miracle.

49

Excerpt from section 7.16.? For further discussion of the unrevealed predestined will of God see section 7.15.B.1.a.

50

Such regular events in Creation can be referred to as divine providence through which God maintains life and order on Earth. However, we would distinguish between Providence and miracles, as the former does not, from our perspective, involve divine intervention, but is accomplished through the normal processes of Nature that God has established.

51

Excerpted from section 7.1.B.

52

Norman Geisler Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999), 472-3. However, it should be noted that Geisler himself distinguishes between divine providence and a miracle and does not consider this event the latter.

53

Readers Digest, May 2011, 186

54

7.15.B.1.a.

55

For examples of absurd explanations given by anti-supernaturalists, particularly for biblical miracles, see chapter 7.12.

56

David Myers, Intuition: 2002), 237- 9.

57

Regarding the relationship between divine revelation and divine authentication see section 7.1.B.5.a.

Its Power and Perils (Yale University Press,

Book 10 God’s Miracles

Part II The Myriad of Miraculous Deeds  10.4: Divine Miracles: The Direct Hand of God

101

 10.5: Human Miracle Working:

113

The Delegated

Power of God

 10.6: Demonic Miracle Working by satan’s Servants

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Chapter 10.4

Divine Miracles The Direct Hand of God

Table of Topics A) Physical Miracles Performed by God A.1) Examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds A.2) Purposes of direct divine physical miraculous deeds B) Spiritual Miracles Performed by God Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  Direct divine physical miraculous deeds are those miracles that God has performed Himself without apparent human intermediaries, over the physical forces of Nature.  The most important past examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds are the initial creation of the Universe (Gen 1:1-2; John 1:1-2) and the Incarnation (cf. Matt 1:21; John 1:14) and Resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-5).  Perhaps the most powerful direct divine physical miracle is illustrated in the fulfillment of prophecy.  It is interesting to note that when we come to the NT, there are very few direct divine miracles as virtually all those recorded occur through human miracle workers.  One of the very few direct divine physical miraculous deeds in the NT is Philip’s immediate translation from a desert road to Azotus (cf. Acts 8:39-40).  God has reserved the most important miracles for Himself (i.e. Creation, Flood, Incarnation, Resurrection, Recreation).  The most miraculous physical human healing that can occur is restoring physical life to a dead person.  God’s direct miraculous physical deeds occurred in Scripture to fulfill a purpose or authenticate a covenant or promise of God.  Related to the fact that God’s direct miraculous deeds authenticated His promises and purposes, they are a powerful revelation of His character.  In contrast to physical miracles, a spiritual miraculous deed transforms a person’s life, not just a limb.  It would seem clear that some supernatural working was evident in the lives of such men as Noah, Abraham, and Moses, in order to transform them into the spiritual giants they were, in contrast to all of those around them. We consider this a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed on God’s part.

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A) Physical Miracles Performed by God A.1) Examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds Direct divine physical miraculous deeds are those miracles that God has performed Himself without apparent human intermediaries, over the physical forces of Nature. In other words, no Angel or human apparently performed or commanded them, but God alone did both, and while they changed all kinds of natural things and no doubt had psychological effects on those who witnessed them, they did not automatically affect anyone’s soul in an eternal way. The most important past examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds are the initial creation of the Universe (Gen 1:12; John 1:1-2) and the Incarnation (cf. Matt 1:21; John 1:14) and Resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-5). The most obvious present example of direct divine physical miraculous deeds is the physical healing of people, often times in response to our prayers. The most momentous future example of this type of miracle will be our own “rapture” (1 Thess 4:13-18) 1 and resurrection (1 Cor 15:51-53) and the coming recreation of the Universe (cf. Rev 21:5). Perhaps the most powerful direct divine physical miracle is illustrated in the fulfillment of prophecy. When one ponders the myriad of people and circumstances that must be supernaturally manipulated in order to ensure that specific detailed prophecies occur, we think of one word: power. Supernatural power over anything and everything necessary to bring the predestined will 2 of God about. 3 Some of the most memorable examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds of God in the OT include:  World-wide Flood (cf. Gen 7:9-12)  World-wide confusion of languages (cf. Gen 11:1-9)  Conception of Isaac (cf. Gen 17:17; 18:12; 21:2)  Destruction of Sodom (cf. Gen 19)  Turning Lot’s wife into salt (cf. Gen 19:26)  Fire coming from heaven (cf. Num 11:1-3)  Killing 14,700 people with a plague (cf. Num 16:46-50) and many more with poisonous snakes (cf. Num 21:6-9)  Israelite’s crossing of the Jordan River at flood stage (cf. Josh 3:15-17)

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 Intervention in battles in which the Israelites faced overwhelming odds (cf. Josh 6:20; 10:5-11; 2 Chron 20:22-24)  Feeding Elijah with food brought by ravens (cf. 1 Kgs 17:6)  Jonah’s three day stay and release from the belly of a whale (cf. Jonah 1:17) It is interesting to note that when we come to the NT, there are very few direct divine miracles as virtually all those recorded occur through human miracle workers. Even from the periods in the OT in which miracle workers are active (i.e. Moses, Elijah, and Elisha), we see that the direct kind virtually ceases. One of the very few direct divine physical miraculous deeds in the NT is Philip’s immediate translation from a desert road to Azotus (cf. Acts 8:3940). Also, we notice that although these direct divine miraculous deeds (i.e. Creation, Incarnation, Resurrection) are the most important miracles in human history, they are also the most rare in biblical history. It would seem God has reserved the most important miracles for Himself (i.e. Creation, Flood, Incarnation, Resurrection, Recreation), because these are particularly supernatural, rare, and awe-inspiring displays of God’s “eternal power and divine nature” (Rom 1:20) and particularly critical to accomplishing His plan for the Universe. Finally, as mentioned above, the most obvious present example of direct divine physical miraculous deeds is the physical healing of people. For example, we read of King Hezekiah: In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. . . . Hezekiah . . . prayed to the LORD, "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. (Isa 38:1-5) Accordingly, it is this kind of physical healing that most people think of when they think of modern divine miracles in general. It is healings that God does directly, perhaps in answer to prayers, but apart from the command of a miracle worker like Christ or an Apostle.

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Obviously, the most miraculous physical human healing that can occur is restoring physical life to a dead person. We know of no well-documented or attested case of some “faith healer” raising anyone from the dead since Apostolic times, 4 however, we believe God has directly performed this miracle since then. 5 For example, the case of Don Piper seems both well-documented and attested, and in the prologue of his book he writes: I died on January 18, 1989. Paramedics reached the scene of the accident within minutes. They found no pulse and declared me dead. They covered me with a tarp so that onlookers wouldn't stare at me while they attended to the injuries of the others. I was completely unaware of the paramedics or anyone else around me. . . . While I was [dead], a Baptist preacher came on the accident scene. Even though he knew I was dead, he rushed to my lifeless body and prayed for me. Despite the scoffing of the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), he refused to stop praying. At least ninety minutes after the EMTs pronounced me dead, God answered that man's prayers. 6 While direct divine physical miracles may result in healing and raising someone from the dead, they can also bring disease and death (cf. Num 16:46-50). For example, the Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians: For anyone who eats and drinks [the Lord’s supper] without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under [divine] judgment. (1 Cor 11:29-32) Apparently, unbelievers who could not properly “recognize” the true spiritual significance of the sacrificial death of Christ’s “body” were being supernaturally disciplined by God, to the point of being made sick or even killed. All of the above, of course, are miracles, fitting our definition of an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power. Accordingly, they illustrate the three attributes of miracles described in the previous chapter. They are obvious interventions into natural processes, relatively extremely rare, and awe-inspiring. Finally, they are direct divine miraculous deeds because no apparent intermediary was involved in accomplishing them. 7 In other words, while the Baptist preacher prayed for Don Piper, he was not delegated miracle working power to command a miracle, but rather, it was performed directly by God.

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This category of direct divine physical miraculous deeds brings up the rather difficult topic of how to categorize the miracles of Christ. He “was God” (John 1:1), yet repeatedly insisted while on Earth that His authority and miracle working power had been delegated to Him by the Father (cf. John 5:19-23, 26, 30, 36; 14:10-11; cp. 15:5). 8 For our purposes of distinguishing between direct and delegated miracle working, we have chosen to distinguish between the non-incarnate Christ Who created the Universe in the past (cf. John 1:2-3, Col 1:16), presently preserves it (cf. Col 1:17), and in the future will recreate it (Rev 21:5); from the incarnate Christ Who walked on the Earth in a fully human body. Accordingly, we will consider the miracles of the non-incarnate Christ as direct miracles, including those performed by the Angel of the Lord in the OT which we support elsewhere as a pre-incarnation theophany of God the Son. 9 On the other hand, those miracles performed by the incarnate Christ will be discussed in the next chapter under delegated miracle working. A.2) Purposes of direct divine physical miraculous deeds Some of the purposes of direct divine miraculous deeds are closely related to our previous discussion on what circumstances make miracles more likely to occur. 10 These circumstances included the fulfillment of a predestined “controlling call” on a person’s life, or special authentication, protection, and encouragement of Christians in the context of severe persecution, or the introduction of Christianity to new cultures. In addition, direct divine miraculous deeds occur as simple answers to prayer. God’s direct miraculous deeds also occurred in Scripture to authenticate a covenant or promise of God. The most powerful and perhaps important example is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This direct divine miraculous deed is the signature of Almighty God on the New Covenant. Accordingly, the Apostle Paul writes that Christ, “through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 1:4; cf. 1 Cor 15:12-19). It is because of the authenticating nature of God’s direct miraculous deeds that they are often referred to in Scripture as “signs.” Accordingly, John McClintock (1814-1870) and James Strong (1814-1870) relate: The word simeion, sign, tells us in the plainest language that these works were tokens calling the attention of men to what was then happening; and especially is it used in the Old Testament of some mark or signal confirming a promise or

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covenant. Such a sign (or mark) God gave to Cain in proof that his life was safe (Genesis 4:15). Such a sign (or token) was the rainbow to Noah, certifying him and mankind throughout all time that the world should not be again destroyed by water (Genesis 9:13). . . . Thus Ahaz is told to ask a sign, and a choice is given him either of some meteor in the heavens, or of some appearance in the nether world (Isaiah 7:11). . . . Elsewhere the divine foreknowledge is the sign (Exodus 3:12; Isaiah 37:30), and generally signs of God’s more immediate presence with his people would either be prophecy (Psalm 74:9) or miracle (Psalm 105:27; Jeremiah 32:20; Daniel 4:2). . . . Repeatedly the purpose of the supernatural occurrence is given as a twofold "sign": "By this you will know that I am the Lord" (Exod. 7:17; cf. 9:29-30; 10:1-2) and that these are "my people" (Exod. 3:10; cf. 5:1; 6:7; 11:7; [cf. Deut. 26:8; cf. 29:2-3; Josh. 24:17; Neh.10; Ps. 105:27; Jer. 32:20-2 1]). 11

Related to the fact that God’s direct miraculous deeds authenticated His promises and purposes, they are a powerful revelation of His character. Accordingly, we see that the miracle of Creation is intended to reveal God’s “eternal power and divine nature” (Rom 1:20), and ever since Creation, God has been revealing His character through this direct miraculous deed. He has continued to do the same. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere: God demonstrated His holiness to Noah when the flood waters supernaturally destroyed all other breathing beings (cf. Gen 6:5-7). He showed Abraham His faithfulness by supernaturally giving him a son even in old age as He had promised (cf. Gen 15:4). God demonstrated His wrath when He, “rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah” (cf. Gen 19:24). He revealed His sovereignty over human circumstances through the miraculous manipulation of events in Joseph’s life (cf. Gen chs. 37-50). God’s unconditional grace was demonstrated in the Exodus (cf. Deut 7:6-8). His compassion was evident when He lengthened Hezekiah’s life (cf. Isa 38:1, 5), just as He does whenever He miraculously heals someone today. God’s great love was demonstrated by God the Son dying on the cross. And His immense power was again proven by Christ’s resurrection. 12

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B) Spiritual Miracles Performed by God In contrast to physical miracles, a spiritual miraculous deed transforms a person’s life, not just a limb. A possible example in Scripture is when we read of an occurrence of supernatural unity: “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD” (2 Chron 30:12). Experience tells us that such unity is not natural among humans and this would appear to be a supernatural deed performed by God to effect people spiritually. Another example of a spiritual miracle performed directly by God is His granting of serving gifts such as “serving . . . teaching . . . encouraging . . . contributing to the needs of others . . . leadership . . . [and] showing mercy” (Rom 12:7-8). These are special desires and abilities to serve God and His people more effectively, and we do not acquire them by natural means, but rather, they are “various forms” of “God’s grace,” (1 Pet 4:10), such that “God works all of them in all men” and they are all “the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines” (1 Cor 12:6, 11). While the possession of these supernatural abilities is a direct spiritual miracle of God, the effectiveness of them is dependent on our faithful exercise of them (cf. 1 Pet 4:10; 1 Cor 15:10). 13 The primary example of such a direct divine miraculous deed of the spiritual kind is spiritual regeneration. We will suggest below that under the New Covenant, this miracle occurs through the delegated miracle working power of preaching the Gospel. However, in the OT it would appear to have happened directly from God in an unmediated way. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere: We would suggest as well that the reason that ones such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Caleb, Joshua, David, and the Prophets had such enduring faith in God was not because of something they could take credit for in and of themselves. Rather, we would suggest that God’s Spirit worked in such men in a special and unique way, enabling them to maintain the supernatural faith in God they had. The Holy Spirit did not give us the stories of these great men to glorify them, but rather to point again to the God who enabled them. The OT heroes seemed to be forerunners of those Israelites, who through the New Covenant, were also to receive the Spirit. In other words, the following promise from Ezekiel was fulfilled for such men long before it would be realized for the Jewish nation in general:

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I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. (Ezek 36:26-7) The faith of Noah (cf. Gen 6:5-14), contrasted with the world; the faith of Abraham (cf. Gen 15:6), contrasted with Lot; the faith of Moses (cf. Num 11:17), Joshua (cf. Num 27:18), Caleb (cf. Num 14:24), and the Prophets (cf. 1 Pet 1:11) contrasted with the rest of the Jewish nation; the faith and character of David (cf. 1 Sam 16:13-14; Ps 51:11), contrasted with Saul; all reflect, as the verses referenced indicate, a special work of the Spirit in their lives, and demonstrate even in the OT the vast difference between regenerated and unregenerated hearts in relation to faith. There would seem to be good evidence that such men were not under the control of a sinful nature that is “hostile to God [and] does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so” (Rom 8:7). All men born since Adam have been in bondage to the sinful nature, and if these men were not, it was undoubtedly because some action of the Spirit had transformed them so that the sinful nature was dethroned, enabling them to love, obey, and believe God as they uniquely did. Any real virtue in humanity is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We are therefore inclined to agree with Millard Erickson in his popular Christian Theology when he writes: “There are several biblical considerations that argue for the occurrence of regeneration in the Old Testament (or pre-Pentecost) period.” And it would be such a regeneration that would explain the faith exhibited in the OT. 14 It would seem clear that some supernatural working was evident in the lives of such men as Noah, Abraham, and Moses, in order to transform them into the spiritual giants they were, in contrast to all of those around them. 15 We consider this a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed on God’s part. While it would seem that it produced supernatural faith and virtue, the primary purpose of such supernatural action in the lives of these men was to accomplish God’s plan of salvation, as each of them played a unique role in this.

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Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Our Father in Heaven, we again glory in Your remarkable works. Praise You for being willing to step into our realm and create the Universe, incarnate Your Son, and raise Him from the dead, all for our salvation and eternal blessing. Nothing has improved the quality and destiny of our lives more than Your miracles. Indeed, we are gaining an understanding of why there is no such thing as Christianity, or hope either, without them. Gauging Your Grasp 1) How do we define a Direct divine physical miraculous deed? 2) What are the most important past examples of direct divine physical miraculous deeds? 3) We claim that in the NT, there are very few direct divine physical miracles and virtually all those recorded occur through human miracle workers. Why would this be the case? 4) What is one of the very few direct divine physical miraculous deeds in the NT? 5) What are the five most important miracles described in Scripture? Are they direct divine miracles or delegated human miracle working? Why is this the case? 6) What is the most obvious present day example of direct divine physical miraculous deeds? 7) What are some biblical purposes of direct divine miraculous deeds? 8) How do we define a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed? 9) What do we suggest is an OT example of a direct divine spiritual miraculous deed? Why do we suggest its NT counterpart is an example of delegated human spiritual miracle working?

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Publications & Particulars 1

The “rapture” is the resurrection of those Christians still living when Christ returns (cf. 1 Thess 4:13-18; Matt 24:29-31).

2

For further discussion of the concept of the predestined will of God see section 7.15.B.1.

3

For further discussion of fulfilled biblical prophecy see chapter 9.8.

4

For further discussion of the claims of “faith healers” raising the dead see section 11.8.E.

5

For example, see story of possible resuscitation of life at section 10.3.C.5.

6

Don Piper, 90 Minutes in Heaven (Baker, 2004), prologue. While we believe that Mr. Piper was physically dead and extraordinarily brought back to life, we reserve judgment on his claim that he experienced Heaven. He is certainly a Christian, and he experienced something remarkable, but the fact that he admits he only saw deceased friends and never God, brings up at least some questions as to what he did experience.

7

Angels may have been involved in these direct miracles, as in the angelic miracle working discussed in the next chapter, but we are not told so.

8

This delegation that exists within the Godhead is discussed further at section 4.1.B.2.

9

See section 10.9.C.

10

For further discussion on the proper expectation of miracles see chapter 10.3.

11

John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, CD-ROM (Ages Software, 2000), VI:38-39.

12

Excerpt from section 7.11.B. For several additional examples of some amazing direct divine miracles see throughout chapter 10.2.

13

For further discussion of serving gifts as a revelation of God’s will see chapter 7.13.

14

Excerpt from section 4.16.E.

15

On the work of the Holy Spirit in the OT Wayne Grudem writes: [S]ometimes [it] is said that there was no work of the Holy Spirit within people in the Old Testament. This idea has mainly been inferred from the King’s words to the disciples in John 14:17, "He dwells with you, and will be in you." But we should not conclude from this verse that there was no work of the Holy Spirit within people before Pentecost. Although the Old Testament does not frequently speak of people who had the Holy Spirit in them or who were filled with the Holy Spirit, there are a few examples.

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Joshua is said to have the Holy Spirit within him (Num. 27:18; Deut. 34:9), as are Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:2; 3:24), Daniel (Dan. 4:8-9, 18; 5:11), and Micah (Mic. 3:8). This means that when the King says to his disciples that the Holy Spirit "dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:17), he cannot mean that there was an absolute "within/without" difference between the old and new covenant work of the Holy Spirit. Nor can John 7:39 ("as yet the Spirit had not been given, because the King was not yet glorified") mean that there was no activity of the Holy Spirit in people's lives before Pentecost. (Systematic Theology [Zondervan, 1994], 637).

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Chapter 10.5

Human Miracle Working The Delegated Power of God

Table of Topics A) Physical Miracle Working by God’s Servants A.1) The Nature of Delegated Human Miracle Working: Sign gifts A.2) The Amazing Miracles of Christ A.3) The Authenticating Miracle Working of Prophets & Apostles A.4) The Powerful Miracle Working of Exorcism A.5) The Awe-inspiring Miracle Working of Martyrdom A.6) The Ministering Miracle Working of Angels

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Table of Topics Continued B) Spiritual Miracle Working by God’s Servants: regeneration, virtue, & gifts B.1) The Nature & Superiority of Spiritual Miracle Working B.2) Supernatural Regeneration through the Gospel The greatest miracle working today according to Jesus (John 14:12) B.3) Supernatural Virtue with the Resulting New Nature The greatest proof of Christianity today according to Jesus B.4) Supernaturally Building Christians through Serving Gifts Extras & Endnotes Table 10.5: The Types of Supernatural Spiritual Gifts: Scripture, sign, & serving

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Primary Points  Most of the miracles recorded in Scripture occur through a representative of God who has been delegated His supernatural power.  Delegated miracles occur by the command or touch of a person and never fail, as we have no record in Scripture of a God-appointed miracle worker commanding or attempting to perform a miracle that did not occur.  The distinction between direct miracles and delegated miracle working is not merely a theological one, but important in the modern debate regarding miracles. We believe in miracles, not miracle workers.  The purpose of delegated human miracle working was authenticating these humans as messengers of new extrabiblical divine revelation. This is why we refer to them as authenticating sign gifts and why, in Scripture, you will never find a person possessing the gifts of miracle working and healing who was not also a source of such new extra-biblical divine revelation.  Spiritual miracles are confined to people (because only they are spiritual) and uniquely transform them on the inside.  Super-supernaturalists do not share God’s preference for spiritual miracle working gifts such as teaching, over physical miracle working gifts such as healing.  There is an unfortunate and universal mistake on the part of theologians to leave spiritual regeneration out of a discussion of miracles that God does, let alone miracle working that obedient Christians perform today.  Jesus said the raising of the spiritually dead to eternal heavenly life through the ministry of the Gospel and the resulting supernatural regeneration of the Holy Spirit would be the greatest miracle working of any that has occurred!  When a Christian is spiritually healed in regeneration, they are given the ability to continue working miracles of virtue with their New Nature. It is as if an arm were not only miraculously healed, but in the process, given a supernatural strength by which it can do things that other human arms cannot do  A serving gift supernaturally provides someone with an ability that they would not have otherwise, in order to serve others.

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A) Physical Miracle Working by God’s Servants A.1) The nature & purpose of delegated human miracle working: Sign gifts While the examples in the previous chapter demonstrated the direct working of God’s power without intermediaries, most of the miracles recorded in Scripture occur through a representative of God who has been delegated His supernatural power. For example, Hezekiah’s healing noted above did not occur through some supposed “faith healer” or other intermediate means, but occurred immediately by the direct power of God. Hezekiah did not “work” a miracle, but was simply given one. On the other hand, “miracle workers” such as Christ, Angels, OT Prophets and NT Apostles performed miracles upon command with delegated power from God. In fact, when the Apostle Paul is describing the gift of miracles he refers to those possessing it as “workers of miracles” (1 Cor 12:28). 1 It can be noted here that God must perform the direct miracle of delegating supernatural abilities to someone, before they can perform delegated miracle working themselves. For example, God must extraordinarily give a person the supernatural ability to heal someone before they can do so. Likewise, God must perform the direct miracle of granting someone a serving gift (e.g. teaching) before they will possess the supernatural desires and abilities it gives them. In general, we can say that direct miracles can occur in response to the simple prayer of anyone, but such requests are often not granted. On the other hand, delegated miracles occur by the command or touch of a person and never fail, as we have no record in Scripture of a God-appointed miracle worker commanding or attempting to perform a miracle that did not occur. Accordingly, direct miracles authenticate and glorify God alone. Delegated miracle working intentionally authenticates and unavoidably glorifies the human as well, because God desires to authenticate them as His divinely authoritative messenger. The distinction between direct miracles and delegated miracle working is not merely a theological one, but important in the modern debate regarding miracles. Super-supernaturalism, which is the belief that miracles of all kinds are quite common today and that God-ordained miracle workers abound, often fails to make the biblical distinction between direct miracles of God and delegated human miracle working, with some unfortunate consequences. For example, because many Christians deny that delegated

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human miracle working is operating today according to its biblical attributes and purposes, super-supernaturalism routinely insinuates that these Christians are also denying God is doing miracles today. On the contrary, of course God is still doing miracles! But this is far different from saying that God is still empowering human miracle workers as super-supernaturalism claims, but which we demonstrate elsewhere is a false claim. 2 We believe in miracles, not miracle workers, and by not distinguishing between them, super-supernaturalism has falsely accused others of believing in miracles less than they do. 3 In addition, super-supernaturalism bolsters its claims to miracle working gifts by suggesting that miracles or healings occurring in response to prayer are examples of the sign gifts, such as healing, operating. On the contrary, as we demonstrate elsewhere, no biblical character with miracle working gifts ever healed people merely with a prayer. Biblical Prophets, Apostles, and Christ healed without fail through their command and/or touch of a person. 4 This is the important difference between the direct divine miracles God may, but not always do today in response to the prayers of any Christian, and the delegated human miracle working through miraculous sign gifts that, in Scripture, were only given to those who were also sources of new divine revelation from God. Not only does the proper distinction between direct miracles and delegated miracle working help to distinguish Authentic Christianity from super-supernaturalism, but also from other religions. As we note elsewhere, other religions certainly claim direct divine miracles, but hardly delegated human miracle workers like Christ and the Apostles, which is one more demonstration of Christianity’s superiority. 5 This leads us to the God-given purpose of delegated human miracle working: authenticating these humans as messengers of new extra-biblical divine revelation that must be believed or obeyed. This is why we refer to them as authenticating sign gifts and why, in Scripture, you will never find a person possessing the gifts of miracle working and healing who was not also a source of such new extra-biblical divine revelation. 6 The miracle working of Moses, Elijah, Christ, and the Apostles illustrate that the miraculous gifts which empower delegated human miracle working are inseparably tied to those receiving new divine revelation which is authoritative for all of God’s people. More specifically, such people possessed new divine revelation (i.e. Scripture gifts) and authenticating miraculous powers (i.e. sign gifts), because God was implementing a monumental divine/human covenant. 7 Accordingly, the writer of Hebrews says concerning the

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inauguration of the New Covenant: This salvation [of the New Covenant], which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also testified to [and authenticated] it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and [sign] gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. (Heb 2:3) Accordingly, the virtually unanimous opinion of the Christian Church for approximately 1600 years was that miracle workers did not exist in the Church because no new divine revelation was needed, nor being granted. 8 Along these lines, Augustine (354430) reflected the inseparable relationship between human miracle workers and new divine revelation when he wrote: For these most trustworthy books of ours [Scripture] contain in one narrative both the miracles that were wrought [by humans] and the creed [covenant] which they were wrought to confirm.” 9 Likewise, the “Old” Princeton theologian Benjamin Warfield (1851-1921) comments in his exhaustive study on miracles: [Miracle workers] do not appear on the pages of Scripture vagrantly, here, there, and elsewhere indifferently, without assignable reason. They belong to revelation periods, and appear only when God is speaking to His people through [them as] accredited messengers. . . . Their abundant display in the Apostolic Church is the mark of the richness of the Apostolic age in revelation; and when this revelation period closed, the period of miracle working [not direct miracles] had passed by also. . . . Therefore it is that the extraordinary working which is but the sign of God's revealing power, cannot be expected to continue, and in point of fact does not continue, after the revelation of which it is the accompaniment has been completed. It is unreasonable to ask miracles, says John Calvin—or to find them—where there is no new gospel. 10 Along the same lines, the influential Baptist theologian Augustus Strong (1836-1921) wrote: [Miracle working is] the natural accompaniments and attestations of new communications from God. The great epochs of miracles - represented by Moses, the Prophets, the first and second comings of Christ -are coincident with the great epochs of revelation. Miracles serve to draw attention to

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new truth, and cease when this truth has gained currency and foothold. 11 Contrary to super-supernaturalism then, these sign gifts of miracle working and healing are specifically granted for the purpose of authenticating messengers of new extra-biblical divine revelation that all of God’s people must believe and obey or otherwise sin against God. And because God has given no one that kind of revelation today, neither has he given them miracle working powers or any of the Scripture and sign gifts that are unfortunately claimed by so many today. 12 A.2) The Amazing Miracle Working of Christ Of course, the greatest miracle worker of delegated miraculous power in both biblical and human history is the incarnate Jesus Christ. As we noted in the previous chapter, while He was God Himself, He repeatedly made a point to explain that His miracle working power came from God the Father. Apparently, the first occurrence of this was turning water into wine (cf. John 2:1-11). Perhaps even more astonishing was His delegated ability for “healing every disease and sickness among the people” (Matt 4:23), including raising people from the dead (cf. Luke 7:11-15; 8:40-49; John 11:43-4). He also performed other miracles over Nature including walking on water (cf. John 6:19), calming a violent storm with just a word (cf. Matt 8:23-26), multiplying fish and bread . . . twice (cf. Matt 14:15-21; 15:32-38), and causing a large amount of fish to gather at a particular place and time to fill the Apostles’ nets (cf. Luke 5:6; John 21:6). 13 Finally, while a magician may be able to make a coin appear in his hand, let anyone else attempt to make one appear in the mouth of a particular fish, that is caught by a particular person, at a specified time, which is just one of the more “minor” miracles performed by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when He visited our Planet (cf. Matt 17:27). While Christ certainly healed people, we suggest that His miracles over Nature particularly demonstrated His unique power, and there is a conspicuous absence of these in the miraculous ministries of His Apostles, not to mention those in supersupernaturalism claiming to be miracle workers today. The essential purpose of Christ’s miracle working is clear: authenticating Himself as a source of new divine revelation from God. As we have noted repeatedly, anyone sent to be the direct

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representative of God will carry God-like, miraculous credentials. 14 Accordingly, Christ said: The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, Who is doing His work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves (John 14:10-11; 10:37-8). Likewise, the Apostle Peter said of Christ: Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited [apodedeiumenon: “proven”] by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know (Acts 2:22). A.3) The Authenticating Miracle Working of Prophets & Apostles There are many examples of delegated divine miracle working by Prophets and Apostles with sign gifts in Scripture. The OT Prophets Moses and Elijah and the NT Apostles Peter and Paul immediately come to mind. We read of Moses in the last words of the Pentateuch: Since then, no Prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deut 34:10-12) This statement was obviously made before Christ, the other Prophet like Moses (cf. Deut 18:17), had come. It clearly communicates that the plagues of Egypt were considered miracles of Moses because they occurred through his ministry. Why did God empower Moses to be a miracle worker? To authenticate him as God’s representative on Earth. Therefore, in God’s initial commissioning of Moses, He gives him miracle working powers after which God says, “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you” (Exod 4:5). Perhaps the most remarkable miracle working performed by Moses with delegated power from God was the opening of the Red Sea. The account reads:

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Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. . . . Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. (Exod 14:15-16, 21-22) Obviously, God performed this miracle, but He chose to accomplish it through the actions of Moses. In addition, as discussed elsewhere, we see perhaps one reason that a miracle worker has the miracle faith to command a miracle. 15 Here, God gives Moses a miraculous revelation of His command to perform the miracle, surely giving Moses certainty that such a miraculous event would occur at the simple raising of his hand. Elijah and Elisha were also powerful miracle workers, so much so that while other miracle workers are primarily known for the divine revelations that always accompanied them, the ministry of these Prophets seemed to be essentially performing miracles. In fact, the magnitude (not quantity) of miracle working performed by them could be said to be equal to Christ Himself. For example, both raised the dead to life (cf. 1 Kgs 17:17-24; 2 Kgs 4:32-7), multiplied food (cf. 1 Kgs 17:8-16; 2 Kgs 4:42-44), and performed miracles over Nature such as Elijah commanding a three year drought (cf. 1 Kgs 17:1; 18:1) and bringing down fire from the sky on several occasions (cf. 1 Kgs 18:17-38; 2 Kgs 1:915). The relationship between these two miracle workers is unique as well, explained by the fact that Elisha inherited “a double portion of [Elijah’s] spirit” (cf. 2 Kgs 2:9, 15). This resulted in Elisha performing several of the same miracles as Elijah, but even greater ones it would seem, including the incident in which “some Israelites were burying a [dead] man” and accidentally “threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb,” and “when the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet” (2 Kgs 13:21). In addition, we will note here that it would appear that Moses and Elijah are not done performing miracles. It would seem clear from Revelation 11 that they are the ones commanding the terrible judgments on the Earth during the future Day of Lord. We read:

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And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. . . . These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the Earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. (Rev 11:3, 6) 16 The reason for such a great period of human miracle working in the time of Moses is obvious. God was implementing a new covenant, a monumental process we have discussed elsewhere. 17 However, the reason for a burst of miracle working in the days of Elijah and Elisha is less clear. We suggest with others, and as we have argued elsewhere, that periods and places of great persecution and apostasy may induce God to grant an abundance of miracles such as these. 18 Nevertheless, we would expect any Godsent miracle workers to be sources of new divine revelation as were all those who are recorded in Scripture. When we come to the Apostolic age in Scripture we, of course, see a great deal of miracle working by the Apostles of Christ. In fact, we would again suggest that their supernatural abilities were equal with Christ’s. For example, we read, “He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matt 10:1; cf. Acts 5:16), language identical to that used of Christ Himself (cf. Matt 4:23). Accordingly, both the Apostles Peter and Paul brought dead people to life (cf. Acts 9:36-42; 20:9-12). Likewise, reminiscent of the bleeding woman who was healed merely because she “touched the edge of [Christ’s] cloak” (Matt 9:20), we read that, “people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by” (Acts 5:15), and, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them” (Acts 19:11-12). The statement, “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles” (Acts 2:43) is a recurrent theme of the early Apostolic Church. The sign gifts of miracle working and healing were obviously also given to the Apostles to authenticate them as messengers of new extra-biblical divine revelation. Accordingly, when the Apostle Paul is defending his divine authority to the Corinthians he writes:

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You have made me act like a fool—boasting like this. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these “super apostles,” even though I am nothing at all. When I was with you, I certainly gave you every proof [sēmeia: “sign”] that I am truly an Apostle, sent to you by God Himself. For I patiently did many signs [sēmeiois: “signs”] and wonders and miracles among you. (2 Cor 12:11-12 NLT) A.4) The powerful miracle working of exorcism Expelling demons from people was a rather common practice of the King (cf. Matt 4:24; 8:16, 28-34; 9:32-33; 12:22; 15:22-29; 17:14-18; Luke 4:33-35; 8:2-3) and His disciples (cf. Matt 10:1; Luke 10:17; Acts 5:16; 8:7; 16:16-18; 19:13-16). It is no doubt intended to be considered miraculous as it is often included in a description of such things. Accordingly, the following from Matthew is very typical: “When evening came, many who were demonpossessed were brought to Him [the King], and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick” (8:16). This same connection between exorcism and miracle working is reflected in Mark where we read: “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in Your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle [dunamin: “power”] in My name can in the next moment say anything bad about Me. (Mark 9:38-9) The King Himself would seem to essentially refer to exorcism as a miracle. Reversing demonic possession, which we support as a demonic miracle below, 19 certainly would seem to require supernatural power that suffices for a miracle. And exorcism certainly can carry with it the awe-inspiring effect we have claimed is essential to a miracle as well. Again, Matthew is typical when he records: While they were going out, a man who was demonpossessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel” (Matt 9:32-33).

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We see as well that exorcism can be a very powerful and wonderful miracle, apparently providing cures for those who are mute and blind (cf. Matt 12:22), crippled (cf. Luke 13:10-16), and experiencing severe seizures (cf. Matt 17:14-18). Accordingly, we would have to agree with the well known Presbyterian theologian Donald Bloesch who writes, “The working of miracles can refer to such phenomena as the multiplication of food and the exorcism of demons.” 20 While exorcism certainly involves spirits, we would not categorize it as a spiritual miracle. It may certainly reverse some of the spiritual evil we describe below concerning demon possession, but this is not necessarily the case. Accordingly, our King taught: When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. (Matt 12:43-45; cf. Luke 11:24-6) We would suggest that one thing the King is communicating here is that exorcism does not necessarily result in a spiritual reformation. It may allow a person to superficially improve their life (i.e. “swept clean and put in order” v. 44). However, if a person’s life remains “unoccupied” (v. 44) by the Holy Spirit Who alone brings supernatural spiritual transformation, demonic spirits will be capable of returning and making, “the final condition of that man . . . worse than the first” (v. 45). 21 This should strongly caution those, particularly in supersupernaturalism, who commonly view exorcism as a tool for spiritual transformation. It cannot and will not replace the need to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2) which comes with the teaching and believing of Scripture. Unfortunately, in the modern obsession over exorcism there can be a tendency to focus on the spectacular physical effects of the phenomenon and ignore the need for subsequent spiritual transformation, possibly leaving people in a more dangerous condition. In addition, we suggest there are two other common abuses particularly in super-supernaturalism regarding exorcism. First, because of its powerful physical effects it is often confused with the sign gifts of miracle working and healing, and its occurrence then used to support the claim that these are still functioning. On the contrary, exorcism is never listed as a spiritual gift, even among the

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list of miraculous gifts (cf. 1 Cor. 12:8-10). Therefore, while it operated alongside the sign gifts in the ministry of Christ and the Apostles it should be distinguished from them. 22 Accordingly, it could be performed by unbelievers (cf. Acts 19:13), and the Apostle John conspicuously leaves them out of his chronicle of Christ’s miracles that were, “written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). While John was certainly interested in documenting Christ’s miracles, he never mentions an exorcism. This is because while exorcism may be considered a supernatural phenomenon, it was not the type of miracle that clearly authenticated a messenger of God, such as the gift of healing did. The second common misunderstanding of exorcisms in supersupernaturalism is the assumption that merely because such a thing occurs in a “church” setting it is to be automatically interpreted as being empowered by God for holy purposes. On the contrary, exorcisms can be accomplished by unbelievers (cf. Acts 19:13-16), and even demonically empowered people (cf. Matt 7:22-23). 23 A.5) The awe-inspiring miracle working of martyrdom Perhaps nothing has revealed the supernatural power of God to the world more than the amazing grace He has given to His servants under torture and execution. The first recorded martyr of the Christian Church was Stephen of whom we read: While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep [died] (Acts 7:5960). We would suggest a supernatural, extremely rare, and aweinspiring power is at work here, as it certainly is not natural for a human to beg divine forgiveness for his murderers. The history of God’s people, both ancient and modern, is replete with examples of supernatural endurance, peace, and virtue even while being subjected to unimaginable cruelty. No other religion, race, or creed can match this testimony. Archibald Alexander (1772-1851), the “Old” Princeton apologist, summarized the testimony of Christian martyrs when he wrote in his textbook on Christian apologetics: Persons of all ages, of all conditions of life, and of both sexes, exhibited under protracted and cruel torments, a fortitude, a

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patience, a meekness, a spirit of charity and forgiveness, a cheerfulness, yea often a triumphant joy, of which there are no examples to be found in the history of the world. They rejoiced when they were arrested; cheerfully bade adieu to their nearest and dearest relatives; gladly embraced the stake; welcomed the wild beasts let loose to devour them; smiled on the horrible apparatus by which their sinews were to be stretched, and their bones dislocated and broken; uttered no complaints; gave no indication of pain when their bodies were enveloped in flames; and when condemned to die, begged of their friends to interpose no obstacle to their felicity (for such they esteemed martyrdom), not even by prayer for their deliverance. By what spirit were these despised and persecuted people sustained? 24 It was obviously a supernatural Spirit that enabled such miraculous physical deeds.25 Actually, we believe the Apostle Paul specifically refers to a supernatural spiritual gift of martyrdom when in the context of mentioning various gifts to contrast them with love, including tongues, prophecy, miracle faith, and vows of poverty he writes: “If I [willingly] . . . surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor 13:3). The Apostle seems to recognize that such an act, done in love, would be a demonstration of a supernatural grace of God. We believe this same supernatural gift will be provided, and have the same affect on pagans, particularly during the time of the coming Great Tribulation when God’s “elect” (Matt 25:22, 24, 31) on Earth will experience a “great distress [thlipsis: “affliction, persecution”], unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” (Matt 24:21). A.6) The ministering miracle working of Angels Angelic miracle working is considerably more common in Scripture than many realize. This is the case even if we consider the Angel of the Lord in the OT as a theophany of God the Son. 26 Primary examples include Daniel’s rescue from the lions (cf. Dan 6:16-23), Daniel’s friends’ rescue from the furnace (Dan 3:14-30), and Peter’s rescue from prison (cf. Acts 12:5-10). Such delegated miracle working by Angels illustrates the statement in Hebrews that they are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (1:14). In addition, we see that Angels do not work miracles just to help God’s people, but to punish others, as we read in Acts, “Immediately, because

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Herod did not give praise to God, an Angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died” (Acts 12:23). Scripture also teaches that the plagues in Egypt were administered by divine Angels (cf. Psalm 78:49), particularly the slaying of the first born being attributed to “the destroyer” Angel (Exod 12:23) whom God sent. 27

B) Spiritual Miracle Working by God’s Servants: Regeneration, virtue, & gifts B.1) The Nature & Superiority of Spiritual Miracle Working As noted in the previous chapter, we distinguish between physical and spiritual miracles by the nature of their effect. Spiritual miracles are confined to people (because only they are spiritual) and uniquely transform them on the inside. More specifically they seem to supernaturally change the desires and abilities of people. We noted previously that it seems God did this directly with some rare individuals in the OT such as Abraham, Moses, and David, granting them a faith and relationship with God that others did not have. However, the affect of spiritual miracles in the NT as we discuss here, occurs through human intermediaries instead of simply directly by God. Therefore, we see them as delegated divine spiritual miracle working. We suggest there are three basic types of this kind of miracle. 1) the supernatural regeneration that occurs when the Gospel is preached, 2) the supernatural virtue exercised by Christians allowing the indwelling Spirit to control them, and 3) the supernatural building up of Christians that occurs as Spirit-indwelled people are faithful with the supernatural spiritual serving gifts (i.e. teaching, pastoring, leading, serving, etc.) they have been given. All of these meet our definition of a miraculous deed: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. But they are also spiritual miracles, affecting the internal desires and spiritual abilities of a person. Two things worth noting will be evident about this kind of miracle working. First, they require the obedience of God’s people. Only obedient Christians are going to share the Gospel and experience its miracle working power over a repentant sinner. Only obedient Christians are going to allow the Spirit to control them so

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that they experience and display to others the supernatural fruits of the Spirit. And only obedient Christians are going to be faithful to use the spiritual gifts they have been given to supernaturally build the body of Christ. God is offering His Church the opportunity to experience the most amazing miracle working and supernatural achievements, but only if they will obey. Secondly, and perhaps most important in our day, is the fact that these spiritual miracles are superior in value to any physical miracles occurring today. Physical miracles may transform human limbs, but spiritual miracles transform human lives. 28 Accordingly, the author remembers being part of conducting a Pastors’ conference in Cameroon West Africa where supersupernaturalism is abundant. The concluding topic was an encouragement to return home and supernaturally love their wives, children, churches, and communities with the love God had indwelled them with. They were told: “I commission you and send you as miracle workers of the most powerful and important kind.” They understood. It is important to note that physical miracles will not necessarily result in spiritual miracles or any spiritual affect at all. One is reminded here of the Israelites of whom the Psalmist writes: He did miracles in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. He divided the sea and led them through; He made the water stand firm like a wall. He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. He split the rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas; He brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers. But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High. . . . In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of His wonders, they did not believe. (Ps 78:12-17, 32) Even the great physical miracles the OT saints experienced did not change them spiritually nor establish a relationship of trust with God. Likewise, in the NT we think of the “ten men who had leprosy” whom the King healed (Luke 17:12). Though all ten had received such a miraculous physical healing, only “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice” (v. 15). We read: He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found

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to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (vs. 16-17) It would seem that while all ten had experienced a physical miracle, only one had experienced a spiritual one which perhaps affected the rest of His life. One wonders if the same thing is going on when the King heals the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda and Christ warns him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Our point again is that a human limb may be extraordinarily changed, but a human life remain spiritually unchanged, making the latter kind of miracle superior to the former. Further biblical evidence that God deems spiritual miracles as more valuable than physical miracles is the order in which the Apostle Paul lists spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 where we read: “In the Church God has appointed first of all Apostles, second Prophets, third Teachers, then workers of miracles” (v. 28). Commentators agree with the obvious conclusion that the Apostle was intentionally ranking these gifts in terms of their value to the Church. Contrary to typical super-supernaturalism, Paul claims that the gift of teaching is a more important, valuable, and powerful gift than physical miracle working. Unfortunately, if most Christians were asked whether they would rather have the power to heal limbs through commanding miracles or change hearts through teaching, they would choose the former. This is because they do not share God’s preference for spiritual miracle working gifts such as teaching, over physical miracle working gifts such as healing. B.2) Supernatural Regeneration through the Gospel: The greatest miracle working today according to the King (John 14:12) While it is possible that spiritual regeneration had occurred in very rare cases in the OT, 29 this miracle comes to the fore in the NT. This is, of course, the miracle of “rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5) which we have spoken of at length elsewhere. 30 There is an unfortunate and universal mistake on the part of theologians to leave spiritual regeneration out of a discussion of miracles that God does, let alone miracle working that obedient Christians perform today. This is particularly surprising when the King Himself said this miracle working would be greater than His

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own, which, therefore, makes it the greatest miracle working of any that has occurred! Our King said the following to His disciples near the time of His death: Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things [ergon: “miracles”] than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:11-12) These words have perplexed many and have unfortunately been abused by super-supernaturalists to support their claim that the NT gift of physical miracle working is operating today. A careful examination of the passage reveals no such thing. Rather, the King is speaking of spiritual miracle working, something much greater and God-glorifying. It is important first to define the “greater things” that Christ speaks of. The previous verse (11) would seem to clearly define these “greater things” as physical “miracles.” Although the NASB simply translates the Greek ergon as “works,” Christ is referring to more than just His good deeds, as ergon is regularly used in the NT to refer to miracles. 31 Our King is specifically pointing to His miraculous deeds as proof that “the Father is in Me” (10, 11). 32 This obviously brings up an important question. What miracle could “anyone who has faith in” the King do that would be “greater” than the miracle working He did? It is agreed by most that the “greatest” miracles performed by Christ would have been His ability to grant physical life to those who were physically dead (cf. Matt 9:18-26; Luke 7:11-16; John 11:43-44). So there is a need to find something in the Christian’s experience today that is more powerful and God-glorifying than raising the physically dead to temporary earthly life. The clearest answer would seem to be the raising of the spiritually dead to eternal heavenly life through the ministry of the Gospel and the resulting supernatural regeneration of the Holy Spirit. There are several items that would support this view. First of all, the King says that the Christian will do greater miracles “because I am going to the Father.” This becomes significant when He later explains that “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the [Paraklete: i.e. Holy Spirit 33] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). So in essence, Christ was saying that we would

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do greater miracle working than He because of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Of course, super-supernaturalists wish to claim that Christ is referring to the continuing ability to work physical miracles. But this is again partly because they do not understand that God values spiritual miracles more. Accordingly, among the many new things that came with the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the miraculous, life changing, born-again experience which accompanied the preaching of the Gospel. It would appear that the King had introduced this idea before in John’s Gospel. In chapter 5 the Pharisees are inquiring into the nature of Christ’s ability to perform miracles, and particularly the physical healing of a paralytic. Our King responds: The Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing. . . . Yes, to your amazement He [the Father] will show Him [the King] even greater things [meizona erga] than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them [physical] life, even so the Son gives [spiritual and eternal] life to whom He is pleased to give it. (John 5:19-21). John uses the exact same Greek phrase here, translated “greater things,” as he used in John 14 (The only two places it is used in the NT). And here in John 5, Christ makes it clear that the “greater things” that the Father will do through Christ is something more than restoring physical life, which is clearly the giving of eternal and spiritual life. There is no doubt that the spiritual rebirth of a human being is a greater work of God than any physical miracle working. This granting of spiritual eternal life that began occurring in people’s lives particularly upon Christ’s departure and the Spirit’s arrival is much greater than a restoration of mere temporary physical life. Spiritual rebirth has eternal consequences, the other only temporary. Modern emergency medical procedures can, essentially, restore physical life to the physically dead, but the world is totally incapable of producing “a [spiritual] new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). Accordingly, Michael Horton, Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster, has written: For Reformation Christians, the most important activity of the Holy Spirit is not raising the dead here and now, but raising to spiritual life those who "were dead in trespasses and sins." 34 Along the same lines, Richard B. Gaffin, Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster has said:

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No work of the Spirit . . . is more radical, more impressive, more extraordinary, and more thoroughly supernatural, than the work He does [present tense] — now, today, a work of nothing less than [spiritually] resurrecting people who are nothing less than "dead in transgressions and sins" (Eph. 2:1, 5). 35 Spiritual regeneration clearly qualifies as a miracle according to our definition of an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish His will. As noted in the previous chapters, miracles are “extraordinary” in the sense that they are supernatural, extremely rare, and awe-inspiring. Understanding that salvation does not occur apart from a supernatural act of God, considering that relatively “few” (Matt 7:14) humans will ever experience it, and recognizing that the life transformation that occurs with it is indeed awesome, spiritual regeneration is clearly a miracle. If the initial physical creation of human beings in the Garden is to be considered a miracle, than so is the spiritual new creation of humans through the Gospel, and an even bigger one than the former because it automatically brings eternal life. And because humans are born spiritually, “dead in . . . transgressions and sins” (Eph 2:1), and cannot “accept the things that come from the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:14), the miracle of regeneration is necessary to accomplish God’s will of saving His Elect. We note as well that God only does the miraculous when the natural condition of something is not sufficient to fulfill His purposes. Such is the case with regeneration under the New Covenant. The Scriptures teach that the Old Covenant that was perhaps implemented by a few regenerated souls was not sufficient to produce a people who truly loved God. God therefore instituted spiritual regeneration for all those under the New Covenant, so that, unlike their OT counterparts, they would remain faithful to God because they have been given a “new heart” that loves God. Accordingly, God describes this miracle when He says: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. (Ezek 36:26-27; cf. Heb 8:10-13; Ezek 11:19-20; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Isa 32:14-18; 44:3) This is the most amazing miracle of all, it is spiritual in nature, and it is not directly performed by God, like perhaps in the OT.

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Rather He has delegated supernatural power to us to perform it. This divine delegated spiritual miracle working of “rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5) occurs exclusively through the preaching of the Gospel by obedient Christians. Contrary to pluralists and universalists we know of no cases in either NT or human history that it has occurred otherwise. 36 This is the reason the Apostle Paul writes the Roman Christians: For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of Whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? . . . Consequently, [saving] faith [and the supernatural spiritual regeneration that accompanies it] comes from hearing the message [Gospel], and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Rom 10:12-15, 17) We would suggest the Apostle believed that the supernatural regeneration that occurs with spiritual salvation only occurs through the instrument of “someone preaching to them” (v. 15). This is why he referred to the “Gospel” as “the [supernatural] power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). The Apostle Peter concurs when he writes: For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God [the Gospel]. . . . [T]he word of the Lord stands forever and this is the word [Gospel] that was preached to you. (1 Pet 1:23, 25; cf. 1 Pet 1:12; Gal 3:2; John 6:63; Heb 4:12; Jas 1:18) The fact that the greatest of all miracles occurs through our preaching of the Gospel is precisely why the King said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing [performing miracles]. He will do even greater things [miracles] than these [physical miracles], because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12), and subsequently the Holy Spirit would come to regenerate people through the Gospel. Accordingly, the respected NT scholar Leon Morris (1914-2006) writes concerning John 14:12: This is probably to be explained in terms of the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will not come until the Son goes away (16:17; cf. 7:39). What Jesus means we may see in the narratives in

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Acts. There there are a few miracles of healing, but the emphasis is on the mighty works of conversion. On the day of Pentecost alone more believers were added to the little band of Jesus’ followers than throughout his entire earthly life. There we see a literal fulfillment of doing “even greater things than these.” 37 We note here that the required “faith” Christ speaks of in order to do these “greater things” is not merely saving faith that saves us, but the empowering faith we exercise to believe and obey God’s commands. 38 In other words, not every saved person will perform this miracle of initiating spiritual regeneration through communicating the Gospel, but only those obedient to the Great Commission (cf. Matt 28:18-20). Obviously, the exercise of such faith in preaching the Gospel does not have automatically miraculous effects. The spiritual death we are physically born into requires no miracle as this is the natural process of Nature (cf. Rom 3:9; Eph 2:1; Col 2:23). But humans are not born with the power to spiritually regenerate themselves to spiritual life, and therefore, a miracle is required. As with any miracle, God must intervene supernaturally to bring about the supernatural results involved in spiritual regeneration to eternal salvation. Accordingly, we read in Acts: [M]en from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s [supernatural] hand was with them, and [therefore] a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:20-21; cf. Acts 16:14; 1 Cor 1:24; 2:4; 1 Thess 1:5; 1 Tim 2:25) Therefore, it would seem that the greatest delegated human miracle working ever performed was not by Christ, the Prophets, Apostles, and certainly not through the modern so called “miracle” workers claimed by super-supernaturalism. We suggest the greatest delegated human miracle working ever in human history has occurred when any obedient Christian has led a sinner to salvation, enabling them to “cross over from [spiritual] death to [spiritual] life” (John 5:24) by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. The spiritual miracle working power of the Gospel is revealed in the fact that it can almost instantly transform the greatest sinners into the greatest saints. The Gospel is so potentially supernaturally powerful that even sinful unbelievers can preach it and bring miraculous regeneration to people (cf. Phil 1:15-18). 39 Therefore, when Christ gave us the Gospel and “committed to us the

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message of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:19), He gave us the ability to perform miracles greater than any He did. Super-supernaturalists who focus so much attention on physical miracle working and “faith healers” need to take better notice of this. 40 Accordingly, it might be said that Christian Evangelists are by far the greatest miracle workers operating in the world today. Along these lines, Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) preached the following during the Great Awakening: Under what great means and advantages you continue in sin. God is now favoring us with very great and extraordinary means and advantages, in that we have such extraordinary tokens of the presence of God among us; his Spirit is so remarkably poured out, and multitudes of all ages, and all sorts, are converted and brought home to Christ. God appears among us in the most extraordinary manner, perhaps, that ever he did in New England. The children of Israel saw many mighty [physical] works of God, when he brought them out of Egypt; but we at this day see works more mighty, and of a more glorious [and spiritual] nature. 41 And Edwards was not talking about physical miracles, but the miracle of “rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5). While it seems clear that the “greater works” Christ was referring to are to be understood as the spiritual miracle of regeneration through belief in the Gospel, super-supernaturalists routinely interpret it as a promise of greater physical miracle working, in order to claim a biblical promise to the continuance of the miraculous sign gifts. For example, Jack Deere, a prominent teacher in the movement, uses John 14:12 to erroneously claim that modern super-supernaturalism will produce miracle workers who will “do greater works [e.g. physical healings] than the Apostles, than Jesus, or any of the Old Testament Prophets.” 42 Also attempting to give biblical support for continuing gifts of physical miracle working through “faith healers,” supersupernaturalist apologist J. P. Moreland writes: The implications of this understanding of Jesus' ministry are remarkable: Jesus is living proof of how those who are his followers may exceed the limitations of their humanness in order that they, like him, might carry to completion against all odds their God-given mission in life -by the Holy Spirit. It is becoming clear that when Jesus said that "greater works than these he [i.e., the one who believes in Jesus] will do, because I go to the Father" (John 14:12), he meant it in the ordinary way these words would be interpreted. In imitation of Jesus’ ministry, the church is invited to exercise the extraordinary

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power of the Spirit in the service of the Kingdom [to do physical miracle working]. 43 Accordingly, NT scholar D. A. Carson writes concerning John 14:12: The passage has become a more or less standard proof text not only in many traditionally charismatic circles but also for many in the Vineyard [movement]. . . . [I]t cannot mean more spectacular works or the like-though some such meaning seems to be assumed by many Vineyard people. . . . I know of no one in the Vineyard, or anywhere else, for that matter, who claims, with any sort of public attestation at all, that he is performing more spectacular miracles than these [physical miracles that Christ did]. I know no person who is matching them; I know no group that is collectively matching them. . . . Before summarizing what the text means, it is worth mentioning what it can't mean. First, it cannot simply mean more works: the church will do more things than Jesus did. There are perfectly good ways to say that sort of thing in Greek, and John did not choose any of them. 44 The proper interpretation of John 14:12 gives no support to the super-supernaturalists claim that Christ was promising the Church continual physical miracle working abilities such as healing. What sane Christian would claim they have performed physical miracles greater than Christ did? Even the most spectacular of the mere physical miracle working performed by supposed modern day “faith healers” pale in comparison to not only the physical miracle working of Christ, but the contemporary spiritual miracle of the new birth. Our point again is that a human limb may be miraculously changed, but a human life remain spiritually unchanged, making the latter kind of miracle superior to the former. Is it possible that super-supernaturalists are forgetting this? When they accuse others of diminishing and limiting the power of God 45 do they forget that the greatest and most powerful miracles are still occurring today when someone is spiritually transformed into a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17)? Or how about when through the teaching of the Word of God a Christian is, “transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, Who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). Here we are reminded of something that the founder of the Great Awakening revival in the eighteenth century, George Whitefield (1714-1770), wrote concerning a similar misconception then:

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Great need have you, my brethren, at this time to take the Apostle’s advice and to try the spirits whether they be of God. For the devil is beginning to mimic God’s work and, because terrors will not do, he is now transforming himself into an angel of light, in order more effectually to gain his point. Brother________, as well as brother _________, I believe, imagines there will be a power given to work miracles. . . . But, alas! what need is there of miracles, such as healing sick bodies and restoring sight to blind eyes, when we see greater miracles done every day by the power of God’s Word? Do not the spiritually blind now see? Are not the spiritually dead now raised and the leprous souls now cleansed, and have not the poor the Gospel preached to them? And if we have the thing already which such miracles were only intended to introduce, why should we tempt God in requiring further signs?” 46 This is the same question we would ask super-supernaturalists today. To accuse anyone who is actively involved in evangelism and teaching of being adverse to miracle working reveals a Pharisaical attitude that strains a gnat but swallows the camel. Such an accusation at least implies a belief that the healing of a physical ailment is at least as powerful or miraculous as the spiritual healings that are constantly occurring today through the communication of God’s word. The miraculous gifts that some so desperately crave today are far inferior to the miraculous works that God is performing through His Word. Have supersupernaturalists simply become bored with the New Birth? God is doing the greatest, most spectacular miracles today! And it is not just within the super-supernaturalist camp as they claim. B.3) Supernatural Virtue with the Resulting New Nature The greatest proof of Christianity today according to the King Not only does the reception of the Gospel work the greatest miracle in us by giving us spiritual life, it also creates in us a New Nature through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Our New Nature is then capable of working the most amazing miracles of supernatural virtue. This virtue is certainly supernatural, as we wrote in a previous chapter: [T]he initial miracle of regeneration for salvation, continues to be evidenced in the supernatural power born again believers have to love others like God through their New Nature. Against the backdrop of humanity’s constant and complete

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selfishness, love is as great a miracle as levitation, violating all kinds of “natural laws” at least as pervasive as gravity. 47 Accordingly, we have demonstrated elsewhere, that even the King claimed this supernatural virtue is the greatest of all apologetics and proofs of the exclusivity of Christianity regarding salvation when He said: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-5). 48 It is the Gospel that causes the miracle of spiritual regeneration, and it is in turn the supernatural effects of the miracle of spiritual regeneration that authenticates the Gospel. The Apostle Paul would seem to allude to this when he writes the Thessalonians: For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our Gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. (1 Thess 1:4-6) First, the Apostle explains that the salvation and regeneration these Christians experienced came through the Spirit-empowered communication of the Gospel (v. 5). Secondly, he notes that he and His companions lived a supernatural life of love among the Thessalonians in order to not hinder their reception of the Gospel or their belief in Paul as a messenger of it (v. 5; cf. 2:1-11). 49 Finally, the Apostle illustrates the miraculous fruit of their regeneration when he describes them as having “joy given by the Holy Spirit,” “in spite of severe suffering” (v. 6). We would suggest this is a miracle, and one that cannot be produced by mere human power, but only by supernatural power. Again, the Gospel causes the miracle of spiritual regeneration which gives us a New Nature capable of miraculous virtue. Accordingly, God has given all Spirit-indwelled Christians delegated miracle working powers to exhibit the supernatural fruits of the Spirit. So then, every time a born again Christian allows the indwelling Spirit to control them, thereby producing the supernatural fruits of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control” (Gal 5:22-3) they are exhibiting attributes that no unregenerated human

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can, 50 and reflecting the greatest of miracles by God’s power as well. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere: In fact, do you want to see a list of the greatest, most supernatural miracles in the Bible? Maybe you think we should go to Exodus and the miracles of Moses, or 1 and 2 Kings to read about Elijah and Elisha, or surely the Gospels and Acts to study the amazing miracles of Christ and His Apostles. No, even from God’s perspective, these are not the places where we read of the greatest miracles. Rather, that list of the greatest miracles is found in a passage of Scripture that is read at virtually every Christian wedding ceremony. Here it is: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Cor 13:4-8) Being “patient” and “kind” to people who hurt or hate you is miraculous. Not envying what others have, nor boasting about what you have, is a moral miracle. Not being “selfseeking” but others-seeking in all you do is an amazing miracle. Keeping “no record of wrongs” done to you and forgiving everyone is simply supernatural. Having an unconditional love that “never fails” no matter what happens is the greatest of all miracles occurring today. This stuff just doesn’t happen apart from the working of Almighty God. While levitation is recognized as an amazing miracle because of the great power and pervasiveness of gravity in Nature, so love should likewise be recognized because of the great power and pervasiveness of selfishness in humanity. Patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, forgiveness, and faithfulness are the greatest miracles ever performed by anyone, even God Himself. They are, in fact, the most supernatural thing about God the Father in Heaven and the Son when He was on this Earth. Remember that the Apostle Paul is writing this in the context of arguing what truly is supernatural. Like the miracle-hungry Corinthians, he no doubt thinks that the abilities he has listed are miraculous including, “gifts of healing . . . miraculous powers . . . speaking in different kinds of tongues [human languages],” “the interpretation

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of tongues,” a “gift of prophecy [that] can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and . . . a faith that can move mountains” (1 Cor 12:9-10; 13:2). However, the Apostle says that if those possessing such gifts “have not love” they are “nothing.” Why? In large part because in a world where every human is born with an irresistible and overpowering selfish nature, love is a much greater miracle than all of these miracles combined. Doctors are “healing” people, scientists have solved a great number of “mysteries,” linguists can teach you foreign “tongues,” and engineers can “move mountains.” But no one, apart from the enablement of the only God, can unconditionally love sinful people like He does, and Christians do. 51 While we cannot even come close to matching God in power or knowledge, He commands us to love like He loves because with our New Nature, we have the ability. While we discuss elsewhere that miraculous interventions into Creation normally subsequently blend back into Nature, such is not the case with the “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17) that occurs with the spiritual regeneration of the Spirit. For example, if someone’s broken arm were miraculously healed, it would subsequently and naturally operate as any other human arm, being indistinguishable from other healthy human arms. However, when a Christian is spiritually healed in regeneration, they are given the ability to continue working miracles of virtue with their New Nature. It is as if an arm were not only miraculously healed, but in the process, given a supernatural strength by which it can do things that other human arms cannot do. 52 But even an arm with supernatural powers must be exercised in order for those powers to operate. Such is the case with the miracle working abilities of our New Nature, which is the reason that we are repeatedly exhorted in Scripture to let it control us (cf. Eph 4:22-24; Gal 5:16-24). A regenerated human being will never be the same again. They can ignore the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in them, and because of old deception and desires, can fall into sin and suppress the effects of their New Creation. However, the new “natural” nature of the Christian is now the supernatural fruits of the Holy Spirit which are “love, joy, [and] peace” (cf. Gal 5:223). There is again here a lesson particularly for supersupernaturalists. Their teachings and practice often result in dividing believers into two groups: 1) “super Christians” who are supposedly performing or experiencing a multitude of merely physical miracles, and 2) the second rate Christians who cannot

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perform or experience such miracles because of a lack of gift or even faith on their part. Not so. The greatest miracles from God’s perspective can be performed by any obedient loving Christian. And while supersupernaturalist Christians certainly claim a superiority in physical miracles, hopefully not even the most arrogant of them would claim a superiority in the most supernatural thing, which is unconditional love. Contrary to super-supernaturalists, supernatural virtue was intended by God to replace the miraculous authentication provided by the sign gifts. Unfortunately, we fear that some supersupernaturalists are trying to take a spiritual shortcut and cover up for spiritual immaturity and a lack of supernatural virtue by claiming an abundance of physical miracles. B.4) Supernaturally Building Christians through Serving Gifts The Apostle Peter wrote: Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace [supernatural power] in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the [super-human] strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 4:10-11) The Apostle is speaking here of what is normally simply called spiritual gifts. Elsewhere, we have differentiated between spiritual Scripture gifts (i.e. Prophets, Apostles) which enabled a person to speak “the very words of God” (v. 11), and sign gifts which miraculously authenticated such people (i.e. healing, etc.). 53 The Apostle here also speaks of spiritual gifts that allow one to serve, “with the strength God provides.” Accordingly, we refer to this kind of spiritual gift as a serving gift. It supernaturally provides someone with an ability that they would not have otherwise, in order to serve others. The fact that these gifts require an extraordinary “grace” (v. 10), “strength” (v. 11), and ability given by God, suggests to us that they are miraculous in nature. They enable us to do something that we could not do in our own natural human power. The Apostle Paul seems to refer to this as well when he writes concerning his ability to effectively preach the Gospel:

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Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor 3:4-6) Obviously, the physical miracle working abilities (i.e. sign gifts) of an Apostle were supernatural in nature (cf. 2 Cor 12:12), but the Apostle describes the serving gift of evangelism as being supernaturally enabled as well. While the serving gifts may not seem as miraculous as the Scripture and sign gifts because the former are much more common, they do involve divine intervention as well. The Apostle Paul perhaps provides the most complete list of serving gifts when he writes in Romans: We have different gifts, according to the [supernatural] grace given us. If a man’s gift . . . is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Rom 12:6-8) We see again the supernatural nature of these spiritual gifts, being “the [supernatural] work of one and the same Spirit” (1 Cor 12:11), as the Apostle writes elsewhere. And while they certainly include supernatural virtues such as generosity and “mercy” (cf. Rom 12:8), their particular uniqueness is seen in their enabling people with enhanced skills they would not have had apart from the supernatural working of God. We read of an OT counterpart to such gifts in Exodus: Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you. (Exod 31:1-6) 54

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Obviously, people have learned such craft skills in more natural ways through instruction and experience. But here, God supernaturally gave these men these skills quite apart from normal means. No doubt they could improve them with further practice and study, but the initial skills were directly given by God. Such would seem to be the case with other serving gifts such as “teaching,” “leadership” (Rom 12:7-8), pastoring, and evangelism (cf. Eph 4:11) in the Church. Again, such abilities can be acquired naturally and naturally improved upon, but those with these gifts would not be as capable in them without the supernatural grace that accompanies such serving gifts. We would suggest as well that it is not only new, supernatural abilities that are granted through such gifts, but new supernatural desires as well, such as an overwhelming aspiration to teach, lead, shepherd God’s people, and evangelize the lost. 55 Finally, we would suggest that the effects of Spirit-given serving gifts are supernatural as well. The Apostle writes in Ephesians: It was He [Christ] Who gave some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be Evangelists, and some to be Pastors and Teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ... [S]peaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him [through these gifts] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work [and the gifts operate]. (Eph 4:11-13, 15-16) First, we can distinguish the Scripture gifts of “Apostles” and “Prophets” mentioned here from the serving gifts of “Evangelists . . . Pastors and Teachers.” While the former no doubt built up the Church spiritually in their day, Paul had noted previously in this very letter that, the Church was “built on the foundation of the Apostles and [Christian 56] Prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone” (Eph 2:20; cf. 1 Cor 3:10). Therefore, like Christ, NT Apostles and Prophets with Scripture and sign gifts had a unique and temporary purpose of receiving and authenticating the New Covenant revelation and founding the Church, while subsequent serving gifts have been teaching the New Covenant revelation and building the Church. 57

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This spiritual “building up” of the Church (cf. Eph 4:12, 16) results in a supernatural “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” (v. 13), and a spiritual maturity and growth (cf. vs. 13, 15-16) that would appear to go beyond anything naturally attained. For further clarification on the various types of spiritual gifts see Table 10.5 below under Extras & Endnotes. The biblical prescription for supernatural church growth, then, is the serving gifts. Here we encounter what we would suggest is another problem with super-supernaturalism. Its primary focus is placed on conjuring up Scripture and sign gifts that no longer operate, and it cannot duplicate, at the expense of devaluing the serving gifts that God has given for the building of His Church. Perhaps the Apostle Paul had already hinted at how he personally viewed the relative value of particularly sign gifts and serving gifts when he purposely ranked the gift of teaching above the gift of miracle working (cf. 1 Cor 12:28), which should serve as a rebuke to any church that generally ignores sound doctrine but craves miracles.

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Extras & Endnotes

Serving gifts

Sign gifts

Scripture gifts

Table 10.5: The Types of Supernatural Spiritual Gifts: Scripture, sign, & serving

Example Prophecy Knowled ge (Apostles )

Refs.

Purposes

Status

1 Cor 12:710, 28-29; Eph 2:20; 4:11 Rom 12:6 KOG: sec. 3.9.B.2; chs. 3.20-23

The reception of new divine revelation in order to implement a new divine/human covenant

Healing Miracleworking Tongues

1 Cor 12:710, 28-29; 2 Cor 12:12; Heb 2:3-4 KOG: secs. 3.8.C.1-3; chs. 3.123.19

Teaching Pastoring Evangelis m Leading Encourag ing Mercy

Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:2829 KOG: sec. 3.8.D.2; 8.?

The miraculous authentication of those possessing the Scripture gifts. Why there are no God-sent miracle workers in Scripture who were not also messengers of new extra-biblical divine revelation. While Scripture and sign gifts founded the Church (cf. Eph 2:20), the serving gifts remain to build & expand the Church (cf. Eph 4:11-12)

For 1900 years the Church believed them to have ceased, but supersupernaturalists claim their return today, despite not being able to match their biblical attributes. For over 1600 years the Church believed them to have ceased, but supersupernaturalists claim their return today, despite not being able to match their biblical attributes.

Being devalued & ignored in supersupernaturalist environments, resulting in the immaturity of many Christians & churches.

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Gauging Your Grasp 1) What are the biblical attributes of delegated human miracle working? Which kind of miracle makes up the most of those recorded in Scripture- delegated human miracle working or direct divine miracles? 2) Regarding the modern debate regarding miracles, why is the distinction between direct miracles and delegated miracle working important? 3) What do we mean when we say “We believe in miracles, not miracle workers.” 4) What was the purpose of delegated human miracle working in Scripture? What biblical fact demonstrates this? 5) What is the gift of martyrdom and what are biblical references to it? 6) How do we define spiritual miracles and how do they differ from physical ones? 7) What are some examples of spiritual miracle working? 8) Why does spiritual miracle working require the obedience of God’s people? 9) What do we claim are the “greater things” that Christ said His followers would do when the Holy Spirit came? Do you agree or disagree and why? Why would such a thing be the greatest miracle? 10) While most things return to their natural functions after a miracle has affected them, what is an example of something that does not? 11) What is a serving gift? Why would we categorize its use as spiritual miracle working? Do you agree or disagree and why?

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Publications & Particulars 1

It is true that “workers” is not in the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 12:28, which simply has dynameis (“miracles”). The idea of workers of miracles as opposed to direct divine miracles seems demanded by the text. For example, the literal translation of verse 29 would be “all are not miracles?” Because it appears in a list of gifts attached to people, even the rather literal NASB renders this, “workers of miracles.”

2

For a biblical critique of the idea that God is empowering miracle workers in the Church today see chapters 11.1 and 11.7.

3

For further discussion of super-supernaturalism see chapter chapters 7.13-16.

4

For further discussion of the nature of biblical miracle working and how it is distinguished from merely receiving a miracle in answer to prayer see section 11.1.B.

5

For further discussion of miracles in other religions see section 11.2.E.

6

For discussion of the inseparable relationship between divine miracle workers and divine revelation see section 11.1.F. Our arguments there include such biblical characters as Philip, Ananias, and Stephen.

7

For further discussion of the relationship between Scripture and sign gifts and the implementation of divine/human covenants see sections 7.3.C-D.

8

Our claim that the unanimous opinion of the Church for at least 1600 years was that miracle working gifts had ceased, reflects the fact that all early Church leaders agreed that such gifts had ceased c. 250 and only fringe, heretical groups claimed them in the centuries following until super-supernaturalism became popular c. 1950. For further discussion see chapter 11.7.

9

Augustine, City of God, City of God, xxii.8; online at www. ccel.org.

10

B. B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (Banner of Truth Trust, 1972), 2527. Notice Warfield’s specific mention of “miracle working.” Teachers in super-supernaturalism such as Jack Deere (Surprised by the Power of the Spirit [Zondervan, 1993]) routinely misrepresent Warfield as saying that direct miracles occurred only during periods of revelation. This would of course be easy to disprove, but that is not what Warfield believed and his teaching remains convincing in spite of recent attempts to answer his historicist arguments. It could be said, however, that Warfield could have been more careful to speak more consistently of “miracle workers” rather than “miracles” in his Counterfeit Miracles.

11

Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology 3 Vols. (Judson, 1907, 1953), 128.

12

For further discussion of the biblical purpose and historical cessation of the miracle working gifts see chapter 11.7.

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13

It should be noted that Christ did not simply know the fish were there, but caused them to be there, unless we want to say that the Apostles were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time. On the contrary, luck had nothing to do with the two recorded instances of this miracle.

14

For further discussion regarding the authenticating work of Christ see section 3.1.B.3, 3.3.C.4, 3.3.D.6, 3.12.A.6.

15

For further discussion regarding miracle faith see chapter 11.4.

16

Further biblical proof that Moses and Elijah have a special place in the future implementation of God’s Kingdom on Earth includes their appearance at Christ’s transfiguration (cf. Matt 17:1-3), and Malachi’s prophecy that Elijah would come before the Day of the Lord (Mal 4:5), John the Baptist being a near partial fulfillment of a future full fulfillment of the same prophecy (cf. Matt 11:14; Mark 9:11). This is a typical attribute of biblical prophecy (see?) and seems implied by Christ Himself when He remarks: To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him. (Mark 9:12-13) Our King makes it clear here that Elijah would have two appearances in fulfillment of Malachi 4:5. The first is through John the Baptist which Christ is clearly referring to in v. 13. But the Baptist did not “restore all things” ushering in the Consummation. This fact prompts Christ’s question that if the Baptist had completely fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy, then why must He yet suffer? Because there is yet another appearance of Elijah after Christ’s suffering which is recorded in Revelation 11:3 and in the context of the restoration of “all things.” Concerning Moses, we are reminded of his rather mysterious burial in which Scripture says: “And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He [God] buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is” (Deut 34:5-6). On this, Keil and Delitzsch are worth the following rather lengthy quote: The fact itself that the Lord buried His servant Moses, and no man knows of his sepulcher, is in perfect keeping with the relation in which Moses stood to the Lord while he was alive. Even if his sin at the water of strife rendered it necessary that he should suffer the punishment of death, as a memorable example of the terrible severity of the holy God against sin, even in the case of His faithful servant; yet after the justice of God had been satisfied by this punishment, he was to be distinguished in death before all the people, and glorified as the servant who had been found faithful in all the house of God, whom the Lord had known face to face (v. 10), and to whom He had spoken mouth to mouth (Num 12:7-8). The burial of Moses by the hand of Jehovah was not intended to conceal his grave, for the purpose of guarding against a superstitious and idolatrous reverence for his grave; for which the opinion held by

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the Israelites, that corpses and graves defiled, there was but little fear of this; but, as we may infer from the account of the transfiguration of Jesus, the intention was to place him in the same category with Enoch and Elijah. The purpose of God was to prepare for him a condition, both of body and soul, resembling that of these two men of God. Men bury a corpse that it may pass into corruption. If Jehovah, therefore, would not suffer the body of Moses to be buried by men, it is but natural to seek for the reason in the fact that He did not intend to leave him to corruption, but, when burying it with His own hand, imparted a power to it which preserved it from corruption, and prepared the way for it to pass into the same form of existence to which Enoch and Elijah were taken, without either death or burial. There can be no doubt that this truth lies at the foundation of the Jewish theologoumenon mentioned in the Epistle of Jude, concerning the contest between Michael the archangel and the devil for the body of Moses. (C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.com, 2000], loc. cit.) Historical support for interpreting the Prophet in Revelation 11 as Elijah can be found in Tertullian (Treatise on the Soul, 50) and Hippolytus (On Daniel, II.22) (both online at www.ccel.org) although they understand the other Prophet as being Enoch. Gregory Beale also mentions several Jewish and Christian apocryphal works that apparently interpret these witnesses as Moses and Elijah (G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, NIGTC [Eerdmans, 1999], 572-3, fn. 293). In the Expositor’s Bible Commentary Alan Johnson notes that, “Jewish tradition taught that Moses and Elijah would return, and this view is followed by a number of Christian interpreters.” (Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. CD-ROM [Zondervan, n.d.], loc. cit.). 17

Regarding the unique revelatory events surrounding covenant making see section 7.3.C-D.

18

For a discussion of how persecution of God’s people may result in a greater number of miracles see section 10.3.C.2.

19

For our argument that demon possession is a miracle see especially section 10.6.B.2.

20

Donald Bloesch, The Holy Spirit: Works and Gifts (Intervarsity, 2000), 293.

21

D. A. Carson comments on Matthew 12:43-5: The point here and in Luke is that those who through the kingdom power of God experience exorcisms must beware of neutrality toward Jesus the Messiah, for neutrality opens the door to seven demons worse than the one driven out. Commitment to Jesus is essential. (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (EBC) Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. CD-ROM [Zondervan, n.d.], in loc.).

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Likewise, Leon Morris comments on the parallel passage in Luke 11:2426: “When anyone gets rid of an evil spirit and puts nothing in its place, he is in grace moral danger” (Luke, [Eerdmans, 1999], 218). Finally, Darrell Bock concludes: “Exorcism alone is not sufficient. Exorcism only benefits when one then responds to God” (Luke [Baker, 1996], 1092). It needs to be remembered that what gives a demon influence and authority in a person’s life is the lies the person believes. If the mere presence of a demon is forced away, but the lies the person believes are not replaced with protective truth, and their mind is “unoccupied,” the person will be susceptible to even more deception and accordingly more demonic control. 22

For further discussion of the relationship between exorcism and the gift of healing see section 11.10.B

23

For further discussion of the potentially demonic nature of exorcisms see section 11.10.B.

24

John Gerstner, Reasons for Faith (Harper & Row, n.d.), 185-86.

25

Along these lines, Joseph Addison (1672-1719) wrote in his classic treatise, Evidences of the Christian Religion: Under this head, I cannot omit that which appears to me a standing miracle in the three first centuries. I mean that amazing and supernatural courage or patience which was shewn by innumerable multitudes of martyrs, in those slow and painful torments that were inflicted on them. I cannot conceive a man placed in the burning iron chair at Lyons, amid the insults and mockeries of a crowded amphitheatre, and still keeping his seat; or stretched upon a gate of iron, over coals of fire, and breathing out his soul among the exquisite sufferings of such a tedious execution, rather than renounce his religion or blaspheme his Saviour. Such trials seem to me above the strength of human nature, able to overbear duty, reason, faith, conviction, nay, and the most absolute certainty of a future state. Humanity, unassisted in an extraordinary manner, would have shaken off the present pressure, and have delivered itself out of such a dreadful distress, by any means that could have been suggested by it. We can easily imagine, that many persons, in so good a cause, might have laid down their lives at the gibbet, the stake, or the block but to expire leisurely among the most exquisite tortures, when they might come out of them, even by a mental reservation, or an hypocrisy, which was not without a possibility of being followed by repentance, and forgiveness, has something in it so far beyond the force and natural strength of mortals, that one cannot but think there was some extraordinary power to support the sufferer. . . . Let any man calmly lay his hand upon his heart, and, after reading these terrible conflicts in which the ancient martyrs and confessors were engaged, when they passed through such new inventions and varieties of pain as tired their tormentors, and ask himself, however zealous and sincere he is in his religion, whether, under such acute

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and lingering tortures, he could still have held fast his integrity, and have professed his faith to the last; without a supernatural assistance of some kind or other. For my part, when I consider that it was not an unaccountable obstinacy in a single man, or in any particular set of men, in some extraordinary juncture; but that there were multitudes of each fact, of every age, of different countries and conditions, who, for near 300 years together, made this glorious confession of their faith in the midst of tortures, and in the hour of death; I must conclude, that they were either of another make from what men are at present, or that they had such extraordinary supports as were peculiar to those times of Christianity; when without them the very name of it might have been extinguished. It is certain that the deaths and sufferings of the primitive Christians had a great share in the conversion of those learned Pagans who lived in the ages of persecution, which, with some intervals and abatements, lasted near three hundred years after our Saviour. Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, Arnobius, and others, tell us, that this first of all alarmed their curiosity, roused their attention, and made them seriously inquisitive into the nature of that religion which could endue the mind with so much strength, and overcome the fear of death, nay, raised an earnest desire of it though it appeared in all its terrors. This they found had not been effected by all the doctrines of those philosophers whom they had thoroughly studied, and who had been labouring at this great point. The sight of these dying and tormented martyrs engaged them to search into the history and doctrines of him for whom they suffered. The more they searched, the more they were convinced; till their conviction grew so strong, they themselves embraced the same truths, and either actually laid down their lives, or were always in readiness to do it, rather than depart from them. (Greenfield: John Denio, 1812, VII:4, 6-7). For further examples of extraordinary martyrdoms see section 5.9.B.1. 26

Regarding the “Angel of the Lord” in the OT being Jesus Christ see section 10.9.C.

27

While some interpret the destroying angels as demons, Keil and Delitzsch note: [These] are not wicked angels . . . but angels that bring misfortune. The mode of construction belongs to the chapter of the genitival subordination of the adjective to the substantive, like , Prov 6:24, cf. 1 Sam 28:7; Num 5:18, 24; 1 Kings 10:15; Jer 24:2. . . . Therefore, [these] angels [are] not of the wicked ones (i.e. wicked angels), which it might signify elsewhere, but . . . misfortunebringing angels (loc. cit.). While this angel may have been the Angel of the Lord, or the preincarnate Christ, as Keil and Delitzsch claim, we cannot be certain.

28

For further discussion on the limited effect of physical miracles apart from the spiritual miracle of regeneration see section 4.13.B.

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29

For some biblical evidence of spiritual regeneration in the OT see section 4.16.E.

30

Regarding regeneration see chapters 4.15-16 and 6.3.

31

For further discussion on the use of ergon in relation to miracles see section 10.2.A.1.

32

Peter Davids comments on John 14:10-11: What are these works? We know they are not his teachings, for he refers to his works as evidence for believing his teachings. Thus they must be “the miracles” (as the NIV correctly translates), for those are the works which in John are connected with people believing. It is immediately after this that Jesus says that “anyone who has faith in” him will do “greater works” than these. Given the context, the greater things can only be greater miracles. (Hard Sayings of the Bible [Intervarsity, 1996], 502)

33

The NIV translates paraklete as Counselor which is not only an unlikely rendering but is misleading. For further discussion see section 14.13.B.

34

Bloesch, 98

35

Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., “Challenges of the Charismatic Movement to the Reformed Tradition” online at http://www.the-highway.com/ charismatic2_Gaffin.html#40, endnote 39

36

For further discussion of pluralism and universalism and their claim that saving faith can occur apart from the communication of the Gospel see section 6.10.B.

37

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (Eerdmans, 1995), 573-4

38

For further discussion on the important biblical distinction between saving and empowering faith see section 6.2.C.1.

39

For further discussion of the fact that false Apostles will preach the Gospel see section 11.13.E.

40

This is why it is rather sad to see super-supernaturalist authors claim that what Christianity really needs is more physical miracle working. For further discussion see section 7.13.A.1.

41

Jonathan Edwards in John Gerstner, The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, 3 vols. (Berea, 1991), I:272.

42

Jack Deere, “Intimacy with God and the End Time Church,” Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Denver, CO, 1989, audiotape, session 2A.

43

J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007), 174

44

D. A. Carson in Power Religion: Church? (Moody, 1992), 108.

45

For illegitimate accusations made supernaturalists see section 10.16.G.

The Selling Out of the Evangelical against

Christians

by

super-

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46

Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, 2 vols. (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970), 348-9.

47

Excerpt from section 10.2.A.4.

48

For further discussion of John 13:34-5 see section 5.3.B. For further discussion of what we call virtue apologetics see Book 5: Biblical Apologetics.

49

Regarding the Apostle’s life of virtue apologetics see section 5.4.A.3.

50

For further discussion of unregenerate humanity’s inability to produce the supernatural virtues of unconditional love and holiness see chapter 5.7 and section 5.16.B.

51

Excerpt from section 5.4.A.2.

52

For a discussion of unregenerated humanity’s inability to unconditionally love see section 5.16.B.1.

53

For further introduction to the concepts of Scripture gifts (i.e. Prophets, Apostles) and sign gifts (i.e. predicting, healing) see section 7.3.C-D.

54

Admittedly, the supernatural gifts spoken of in Exod 31 are difficult to narrowly categorize according to the scheme we are using. These gifts included a supernatural “knowledge” (v. 3) that involved direct divine revelation, and would be an example of extraordinary communication from our perspective. Such extraordinarily obtained knowledge would normally not be a part of a serving gift such as teaching, leading, pastoring, serving, or evangelizing. Teachers get their knowledge from the more natural means of study and evangelists get the Gospel from Scripture. Also, while we have categorized serving gifts as a spiritual miracle because of their effects, the gifts described in Exodus 31 would seem to be more of a physical nature. So while we use them as an OT example of serving gifts they are significantly different.

55

For further discussion on how serving gifts affect the direction of our personal lives see chapter 7.13.

56

For further discussion on the fact that the Apostle is referring to Christian Prophets as opposed to OT ones in Eph 2:20 see section 9.6.C.1

57

For further discussion on the purpose & characteristics of Scripture & sign gifts see sections 7.3.C-D.

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Chapter 10.6

Demonic Miracle Working by satan’s Servants

Table of Topics A) The Fact of Demonic Miracle Working B) The Types & Purposes of Demonic Miracle Working B.1) Physical Demonic Miracle Working: to test God’s people & deceive His enemies B.2) Spiritual Demonic Miracle Working: Possession Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  While the Scriptures seem clear on the fact that satan can perform supernatural acts, many theologians do not consider them to be miracles. However, the Scriptures that the above theologians use to support their view do not seem to do so.  The Egyptian sorcerers really did make a staff turn into a snake and water into blood.  The antichrist will perform real miracles with delegated power from God.  The King thought that demonic miracle working in His Church would be a common thing. Yet this is not our expectation.  Part of antichrist’s End Time delusion would seem to be nothing less than a Christ-like resurrection from the dead.  The contemporary Hindu guru sai baba is offered as just one example of many modern miracle workers that clearly, and even frighteningly, demonstrate that not everything supernatural is holy.  God’s purpose for giving the devil and his demons supernatural powers is to test His people and deceive His enemies.  Considering satan’s desire to copy God’s works as best he can, it should not surprise us that spiritual demonic miracle working manifests itself in demonic possession.  Accordingly, we would suggest that demonic possession is a spiritual miracle leading to supernatural evil.  Perhaps the best case study in Scripture regarding demonic influences in a person’s life is King Saul. Only a man supernaturally controlled by demons would order the murder of eighty five innocent priests.  Judas is a NT example, and Adolf Hitler a historic one.  God’s purpose for allowing such demonic spiritual miracle working as in possession is not always entirely clear. However, at times it would seem to be a part of His punishment for considerable sin and rebellion against Him.  We can be assured that nothing, including demonic possession, occurs without His permission and the assurance that it somehow fits in God’s ultimate plan for the Universe.

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A) The Fact of Delegated Demonic Miracle Working While the Scriptures seem clear on the fact that satan can perform supernatural acts, many theologians do not consider them to be miracles. For example, John Calvin (1509-1564) wrote: And we may also fitly remember that satan has his miracles, which, though they are deceitful tricks rather than true powers, are of such sort as to mislead the simple-minded and untutored. 1 More recently, the popular Christian apologist Norm Geisler has written: Miracles have a moral dimension. They bring glory to God by manifesting his moral character. . . . No true miracle, then, is evil, because God is good. . . . God performs true miracles; satan does false signs. God does genuine miracles; satan does counterfeit miracles. This is precisely what the Bible calls them in 2 Thess. 2:9. 2 Likewise, R. C. Sproul, John Gerstner, and Arthur Lindsey suggest concerning satan’s destructive deeds against Job, “None of this was done miraculously but apparently naturally.” 3 Along the same lines, the OT scholar Gleason Archer (19162004) wrote: Pharaoh's magicians showed a skill not much different from that of professional magicians today, who know how to produce rabbits or doves out of their hats. Their staffs that turned into serpents when cast on the ground may have been snakes that they had charmed into rigidity that made them look like staffs until their bodies hit the ground. Their frogs, apparently few in number compared to the overwhelming host that Moses' rod produced, may have been concealed at first like the rabbits in the magician's hat. 4 Neither did C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) discuss demonic miracles in his study of the topic, and seemed to confuse them with the divine when he wrote: “I am in no way committed to the assertion that God has never worked miracles through and for Pagans.” 5 There seems to be no place in the theology of these men for demonic miracle working. However, the Scriptures that the above theologians use to support their view do not seem to do so. For example, Dr. Archer implies that the works of the Egyptian sorcerers who opposed Moses were simply magic tricks. On the contrary, that is not what

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the actual biblical text states. Concerning the staffs turned into snakes we read: Aaron threw his [real] staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his [real] staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their [real] staffs. (Exod 7:10-12). For Dr. Archer’s claim to be true, it would seem the text would have to read that the Egyptian sorcerers threw down charmed snakes. But the Bible says they “threw down” their “staffs” and “did the same things” as Aaron. Likewise, Aaron made all above ground water in Egypt turn into blood, including the Nile river, “the streams and canals . . . the ponds and all the reservoirs . . . everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars” (Exod 7:19). A remarkable miracle indeed. But we are told, “the Egyptian magicians did the same things” (v. 22). Not just minor, isolated counterfeits, but they too made real blood appear in all the water of Egypt. Also, while Aaron made “frogs” cover “the land” of Egypt, the Egyptian sorcerers “did the same things.” (Exod 8:6-7). Such things require a supernatural power, and it was not divine, but demonic. 6 The description of antichrist’s activities in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 literally reads in the Greek: “lying [pseudous] power, signs and wonders,” suggesting that the falsehood applies to the effect of the miracles rather than their nature. Accordingly, NT scholar Gordon Fee agrees with the majority of commentators 7 when he writes: Paul indicates here that “signs and wonders” can accompany both truth and falsehood. By describing those of the Lawless One as stemming from falsehood, he does not mean that they are "counterfeit" in the sense of not really occurring. . . . Since this is the only real meaning of "counterfeit," one wonders whether the NIV is not quite misleading to call them "counterfeit miracles, etc." See also RSV, which is even worse: "with pretended signs and wonders"-now corrected in NRSV 8. . . . To the contrary, miracles they are indeed; but they issue from falsehood and as such are intended to deceive, to lead people astray after satan. Indeed, in Paul's view they are empowered by the "spirit" responsible for all falsehood, satan himself (cf. Eph 2:2). 9

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More succinctly, Leon Morris comments on 2 Thessalonians 2:9, “For Paul the miracles are real enough; it is their origin and end that make the lie.” 10 Christ implies as well that demonic miracles are real when He says, “false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great [not fake] signs and miracles to deceive even the Elect” (Matt 24:24). Our King calls these miracles “great” not counterfeit or fake. And it is not because of Christians’ naivety that the deceptive power of such demonic miracle working will be so great, but rather, the power in the miracles is so great. Likewise, end time delegated demonic miracle working is described by the Apostle John when he writes of, “spirits of demons performing miraculous signs” (Rev. 16:14). Concerning satan’s supernatural deeds against Job, it is admitted that natural means were involved. However, contrary to the theologians above, when we read that, “The fire of God [fell] from the sky and burn[ed] up the sheep and the servants” (1:16), and a sudden rush of “a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house . . . [which] collapsed on them [such that Job’s children were] . . . dead” (1:19), and that all of this occurred on the same day, if not the same hour, we recognize that these natural means are being manipulated in a supernatural way to produce a miracle. Accordingly, we do not believe it is either biblical or necessary to deny that satan can perform miracles. Rather, we would point to the Bible’s instruction on the critical need to distinguish between divine and demonic miracles (cf. Matt 7:15-22; 24:24; 1 John 4:1), instead of denying the latter. 11 Demonic miracle working is nothing new to the Church. As described elsewhere, as early as the first century, Simon Magus was thought to be a demonically empowered miracle worker. 12 Accordingly, the early Church leader Origen (c. 185-c.254) noted, “The cure of bodies is a thing indifferent, and a matter within the reach not merely of the good, but also of the bad.” 13 Demonic miracles reflect our definition of a miracle as an extraordinary occurrence of God’s supernatural power . . . to accomplish . . . His will. First, we would suggest that satan uses the delegated power of God to perform his miracles. As we have written elsewhere: Of course, all power in the Universe is ultimately God’s power for there is no power, or even mere existence, apart from that which has been granted by the Creator (cf. 1 Chr 29:11-12; John 1:3; 13:3; Col 1:16-17). Whether it is the power operating in plants or planets, humans or even demons, all such power is on loan from God. 14

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Whatever powers or dominion satan has, have been given to him, as He admits himself when he tells Christ that, “all the kingdoms of the world [and] . . . all their authority and splendor . . . has been given to me [by God], and I can give it to anyone I want to” (Luke 4:5-6; cf. 1 John 5:19; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Rev 13:2). So while indeed everything supernatural is ultimately divine in origin, not everything supernatural is holy in effect. While we may initially balk at the idea of God delegating supernatural power for the devil’s use, we must remember that everything, whether it be deemed by us to be good or bad, occurs “according to the plan of Him Who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His [predestined] will” (Eph 1:11) and that, “The LORD works out everything for His own ends-- even the wicked for a day of disaster” (Prov 16:4). Christ would seem to describe delegated demonic miracle working when He says: Many will say to Me on that [last] day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!' (Matt 7:22-23). It can be noted that, first of all, Christ does not deny that what these “evildoers” performed were “many” real “miracles.” As NT scholar D. A. Carson writes, “There is no reason to judge their claims false; their claims [to miracle working] are not false but insufficient [to be Christian].” 15 Secondly, the supernatural nature of their deeds suggest a power beyond that which is merely human. Thirdly, their works earn them the label “evil doers.” All of this adds up to suggest that Christ is indeed warning His Church of demonic miracle workers. And the King thought that demonic miracle working in His Church would be a common thing. He said “Many” “evildoers” will “perform many miracles” all in the “name” of the “Lord.” We should expect that both the number of demonically empowered miracle workers and the number of the miracles they perform will be abundant. Yet this is not our expectation. It would seem the average Christian today is quite reluctant to believe that “many” people would actually “perform many miracles” in the “name” of Christ in His Church, and yet in reality be a demonically deceiving “evildoer.” Yet that is precisely what Christ warned. The fact that the devil can perform real miracles with God’s power would seem to be especially illustrated by the antichrist and his servants in End Time events. Remembering from the previous

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chapter that miracles are extraordinary in the sense that they defy natural laws and inspire awe, we see that demonic miracles can do the same. Accordingly, we read of the antichrist: The coming of the lawless one [antichrist] is apparent in the working of satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing. (2 Thess 2:9-10 NRSV) Part of antichrist’s End Time delusion would seem to be nothing less than a Christ-like resurrection from the dead, which the Apostle John describes as follows: “One of the heads of the beast [antichrist] seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast” (Rev 13:3). 16 Such an End Time resurrection would certainly be supernatural and awe-inspiring. Remember, antichrist’s purpose will not only be to oppose Christ, but to duplicate and be accepted as Him (cf. Matt 24:24), making necessary the most supernatural of miracles. 17 Accordingly, we discuss elsewhere the fact that divine and demonic miracle working are not to be distinguished by their power, but the virtue of the one performing the miracles. 18

B) The Types & Purposes of Delegated Demonic Miracle Working B.1) Physical demonic miracle working: to test God’s people & deceive His enemies Like divine miracle working, we see both a physical and spiritual effect for the demonic kind. We have already noted several biblical references of physical demonic miracle working. We would add another in Paul’s mention of, “a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan, to torment me” (2 Cor 12:7). Most believe this to be a physical ailment of some sort, and if so, it did not come about by natural causes, but supernatural ones. We would also note here the supernatural power that can result from demonic possession. Accordingly, Mark records concerning a demon possessed man: This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. (Mark 5:3-4; cf. Luke 8:29)

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It is no doubt a supernatural feat for a human being to do such things, and these supernatural deeds were empowered by demons. Perhaps a modern example of demonic physical miracle working would be appropriate here. The contemporary Hindu guru sai baba is offered as just one example of many modern miracle workers that clearly, and even frighteningly, demonstrate that not everything supernatural is holy. His miraculous and obviously demonic feats are worth the following extended excerpt from the Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experiences: [sai baba is a] Hindu avatar [in Hinduism a human incarnation of the Divine] whose alleged miraculous and paranormal feats have attracted a large following of devotees, in both East and West. sai baba is renowned for his healing; for materializations of an incredible array of apports [an object that seems to materialize from thin air]. . . . sai baba quickly attracted followers who were amazed by his miracles and charmed by his personality. . . . sai baba is best known for his apports; some 75 percent of his devotees claim to have seen or received them. He produces a steady stream of apports with a wave of his hand. They include huge quantities of vibuti, holy ash made from burnt cow dung, which is smeared on the body; foods and liquids; religious statues and objects made of gold; precious jewelry; photographs; business cards; even stamps bearing his likeness. . . . He reportedly fills empty bowls with hot, steaming Indian food of most unusual flavors, and produces enough to feed hundreds of people at a time [sound familiar? cf. Matt 14:1521]. He opens his fist and drops sticky sweets into the palms of others, yet his own hands are dry. He also produces amrith, a honey-like substance. All nonfood objects materialized are bright, fresh, and new. Jewelry includes valuable precious gems. Rings requested by followers fit them perfectly; if a person does not like a particular ring, sai baba takes it back and changes it instantly. . . . Many objects are inscribed with his name. . . . In one reported instance during a trance, sai baba levitated. . . . sai baba would also appear to teleport [move invisibly] himself up a hill, disappearing at its base and appearing at the top of the hill within seconds. From the hilltop he would produce luminosities so brilliant and blinding that others had to shade their eyes. Some witnesses collapsed from the brightness [a counterfeit transfiguration?]. Other phenomena attributed to him include the instant changing of the color of his loose robes; his appearance in the

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dreams of others, seemingly in answer to needs; weather control; unusual smells, often produced at a distance . . . psychic surgery; the changing of water into gasoline and into other beverages [remember Christ’s first miracle? cf. John 2:1-11]; mind reading; and clairvoyance. . . . [Before you think the guy is a complete fake] In 1973 Erlendur Haraldsson, a psychologist from the University of Iceland and a psychical researcher, began an investigation of sai baba’s paranormal phenomena that spanned a ten-year period. He made a number of trips to India to interview sai baba, his devotees, and critics. Haraldsson was accompanied on several trips by Karlis Osis, who at the time was with the American Society for Psychical Research; and once by Dr. Michael Thalbourne of Washington University; and once by Dr. Joop Houtkooper of the University of Amsterdam. . . . While observed by the scientists, sai baba produced an estimated twenty to forty apports [materializations] a day, all spontaneously and with great ease. Many of the objects were rare or unusual. . . . Sleight of hand seemed highly unlikely, for the sleeves of his robes were large and loose. Haraldsson also ruled out hypnosis, and found films of sai baba to be inconclusive. . . . A number of prominent Indian scientists have observed sai baba and feel his miraculous feats are genuine. His followers believe he is God. 19 We would suggest this man is a modern day antichrist (cf. 1 John 2:18), working with demonic supernatural power just like the future ultimate antichrist will. His feats underscore the importance of distinguishing the demonic from the divine, as we discuss in more detail elsewhere. 20 What then is God’s purpose for giving the devil and his demons such supernatural powers? There would seem to be two. The first is to test the people of God. Christ indicates this when He relates that in the End Times: “false Christs and false Prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the Elect--if that were possible” (Matt 24:24). The indication is that the demonic miracle working will not ultimately deceive the Elect into accepting a false Christ, but it will certainly be a test. We see the same kind of testing revealed in God’s words to the Israelites: See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it. If a Prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us

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follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that Prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him. (Deut 12:32-13:1-4) First, we notice the remarkable warning that God may in fact grant a servant of satan the ability to foretell the future, the foundational authentication of God’s own Prophets (cf. Deut 18:1722). 21 Secondly, the reason He would grant such supernatural knowledge is for nothing less than testing God’s people for what is the most important to Him: whether we “love Him with all [our] heart” (v. 3). Finally, we see the same divine purpose for the devil’s supernatural abilities in the testing of Job. While it is admitted that the devil’s purpose for such miracle working is to deceive and destroy the Elect, God’s sovereignty is displayed in the fact that even the devil’s purposes ultimately work to accomplish God’s purpose of testing His people to His own glory and theirs. The other reason God delegates miracle working ability to satan is to deceive His enemies. Such is certainly the case with antichrist. It will be God’s desire to deceive the nations at that time, and therefore, the miraculous powers that the coming antichrist will possess will be part of the “powerful delusion” that “God sends . . . so that they [the world] will believe the [antichrist’s] lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thess 2:11-12, cf. Rev 13-14). B.2) Spiritual demonic miracle working: Possession We have distinguished spiritual miracles as those supernaturally influencing a person’s morals. We have also noted that in terms of divine miracles, this kind of miracle manifests itself in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, considering satan’s desire to copy God’s works as best he can, it should not surprise us that spiritual demonic miracle working manifests itself in demonic possession. We have already noted that this can lead to supernatural physical abilities, but here we will note that it results in supernatural moral evil as well.

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Again, we read of the Gadarene demoniac, “When He [the King] arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met Him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way” (Matt 8:28). We note the morality of such men in their description as “violent,” certainly the opposite of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Something of the depravity of such men is communicated when Luke records, “For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs” (Luke 8:27). Demonic possession can lead to suicidal tendencies, as illustrated when the father of a possessed boy tells the King that the demon, “has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him” (Mark 9:22). Likewise, we read of the metaphorical “Babylon,” which refers to the world system that satan controls, as “a home for demons,” (Rev 18:2) and through such control these demons evidently possess people to kill God’s people (cf. v. 23-4). Which should not be surprising as it would seem demons themselves are portrayed as slaughtering humans in the Day of the Lord (cf. Rev 9:14-19). Accordingly, we would suggest that demonic possession is a spiritual miracle leading to supernatural evil. While the sinful nature of humans can “naturally” empower evil in humans, demonic possession allows satan to exercise even more control and selfdestructive behavior. Accordingly, Mark writes concerning the same man, “Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones” (Mark 5:5). Perhaps the best case study in Scripture regarding demonic influences in a person’s life is King Saul. When we first meet him in Scripture he is a humble man, quite reluctant to be exalted as King (cf. 1 Sam 9:21; 10:21-22). Nonetheless, God was willing to equip His chosen instrument and “the Spirit of God came upon him in power” (1 Sam 10:10), and “God changed Saul’s heart” (10:9), such that he was actually “changed into a different person” (10:6), even experiencing the ultimate in spirituality in his day, prophesying “among the Prophets” (10:11). Accordingly, the Prophet “Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!’” (1 Sam 10:24). Early in Saul’s kingship “some troublemakers . . . despised him,” questioning his ability to lead Israel, yet “Saul kept silent” (1 Sam 10:27). Later, after Saul had led them to a great victory we read: The people then said to Samuel, “Who was it that asked, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring these men to us and

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we will put them to death.” But Saul said, “No one shall be put to death today, for this day the LORD has rescued Israel” (1 Sam 11:12-13). Notice that Saul did not even take credit for the victory, but gave God the credit, and apparently forgave his enemies a great offense. But then everything changed because of the supernatural influence of a demon. Because Saul had gotten nervous about a battle and sought God’s blessing inappropriately, “the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him” (1 Sam 16:14). While the Spirit of God had supernaturally changed Saul into a good person, this demonic spirit would supernaturally transform him into a very bad one. Notice the delegated nature of this “evil spirit,” being described as coming from God to accomplish His purposes. Notice as well the supernatural moral evil that resulted. Although earlier Saul had loved David as his own son (cf. 1 Sam 16:21-22; 18:2, 5; 24:16; 26:17, 21), he immediately became “angry” and “galled” at him, keeping “a jealous eye on David” (1 Sam 18:8-9). And when “an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul” he tried to spear David to death three different times (cf. 1 Sam 18:10-11; 19:10). He began to hate even his own children, attempting to use his two daughters as bait to kill David (cf. 1 Sam 18:17, 20-21), and trying to murder his son Jonathan simply because he sided with David (cf. 1 Sam 20:33). Saul’s relationship with God became so distant that he felt the only place he could get spiritual guidance was from a spiritist medium, the very kind that he had previously outlawed and placed under the sentence of death (1 Sam 28:5-9). In essence, Saul went insane, overwhelmed with paranoia (cf. 1 Sam 22:6-8), fear (1 Sam 28:5), and violent mood swings from obsession to deep remorse over his desire to kill David (cf. 1 Sam 24:1-2; 26:21). Finally, only a man supernaturally controlled by demons would order the murder of eighty five innocent priests, and all the “men . . . women . . . children . . . infants . . . cattle, donkeys and sheep” in “Nob, the town of the priests” (cf. 1 Sam 22:16-19), simply because they helped the man of God, David. This is supernatural evil, caused by the supernatural influence of demonic spirits on a person. Likewise, was it not supernatural evil for a man like Judas who had personally witnessed Christ’s power and virtue for several years, and even experienced His miracle working power himself (cf. Matt 10:1-4), to betray his mentor? It would seem the Gospels themselves mark Judas’ desire to betray his master with demonic

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possession, Luke apparently implying such a sequence when he writes: Then satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And [then] Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. (Luke 22:3-5) Perhaps Judas himself was overwhelmed by the supernatural evil in his betrayal, and accordingly, Matthew records later: When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matt 27:3-5) Even if we didn’t have the express statement that Judas was demon possessed, we might infer it from such attributes. We would suggest that many instances in humanity of greater than usual evil, such as existed in Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), were a result of the demonic spiritual miracle working of possession. This will certainly be the case with the antichrist who will “make war against the saints,” (Rev 13:7), exhibiting supernatural immorality. God’s purpose for allowing such demonic spiritual miracle working as in possession is not always entirely clear. However, at times it would seem to be a part of His punishment for considerable sin and rebellion against Him. We are reminded of the downward spiral of spiritual depravity in Romans chapter one in which because of an exceptionally evil heart, God delivers people over to exceptional evil (cf. Rom 1:21-31). Nonetheless, whatever the reason, we can be assured that nothing, including demonic possession, occurs without His permission and the assurance that it somehow fits in God’s ultimate plan for the Universe.

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Extras & Endnotes Gauging Your Grasp 1) What Scriptures indicate that satan can perform miracles? 2) Who do we claim is a modern day demonic miracle worker? Would you agree or disagree? 3) What are God’s purpose for giving the devil and his demons supernatural powers to work miracles? Give biblical examples of each. 4) What is satan’s version of God indwelling His people with the Spirit? Why do we call this a spiritual miracle? 5) What are some biblical examples of demonic possession? What were the affects? Recommended Reading 

For further discussion on demonic miracle working, its detection, and modern examples see chapters 11.11-13. Publications & Particulars

1

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Prefatory Address; online at www.ccel.org.

2

Norm Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999), 451, 473.

3

Classical Apologetics: A Rational Defense of the Christian Faith and a Critique of Presuppositional Apologetics (Academie Books, 1984), 158.

4

Gleason Archer, The Encyclopedia of Biblical Difficulties (Zondervan, 1982), 113.

5

C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study (Macmillan, 1947), 159.

6

Accordingly, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch remark on Exodus 7:11: [W]ho can tell what the ancient [sorcerers] may have been able to effect, or may have pretended to effect, at a time when the demoniacal power of heathenism existed in its unbroken force? The magicians summoned by Pharaoh also turned their sticks into snakes

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(v. 12); a fact which naturally excites the suspicion that the sticks themselves were only rigid snakes, though, with our very limited acquaintance with the dark domain of heathen conjuring, the possibility of their working “lying wonders after the working of Satan,” i.e., supernatural things (2 Thess 2:9), cannot be absolutely denied. The words, “They also, the chartummim of Egypt, did in like manner with their enchantments,” are undoubtedly based upon the assumption, that the conjurers of Egypt not only pretended to possess the art of turning snakes into sticks, but [actually had the ability] of turning sticks into snakes as well, so that in the persons of the conjurers Pharaoh summoned the might of the gods of Egypt to oppose the might of Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews. For these magicians, whom the Apostle Paul calls Jannes and Jambres, according to the Jewish tradition (2 Tim 3:8), were not common jugglers, but “wise men,” men educated in human and divine wisdom, and , ἱερογραμματεῖς, belonging to the priestly caste (Gen 41:8); so that the power of their gods was manifested in their secret [not necessarily merely magical] arts ( from to conceal, to act secretly, like in v. 22 from ). (Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.com, 2000], loc. cit.) 7

F. F. Bruce interprets pseudous in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 as an adjectival genitive meaning “lying,” not false or fake. (1 & 2 Thessalonians (WBC) [Word, 1982], 173. More recently, NT scholar Robert Thomas explains concerning the antichrist: A superhuman person will utilize the supernatural means of "miracles, signs and wonders." . . . They will not be "counterfeit" but genuine supernatural feats to produce false impressions, deluding people to the point of accepting the lie as truth. . . . pseudous is probably not a genitive of description, "counterfeit," telling the intrinsic quality of the miracles (contra Lenski, p. 426). Emphasis on deceit and "the lie" in the next two verses shows these to be miracles "leading to a lie" (Ellicott, p. 116). A genitive of the object is therefore preferable. (1 & 2 Thessalonians (EBC) [Zondervan, n.d.], in loc) Likewise, John Stott comments: Just as the ministry of Jesus was accredited by 'miracles, wonders and signs', and also the ministry of the Apostle Paul, so the ministry of Antichrist will be accompanied by (though not authenticated by) miracles. For his will be counterfeit miracles, probably not in the sense that they will be fakes, but in the sense that they will deceive rather than enlighten. (The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Intervarsity, 1994], 172) Unfortunately, William Mounce in his Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Zondervan, 2006), supports the error of seeing these demonic miracles as “counterfeit” (403). Also

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unfortunate is that the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Colin Brown, ed., 4 vols., (Zondervan, 1986), doesn’t even comment on 2 Thess 2:9. BADG translates: “deceptive wonders” for pseudo at 2 Thess 2:9 (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Walter Bauer, W. F. Arndt, F. W Danker, F. W. Gingrich, 3rd ed. [Chicago University Press, 2000] 8

Actually, in our opinion, most translations get this wrong by suggesting that psuedos refers to the false nature of the demonic miracles, rather than their deceptive effect. In addition to the NIV, the NLT and NCV use “counterfeit,” NASB, ESV, and TEV use “false”, and the RSV and CEV use “pretend” to refer to the nature of the miracles. TMSG is perhaps worse with, “The Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand.” On the other hand, the KJV, NKJV, NRSV use “lying” referring to the effect, as does the JB with “deceptive.”

9

Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence (Hendrickson, 1994), 76.

10

Leon Morris, 1 & 2 Thessalonians (TNTC) (Eerdmans, 1984), 133.

11

Regarding the distinguishing of divine vs. demonic miracles see chapter 11.13.

12

Simon Magus was thought to be a demonically empowered miracle worker. See section 11.12.A.

13

Origen, Against Celsus, III.25; online at www.ccel.org.

14

Excerpted from section 10.2.A.6.

15

D. A. Carson, “Matthew” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein ed. CD-ROM (Zondervan, n.d.), in loc.

16

NT scholar Gregory Beale defends our suggestion in his entry to the NIGTC that John is speaking of a real death and resurrection when he writes: The conditional translation of [os esphagmenēn] in virtually all English versions (e.g., NASB and Moffatt: "as if it had been slain"; KJV and Douay: "as it were wounded"; RSV and NIV: "seemed to have a mortal wound"; likewise NEB, NRSV, and JB) is misleading and makes it appear as if the beast only looked slain but was not. "As slain" is a much better translation. The phrase is an intended parody of the Lamb in 5:6, where the almost identical [os esphagmenon] is to be translated as "standing as slain" (see on 5:6). Both there and here a real death . . . is portrayed. (The Book of Revelation (NIGTC) [Eerdmans, 2000], 688-89). However, Dr. Beale does not believe this event is real, either in the past or future, but writes concerning what we would suggest is an erroneous perspective on Revelation: “No specific prophesied historical events are discerned in the book, except for the final coming of Christ to deliver and judge and to establish the final form of the kingdom in a

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consummated new creation” (48). For a critique of Dr. Beale’s view see 9.? 17

Accordingly, many commentators note that the prefix “anti” does not only carry the meaning of opposing, but replacing. See Stott, Thessalonians, 109-110.

18

For further discussion on distinguishing divine from demonic miracles see chapter 11.13

19

Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience (EMPE), Rosemary E. Guiley (Harper Collins, 1991), 525-27. For further discussion of sai baba see section ?

20

Regarding the importance of distinguishing the demonic from the divine see sections 11.11.A-B.

21

In agreement with our point above that satan can do real miracles, Keil and Delitzsch write concerning Deuteronomy 13:1-3: With regard to the signs and wonders (mopheth, see at Ex 4:21) with which such a prophet might seek to accredit his higher mission, it is taken for granted that they come to pass ( ); yet for all that, the Israelites were to give no heed to such a prophet, to walk after other gods. It follows from this, that the person had not been sent by God, but as a false Prophet, and that the signs and wonders which he gave were not . . . merely seeming miracles, but miracles wrought in the power of the wicked one, Satan, the possibility and reality of which even Christ attests (Matt 24:24).

Book 10 God’s Miracles

Part III The Myriad of Miraculous Words

 10.7: Biblical Attributes of Miraculous Communication: Diverse, Discontinuous

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& Never “Inspiration”

 10.8: Delegated Miraculous Communication:

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God Speaking through Angels & Animals

 10.9: Direct Means of Miraculous Communication: From the Writing of God

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to Living with God

 10.10: Physically Seeing & Hearing God:

229

The Voice & Apparitions of God

 10.11: Mental Visions & Dreams from God

241

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Chapter 10.7

The Biblical Attributes of Miraculous Communication Diverse, Discontinuous & Never “Inspiration”

Table of Topics A) Miraculous Communication is Supernatural B) Miraculous Communication is Diverse: A 3-D view C) Miraculous Communication is Obvious: Contrary to Mega Mysticism D) Miraculous Communication is Discontinuous: Contrary to Super-supernaturalism Extras & Endnotes Table 10.7: A 3-D View of Miraculous Communication

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Primary Points  We define a miracle as: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. We include both a revelation of God’s supernatural power and communication in our definition of miracles.  Miraculous communication has all the attributes of miraculous deeds including being supernatural, extremely rare, and aweinspiring.  Like miraculous deeds, satan is in the business of counterfeiting miraculous communication.  God’s miraculous communication has come with astounding in creativity.  Three distinctions, public vs. private, direct vs. delegated, and divine vs. demonic, result in a three dimensional view of miraculous communication.  The concept of some sort of secret, mystical, subjective “inspiration” is foreign to biblical revelation.  God always provided revelation through more objective and obvious ways such as apparitions, auditions, and visions.  The Bible describes means of miraculous revelation that God used temporarily, maybe even once, and then it was discontinued. In fact, to our knowledge, no one has claimed their use for thousands of years.  The heart of modern super-supernaturalism is the unbiblical assumption that God is bound to use the same methods of revelation now, as He did in the first century church. Both biblical and secular history reveal the fact that this has not been the case.  In general, miraculous means of communication cease when a method of revelation that God deems superior is implemented.  The goal of virtually all personal divine revelation is covenant making.  The cessation of Apostles, Prophets, miracle workers, and tongues was the universal testimony of the Christian Church for over 1600 years.

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A) Miraculous Communication is Supernatural Elsewhere in Knowing Our God (KOG) we defined a miracle as: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. Subsequently, we wrote: Concerning the general types of miracles, it is important to recognize that we include both an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power and communication in our definition of miracles. Typically, miracles are only viewed in the realm of supernatural deeds like healings. However, the Scriptures also record several occurrences of miraculous communication such as Angels and visions. It is helpful to distinguish between miraculous deeds and communication not only because there are a confusing myriad of types of miracles, but also miraculous communication can be left out of a discussion of miracles otherwise. 1 Nevertheless, it is a very important category of miracles. 2 Essentially, all the means of miraculous communication have the same characteristics of any miracle, as we have discussed at length elsewhere. 3 First, they are supernatural and extraordinary in nature. Therefore we have written: [A] miracle can also be considered an intervention into the normal process established by God to communicate to His people. For example, the most consistent, regular, and established method of personal communication from God has been Scripture. 4 In addition, our New Nature is a constant revelation of God’s will. 5 However, when God sees fit, He breaks through this normal mode of contact and initiates miraculous means such as Angels, voices, and visions. These means of miraculous communication have many of the same supernatural characteristics as a miraculous deed. 6 This leads to the second attribute of miracles including the means of miraculous communication: they are extremely rare. Accordingly, we have written: Miraculous communication is extremely rare not only because anything miraculous is, but also because of the great sufficiency of the more normal means of divine communication established by God, including Scripture. Again, we are claiming that miracles occur only when the ordinary processes He has ordained are not sufficient to communicate His will. And this simply isn’t very often. 7

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Thirdly, as with all miracles, means of miraculous communication have an awe-inspiring effect. As we have written: Obviously, occurrences of miraculous communication normally have an awe-inspiring effect on people as well. For example, when Zechariah saw an Angel, “he was startled and was gripped with fear” (Luke 1:12). Likewise, when some shepherds received a message from an angel they were, “terrified” (Luke 2:9), and a similar encounter for some women left them, “trembling and bewildered” (Mark 16:8). When Jacob realized God had spoken to him in a dream, “He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place!’” (Gen 28:17). Those who experienced visions of God or Christ like the Prophet Daniel and the Apostle John, “turned deathly pale” and “fell at His feet as though dead” (Dan 10:8; Rev 1:17). Therefore, we are not surprised at the following account of King Belshazzar’s encounter with miraculous revelation at a banquet he was hosting: Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. (Dan 5:5-6) Of course, some of the overwhelming emotion experienced in miraculous communication is due to the content of the message and perhaps not only its supernatural means (cf. Dan 4:4-5; Job 7:14; Luke 1:29). However, this is not always the case as demonstrated in the example above of King Belshazzar who didn’t even know what the inscription meant and needed Daniel to interpret it (cf. Dan 5:7, 13-17). Likewise, when some men traveling with Saul heard an invisible Jesus speak, they were “speechless” (Acts 9:7), but not because of the content of the message, as the Apostle describes later, “they did not understand the voice of Him Who was speaking to me (Acts 22:9). Understandably their response was simply due to the overwhelming emotion that humans naturally feel when they experience miraculous communication from God. 8 The supernatural nature of the types of miraculous communication may be best illustrated by the fact that each of the supernatural Scripture and sign gifts has their natural counterpart. For example, one can gain wisdom through many years of

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experience, or through the Scripture gift of divine “wisdom,” obtain it immediately and perfectly from God. While the Scripture gift of divine “knowledge” involved the reception of divine revelation that could not be obtained by natural means (cf. Gal 1:11-12), obviously, knowledge can be gained in a more natural way as well. 9 Similarly, the Scripture gift of “prophecy” involved a miraculous communication of the future, although humans can at times, with much less success, predict future events based on a person’s promise or the natural outcome of a natural process. Likewise, while humans can learn to speak and interpret a foreign language with a great deal of study, the supernatural gifts of “tongues” and their “interpretation” allow one to do the same without the natural process of learning. Finally, like miraculous deeds, satan is in the business of counterfeiting miraculous communication. As the Apostle warned, “satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). If an actual angelic appearance can be demonic, then what about the visions, dreams, “voices,” and supposedly inspired impulses that so many automatically claim are from God? The Apostle’s warning is a striking reminder of what we have repeated throughout this section of Knowing Our God: not everything supernatural is holy! Unfortunately, super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism have ignored this biblical maxim too often and opened the Church’s door to satan to deceive God’s people. Therefore, as discussed elsewhere, it is vitally important to distinguish divine from demonic miraculous communications. 10

B) Miraculous Communication is Diverse: A 3-D view The category of miraculous communication is a very diverse one, as God has used many different means. Accordingly, Hebrews alludes to both the variety and the pinnacle of divine revelation 11 when it says: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the Prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Heb 1:12). Accordingly, we have written elsewhere: “ [T]here is a mind-boggling variety of ways that God has personally communicated to humans. These include donkeys, Angels, ephods, visions, theophanies, and the Urim and Thummim. 12 Because of this, as with miraculous deeds, we have developed a “3-D view” of miraculous communication as illustrated in Table 10.7

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under Extras & Endnotes below. In general, miraculous communication can be categorized in three different dimensions. The first is by purpose, being public or private in nature. For example, we would suggest that the vision the Apostle John received and recorded in Revelation was for public purposes, and intended to be an authoritative revelation for all Christians. On the other hand, the Apostle Paul’s “visions and revelations from the Lord” when he “was caught up to the third heaven” involved “inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell” (2 Cor 12:1-2). Such divine revelation was private in purpose, intended to only be communicated to the Apostle. Secondly, like miraculous deeds, miraculous communication can be distinguished based on its relationship to God as in whether it is an instance of God’s direct supernatural revelation, or His delegated supernatural revelation operating through an intermediary. In Scripture we see instances of God communicating directly to particularly Prophets or Apostles through a voice or vision. However, God has also communicated in other miraculous ways that were delegated through Angels, ephods, and even a donkey. Likewise, the direct miraculous communication that Prophets and Apostles received, became a delegated revelation from God through such men to others. Finally, as noted above, it is obviously important to distinguish miraculous communication by its morality, or whether or not it is divine or demonic. These three distinctions, public vs. private, direct vs. delegated, and divine vs. demonic, result in a three dimensional view of miraculous communication depicted in Table 10.7 below, and will guide us in the following discussion. In this section of Book 9 we will be especially brief on those modes of revelation that we cover in more detail elsewhere in Knowing Our God such as miracles, Apostles and Prophets, the concept of divine “inspiration,” and the Incarnation. However, we will provide more detail on topics that will not be covered elsewhere such as the “Glory Cloud of God” and the “Angel of the Lord.”

C) Miraculous Communication is Obvious: Contrary to Mega Mysticism For many theologians, the most important and discussed type of divine revelation is something referred to as “inspiration.” In fact, this was surely the most discussed topic under divine revelation among Evangelicals in the 20th century. However, we do not believe “inspiration” as commonly understood is a biblical category

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of divine revelation. This is because, first, the term “inspiration” is never used in Scripture. This includes 2 Timothy 3:16 from which the term is normally taken, but which actually is speaking of God “breathing out” revelation, rather than a text or person being “inspired” with, or receiving revelation. “Inspiration” is simply not a biblical word. 13 Which leads to the second reason for not using “inspiration” as a category of divine revelation. The non-biblical word has given many unbiblical ideas about divine revelation. Both secular and sacred dictionaries typically define divine “inspiration” merely as a “divine influence” on the mind of the writer. Often included in the idea of “inspiration” is that God spontaneously, and even rather imperceptibly, guided the thinking of the biblical writer, such that the words they wrote entered their mind through a process of something like divine/human mental telepathy. By “mental telepathy” we mean the direct transference of thoughts from one mind to the other, apart from physically “hearing” or “seeing.” This is very much like what is known as Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) which the Encyclopedia Britannica defines as: “perception that occurs independently of the known sensory processes.” 14 Likewise, popular modern explanations of biblical “inspiration” clearly reflect the idea that God’s Son, Prophets, and Apostles experienced nothing more than ESP in their revelatory experiences. On the contrary, we demonstrate elsewhere that such secret, mystical, subjective divine manipulation and divine/human mental telepathy are recorded in Scripture as only occurring with unbelieving pagans. 15 Secondly, and as also thoroughly demonstrated elsewhere, whenever the process of receiving divine revelation is described in Scripture, the recipient always described it as “seeing” or “hearing” something. 16 We put these terms in quotation marks because while divine revelation at times came through physical apparitions seen by physical eyes and heard by physical ears, at other times God communicated directly to the part of the mind that processes these physical senses such that they “saw” and “heard” a vision in their mind. 17 In other words, God has used a means of revelation that was something between the physical appearance or audition seen and heard with the senses, and the purely subjective occurrence of merely thoughts entering the mind. This means is normally described as a vision or dream in which God “speaks” or “appears” to the part of the mind which processes physical sensations. Accordingly, the revelation was so real, the recipient may not have even been able to tell whether it was “heard” or “seen” by their

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physical senses, or by their mind. Biblical divine revelation felt like it was being received by a person’s physical senses, even if it was not. Accordingly, the most mystical and subjective type of divine revelation we encounter in the Bible is visions and dreams. And God often ensured these were authenticated in some objective ways. The fact that God always made it clear when He was providing someone with extra-biblical miraculous revelation underscores His desire to make it abundantly evident to people when He is speaking to them, a fact often neglected by modern mega mysticism which insists we need to be listening for some “still small voice” to understand God’s will. 18 There simply are no biblical examples of this in Scripture. Unfortunately, mega mystics want to claim that God is speaking to people today just as He did in Scripture. However, God spoke to people in very real visions, not a “still small voice.” Therefore, many of the biblical examples that mega mystics wish to use to promote their false teaching simply do not apply. Likewise, most of the time that Scripture records people hearing God, it is in the context of a vision in which the sound is not physically heard, but is rather “mentally” heard. Nonetheless, it is often difficult to be sure in many cases which kind of divine voice people experienced, the physical one or the mental one. Not only is it difficult to discern the difference in the biblical text, but we would suggest the person themselves could hardly tell the difference because of God’s use of the sensical parts of the person’s mind while they experienced the vision. In other words, even in a mental vision, it seemed to the person that God was physically speaking to them (cf. 2 Cor 12:1-4). Our concern to point out that divine revelation is always directed to the human processes of “hearing” and “sight” is important in a day when so many mega mystics are claiming God is communicating directly to their minds without the sensation of audibly hearing or visually seeing anything. However, there is not even any biblical evidence that God “inspired” Apostles and Prophets this way, let alone that this is to be the norm for Christians today. One reason for this is that when God is revealing something to someone, He makes it clear He is doing so. The fact that divine revelation involved the sensory processes, enabled Prophets and Apostles to know God was speaking to them. A voice “heard” or vision “seen,” whether physically or psychically, is rather convincing for a human being. On the other hand, those who claim divine revelation comes by an “inspiration” of merely guided thinking or thoughts slipped into the mind, cannot

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adequately answer the question as to how Apostles and Prophets knew that their thoughts were divine rather than merely human. 19 We suggest that the objective nature of divine revelation in Scripture has several important ramifications in contemporary theology. First, it makes the volumes of debate on different theories of divine “inspiration” rather obsolete. In other words, the great deal of discussion that has occurred in order to describe how the Holy Spirit merely “influenced” the minds of Apostles and Prophets is unnecessary because that is not how God granted them their revelation anyway. Secondly, the objective view of divine revelation makes that which we possess in Scripture more trustworthy. Even the nonProphetic or non-apostolic historians who have writings included in Scripture derived their information from the objective means of observation, research, and testimony. We know that the biblical writers did not write simply the subjective thoughts that mystically came into their mind, but that there is a real, physical, and historical basis for what they wrote. 20 Thirdly, it is rather ironic that mega mystics 21 popularly claim to be divinely guided by mere thoughts, impressions, and intuitions, when in fact Prophets and Apostles never claimed to be spoken to by God in this manner. Accordingly, as we demonstrate elsewhere, there is no biblical basis for the potentially hazardous doctrines of mega mysticism, because there are no biblical examples of God ever communicating to anyone in the way they claim God is telepathically communicating to them.

D) Miraculous Communication is Discontinuous: Contrary to Super-supernaturalism Elsewhere we have written: In a subsequent chapter we will encounter means of miraculous revelation that God used temporarily, maybe even once, and then it was discontinued. 22 In fact, to our knowledge, no one has claimed their use for thousands of years. We are not aware of anyone alleging since OT times to have heard God in a burning bush (cf. Exod 3:1-4) or through a donkey (cf. Num 22:24-31). God manifested Himself to His people as a “pillar of cloud” by day and a “pillar of fire” by night (cf. Exod 13:21) for only a relatively short time. We no longer expect to hear from God through an ephod (cf. 1 Sam 23:9-12) or the Urim and Thummim (cf. Exod 28:30) because

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He has discontinued these means of communication with no expectation of their return. Accordingly, Gary Friesen remarks, “God spoke to Balaam through a donkey. Should each believer keep one in his back yard just in case?” 23 Likewise, OT scholar Bruce Waltke rightly notes, “Hearing the voice of God in an audition or seeing His messengers in a vision are rare events, and the Bible records them precisely because they are so significant,” 24 and so rare. 25 The heart of modern super-supernaturalism in regards to miraculous methods of divine revelation is the unbiblical assumption that God is bound to, for example, use the same methods of revelation now, as He did in the first century church. Both biblical and secular history reveal the fact that this has not been the case. Even concerning biblical times we read: Love the LORD your God and keep His [written] requirements, His [written] decrees, His [written] laws and His [written] commands always. 2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the [miraculous] discipline of the LORD your God: His majesty, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm; 3 the [miraculous] signs He performed and the things He did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to His whole country; 4 what He did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how He overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them. 5 It was not your children who saw what He [miraculously] did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place, 6 and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7 But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done. (Deut, 11:2-7) In other words, and contrary to super-supernaturalism, the miraculous revelation that was experienced by one generation of God’s people, was not to be experienced by another, no matter how helpful we might think it would be. Ironically, even supersupernaturalists deny that God is granting new Scripture-quality revelation today as He did in biblical history. Therefore, we are

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agreed that there are some fundamental, supernatural occurrences in Scripture that have no place in Christianity today. Also contrary to super-supernaturalism, it was not because of some spiritual deficiency on the part of the later generation that caused God to withhold such miraculous means of revelation. In fact, the “children” spoken of here who experienced far less miraculous communication than their forefathers were more pleasing to God and entered the Promised Land. In general, miraculous means of communication cease when a method of revelation that God deems superior is implemented. This is clearly illustrated in the ministry of the King when we notice the conspicuous absence of people seeing Angels or visions or other means of miraculous communication during His ministry on Earth. 26 This principle can also be demonstrated by the fact that in biblical history, when the Prophets arrived (e. g. Samuel), theophanies ceased. Likewise, when either the OT or NT revelation was complete and available, gifts of miraculous communication such as prophecy and divine knowledge ceased as well. 27 This is because Scripture is deemed by God as a superior revelation. 28 Along the same lines, as we have written at length elsewhere, the end goal of virtually all personal divine revelation, including the miraculous kind, is covenant making. And God’s plan has been for such covenant revelation to be completed and recorded in Scripture, upon which other methods of divine revelation virtually cease. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere: Indeed, the cessation of Apostles, Prophets, miracle workers, and tongues was the universal testimony and conviction of the Christian Church for over 1600 years, reflecting God’s own withdrawal of them. What else would we expect when there has been no new covenant implemented? We would expect such unique ministries as miracle working Prophets and Apostles to be provided at the beginning of the implementation of a new covenant between God and man. Indeed, there were “fireworks” over Mt. Sinai at the implementation of the Old Covenant (cf. Exod. 19), a special manifestation of God Himself to all the people, but such manifestations did not indefinitely continue for the Israelites, and eventually only the OT Scriptures remained. Likewise, there were “fireworks” at the very beginning of the implementation of the New Covenant in which God uniquely revealed Himself. But like the experience of those who entered the Old Covenant, the initial “fireworks” were not to continue. As the highly regarded British NT scholar William Sanday (1843–1920) put it, “The one permanent deposit left

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behind by this tidal wave of God-given energy was the New Testament.” 29 Subsequently, God has granted other miraculous “signs” of His continuing commitment such as the new birth and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, contrary to the opinion of our brothers and sisters in charismaticism 30that we should expect a continuity of the means of personal revelation recorded in the Bible, the biblical and historical record reflects a consistent discontinuity of these means, centered around the monumental and unique event of the implementation of a divine covenant. 31 Elsewhere, we not only offer additional biblical support for the cessation of particularly the Scripture and Sign gifts of Apostles, Prophets, healing, and tongues, 32 but demonstrate as well that this was virtually the universal historical position of the Church for over 1600 years, and for good reason. 33 This discontinuity in miraculous communication will be noted below as we discuss each type. Also, as we discuss more thoroughly elsewhere, supersupernaturalism is the claim that miracles are and should be occurring in relatively great abundance, including miraculous communication. Therefore, many in the Church are claiming an abundance of divine dreams, visions, and voices. While we do not see biblical evidence that such means of divine revelation were to cease, we would still contend that they are very rare. This is simply because they are miraculous and by definition, a supernatural communication should only be expected when God’s more natural means, such as Scripture, our New Nature, and God-ordained authorities are insufficient, which simply is not very often. At least not nearly as often as super-supernaturalists contend. The mantra of super-supernaturalism is that we should expect God to communicate to us just as miraculously as biblical Prophets and Apostles and the King Himself. However, the extreme rarity and pattern of discontinuity of miraculous communication obviously strikes at the heart of super-supernaturalism. We must recognize that God has chosen different times to reveal Himself to different people in especially direct ways, and that not all Christians can expect such revelation. 34 For example, relatively very few people on Earth have talked with God “face to face” as Moses did (cf. Exod 33:11), seen the Angel of the Lord as Abraham did (cf. Gen 18), and received personal instruction from Christ as the Apostles did. If we have the God-given ministry, authority, and responsibility of a Moses, Christ, or Paul, then maybe we can expect these more “extraordinary” means of personal revelation from God. But apart from that, we

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must admit that we are not in Heaven yet, and a real personal revelation of God still awaits us. Nevertheless, as the Apostle Peter wrote, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Pet 1:8). 35

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Table 10.7: A 3-D View of Miraculous Communication

Direct Divine Public Miraculous Communication [sec. 3.11.C]

Direct Divine Private Miraculous Communication [sec. 3.11.C]

Examples: revelation of Christ, Prophets & Apostles, visions, & theophanies. Purpose: divine communi-cation when ordinary God-ordained means not sufficient. Status: Extinct because no new covenant.

Examples: Peter’s vision & Spirit audibly speaking, Ananias hearing voice, Paul seeing vision of man from Macedonia. Primary purpose: personal direction for those implement-ing a new covenant. Status: Possible, but extremely rare

Delegated Divine Public Miraculous Communication [sec. 3.11.B]

Delegated Divine Private Miraculous Communication [sec. 3.11.B]

Examples: Angels, words & writing of Prophets & Apostles. Primary purpose: implement-ing a new covenant. Status: Extinct because no new covenant being implemented.

Examples: The Prophet Nathan speaking to David, angel directing Cornelius. Primary purpose: used when ordinary means of revelation not sufficient. Status: Possible, but extremely rare

Demonic Public Miraculous Communication

Demonic Private Miraculous Communication

Examples: false Apostles, Prophets, teachers, Antichrist Purpose: testing God’s people, deceiving His enemies Status: Abundant

Examples: Adam & Eve in Garden, Christ in desert Purpose: testing God’s people Status: Abundant

Relationship to God

Permitted

Demonic

Private

Delegated

Morality

Public

Direct

Divine

Effect

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Extras & Endnotes Gauging Your Grasp 1) How do we define a miracle? 2) Why do we miraculous?

include

means

of

divine

communication

as

3) To illustrate the great variety of means God has used to miraculously communicate personal revelation to humans, how many different ones can you think of? Why do you think God used such a variety of even weird says of communication? 4) What three dimensions of miraculous communication do we suggest help categorize it. Can you give an example of the six different kinds of miraculous communication this 3-D view produces? 5) What are several reasons to believe there is a great deal of discontinuity in miraculous communication? How does this relate to super-supernaturalism? 6) We claim that, in general, miraculous means of communication cease when a method of revelation that God deems superior is implemented. What are biblical examples of this? 7) What is the historical testimony of the Church regarding the miraculous Scripture and sign gifts of apostleship, prophecy, miracle working, tongues, etc.? Publications & Particulars 1

Norman Geisler has a helpful list of miracles recorded in Scripture in his Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (BECA) (Baker, 1999), 48286. However, although the list includes occurrences of both miraculous deeds and communication, he does not distinguish them or sufficiently list examples of the latter.

2

Excerpt from 10.1.C.

3

For a discussion of the biblical attributes of miracles see chapter 10.2.

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4

For further discussion of Scripture as the supreme divine revelation see chapter 7.8.

5

For further discussion of our New Nature as a divine revelation see chapter 7.12.

6

Excerpt from section 10.2.A.5.

7

Excerpt from section 10.2.B.2.

8

Excerpt from section 10.2.C.2.

9

For further discussion of the miraculous nature of the gifts of divine wisdom and knowledge see sections 8.2.B-C.

10

For further discussion regarding examples of miraculous demonic communication see 9.12.A.2.

11

For the distinction between personal and universal revelation see section 7.2.A.

12

Excerpt from 7.2.A.

13

For a critique of modern conceptions of “inspiration” see forthcoming chapter 8.8.

14

Online at www.britannica.com.

15

Regarding the pagan nature of the divine manipulation and divine/human mental telepathy that is so foundational to popular notions of biblical “inspiration” and mega mystical theology regarding divine guidance see chapter 7.16.

16

For a thorough study of the nature of the revelation that Apostles and Prophets experienced see chapter 8.3 and section 9.5.A.

17

Regarding the nature of revelatory visions see section 10.11.A.

18

For further discussion of God’s desire to make revelation evident in spite of mega mystical claims see sections 14.9.E and G.

19

While we contend that there was a necessary objective sense to the revelatory act of Prophets and Apostles, Stephen Nichols describes Jonathan Edwards’ view in a more subjective way that we would not agree with: In the middle of "The Mind," Edwards interjects a brief statement on inspiration. He observes, "The evidence of immediate inspiration that the prophets had when they were immediately inspired by the Spirit of God with any truth is an absolute sort of certainty- and the knowledge is in a sense intuitive, much in the same manner as faith and spiritual knowledge of the truth of religion." He draws an analogy between the inspiration by which the Prophets received their messages and the illumination by which people today come to know spiritual knowledge, And just as the one who would know honey must taste it, so the verification of inspiration is in the experience of it. "The prophet has so divine a sense," explains

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Edwards, "such a divine disposition ... that he sees as immediately that God is there as we perceive one another's presence when we are talking together face to face.” So the prophet, or the human author of Scripture, knows he is inspired when it happens. (An Absolute Sort of Certainty: The Holy Spirit and the Apologetics of Jonathan Edwards [Presbyterian and Reformed, 2003], 40. Obviously, John Calvin was just as subjective in his view of how recipients of divine revelation knew they were experiencing it. Edward Dowey quotes Calvin and comments as follows: Calvin: "Since Satan is a wonderful adept at deceiving ... it was necessary that some sure and notable distinction should appear in true and heavenly oracles which would not suffer the faith and the minds of the holy fathers to waver." [Com. Gen. 15:2]. Yet, for all his investigation of these phenomena Calvin never tries to fix the "mark" by which the visions from God are distinguishable from those of Satan. It seems that a subjective illumination of the mind of the recipient causes him to recognize who speaks in a revelatory dream or vision. A voice came to Ezekiel, "but nothing was effected by this voice until the Spirit was added. God indeed works efficaciously by his words, but the efficacity is not included in the sound itself, but proceeds from the secret instinct of the Spirit. The prophet therefore shows us both sides: on the one hand he says that he heard the voice of God so that he stood on his feet, God in this wished to animate his confidence; but at the same time he adds that he was not raised up by the voice until the Spirit placed him on his feet. The work of the Spirit therefore is joined with the word of God. But a distinction is proposed that we may know that the external word is of no avail by itself, unless animated by the power of the Spirit. Nebuchadnezzar knew what dream to take seriously "because God had inscribed in his heart a distinct mark by which he had denoted this dream. [Com. Daniel 4:4-6]. (The Knowledge of God in Calvin’s Theology [Columbia University, 1965], 94-5. Again, in our opinion, the Bible describes a more objective and even helpful understanding of divine revelation 20

For much more discussion on the issue of “inspiration” see chapters 8.88.11. On the issue of whether or not God “speaks” directly to the mind of His people at all, see chapter 7.16

21

For further discussion of mega mysticism see Book 14.

22

For further discussion of the discontinuity in methods of miraculous communication see sections 7.3.C-D.

23

Gary Friesen and J. Maxon, Decision Making and the Will of God (Multnomah, 1980), 89.

24

Bruce Waltke, Finding the Will of God: 1995), 52.

25

Excerpt from section 10.2.B.2.

A Pagan Notion? (Eerdmans,

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26

For further discussion of the discontinuity of other means of miraculous communication during the ministry of Christ on Earth see section 10.9.D.

27

For a history of the cessation of the gift of divine knowledge see chapter 11.5. For the cessation of prophecy chapter 9.13.

28

For further discussion of our claim that Scripture is a superior means of revelation to the means of miraculous communication see section 7.8.D.

29

William Sanday, Inspiration (Longmans, Green & Co., 1903), 333-4

30

For a definition of charismaticism see endnote in chapter 10.1.

31

Excerpt from section 7.3.C.

32

For a biblical argument regarding the cessation of Scripture gifts see chapter 8.6.

33

For a historical demonstration of the cessation of Scripture gifts see chapters 8.5 and 9.13.

34

For further discussion of the fact that the type of divine revelation that Christ, Prophets, and Apostles experienced in Scripture, is not for Christians today see sections 7.3.C-D and chapters 8.5 and 9.13.

35

For further discussion of the problems of expecting God to communicate to us in the same miraculous ways as the characters of Scripture see sections 7.3.C-D and chapters 8.5 and 9.13.

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Chapter 10.8

Delegated Miraculous Communication God Speaking through Angels & Animals

Table of Topics A) Delegated Revelation through Angelic Messengers B) Delegated Revelation through Human Messengers C) Other Means of Delegated Revelation C.1) Animals C.2) Ephod, Urim & Thummim C.3) Casting of lots Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  Angels appeared to those who had a pivotal part in the establishment of a human/divine covenant such as Prophets, Apostles, or a Cornelius.  Divine revelation through Angels is obviously an example of delegated miraculous communication in that they relay a message from God.  As we enter the NT, we see a significant increase in Angel appearances reported.  At times Angels appeared to people in visions, while at other times when the person seemed to be in a fully conscious state.  The message of most angelic revelation was for public distribution, containing revelation applicable and pertinent to all of God’s people, although there are a few instances of private revelation as well.  There is no explicit biblical reason to suggest that Angels cannot appear today to communicate a message from God.  “satan himself masquerades as an Angel of light” just like the one that revealed the Koran to Muhammad.  God’s most frequent means of providing personal revelation to His people has been through delegating such revelation through human messengers.  It simply has not been God’s way to speak directly and individually to each one of His people, but rather, to speak through an intermediate means.  Human messengers of divine revelation received messages for both individuals and the public.  There are several odd means of revelation recorded in Scripture including a donkey, an eagle, an ephod, Urim and Thummim, and casting lots.  Casting lots is not a biblically prescribed way to discern God’s will. It was usually used by those with other gifts of revelation, and we are never instructed to use it as a means of divine revelation.  One wonders in light of the contemporary frenzy to restore first century gifts and means of revelation, why the casting of lots isn’t included in the mix.

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A) Delegated Revelation through Angelic Messengers Divine revelation through Angels is obviously an example of delegated miraculous communication in that they relay a message from God, and such means is extremely rare. Appearances of Angels were very rare in the OT. 1 One of those few instances is when the Angel Gabriel was used by God to reveal prophetic truths to Daniel (cf. 8:16; 9:21; 10:4ff). In addition, the Apostle Paul makes the interesting statement that, “The [OT] law was put into effect through Angels by a mediator” (Gal 3:19). This is not expressly described in the OT but is alluded to several times (cf. Deut 33:2; Psa 68:16-17; Acts 7:53; Heb 2:2). This point is, in fact, used by NT writers to prove that the New Covenant, which was implemented directly by God the Son, is superior to the Old Covenant that was implemented through mere Angels. 2 As we enter the NT, we see a significant increase in Angel appearances reported. Specifically, Gabriel is in a flurry of activity, making pronouncements to Zechariah about the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:18-19), to Mary concerning the virgin conception of Christ (Luke 1:26-27), probably to the shepherds on the night of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:9-10), and to Joseph concerning the baby’s safety (Matt 1:20; 2:13, 19). It is also through Angels whom God first pronounces that Christ had risen from the dead (Matt 28:5-6). As we enter the apostolic Church age, we see some revelation coming through Angels as well in directing Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch (cf. Acts 8:26), and instructing the Apostle Peter when he was miraculously broken out of jail (cf. Acts 12:7). Cornelius, apparently the first Gentile convert to Christianity, received a vision from an Angel as well (cf. Acts 10:3). In addition, the Apostle Paul says an Angel personally encouraged him during the life threatening storm in the Adriatic Sea (cf. Acts 27:23-24). The Apostle John records that it was through an Angel that he received the Revelation of Jesus Christ (cf. Rev 1:1; 22:16). Finally, at the close of the current Church age, we notice that the arrival of Jesus Christ is announced “with the voice of the Archangel” (1 Thess 4:16), and the Revelation records subsequent instances when Angels will be making proclamations to the whole world (cf. Rev 14:6-11). A review of the above instances reveals that at times Angels appeared to people in visions, while at other times when the person seemed to be in a fully conscious state. We also notice that it would seem when God has an especially important announcement to make (i.e. the conception, birth, resurrection, and return of Christ), that He chooses to send an Archangel to make it.

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Accordingly, the biblical record suggests that Angels appeared particularly to those who had a pivotal and unique part in the establishment of a human/divine covenant such as Prophets, Apostles, or a Cornelius. Therefore, the purpose of most Angelic revelation was for public distribution, containing revelation applicable and pertinent to all of God’s people, although there are a few instances of private revelation as well. In addition, it is interesting to note that this means of miraculous revelation has essentially ceased when a superior mode is in operation. Accordingly, there is no record of angelic revelation to God’s people during the ministry of Christ. Likewise, since the recording and distribution of the NT Scriptures, Church history records a very small number of such appearances and many of those are questionable. Nonetheless, there is no explicit biblical reason to suggest that Angels cannot appear today to communicate a message from God. However, even in the Bible such an occurrence was exceptionally rare. Accordingly, the Bible does not instruct us to expect to receive divine revelation through Angels. While we are told that “Angels [are] ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation,” (Heb 1:14) it would seem they are serving us in other ways than providing divine revelation. For example, we are also instructed in Hebrews: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained Angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2). So while we might expect to meet an Angel someday, it is obvious that there is no expectation of receiving divine revelation here, as the person does not even know that they have seen an Angel. Finally, as in virtually every means of divine communication, satan is in the habit of counterfeiting it. Therefore, the Apostle warns: “satan himself masquerades as an Angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). 3 All in all, we would suggest that the claims to seeing and hearing Angels far exceed the actual occurrences. However, even among those encounters that may actually involve an angelic being, many of these may be demonic. Islam holds that the Koran was revealed to Muhammad (c. 570632) by the Angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years. 4 Christian apologist Norm Geisler relates concerning these visions: During his call Muhammad said he was choked by the Angelthree times. Muhammad said of the Angel, "he choked me with the cloth until I believed that I should die. Then he released me and said: 'Recite!.' When he hesitated, he received "twice again the repeated harsh treatment". . . . Muhammad himself questioned the divine origin of the experience. At first he thought he was being deceived by [an]

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evil spirit. . . . On another occasion Muhammad set forth a revelation he thought was from God, but later changed it, claiming satan had slipped the verses into the text. 5 Evidently, Muhammad’s reception of visions was often “accompanied by . . . convulsions” and trance states. Finally, Dr. Geisler notes that his “divine call” involved “contact with the dead,” a practice forbidden by Scripture, and long periods of depression and temptations to suicide. 6 When we consider Muhammad’s violent nature, and the fact that his religion has primarily spread through military conquest, we can be certain that this is a demonic religion, visions and all. Accordingly, while God may send you a message through an Angel, you had better authenticate it as divine like Gideon.

B) Delegated Revelation through Human Messengers God’s most frequent means of providing personal revelation to His people has been through delegating such revelation through human messengers. It simply has not been God’s way to speak directly and individually to each one of His people, but rather, to speak through an intermediate means. Accordingly, Nehemiah remarks concerning the OT people, “By Your Spirit You admonished them through Your Prophets” (Neh 9:30). 7 While God has spoken through various miraculous means (cf. Heb 2:4), His primary method was the Prophet (e.g. Moses, Isaiah) and the Apostle (e.g. John, Paul), with Jesus Christ being both (cf. Deut 18:18; Heb 3:1). We would include in this category divinely empowered wise men, such as Solomon, who while possessing divine revelation, was not thought of as a Prophet. 8 We refer to these supernatural revelatory abilities as Scripture gifts throughout Knowing Our God. The first biblical occurrence of delegated revelation would seem to be when, “Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say” (Exod 4:28). Immediately after we find the second instance of the message or word of God being spoken through a person: “Moses and Aaron brought together all the Elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses” (Exod 4:29-30). Moses was the first in a long line of Prophets named in Scripture, extending even to the NT Prophet Agabus (cf. Acts 11:28; 21:10). Because prophetic revelation was extraordinary, absolutely authoritative (e.g. “Thus says the Lord . . .”), and commonly

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counterfeited by satan, God prescribed several ways of authenticating them. These included the ability to predict the future perfectly (cf. Deut 18:18-22; Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11), loyalty to the real God (cf. Deut 13:1-4), and the supernatural virtuous fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt 7:15-23). The seriousness of falsely claiming to possess the gift of prophecy (cf. Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:29) is illustrated in the fact that lying prophets were to be put to death in the OT (cf. Deut 13:5; 18:20). 9 When we arrive in salvation history to the giving of the New Covenant revelation, another kind of human messenger is introduced, the Apostle [apostolos: “messenger”] of Jesus Christ. So named because of being personally commissioned by Christ to be His representative (Mark 3:14; Matt 10:5-8; Acts 1:8), and to be especially gifted by the Holy Spirit to speak for Christ in His absence (cf. John 14:25-6; 15:26; 16:12-15). The Twelve and Paul are the most obvious examples. NT Apostles do not replace NT Prophets as messengers of divine revelation as is often claimed today. On the contrary, NT Apostles and Prophets are co-founders of the Church (cf. Eph 2:20), both being sources of equally divinely authoritative revelation (cf. Eph 3:5; 4:11; 1 Thess 5:20), with NT Prophets being able to verify the authority of a NT Apostle (cf. 1 Cor 14:37). Again, because apostolic revelation is extraordinary, absolutely authoritative, and an object of satanic counterfeiting, God authenticated the divine authority of Apostles by giving them supernatural abilities and character (cf. Matt 10:5-8; 2 Cor 12:12; Heb 2:3-4; cf. John 8:46; 1 Cor 9:3; 2 Cor 1:12; 6:3-6; 11:21-28). 10 Human messengers of divine revelation received messages for both individuals and the public. The Prophet Nathan, for example, received revelation that was only applicable to King David, and therefore we read, “The LORD sent Nathan to David” (2 Sam 12:1) to rebuke him for his sin with Bathsheba. However, most prophetic and virtually all apostolic revelation was intended to exercise God’s authority for the entire world. While the divine revelation that God provided through His Prophets and Apostles was initially private, normally such messengers recorded their revelations resulting in divinely authoritative Scripture for the public (cf. Ex. 24:4, 7-8; Deut 31:9, 19, 24-26; Num 33:2 1 Sam 10:25; Isa 30:8; Jer 30:2; 36:27-28; Ezek 43:11; 1 Cor 14:37). The reasons for recording the revelations are obvious and include protecting the integrity of the revelation from the eventual corruptions that occur in merely oral transmission, and making the revelations available to many more people than just those who personally heard the Prophet or Apostle.

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This recording of the revelations of Prophets and Apostles also foreshadowed God’s intention to discontinue these ministries as a means of divine communication. This was because the written revelation was superior to the merely oral revelation of Prophets and Apostles, and it was the completion of their work. 11 This process is illustrated throughout history. 12 Therefore, both the charismatic claim to gifts of prophecy and Apostles, and the Roman Catholic claim that the Pope’s extrabiblical “revelations” carry divine authority 13 are misplaced and have actually hurt, not helped, the Church of Christ. Not surprisingly, satan has commonly counterfeited this means of divine revelation as well, sending into the world, and even infiltrating the house of God with many false prophets and apostles. Thus the numerous biblical warnings regarding such people. 14 As noted above, most fake prophets can be exposed by their inability to supernaturally predict the future, and most false apostles, or others who claim to speak for God, cannot perform apostolic-like miracles. Even so, in some cases satan will supernaturally empower such people and other means of detection must be employed (cf. Deut 13:1-3; Matt 7:22-23; 24:24). 15

C) Other Means of Delegated Revelation C.1) Animals Other, more indirect miraculous means of communication from God has come through rather curious means. One of the more memorable is God speaking to Balaam when, “the LORD opened the donkey's mouth” (Num 22:28). Another instance of God using an animal as a messenger of miraculous communication is “an eagle” (Rev 8:13; not something like an eagle), who will fly over the Earth pronouncing judgment during the Day of the Lord’s wrath. Other means of indirect miraculous communication include the “writing on the wall” of a message for the pagan King Belshazzar of which Daniel says, “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall” (Dan 5:5). While this may have been the “fingers” of God (cf. Exod 31:18), it was probably a more indirect, although certainly miraculous means of communication.

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C.2) Ephod & Urim & Thummim Another curious means of divine communication was the rather odd piece of clothing called the Ephod, different forms of which were prescribed for the Hebrew priests to wear (cf. Exod 28). For the most part it is merely portrayed as a priestly type of clothing until we read that God evidently used it to answer David’s questions on two occasions (cf. 1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). 16 This divine communication may have come by means of the Urim and Thummim which the high priest wore in his garments (cf. Exod 28:30). We first read of it when God directs: “Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece . . . Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD” (Exod 28:30). Accordingly, OT scholars C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch write regarding the location of the Urim and Thummim: Among the various and contradictory opinions respecting the form and substance of these mysterious appendages, the most probable seems to be that of Josephus, Philo, Bp. Patrick, Parkhurst, and the Jewish writers generally; who state, that they were no other than the twelve precious stones of the high priest’s breastplate. 17 As to how the Urim and Thummim worked as a means of miraculous communication from God, OT scholar Cornelius Van Dam writes: Nowhere does the OT state how the Urim and Thummim were used . . . however, the following theory can be proposed. If the Masoretic vocalization of urim [“light”] and tummim [“perfection”] is accepted as evidence descriptive of this oracular means, the use of urim by itself (1 Sam 28:6) could indicate that light was a vital characteristic of this oracular means, and the terms could be understood as hendiadys with the translation "perfect light." Possibly a special or miraculous light was somehow involved in the functioning of the Urim and Thummim in order to verify that the message given was from God (see, e.g., Josephus Ant. iii.8.9). In this way "the judgment of the Urim [light]" (Num 27:21) could conceivably have been given. 18

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C.3) Casting of lots Another rather indirect method of discerning God’s will recorded in Scripture is the casting of lots. This was particularly common in the days of Joshua and we read: “These are the territories that Eleazar the Priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by [casting a] lot at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting” (Josh 19:51; cf. 7:14-18; 18:6, 8, 10). Regarding the ancient practice of “casting lots,” Bible scholar David Aune tells us that: A variety of small objects of stone, wood, clay, or other material were used. . . . Several verbs are used . . . all of which can mean "throw" or "cast" lots (e.g., Josh. 18:6, 8; Prov. 1:14; Isa. 34:17; Joel 3:3; Ob. 11; Nah. 3:10). The lots appear to have been kept in a container in which they were shaken until one was thrown or sprang out (e.g., Nu. 33:54; Josh. 15:1; Lev. 16:9f.; Jonah 1:7). . . . The central presupposition behind the use of lots in the OT and NT is clearly expressed in Prov. 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord." The use of lots in making decisions, therefore, was regarded as a means of allowing God to make the choice (cf. Josh. 18:6, 8, 10). Lots, though a form of divination, were never a forbidden practice in ancient Israel as were the other major forms of divination (cf. Dt. 18:9-14). . . . Similar to the positive or negative response expected of the Urim and Thummim, other forms of the lot were primarily used to secure a yes or no answer to a particular proposal. 19 As to the question of whether or not these means of divine revelation are available today, several considerations are in order. First of all, a study of them in the Bible will reveal that their use by God’s people was primarily confined to appointed representatives of God such as Joshua (cf. Josh 18:6-8); a Priest, or an Apostle (cf. Acts 1:26). In other words, it is questionable as to whether the average Jew had much confidence that God would “speak” through such means. Likewise, few, if any right minded Christians would claim that God is using ephods, the Urim and Thummim, or the casting of lots to communicate His will today, making God’s habit of discontinuity in methods of personal revelation evident here. Accordingly, Dr. Van Dam writes concerning the Urim and Thummim: “The basic reason for their demise seems to have been that God was weaning His people away from a physical means of revelation to a greater

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dependence on His word as written or as spoken by the Prophets.” 20

Likewise, concerning the casting of lots, although we read that the early Apostles used them to choose an Apostle, there are no subsequent instructions to do so, nor did the early Church encourage the habit. Accordingly, Gary Freisen and J. Maxon note regarding casting lots: The only New Testament example occurs in Acts 1, when the disciples cast lots in the selection of Judas' replacement Matthias (Acts 1:24-26). Commentators correctly note that that episode took place prior to the inception of the Church Age, so it cannot be considered normative for the present economy. There is considerable doubt as to whether the action taken on that occasion was recognized by God or the Church as being valid. The King had declared that in the Kingdom, the Apostles would judge from "twelve thrones" (Matthew 19:28). While Matthias is never mentioned again as carrying out the apostolic office, Paul's claim to Apostleship is well established. 21 Nonetheless, one wonders in light of the contemporary frenzy to restore first century gifts and means of revelation, why the casting of lots isn’t included in the mix. Unfortunately, the practice was used habitually and superstitiously by John Wesley with regrettable results. 22 Demonic counterfeits of these rather obscure miraculous means of communication abound in ancient and modern occultic practices of divination. 23 Also, we note that like God, satan has spoken through animals, as he used a snake to speak to Eve (cf. Gen 3:14, 14-15). 24

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Extras & Endnotes Gauging Your Grasp 1) In what kinds of situations or to what kinds of people did Angels appear in the Bible? 2) In what ways did Angels appear to people? 3) We claim there is no explicit biblical reason to suggest that Angels cannot appear today to communicate a message from God. Do you agree or disagree and why? 4) What are some examples that “satan himself masquerades as an Angel of light” ? 5) What is God’s most frequent means of providing personal revelation to His people? 6) Name some of the odd means of revelation recorded in Scripture. Are they to be means of revelation today? Why or why not? Publications & Particulars 1

The rarity of angelic revelation in the OT is even greater if we properly distinguish “The Angel of the Lord,” as Jesus Christ, as further discussed below.

2

For further discussion on the claim in Hebrews that the OT was implemented by Angels see F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews (NICNT) (Eerdmans, 1990), 67, and Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians (WBC) (Nelson, 1990), 140.

3

Colin Kruse comments: Paul may be thinking here of Genesis 3 and the deceitfulness of the serpent who 'enlightened' Eve. Alternatively there are stories in Jewish pseudepigraphical works in which the devil or satan appears as an angel to deceive Eve (Life of Adam and Eve 9:1 - 11:3; Apocalypse of Moses 17:1) and the Apostle could be using these as an illustration. (2 Corinthians (TNTC) [Eerdmans, 1987], 190). It also seems possible, considering the extraordinary experiences of the Apostle, that Paul saw satan himself in the form of such an angel.

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4

For further discussion on the revelation of the Koran see Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths, ed. Mary Pat Fisher, (Tauris Publishers, 1997), 338.

5

Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999), 505-6.

6

Ibid.

7

For further discussion of the indirect nature of the vast majority of divine revelation, contrary to super-supernaturalism and mega mysticism see section 7.3.D.

8

We would suggest that the Judges of Israel should be included in the category of Prophets as well. They spoke for God, particularly revealing His will in personal disputes. The ministry of the Judge Deborah is particularly revealing concerning this office: Now Deborah, a Prophetess . . . was judging (shapat) Israel at that time. . . . and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment. Now she sent and summoned Barak . . . and said to him, "Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, 'Go and march to Mount Tabor” (Judg 4:4-6). Not only did Deborah have the God given authority to pronounce judgments for Israel, she is described as a “Prophetess” who revealed something directly from God. It would seem that speaking directly for God was something the Israelite Judges did, even if it was merely to pronounce judicial decisions in the name of God.

9

For an introduction to the biblical authority and attributes of Prophets see section 9.1.B.

10

For further discussion regarding the biblical authority and attributes of Apostles see chapter 8.4.

11

For further discussion regarding the cessation of Scripture gifts with the completion of Scripture see chapter 8.6.

12

For historical evidence for the cessation of the Scripture gifts see chapters 8.5; 9.13; 11.7; 12.13.

13

For further discussion of Papal authority in Romanism see chapter 13.7.

14

For a list of verses regarding warnings of false apostles, prophets, etc. see section 7.B.5.e.

15

For further discussion on discerning false prophets and apostles, particularly those operating in the Church today see chapter 11.13.

16

Regarding the revelatory use of the ephod in David’s life see section 14.

17

C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM (Findex.com, 2000)

18

Cornelius Van Dam, “Urim and Thummim” in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), Geoffrey W. Bromiley ed., 4 vols., [Eerdmans, 1988], IV:958. Van Dam also explains that the popular suggestion that

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biblical references to casting lots is synonymous with the use of Urim and Thummim cannot be proved and is unlikely (Ibid.). However, like casting lots, God ceased using this method when the superior means of written Scripture became available. 19

David Aune, “Lots” in the ISBE, 3:173.

20

Van Dam, IV:957. Likewise, the OT scholar Bruce Waltke writes: The Old Testament seems to indicate that the Urim and Thummim faded from use during the early days of Israel's monarchy, and they are only referred to once after the Babylonian exile. This may be so because after the institution of the monarchy, God inaugurated the office of the Prophet. The Prophets now participated in God's heavenly court and communicated God's messages to the courts in Jerusalem and Samaria. Apparently Prophets who revealed God's Word to the king replaced the Urim and Thummim, through which He revealed His mind to the priest. Nevertheless, we still find Ezra using this device to determine the ancestry of the priests who returned from the exile in Ezra chapter 2. After this the Bible never mentions the Urim and Thummim again. God did not preserve them for His people. They were one more allowance from God to assist His people at a certain point in history. (Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? [Eerdmans, 1995], 46)

21

Gary Friesen and J. Maxon, Decision Making and the Will of God (Multnomah, 1980), 226-7.

22

See Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, 2 Vols. (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970), I:150, 309; 2:553.

23

For further discussion of divination see section 14.9.G.

24

Thus Keil & Delitzsch remark: The serpent is here described not only as a beast, but also as a creature of God; it must therefore have been good, like everything else that He had made. Subtlety was a natural characteristic of the serpent (Matt 10:16), which led the evil one to select it as his instrument.

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Chapter 10.9

Direct Means of Miraculous Communication From the Writing of God to Living with God

Table of Topics A) The Writing of God B) The Glory Cloud of God C) The Angel of God D) The Son of God E) Living with the Living God Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  The Bible records remarkable occasions when God Himself did the writing.  The Glory Cloud was a manifestation of the presence of God, and perhaps specifically the Holy Spirit  The Angel of the Lord many times represents the Person and Presence of God in the OT, but is also distinguished from God. Accordingly, He is probably a pre-incarnate revelation of Jesus Christ and we therefore have significantly more biblical text describing Christ than just the Gospels.  The Scriptures are clear that to have met Christ in person was to meet God.  With the physical presence of Christ on Earth the Scriptures reflect a conspicuous absence of other modes of personal revelation.  All of the more direct means of personal revelation were intensified in the person of Christ.  Obviously the deeds surrounding Christ’s life revealed a great deal about God.  Although the physical presence of Christ was the most direct personal revelation of God provided to date, only relatively few humans experienced it.  The Scriptures warn us of the greatest counterfeit revelation of all time, “the antichrist”.  Obviously, the ultimate of all divine revelations will be when, “the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them” (Rev 21:3)  The Age of Faith will end.  In the Eternal Kingdom, we would suggest that virtually all current modes of divine revelation will cease operating. For example, it can be reasonably assumed that not even Scripture will be needed.  Imagine the joy we will experience when we truly do see and hear Him and faith is no longer needed! That will be the ultimate revelation of God, not only because of its intensity, but its eternity.

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While we have suggested that the above means of miraculous communication from God were rather indirect, here we begin our discussion of more direct means. This would include the voice of God and apparitions, visions, and dreams from God which we cover in the next chapter. Here we will discuss the writing of God, the Glory Cloud of God, the Angel of God, the Son of God, and in eternity future, living with the living God. 1

A) The Writing of God While we recognize that Scripture represents the writing of God’s word through a human instrument, the Bible records some remarkable occasions when God Himself did the writing. The most obvious example of divine writing is the recording of the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone. We read, “When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God” (Exod 31:18). God’s grace is reflected in the fact that after Moses breaks such a precious gift from God by throwing the tablets to the ground in anger over the people’s sin, God personally inscribes another set (cf. Exod 34:1, 28; Deut 10:15). 2

B) The Glory Cloud of God We noted above that in the transfiguration of Christ, “a bright cloud” descended and God spoke, “from the cloud” (Matt 17:5). This would seem to be a NT manifestation of the “Shekinah” 3 that often symbolized the presence of God in the OT. Shekinah is the Hebrew word given by Jewish rabbis 4 to the “glory cloud” that filled the OT Tabernacle (cf. Exod 40:34-35) and later the temple (cf. 1 Kgs 8:10). Moses simply refers to it as “The cloud of the LORD” (Num 10:34; cf. 14:4). By our count, there are over 80 references to the Glory Cloud of God in the Bible. We first encounter this phenomenon in Exodus 13:21 when in the context of the Israelite’s journey to Canaan we read: “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Here we see that the presence of “the Lord” is somehow contained in this “pillar of cloud . . . [and] fire” (cf. Num 14:14). 5 Soon afterwards, in response to the complaints of the people, we read the next encounter with the Glory Cloud:

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Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.'" While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud (Exod 16:9-10). The next scene in which this cloud represents the presence of God is on top of Mount Sinai. We read: “When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud” (Exod 24:15-16). It is after this that Moses asks God to see His glory (Exod 33:18), and upon granting the request, we see that the Glory Cloud accompanies this manifestation of God as well: “Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the LORD” (Exod 34:5). It will be noticed in these instances that this cloud is consistently referred to as “the cloud,” not just a cloud, suggesting it to be not only the same phenomenon in all these cases, but something that the Israelites recognized as being significant. The next descriptions of the Glory Cloud concerns its indwelling of the wilderness Tabernacle and the Temple of Solomon. Concerning the Tabernacle we read: Moses finished the work [on the Tabernacle]. Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out--until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels. (Exod 40:33-38) Several observations can be made from these passages. First of all, as noted above, the cloud was a manifestation of the presence of God. In Leviticus 16:2 we read: “The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.” Apparently,

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while the Glory Cloud of God initially filled the whole temple area, it was understood to have then confined itself to the Holy of Holies, situated precisely where God had promised to dwell. God had told Moses: “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all My commands for the Israelites” (Exod 25:22; cf. Deut 31:15; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15; Ps 80:1; 99:1; Ezek 9:3; 10:3-4). 6 The fact that the Glory Cloud represents the presence of God is why when it enters the temple later (cf. 1 Kgs 8:10f.), it is considered a fulfillment of God’s promise that He would, “put His Name there for His dwelling” (Deut 12:5). Where the Cloud was, there was God. More specifically, it should be added that the Glory Cloud was not God, but simply where He dwelt. Accordingly, we read: “Then the LORD came down in the cloud [not as a cloud] and stood there with him [Moses] and proclaimed His name, the LORD” (Exod 34:5; 19:9; 24:16; 1 Kgs 8:12). Secondly, comparing the above passages makes it clear that the initial encounter with the Glory Cloud as a “pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night . . . a pillar of fire to give them light” (Exod 13:21), is the same phenomenon that indwelled the Tabernacle and Temple (cf. Num 9:15-22; Ps 78:14, 105:38-9; Neh 9:12). 7 Additionally, some have noted the similarities between the Glory Cloud and the Holy Spirit. Like the Spirit, the Cloud often appears as fire (cf. Acts 2:3), and seems connected to supernatural empowerment (cf. Exod 24:18; Num 12:10) and divine revelation (cf. Exod 25:22 with Lev 16:2; Exod 33:9-11; Deut 31:15). In addition, the Apostle Paul makes a very interesting reference to the Glory Cloud when he writes: “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Cor 10:1-2). There is a suggestion here that the Glory Cloud “baptized” the Israelites “into Moses” their redeemer, just as the Holy Spirit has baptized us into our Redeemer (cf. 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:27). Because of this, several commentators, even as early as Origen (c. A. D. 250), have suggested that the Glory Cloud was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, or was at least intended to symbolize it. Remembering the universal response of humans when they see God, it is obvious why God would “hide” in a cloud. As M. F. Rooker notes: Whenever the Lord reveals himself, he also conceals himself. The reason for this is the recognized danger to the one who

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gazes on God’s appearance. . . . The human reaction to God’s appearance was always one of fear and terror. . . . The terrorizing appearance of God explains why God was often cloaked in a cloud in the theophonic appearance: the full revelation of his glory would totally overwhelm and could in fact destroy a human onlooker. 8 As we turn to the NT, it would seem that there are possible manifestations of the Glory Cloud recorded there as well. The “bright cloud” (Matt 17:5) which descended and from which God spoke in the transfiguration of Christ has already been noted. In relation to this, we are reminded of the Apostle John’s description of Christ: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling [eskēnōsen: lit.: “tabernacled”], among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only” (John 1:14; cf. Rev 21:3). Surely especially John’s Jewish readers saw these references concerning Christ to be related to the Tabernacle and the Glory Cloud that represented the presence of God in it, and among God’s people. 9 While God dwelt in a cloud in the OT, with the arrival of Christ, He dwelt in human flesh! Similarly, we notice that a cloud enveloped Christ at His ascension as well: After He [Christ] said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven." (Acts 1:911; cf. Luke 2:9) The Angels’ comment that Christ’s return will resemble His ascension brings to mind the numerous references to a cloud of glory in this context as well. Luke records Christ as saying, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27; cf. Mat 24:30; Dan 7:13; Isa 30:27; 60:1; Rev 14:14). It can then be suggested that the Glory Cloud which manifested the presence of God in the OT, has functioned in the same manner concerning the birth and transfiguration of Christ, and will do so as well with His return. Accordingly, F. F. Bruce comments: The transfiguration, the ascension, and the parousia are three successive manifestations of Jesus' divine glory. The cloud in each case is to be understood as the cloud which envelops the

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glory of God (the Shekinah)-that cloud which, resting above the Mosaic tabernacle and filling Solomon's temple, was the visible token to Israel that the divine glory had taken up residence there (Ex. 40:34; 1 Kings 8: 10-11). So, in the last moment that the Apostles saw their Lord with outward vision, they were granted a theophany: Jesus is enveloped in the cloud of the divine presence. 10 Even beyond this, it would seem that the Glory Cloud will appear again in the land of Israel. Isaiah prophesies of a future day and says, “Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy” (Isa 4:5; cf. Ezek 43:2-4). 11 Nonetheless, we again see a discontinuity in methods of divine revelation as regards the Glory Cloud. Not even modern supersupernaturalists or mega mystics claim that we should expect God to manifest Himself to us in this way today as He did to several biblical characters.

C) The Angel of God Many of the different manifestations of the presence of God in the OT are ultimately described as the “Angel of the Lord” (malak yhwh). This figure is very prominent in God’s interaction with His people in the OT, appearing to key figures, apparently including Abraham (cf. Gen 18:1-33), Jacob (cf. Gen 32:1, 22-30), Moses (cf. Exod 3:1-4), Joshua (cf. Josh 5:13-15), and David (cf. 2 Sam 24:15-17). In light of His importance for God’s interaction with His covenant people, it is remarkable that the Angel of the Lord appears first to someone outside of that covenant, namely Hagar, a pagan slave, concerning her pagan son Ishmael (cf. Gen 16:1). 12 Even here, we encounter the most puzzling thing about the Angel of the Lord. First, he is described as an “Angel” (Gen 16:7). The Hebrew word here (malak) literally means “messenger” and can simply refer to human ambassadors (cf. Isa 30:4; 33:7; Ezek 17:15), or human messengers (almost 100 times), although it is often translated “Angel” (over 100 times). However, when this Angel speaks to Hagar, He promises in the first person, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count” (v. 10), a promise that could only be made by the Creator. Accordingly, Genesis describes this being as “the Lord [Jehovah] Who spoke to her,” and even Hagar describes Him as “the God Who sees me” (v. 13). This same pattern continues in subsequent

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encounters and God repeatedly identifies Himself with the Angel of the Lord (cf. Gen 22:15-18; 31:11-13; 48:15-16; Judg 2:1-2; 6:11-14; 13:21-22). For example, regarding the Israelite’s journey to the Promised Land, God promises “My Angel will go before you” (Exod 32:34). However, a few verses later in the same context God promises, “My Presence [paniym] will go with you” (Exod 33:14). God equates His “Presence” with His “Angel,” which is why the Angel of the Lord is described elsewhere as, “the Angel of His presence” (Isa 63:9). 13 In a similar way, we read in Exodus 23: See, I am sending an Angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to Him and listen to what He says. Do not rebel against Him; He will not forgive your rebellion, since My Name is in Him. If you listen carefully to what He says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My Angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. (Exod 23:20-23) The “Angel” in verse 20 is identified as “My Angel” in verse 24 and given divine attributes, suggesting that God is again referring to the Angel of the Lord. To rebel against this Angel is to rebel and sin against God (v. 21), and what he says is what God says (v. 22). However, the most intriguing thing here is that the Angel of the Lord is described by God as having God’s “Name . . . in Him” (v. 21). If we understand what this means, we will understand who the Angel of the Lord is. Obviously it is a lofty description meaning that, “the essential nature of Jehovah was manifested in him.” 14 Accordingly, Keil and Delitzsch define the Angel of the Lord as, “the visible representative of the invisible God under the Old Testament.” 15 The deity of the Angel of the Lord is demonstrated as well by the worship that seemed to accompany Him. When he appears to Moses in the burning bush, God tells Moses, “Do not come any closer . . . Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground,” (Exod 3:5) clearly equating the presence of the Angel of the Lord (v. 2) with the presence of God. Joshua is told the same thing as Moses when he also seems to encounter the Angel of the Lord, and in addition he, “fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"” (Josh 5:13-15). Such

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worship and reverence was forbidden in the presence of a mere Angel (cf. Rev 19:10; 22:8-9; Col 2:18), but not evidently in the presence of the Angel of the Lord. 16 In addition, the Angel of the Lord performs miracles, consuming with fire the offering placed before Him by Gideon, and the sacrifice prepared by Manoah (cf. Judg 6:21; 13:19-20). Remarkably, while it is obvious that The Angel of the Lord represents the Person and Presence of God, it would seem He is also distinguished from God. We noted above in the context of the Israelite’s journey to Canaan, that God had promised that His “Presence” would accompany them through the presence of the Angel of the Lord (cf. Exod 32:34, 33:14). However, in Exodus 33:1-3, in the same context of the Israelite’s journey to the Promised Land, God says: “I will send an Angel [the Angel of the Lord, cf. Exod 23:20-23; 32:34] before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” In other words, while the Angel of the Lord is described as the “Presence” of God and was to accompany the Israelites on their journey, God in His Person was not. Here, God and the Angel of the Lord are clearly differentiated. Likewise, in 2 Samuel we see the Lord Jehovah speaking to the Angel of the Lord as a separate being: “When the Angel [of the Lord, see below] stretched out His hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD [Jehovah] was grieved because of the calamity and said to the Angel who was afflicting the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The Angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite” (2 Sam 24:16). In addition, the Angel of the Lord is heard addressing God when we read in Zechariah: “Then the Angel of the LORD said, "LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” (Zech 1:12). Some may suggest that the statement “Angel of the Lord” may at times simply refer to any one of God’s Angels. However, as one studies the topic, God often refers to Angels simply as Angels, but the phrase, “Angel of the Lord” seems to have special significance. Before drawing some conclusions regarding the Angel of the Lord, it is interesting to note that He appears in several different forms as well. For example, we read that, “the Angel of the Lord appeared to him [Moses] as flames of fire from within a bush” (Exod 3:2). In fact, it is not clear that the Angel of the Lord is ever described as appearing as an Angel, but most often as a man. For

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example, when Jacob wrestles with the Angel of the Lord, he is initially described as a “man” 17 (cf. Gen 32:24; Judg 13:3, 6). While Jacob himself later describes the incident as seeing, “God [Elohim] face to face,” (Gen 32:30) it is not until we read the Prophet Hosea’s commentary on this event that we learn that this appearance of a man was the Angel of the Lord as well. In describing “Jacob,” Hosea says: “In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the Angel and overcame Him” (Hos 12:2-4). This would suggest that other appearances of a man were manifestations of the Angel of the Lord as well. As noted above, Joshua encounters “a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand” (Josh 5:13). The man describes himself as, “commander of the army of the LORD” (v. 14), but again, the reverence that He accepts suggests that He is in some way closely connected with deity (v. 15; cf. Exod 3:2-6). The appearance of “three men” to Abraham (Gen 18:2), one clearly being revealed as God (v. 1, 13-14, 17, 22) is one of the more intriguing examples of personal revelation from God. Contrary to the suggestion that all three represent God, and that this is a demonstration of the Holy Trinity, verse 22 indicates that two of “the men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before” the third “man” who was “the Lord.” The two other “men” are later clearly described as Angels, not manifestations of God (Gen 19:1, cf. v. 13). This is one of the most striking encounters with a being that appears as a man, having “feet” to be washed (v. 4), and eating food (v. 8), 18 but being described as the very “Lord (Jehovah)” (v. 13) for Whom nothing is “too hard” (v. 14), and Who had personally “chosen” Abraham and his offspring to be the people of God (v. 19). The suggestion that the Angel of the Lord often appeared as a man may explain why those who see Him often initially respond to Him as such (cf. Judg 6:12-13; Gen 16:7-8), instead of the usual reaction from those who see an Angel (cf. Dan 10:12-19; Luke 1:13, 30; 2:10). The above attributes ascribed to the Angel of the Lord suggest a very interesting conclusion of who He really is. To summarize, the OT’s description of the Angel of the Lord includes the following: 1) His presence and person are a manifestation of the Presence and Person of Jehovah God, His very “name” and attributes being “in Him” (Exod 23:21). 2) He is a separate being from God, and 3) He most often manifested Himself as a human man. It therefore becomes obvious that there are striking similarities to how Christ is described in the NT as a being Who is the Presence of God, but separate somehow from God, and appearing in the form

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of human flesh. It is no wonder then that many of the earliest Church fathers including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian identified the Angel of the Lord as Jesus Christ, the latter referring to Him as “rehearsals” of the Incarnation. One can add that while the Angel of the Lord is active in the OT even up to the time of the Prophet Zechariah (Zech 1:12), He is no longer mentioned after the appearance of Christ, suggesting as well that the former may well have been the OT manifestation of the latter. 19 While there is no explicit confirmation of such an identification in the NT, and therefore we cannot be certain of it, the biblical evidence for it is certainly considerable. 20 Accordingly, J. B. Payne equates the Angel of the Lord as “preincarnate appearances of Christ” in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 21 Likewise, Keil and Delitzsch conclude after an extensive study of the topic: The Angel of Jehovah, therefore, was no other than the Logos, which not only “was with God,” but “was God,” and in Jesus Christ “was made flesh” and “came unto His own” (John 1:12,11); the only-begotten Son of God, who was sent by the Father into the world, who, though one with the Father, prayed to the Father (John 17). 22 Finally, we quote McClintock and Strong who agree that: The inevitable inference is that by the “Angel of the Lord” in such passages is meant He who is from the beginning, the “Word,” i.e. the Manifester or Revealer of God. These appearances are evidently “foreshadowings of the incarnation” (q.v.). By these God the Son manifested himself from time to time in that human nature which he united to the Godhead forever in the virgin’s womb. 23 If, in fact, The Angel of the Lord is a pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ, then we have significantly more biblical text describing Christ than just the Gospels.

D) The Son of God The incarnate Jesus Christ obviously represents a monumental personal encounter with God. He was indeed God Almighty, the Creator and Master of the Universe in a human body. As the Apostle John put it: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). This is, of course, why Matthew says, “they will call Him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us"” (Matt 1:23). There could be no greater demonstration of

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God’s desire to have a relationship with us. The Scriptures are clear that to have met Christ in person was to meet God. The King said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) and “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). This is why the Bible often describes Christ simply as “the Word [logos, expression] of God” (John 1:1, 14; Rev. 19:13). The Jews certainly understood what Christ was saying and “tried all the harder to kill Him” because He was “making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). And our King clearly identified Himself with the OT God with His extraordinary statement: “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I Am!” (John 8:58; cf. Exod 3:14). All of the more direct means of personal revelation were intensified in the person of Christ. He was the ultimate messenger of direct verbal communication from God. In Hebrews we read, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the Prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Heb 1:1). Surely when Christ was on the Earth He spoke God’s words, not only because He represented God the Father, but because He was Himself God! (cf. John 8:26, 12:49, 14:10, 17:8, Deut 18:18). Like the OT Angel of the Lord, He was God in human form. However, He did not present Himself merely momentarily and only to a few select individuals, but rather, over an extended period of more than three years and to many thousands of people. Finally, Christ was the ultimate vision of God, the author of Hebrews writing: “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being [hupostasis, person, nature]” (1:3). He was more than a momentary vision of some of the physical attributes of God. Rather, Christ’s compassion, patience, holiness, mercy, sternness against arrogance, and hatred of pride, all reveal the personal character of God. Obviously the deeds surrounding Christ’s life revealed a great deal about God as well. His incarnation in the form of a baby is the ultimate demonstration of God’s humility. His transfiguration revealed something of not only Christ’s glory, but our future glory as well. His miraculous authority over humanity and nature were the most personal presentation of God’s power. Christ’s crucifixion is, of course, the supreme illustration of God’s love. And finally, His resurrection was the most convincing authentication of His claims to represent God. Although the physical presence of Christ was the most direct personal revelation of God provided to date, only relatively few humans experienced it. The Apostle John writes of his unique experience when he says, “That which was from the beginning,

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which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it” (1 John 1:1-2). However, many of those who personally saw or heard Christ did not recognize the incredible privilege available to them. Oh, to have lived in those days! As noted previously, with the physical presence of Christ on Earth the Scriptures reflect a conspicuous absence of other modes of personal revelation. During His ministry we have no reports of God revealing anything to anyone apart from Him. We would suggest that this is simply another example that when a superior method of personal revelation is present, others cease. Such a suggestion is demonstrated in the ministry of Christ. The fact that Christ was such a complete and personal revelation of God may explain why so many of the ways in which God revealed Himself at other times were limited or focused only through Christ during His ministry. John the Baptist was a Prophet, but his ministry soon ended after Christ’s ministry began (John 3:26-30; Mark 1:12-14; 6:1727). Angels appeared to announce the birth of Christ, but afterwards are conspicuously absent from the Gospel narrative until Christ’s resurrection. As noted above, the voice of God the Father is audibly heard three times during Christ’s ministry but this always occurs in Christ’s presence and is directly related to Him. The only divine communication through a dream or vision recorded during Christ’s life on Earth is that of Pilate’s wife, revealing to her Christ’s innocence (Matt 27:19). Likewise, there were obviously a multitude of miraculous events occurring during Christ’s ministry, but all are attributed to Him, except those done by the disciples He personally empowered and commissioned (Luke 9:2; 10:9). To suggest that a multitude of others were seeing or performing God-sent miracles, or receiving special revelation from God through means other than Christ when Christ was on the Earth is a suggestion from silence, and would not reflect the obvious intention of the Father to communicate at that time exclusively through His Son. In addition, the physical presence of Christ as a mode of personal revelation is another example of the discontinuity of such methods. Christ’s presence fulfilled its purpose and this mode of revelation ceased. The King is not revealing Himself in the same manner today as He did in A. D. 30. The proof text most often cited in support of this unbiblical suggestion is Hebrews 13:8 where we read: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Of course He is in His character, but not in His methods

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of revelation. While we have noted above that Christ has apparently appeared to some in visions since His Ascension, these would not reflect the kind of physical revelation that the Apostles could touch and embrace. The super-supernaturalists who think God would never remove a valuable gift of revelation from the church, need to remember He took Christ. His physical presence on Earth was the greatest gift of divine revelation and it is no longer here. Why wouldn’t he take Apostles and Prophets? Finally, we have noted throughout this chapter, satan’s desire to counterfeit God’s methods of miraculous communication, and not surprisingly, this would especially include the greatest of these methods, Jesus Christ Himself. Thus, the Scriptures warn us of the greatest counterfeit revelation of all time, “the antichrist [antichristos]” (1 John 2:22; cf. Matt 24:15-25; 2 Thess 2:1-12; Rev 6:1-2). The preposition anti does not only reflect opposition, but perhaps even more so, replacement. 24 Accordingly, the revelation of antichrist will not merely contradict the teaching of the real Christ, but become a substitute for it. No doubt, antichrist will resemble Christ in many ways, including supernatural abilities and a veneer of virtue. By these he will hope to be another Messiah in place of the real one, and worshipped and obeyed accordingly. Indeed, while there have already been and will be many “false Christs” (Matt 24:24; cf. 1 John 2:18), there will be an ultimate one, a fraud so convincing that apart from God’s supernatural assistance, all “will believe the lie” (2 Thess 2:11). Therefore, in the context of end time events, Christ warns: Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ, and will deceive many. . . . At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false Prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible (Matt 24:5, 23-24).

E) Living with the Living God Obviously, the ultimate of all divine revelations will be when, “the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them” (Rev 21:3). While the earthly life of Christ was the ultimate revelation of God in the past, and the indwelling Spirit and Scripture is such for the present, there is still to come a revelation of God that will surpass all of these. Our present interaction with God through the Scriptures and Spirit requires faith. We cannot see the God we are

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experiencing on a daily basis. Indeed, the Apostle Peter said, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” (1 Pet 1:8). Likewise, the Apostle Paul said of the Christian, “we live by faith, not by sight.” Because we live in the Age of Faith instead of the coming Age of Sight, we do not know God as we will, nor in the manner we will. But the Age of Faith will end (cf. Rom. 8:24-25, 2 Cor. 4:18, 5:7, Heb. 11:1). While the earthly life of Christ was the ultimate divine revelation of God in the past and the indwelling of the Spirit in our New Nature and the provision of Scripture is such for the present, there is still to come, a revelation of God that will far surpass all of these. Here we must pause and notice how drastically the nature of divine revelation is to change. For example, because the revelation of God for His glory will be so complete in the Eternal Kingdom, we would suggest that virtually all current modes of divine revelation will cease operating. For example, it can be reasonably assumed that not even Scripture will be needed. The King said that the purpose of His first coming was “not . . . to abolish . . . but to fulfill . . . the Law and the Prophets.” However, when “Heaven and Earth disappear” and “everything is accomplished” in His second coming, “the smallest letter” and “the least stroke of a pen” which currently make up Scripture will “disappear” (Matt 5:17-18). 25 Accordingly, Dr. Kuyper (1837–1920) wrote: With the dawn of the Day of days the Sacred Volume will undoubtedly disappear. As the New Jerusalem will need no sun, moon, or temple, but the Lord God will be its light, so will there be no need of Scripture, for the revelation of God shall reach His elect directly through the unveiled Word. But so long as the Church is on earth, face-to-face communion withheld, and our hearts accessible only by the avenues of this imperfect existence, Scripture must remain the indispensable instrument by which the Triune God prepares men's souls for higher glory. 26 Imagine the joy we will experience when we truly do see and hear Him and faith is no longer needed! That will be the ultimate revelation of God, not only because of its intensity, but its eternity. This is why the ultimate personal encounter with God will be the day “when He appears . . . because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2), and unlike Moses, we “will see His face” (Rev 22:4; cf. Matt 5:8). Job described this future revelation in this way:

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I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought! (Job 19:25-27 NLT) Yet it is not that we will simply receive an initial appearance of God, and see Him no more. Rather, in a way that would seem to combine the intimacy that the Twelve enjoyed with Christ personally, with the universality that we enjoy now through the Holy Spirit, all of God’s people will experience an intimate, personal, relationship with God when the Kingdom is fully established on Earth, and it can be said: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev 21:3; cp. Zech 2:10-11). That is when we will be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8) living with Him so we can see His glory (cf. John 17:24). While God certainly lives with His people now in a spiritual way through the indwelling of the Spirit, He will then live with us in a “physical” way, as we will dwell in His very presence. Even though we do not see, hear, live with, and eat with God now, we will in Heaven (cf. Rev 19:9). The revelation of God, and the glory it was to accomplish, will be so complete that even such great virtues as faith and hope will vanish right along with the old earth, sky, and stars (cf. Rom. 8:24-25, 2 Cor. 4:18, 5:7, Heb. 11:1). We will no longer need faith and hope because the second coming of Christ will terminate the Age of Faith and inaugurate the eternal Age of Sight. 27 Obviously, this is one method of divine personal revelation that satan will not be able to counterfeit. While the devil’s children may experience such a direct and constant revelation of him, he will be eternally confined to the Lake of Fire, unable to do anything but suffer and pay for all of his abominable counterfeiting through the ages.

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Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Our Father in Heaven, we praise You for all of the amazing, humbling ways You have revealed Yourself to humanity. Thank You for sending Your Son! And thank You that You will send Him again and usher in not only an eternal revelation of Yourself, but an eternal personal existence and enjoyment of You. Can’t wait. Gauging Your Grasp 1) When does the Bible record that God Himself did the writing? 2) What were the attributes of the Glory Cloud in the OT? Why do we suggest it was an OT manifestation of the Holy Spirit? 3) What were the attributes of The Angel of the Lord in the OT? Who do we suggest He is manifesting in the OT? What is the significance of this in terms of divine revelation? Do you agree or disagree and why? 4) What Scriptures make it clear that to have met Christ in person was to meet God? 5) We claim that with the physical presence of Christ on Earth the Scriptures reflect a conspicuous absence of other modes of personal revelation. How do we support this? Do you agree or disagree? What is the significance of this? 6) We claim all of the more direct means of personal revelation were intensified in the person of Christ. How do we support this? 7) What did Christ’s deeds reveal to us about God? 8) What has been the most direct personal revelation of God provided to date? Why have only relatively few humans experienced it? 9) How will satan counterfeit the revelation of Christ?

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What will be the ultimate of all divine revelations? What will be the changes brought about by this event? Publications & Particulars

1

Many of these methods can be referred to as theophanies which literally means “an appearance of God.” J. C. Moyer defines theophany as “A theological term used to refer to either a visible or auditory manifestation of God” (“Theophany” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (EDT), Walter Elwell ed., [Baker, 1984], 1087). Likewise, M. F. Rooker defines theophany as, “a form of divine revelation wherein God’s presence is made visible (or revealed in a dream) and is recognizable to humanity.” (“Theophany,” in the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, Alexander, T. Desmond and David W. Baker, eds. (Intervarsity, 2003), 860. Rooker goes on to note that: A prevalent characteristic of all OT theophanies is their divine initiation. This feature distinguishes theophanies in the Bible from those alleged to occur in pagan societies that resulted from persistent and strenuous efforts (862). This would also distinguish it from practices in folk religions, shamanism, and, we would suggest, modern worship practices where various methods such as repetition or the length of worship is thought to result in an especially powerful visitation of God which may actually be merely an “altered state of consciousness.” For further discussion of this see section 4.11.B.

2

Unfortunately, many commentators (e.g. Walter Kaiser in Expositors Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. CD-ROM [Zondervan, n.d.], loc. cit. Exod 34:1-3), and especially translations suggest that Moses wrote the second set of Ten Commandments on the stone tablets. For example this is implied in the common translation of Exod 34:28 as in the NIV: “Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he [the Lord or Moses?] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.” (cf. NLT, NASB, RSV, KJV, etc. esp. NCV) The NKJV uniquely capitalizes “He” in the second sentence to refer to God. The fact that God wrote the second set of the Decalogue as well is confirmed by the fact that all Moses was instructed to do was to provide the stone tablets, God Himself promising to write on them (cf. Exod 31:1). This is precisely then how Moses describes the event in Deut 10:1-4.

3

W. A. Van Gemeren writes: “Although the word “Shekinah” does not occur in the Bible, the root škn occurs not only in the verb (“dwell”), but also in the notion miškān (“dwelling place,” “tabernacle”) and the name Shecinah (“Yahweh dwells”; e. g., 1 Ch. 3:21f.).” VanGemeren goes on to relate the Shekinah glory and presence of God to the “glory-cloud”

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(“Shekinah”, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), Geoffrey W. Bromiley ed., 4 vols. [Eerdmans, 1988], IV:466) 4

Thus, Albert Barnes, in his commentary on 1 Kings 8:10 refers to it as “the Shechinah of the Targums” which were Jewish commentaries on the OT that were written during the time between the writings of the OT and NT (“intertestamental period”). (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files [Findex.Com, 1999], loc. cit.)

5

C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch comment on Exodus 13:21-22: The cloud was not produced by an ordinary caravan fire, nor was it “a mere symbol of the presence of God, which derived all its majesty from the belief of the Israelites, that Jehovah was there in the midst of them,” according to Köster’s attempt to idealize the rationalistic explanation; but it had a miraculous origin and a supernatural character. (Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.com, 2000], loc. cit.)

6

Accordingly, Keil and Delitzsch comment on Exodus 40:34-8: To consecrate the sanctuary, which had been finished and erected as His dwelling, and to give to the people a visible proof that He had chosen it for His dwelling, Jehovah filled the dwelling in both its parts with the cloud which shadowed forth His presence, so that Moses was unable to enter it. This cloud afterwards drew back into the most holy place, to dwell there, above the outspread wings of the cherubim of the ark of the covenant; so that Moses and (at a later period) the priests were able to enter the holy place and perform the required service there, without seeing the sign of the gracious presence of God, which was hidden by the curtain of the most holy place. (loc. cit.)

7

See Keil and Delitzsch commentary on Exodus 13:21-22, 40:34-38.

8

Rooker, 860, 863.

9

Leon Morris comments on this verse and writes: [C]ertainly the glory associated with the tabernacle is part of John's meaning. The glory resulting from the immediate presence of the Lord is referred to quite often in Jewish writings. It came to be linked with the Shekinah, a word that means "dwelling" and is used of God's dwelling among his people (in the Targums this term was sometimes substituted for the divine name). There were various ways in which the Jews used the term, and it is likely that John has more than one of them in mind. As A. M. Ramsey says, "We are reminded both of the tabernacle in the wilderness, and of the Prophetic imagery of Yahweh tabernacling in the midst of His people, and of the Shekinah which He causes to dwell among them. . . . The place of His dwelling is the flesh of Jesus." He goes on to bring out the force of the present passage by saying, "All the ways of tabernacling of God in Israel had been transitory or incomplete: all are fulfilled and superseded by the Word-made-flesh

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and dwelling among us.” That is the great point. What had been hinted at and even realized in a dim, imperfect fashion earlier [by the Glory Cloud] was perfectly fulfilled in the Word made flesh. (The Gospel According to John, [Eerdmans, 1995], 92). 10

F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (Eerdmans, 1988), 38. Similarly, W. A. VanGemeren, Professor of OT at Trinity, in an entry to the ISBE, argues for a connection between the Glory Cloud of God and both the Holy Spirit and Christ essentially based on an interpretation of 2 Corinthians 3:1718. He writes: The association of Jesus with the Shekinah is . . . apparent . . . in the NT . . . The presence of the Holy Spirit is also a representation of the Shekinah . . . The NT authors attributed to the Spirit and to the Son the glory associated with the Shekinah . (“Shekinah,” IV:467-8) Van Gemeren notes that Meredith G. Kline, in his book, Image of the Spirit (1980), argues for the same connection regarding the Holy Spirit. J. B. Payne does so regarding Christ in the EDT, 1010-11. Further possible references regarding the Cloud of God are suggested by E. F. Harrison in his ISBE entry, “The Presence of God”. These include: Divine Presence and Guidance in Israelite Traditions, by T. W. Mann, (1977); The People and the Presence, by W. J. Pythian-Adams, (1942); and The Elusive Presence, by S. Terrien, (1978).

11

See Keil and Delitzsch at Isa 4:5

12

Hagar is simply referred to as an “Egyptian” (Gen 16:1), and there is no hint that she is included in the Abrahamic covenant. Her son Ishmael clearly is not (cf. Gen 16:12; 17:13-21), and of course became the father of God’s enemies.

13

In Keil and Delitzsch’s commentary on Exodus 33:14, they also equate the “Presence” which will go with the Israelites recorded there, with the Angel of the Lord described in Exodus 23:20-21. (loc. cit.).

14

Keil and Delitzsch, Exod 23:20

15

Ibid. at commentary on Exod 13:21-22

16

This fact suggests that the Angel in Revelation that Christ refers to as “His Angel” (1:1) and “My angel” (22:16), while obviously being a special Angel, would not seem to be the OT Angel of the Lord. John writes concerning this Angel: “I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!” (Rev 19:10; cf. 22:8-9). While worship of the Angel of the Lord was evidently appropriate and he is described as representing the “Presence [paniym]” or “face” of God, this Angel is not described in that way.

17

Keil and Delitzsch rightly point out: “This remarkable occurrence is not to be regarded as a dream or an internal vision, but fell within the sphere of sensuous perception.” (Gen 32:24)

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19

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Keil and Delitzsch remark: The eating of material food on the part of these heavenly beings was not in appearance only, but was really eating; an act which may be attributed to the corporeality assumed, and is to be regarded as analogous to the eating on the part of the risen and glorified Christ (Luke 24:41ff.), although the miracle still remains physiologically incomprehensible. (Gen 18:2).

Acts 10:4 would not seem to be an exception. While Cornelius does address the Angel as “Lord [kurios],” this word is often used in the NT as a sign of respect to people, and often does not refer to deity at all. (See Vine’s, 379). No angels in the NT are described as “the” angel of the Lord, but rather “an” angel of the Lord (cf. Matt 1:20; 2:13, 19; 28:2; Luke 1:11; 2:9; Acts 5:19; 8:26; 12:7, 23). All of which makes J. B. Taylor’s suggestion in the New Bible Dictionary (NBD) that, “the angel of the Lord . . . appears as Gabriel in Lk. 1:19” and throughout the NT, unfortunately misleading. (“Angel of the Lord,” NBD, J. I. Packer et. al. eds., [Intervarsity, 1996], 37).

Moyer, in the EDT says of the Angel of the Lord: Various interpretations have been suggested including an appearance of God himself, an appearance of a messenger or one of God's many angels, or an appearance of the preincarnate Christ. Each interpretation has difficulties, and there is no consensus. (1087). We’re not sure what the “difficulties” would be with equating the OT Angel of the Lord with Christ. It is worth noting that evidently such respected theologians as Augustine and F. Delitzsch interpreted the Angel of the Lord, “as merely a created angel, who represents God, and speaks in His name just as the Prophets were later to do.” (James Orr, Revelation and Inspiration [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1952], 84). However, such an interpretation does not seem to do justice to the fact that the Angel of the Lord is clearly portrayed as much more than simply a messenger of God, but as representing the Presence and Person of God as well, which is a just description of who the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth was. J. M. Wilson in his ISBE entry under “Angel” accordingly writes: It is certain that from the beginning God used angels in human form, with human voices, in order to communicate with man; and the appearances of the angel of the Lord, with his special redemptive relation to God's people, show the working of that divine mode of self revelation which culminated in the coming of the Savior, and are thus a foreshadowing of, and a preparation for, the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ. (I:125) For further support see James A. Borland, Christ in the Old Testament: Old Testament Appearances of Christ in Human Form (Mentor, 1999). 21

EDT, 1010

22

Keil and Delitzsch, Gen 11, “Character of the Patriarchial History”.

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23

John McClintock and James Strong, “Angel” in Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (M&S), CD-ROM (Ages Software, 2000), 34.

24

Accordingly, we read in the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT): Since the root sense of anti is "(set) over against, opposite", the prep. naturally came to denote equivalence (one object is set over against another as its equivalent), exchange (one object, opposing or distinct from another, is given or taken in return for the other), and substitution (one object, that is distinguishable from another, is given or taken instead of the other). (M. J. Harris, “Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament,” Colin Brown ed., 4 vols., [Zondervan, 1986], 3:1179

25

The fact that the mode of Scripture may cease in the coming eternal age does not mean that its contents become obsolete. On the contrary, many of its commands, teaching, and promises are eternal. Accordingly, we read in Psalms: “Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever” (119:152; cf. 119:111). Likewise, the King said, “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matt 24:35). Finally, the Lord promised: As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, Who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,” says the LORD. (Isa 59:21) Therefore, while the authority and efficacy of this biblical revelation remains, Scripture as a mode of divine revelation need not remain. Which is precisely what Isaiah is prophesying when he describes the covenant revelation being put in the people’s mouths.

26

Abraham Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit (Eerdmans, 1946), 60.

27

Excerpt from section 7.3.F.

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Chapter 10.10

Physically Seeing & Hearing God The Voice & Apparitions of God

Table of Topics A) The Voice of God B) Apparitions from God Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points  Scripture records several times that God spoke to people in an audible voice that was physically heard with human ears.  The clearest NT examples of people physically hearing the voice of God occurred in the ministry of Christ.  Even in a mental vision, it seemed to the person that God was physically speaking to them (cf. 2 Cor 12:1-4).  Biblically speaking, people only either heard God’s voice audibly such that others could hear it too, or they “heard” His voice in a vision. What many call “hearing God” is not biblically hearing God at all.  Examples of demonic counterfeiting illustrate again the importance of authenticating revelation as demonic or divine.  Most all of the miraculous revelations recorded in Scripture could be labeled as an apparition, vision, or dream.  We can conclude that essentially the whole Law of Moses, consisting of large portions of Exodus and Numbers, and virtually all of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, were received, not in visions, but in a very physical experience with God.  A few others such as Samuel, Job, Peter, and Paul experienced apparitions of God.  Emperor Constantine and his army experienced a very famous apparition of God.

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A) The Voice of God Scripture records several times that God spoke to people in an audible voice that was physically heard with human ears. The clearest OT examples were in the context of God meeting with Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Accordingly, Moses tells the Israelites: When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your Elders came to Me. 24 And you said, “The LORD our God has shown us His glory and His majesty, and we have heard His voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. 26 For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? 27 Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey.” (Deut 5:23-27) We are reminded here of what an awesome thing it is to really hear God. So much so that the Israelites could not bear it (cf. Exod 20:19). Accordingly, Moses thereafter heard the voice of God. We read of the incident that, “Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain . . . . The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear Me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you” (Exod 19:3, 9). The monumental nature of these events is reflected in the number of times it is mentioned (cf. Deut 4:12; 4:33, 36; 5:4; 5:22-26; Exod 19:9, 19; 20:22; 24:16; Heb 12:18-21). Because Moses typically experienced apparitions of God and not just God’s voice, we discuss him further below. Nonetheless, it would seem clear that Moses physically heard the voice of God on several occasions, especially when it is described as coming from a particular direction or object such as “from within a [burning] bush” (Exod 3:4), “from the Tent of Meeting” (Lev 1:1), or when “Moses . . . heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony” (Num 7:89). The clearest NT examples of people physically hearing the voice of God occurred in the ministry of Christ, Whom God said would be

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a “Prophet like” Moses (Deut 18:18). At the time of Christ’s baptism, “a voice from Heaven said, “This is My Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). Likewise, at Christ’s transfiguration, “a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is My Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Matt 17:5). And again, at Christ’s request for the Father to glorify His Name, John records, “Then a voice came from Heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to Him” (John 12:28-29). The above examples of people hearing God’s voice clearly occurred in a physical way with people hearing the voice of God with their ears. However, most of the time that Scripture records people hearing God, it is in the context of a vision in which the sound is not physically heard, but is rather “mentally” heard. Nonetheless, it is often difficult to be sure in many cases which kind of divine voice people experienced, the physical one or the mental one. Not only is it difficult to discern the difference in the biblical text, but we would suggest the person themselves could hardly tell the difference because of God’s use of the sensical parts of the person’s mind while they experienced the vision. In other words, even in a mental vision, it seemed to the person that God was physically speaking to them (cf. 2 Cor 12:1-4). Accordingly, we cannot be dogmatic about whether the voice of God was experienced in a physical or more psychical way when “The LORD God commanded the man [Adam], saying [amar: “utter,” “say”] . . .” (Gen 2:16), or later when “the LORD God called [qara: “call,” “proclaim”] to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Gen 3:9). However, the Hebrew words used to describe God’s communication, and the fact that the first man and woman clearly experienced God in a physical way, as they “heard the sound of the LORD God as He was walking in the garden” (Gen 3:8), strongly suggest they typically experienced God’s voice in a physical way as well. We would suggest the same when Samuel first heard God call Him (cf. 1 Sam 3:4-10). However, even if the voice of God was not experienced physically, it occurred as something “heard” in the person’s mind, not just a thought entering the mind in a telepathic way. Unfortunately, many people claim they have heard the voice of God, or that God told them something, when in reality all they experienced was a strong impression or emotional impulse. They actually didn’t hear anything, whether physically or mentally.

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But again, biblically speaking, people only either heard God’s voice audibly such that others could hear it too, or they “heard” His voice in a vision. What many call “hearing God” is not biblically hearing God at all. Therefore, when we read, “The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it” (Acts 8:29), we would suggest that such instruction occurred as an audible sensation, and the incident gives no biblical evidence for the mega mystical idea of merely mental “leadings” of the Holy Spirit as so many commonly claim. As we have said, there is no biblical evidence for the idea that God gives us instruction to obey through mere mental promptings. There is no biblical reason why God could not provide divine revelation in a similar way today. For example, the following believable story is told of Peter Marshall (1902-1949), former Chaplain to the U. S. Senate: Back in Britain, on one foggy, pitch-black Northumberland night, he was taking a shortcut across the moors in an area where there was a deep, deserted limestone quarry. As he plodded blindly forward, an urgent voice called out, "Peter!" He stopped and answered: "Yes, who is it? What do you want?" But there was no response. Thinking he was mistaken, he took a few more steps. The voice came again, even more urgently, "Peter!" At this he stopped again and, trying to peer into the darkness, stumbled forward and fell to his knees. Putting down his hand to brace himself, he found nothing there. As he felt around in a semicircle he discovered that he was right on the brink of the abandoned quarry, where one step more would certainly have killed him. 1 While God may provide divine revelation in this manner, we can always expect divine authentication to accompany it. God knows that humans are susceptible to the “delusions of their own minds” (cf. Jer 14:14; 23:26-28; Col 2:18-19). Not even God expects us to receive any revelation as divine, including either a physical or psychical “voice,” until it has been sufficiently authenticated as such. Accordingly, when God first spoke to Moses, He did it from a supernaturally burning bush (cf. Exod 2:1-6; cf. 3:12). Supernatural revelation from God will always be accompanied by undeniable supernatural authentication from God. 2 In addition, no “voice of God” will contradict already authenticated revelation such as Scripture. Finally, like every other mode of divine miraculous communication, the devil desires to copy it, and certainly has been known to “speak” to people. Many particularly possessed

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unbelievers have attested to hearing “voices” in their head. Here we are reminded of a young man on the popular Oprah Winfrey television show who claimed he had voices telling him he was a woman, and when he acted that way the voices would stop. We believe him. We are reminded as well of what would seem to be a demonic voice in the life of Socrates (c. 469-399 B. C.). NT scholar William Sanday (1843–1920) wrote: One of the most striking things about Socrates is what he calls his 'Daemon,' that voice which has attended him from his youth up and whispers in his ear when he or those in whom he is interested are about to do anything that they should not. It is a pathetic touch, when, in the Epilogue to his Apology, he consoles those who voted for his acquittal by telling them that this Warning Voice of his, which in all the rest of his life had been ready enough to stop him when he was doing anything wrong or unpropitious, placed no obstacle before him when he went out to his arrest, or when he was on his way to trial, or at any part of his speech in his own defense. At other times it was in the habit of interrupting him while he was speaking, but it had not done so then. He argued from this that it was a mistake to suppose that death was an evil. Otherwise his mentor would not have let him go to certain death. 3 Which illustrates again the importance of authenticating revelation as demonic or divine. Accordingly, we would suggest “the voice” that V. P. Wierwille, founder of the heretical cult The Way International, heard at the inception of his ministry, was demonic. His claim to the divine authority he exercised and deceived so many with, was based on his testimony that: “God spoke to me audibly, just like I'm talking to you now. He said he would teach me the word as it had not been known since the first century, if I would teach it to others.” 4 Based on what Wierwille taught, and if he wasn’t lying, that voice was clearly not God. 5

B) Apparitions from God Most all of the miraculous revelations recorded in Scripture could be labeled as an apparition, vision, or dream. Webster’s defines an apparition as, “An unusual or unexpected sight or phenomenon.” By apparition, we refer to any miraculous revelation that is received by the physical sense of sight. This would include many of the appearances of Angel, theophanies and Glory Cloud

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discussed in the previous chapter. Nonetheless, other apparitions are recorded as well, especially surrounding the ministry of Moses. Accordingly God said: When a Prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal Myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. (Num 12:68) Of course, neither Moses nor any human has literally seen God’s face (cf. Exod 33:20; John 1:18; 6:46; 1 Tim 6:16; 1 John 4:12), 6 although we are told Moses was granted an apparition of God’s “back” (Exod 33:23). 7 But God uses the metaphor to reflect how intimate Moses’ experiences with God were. As we read elsewhere, “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Exod 33:9). The phrase also probably reflects the fact that while Moses only saw “the form of the Lord,” he heard the voice of the Lord as if God were facing Him. Therefore, when we read almost 140 times “the Lord said to Moses,” we have good reason to believe these revelatory experiences were in the context of seeing “the form of the Lord” and speaking to Him as “face to face,” just as God Himself described (Num 12:8). Accordingly, we can conclude that essentially the whole Law of Moses, consisting of large portions of Exodus and Numbers, and virtually all of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, were received in this very same way. Not in visions, but in a very physical experience with God, either on Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 31:18; Lev 25:1; 27:34), or in the Tent of Meeting (cf. Exod 33:9; Num 1:1). In addition to Moses seeing apparitions of God, we read: Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise His hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. (Exod 24:9-11) The physical, rather than visionary nature of this encounter seems confirmed by the fact that those involved physically “ate and drank.” Even considering the incident above, it is clear that Moses’ revelatory experiences were extremely unique. It is said once of the Prophet Samuel that “The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there He revealed Himself to Samuel through His

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word” (1 Sam 3:21). Likewise, we read that, “the LORD answered Job out of the storm” (38:1) and Job remarks, “My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You” (42:5). Others such as Abraham and Jacob experienced the Angel of the Lord as discussed in the previous chapter, and other Prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah experienced visions. But Moses, and we believe the “Prophet like” (Deut 18:18) Moses (i.e. Christ), experienced revelation from God in a very unique, direct, and physical way, seeing God with their eyes and hearing Him with their ears. Accordingly, Scripture records very few others experiencing physical apparitions (apart from the Angel, theophanies, and the Glory Cloud) coming from God as well. King Belshazzar is described as probably experiencing a divine apparition when we read: “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote” (Dan 5:5). Evidence that the King experienced this revelation through his physical senses is the fact that the writing of the “hand” remained on the wall for others to read (cf. v. 7). A rare NT example of an apparition experienced with the physical senses was the privilege that Peter, James, and John received by witnessing Christ’s Transfiguration (cf. Matt 17:1-8). Likewise, the Apostle Paul seemed to have experienced a physical apparition of Jesus when Luke records: “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome’” (Acts 23:11). There is nothing in Scripture that would deny the possibility of extra-biblical characters experiencing a divine apparition. In fact, we will relate one of the more famous apparitions in all of Church history, as recorded by the early Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260-c. 340), concerning the Roman Emperor Constantine (c. 285–337): He [Constantine] judged it to be folly indeed to join in the idle worship of those who were no gods, and, after such convincing evidence, to err from the truth; and therefore felt it incumbent on him to honor his father’s God alone [before a battle]. He prayed to Him, therefore. He asked Him and besought Him to say Who He was and to stretch forth a hand to him in his present situation. As he prayed in this fashion and as he earnestly gave voice to his entreaties, a most marvelous sign appeared to the Emperor from God. It would have been hard to believe if

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anyone else had spoken of it. But a long time later the triumphant Emperor himself described it to the writer of this work. This was when I had the honor of knowing him and of being in his company. When he told me the story, he swore to its truth. And who could refuse to believe it, especially when later evidence showed it to have been genuine? Around noontime, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw before him in the sky the sign of a cross of light. He said it was above the sun and it bore the inscription, "Conquer with this." The vision astounded him, as it astounded the whole army which was with him on this expedition and which also beheld the miraculous event. He said he became disturbed. What could the vision mean? He continued to ponder and to give great thought to the question, and night came on him suddenly. When he was asleep, the Christ of God appeared to him and He brought with Him the sign which had appeared in the sky. He ordered Constantine to make a replica of this sign which he had witnessed in the sky, and he was to use it as a protection during his encounters with the enemy. 8 We would suggest this incident was authenticated as divine in several ways. First, more than one ancient Church historian attested to its known occurrence. 9 Secondly, it was witnessed by multiple people as a physical apparition. Finally, it was interpreted Church-wide at the time as a divine intervention to cease the persecution of the Church and inaugurate the great blessing that Emperor Constantine brought the Christian Church with his ascension to Emperor after this victory.

Extras & Endnotes Gauging Your Grasp 1) What is meant by the term “audition”? 2) Name some times that Scripture records God spoke to people in an audible voice that was physically heard with human ears. How is this different than the common way “inspiration” is understood?

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3) Name some instances when Christ is recorded as hearing the voice of God. 4) Why do we claim that even in a mental vision, it seemed to the person that God was physically speaking to them? 5) Biblically speaking, what is wrong with so many people who claim God “spoke to them” or they “heard God”? 6) What are some examples of demonic counterfeiting of auditions? 7) What is the definition of an “apparition”? from a vision?

How does it differ

8) We claim that most all of the miraculous revelations recorded in Scripture could be labeled as an apparition, vision, or dream. Do you agree or disagree and why? 9) How do we believe Moses received essentially the whole Law of Moses? How is this different than a common idea of “inspiration”? 10) What other biblical characters besides Moses seemed to have experienced an apparition of God? 11) Who do we claim experienced a divine apparition in Church history? Do you believe this happened? Why or why not?

Publications & Particulars 1

Told by Dallas Willard in Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God (Intervarsity, 1999), 63-4. Of course, Willard is using this example to give support to his mega mystical perspective that we have “conversational relationship with God.” However, once again, the example does not help mega mystics because they do not normally claim to audibly hear God like Peter Marshall did. The biblical examples of how God really spoke to people do not support the mere divine/human mental telepathy espoused by mega mystics.

2

For further discussion on the need for authentication of divine revelation see sections 3.1.C-D; 7.1.B.5

3

William Sanday, The Oracles of God (Longmans, Green, 1891), 97-8.

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4

Quoted by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today’s Religions (Thomas Nelson, 1992), 105.

5

For further critique concerning The Way International see McDowell and Stewart.

6

The statement that Moses saw God “face to face” (Exod 33:9) need to be carefully interpreted in light of other Scripture concerning seeing God. For example, God tells Moses, “you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live” (Exod. 33:20). This echoes NT declarations including Christ’s claim that, “No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father” (John 6:46; cf. John 1:18; 1 John 4:12). Likewise, the Apostle Paul describes God as the One, “Who lives in unapproachable light, Whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). We must conclude then that when Moses saw God “face to face”, that it was a physical representation of the presence of God rather than a vision of the full and real essence of God. In addition, as NT scholar Gordon Fee points out, it is necessary to see the phrase “face to face” as “a biblical idiom for direct personal communication,” (The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT) [Eerdmans, 1987], 647, n. 44) Likewise, R. K. Harrison in his entry to the ISBE writes: The human face was frequently regarded as representative of the person (e.g., Lam. 1:8; cf. the expression "face to face," Jer. 32:4; Acts 25:6; 1 Thess. 2:17), since personality is most clearly expressed through facial expressions. Often "my face" or "your face" is merely a circumlocution for "me" or "you" (cf. NEB Hos. 5:15; Ezk. 3:8; Mk. 1:2). Thus to seek someone's face (e.g., Ps. 24:6; 27:8; Hos. 5:15) was to make an effort to be in that person's presence (Ps. 105:4; Prov. 7:15; Acts 5:41; etc.), sometimes to obtain a favor (2 Ch. 7:14). When applied to God, "face" often means God's presence (cf. Gen. 4:16; Mt. 18:10; 2 Thess. 1:9). From the time of the wilderness wanderings the concept of "presence" was made specific in Hebrew worship through the use of the term "bread of the presence" (Heb. lehem panim, lit. "bread of the face"; AV "shewbread"). . . . Moses was allowed to speak to God "face to face" (Ex. 33:11; cf. Dt. 34: 10), but he was not permitted to see God's face, lest he die (Ex. 33:20,23). . . . To see God "face to face" is reserved for believers in the life to come. (“Face”, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Geoffrey W. Bromiley ed., 4 vols. [Eerdmans, 1988], II:267). Accordingly, even though Jacob says, “I saw God face to face” (Gen. 32:30) his encounter with God is clearly described as occurring in the form of a “man” ('iysh, male person, 32:24). Jacob’s description cannot be taken to mean that he saw God’s physical face and it is clear that Jacob simply used this language to convey the intimacy that he experienced in his personal encounter with God. It is only in Heaven, after shedding mortality, that “we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). The difference between seeing God and seeing Him as He really is, is eloquently described in the following:

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Of that divine glory mentioned in the Scripture, there is one degree which the eyes of the prophets were able to explore; another which all the Israelites saw, as the cloud and consuming fire; the third is so bright, and so dazzling, that no mortal is able to comprehend it; but should anyone venture to look on it, his whole frame would be dissolved. In such inconceivable splendour is the Divine Majesty revealed to the inhabitants of the celestial world, where he is said to "dwell in the light which no man can approach unto." (1 Ti 6:16.) By the "face of God," therefore, we are to understand that light inaccessible before which Angel may stand, but which would be so insufferable to mortal eyes, that no man could see it and live. (ref. unavailable) Likewise, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch comment on Exod 33:18-23: No mortal man can see the face of God and remain alive; for not only is the holy God a consuming fire to unholy man, but a limit has been set, in and with the σῶμα χοϊκόν and ψυχικόν (the earthly and psychical body) of man, between the infinite God, the absolute Spirit, and the human spirit clothed in an earthly body, which will only be removed by the “redemption of our body,” and our being clothed in a “spiritual body,” and which, so long as it lasts, renders a direct sight of the glory of God impossible. As our bodily eye is dazzled, and its power of vision destroyed, by looking directly at the brightness of the sun, so would our whole nature be destroyed by an unveiled sight of the brilliancy of the glory of God. So long as we are clothed with this body, which was destined, indeed, from the very first to be transformed into the glorified state of the immortality of the spirit, but has become through the fall a prey to the corruption of death, we can only walk in faith, and only see God with the eye of faith, so far as He has revealed His glory to us in His works and His word. When we have become like God, and have been transformed into the “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), then, and not till then, shall we see Him as He is; then we shall see His glory without a veil, and live before Him forever. For this reason Moses had to content himself with the passing by of the glory of God before his face, and with the revelation of the name of Jehovah through the medium of the word, in which God discloses His inmost being, and, so to speak, His whole heart to faith. (Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.com, 2000]) Of course, while Christ was God in the flesh, He was hidden in the flesh 7

It should be noted here that God often describes Himself as having human features. This should not surprise us as our features must have some relation to the Creator as we are made in His image.

8

Eusebius of Caesarea, Life of Constantine, I:28, 29, 32; online at www.ccel.org.

9

A similar account of only the dream is given by Lactantius, an early Church historian like Eusebius, and the tutor of Constantine’s son, in his

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Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died, 44.4–6; online at www.ccel.org.

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10.11: Visions & Dreams

Chapter 10.11

Mental Visions & Dreams from God

Table of Topics A) Visions of God A.1) Defining divine visions A.2) The importance of divine visions A.3) The authentication of divine visions A.4) Modern examples of divine visions A.5) The authority of modern divine visions A.6) Demonic & fraudulent visions: Mormonism A.7) Biblical visions vs. super-supernaturalism: Jack Hayford A.8) Biblical visions vs. “Inspiration” A.9) Biblical visions vs. mega mysticism B) Dreams from God B.1) Comparing biblical dreams & visions B.2) Modern revelatory dreams B.3) Biblical dreams vs. super-supernaturalism Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  In contrast to apparitions which are experienced through the physical senses, visions are confined to the recipients mind.  Because of the nature of visions, they “felt” the same as a physical apparition.  The importance of the revelatory vision in Scripture is demonstrated by the fact that this method of divine revelation was the most common means used by God to communicate to biblical Prophets.  Perhaps God first appeared to Prophets and Apostles in a more physical way in order to authenticate subsequent, more psychical revelations.  We should not dismiss the power and effectiveness of visions as a means of divine revelation. When you had a vision from God, you knew it.  There would seem to be some legitimate, although extremely rare examples of God granting revelatory visions today. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to claim that God has not granted any additional personal revelation since then outside of Scripture.  We are willing to accept private revelations through visions that exercise divine authority over only the individual, we would reject any claims to extra-biblical revelation that is supposed to exercise authority over others.  The demonic potential of visions comes to the fore in their foundational place in non-Christian religions and cults like Mormonism.  A number of professing Christians lacking any of the credentials of biblical men, are claiming that Jesus regularly grants them visions as well.  There is a great deal more disappointment among current and former members of super-supernaturalism than they care to admit because visions and dreams have been sought and relied on and found to be false guidance rather than divine.  If you have what amounts to a rare “controlling call” on your life, similar to that of a Moses, David, Paul, Constantine, or Brother Yun, then one is in a better position to expect that God may grant them a vision.

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Primary Points continued  It is curious that few, if any, of those who claim to have had visions of God or Angels, admit to being struck with the same great deal of terror, guilt, and exhaustion experienced by their counterparts in Scripture.  You will not find a category of divine revelation in this chapter labeled “divine inspiration” because there are no examples in Scripture of what is normally understood by this term.  Contrary to mega mysticism the most mystical and subjective type of divine revelation we encounter in the Bible is visions and dreams.  Even though both dreams and visions occur only in the mind, they can be distinguished by the fact that the former occur while sleeping in an unconscious state, while visions occur while awake, in a conscious state.  In Scripture the dream was a very minor mode of divine revelation. Most of them were given to God’s enemies, not messengers.  Dreams and their interpretation have always been a bigger part of pagan spirituality then the authentic Christian kind, manifesting themselves in New Age and occult environments.  In Scripture only the heathen needed to have dreams interpreted for them by others, which should prove as a warning to the current fad in cults and super-supernaturalism involving dream interpretation.

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A) Visions of God A.1) Defining divine visions In contrast to apparitions which are experienced through the physical senses of sight and hearing, the experience of visions from God was confined to the recipients mind. 1 The distinction between physical apparitions and psychical visions/dreams can be illustrated when God says: When a Prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal Myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. With him I speak face to face . . . he [physically] sees the form of the LORD. (Num 12:6-8) As noted in the previous chapter, Moses physically experienced God with his sense of hearing and sight, but normally revelation came from God in a vision occurring in the mind. More specifically, in visions it would seem God communicated directly to the part of the mind that processes physical senses such that the person “saw” and “heard” in their mind. So much so, that someone like the Apostle Paul could not tell whether his heavenly vision was “in the body” and experienced with his physical senses, “or out of the body,” and experienced as a vision in his mind (2 Cor 12:2). Because of the nature of visions, they “felt” the same as a physical apparition. Visions normally included not only hearing God, but “seeing” Him. For example, Isaiah writes: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory."” (Isa 6:1-3) Other examples of people seeing God in a vision include Jacob (cf. Gen 28:12-13), the elders of Israel (cf. Exod 24:9-11), the prophet Micaiah (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19), Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 8:1-4), Daniel (cf. Dan 7:9f.), Solomon (cf. 1 Kgs 3:3-15), and of course the apostle John in Revelation (cf. 4:1-11). The “extrasensory” nature of revelatory visions can be illustrated in the OT in the following incident recorded by Daniel.

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Notice that while it did not involve an “out of body” experience, the vision occurred only in his mind, and not by the physical senses of Daniel or his companions: On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was [physically] standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me [in my mind] was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. (Dan 10:4-8) The fact that Daniel’s companions saw or heard something to scare them requires that some sort of physical phenomenon occurred at the time of Daniel’s vision. But the vision itself was only experienced by the Prophet in his mind. 2 A similar event occurred in the Apostle Paul’s initial encounter with Christ. Luke reports that the Apostle “heard a voice” (Acts 9:4) and that his companions “heard the sound” (v. 7). However, it would seem that this communication was not purely physical, as while Paul understood the voice, he reports later that, “My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of Him Who was speaking to me” (Act 22:9), and Paul himself describes the encounter as a “vision from Heaven” (Acts 26:19), biblical language that normally reflects a more psychical experience rather than a physical one. Visions can extend to even an “out of body” experience in which the person is evidently translated to another realm in order to receive a revelation. This would clearly seem to be the case with the Apostle John in his reception of the Revelation. At various places he describes himself as being “in the Spirit” (1:10; 4:2; as opposed to in the body), and being “carried . . . away [by an Angel] in the Spirit into a desert” (17:3) or “to a mountain great and high” where he is given revelations. Accordingly, this phenomenon is no doubt what is being described in 2 Peter where we read, “but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (1:21). 3

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A.2) The importance of divine visions The importance of the revelatory vision in Scripture is demonstrated by the fact that this method of divine revelation was the most common means used by God to communicate to biblical Prophets. In the verse above from Numbers God describes this very thing. Accordingly, most of the great Prophets of Scripture are described as experiencing such revelatory visions, including Abraham (cf. Gen 15:1-17), Isaiah (cf. chs. 6, 22), Jeremiah (cf. 1:11-13), Ezekiel (cf. 1:3, 12-14), Daniel (ch. 7), Amos (7:1-2), Zechariah (1:8-11), and the Apostle John in the Revelation where while the word “vision” is used only once (cf. 9:17), John uses the phrase “I saw” nearly forty times to describe his visionary experiences. Visions were so characteristic of divine revelation, that we read of the time of Eli the priest, “In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions” (1 Sam 3:1; cf. Prov 29:18 NASB). In pre-Scripture history, “visions” and “the word of the LORD” were synonymous. Likewise, the Apostles of the NT received considerable revelation through visions including Paul’s first encounter with Christ (cf. Acts 9:3-7; 22:6-16; 26:12-19), Peter’s pivotal new revelation concerning the Gentiles (cf. Acts 10:9-17; 11:4-9), and the aforementioned visions of John. 4 A.3) The Authentication of Divine Visions The rather subjective nature of revelatory visions and dreams can suggest they are not as trustworthy as the more physical apparition. Such may even be implied by God’s comparison between Moses and the typical Prophet. With Moses, God spoke to him “face to face” and he physically saw “the form of the Lord.” In the case of a typical “Prophet” God says, “I reveal Myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams” (Num 12:6-8). Nonetheless, it seems that God tended to provide some objective, physical evidence to authenticate the more subjective revelatory means of visions. For example, we have noted the physical phenomena that was experienced by the Prophet Daniel, the Apostle Paul, and their companions, during their visions (cf. Dan 10:4-8; Acts 9:3-7; 22:6-16; 26:12-19). All of those involved could at least confirm that something supernatural had occurred surrounding the private revelations given. These revelatory events were not only psychical and occurring in the mind of the recipient,

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but also had some real, miraculous, and physical aspects to them as well. In addition, it is possible that God first appeared to Prophets and Apostles in a more physical way in order to authenticate subsequent, more psychical revelations. Accordingly, God did not first reveal Himself to Moses as a mere voice out of thin air, but spoke through a miraculously “burning” bush (cf. Exod 3:1-6). Likewise, while the Apostle Paul may have received mere psychical visions afterward (cf. Acts 16:9-10; 18:9-11; 22:17-18), his first encounter with Christ involved unmistakable, miraculous, physical phenomena (cf. Acts 9:3-7). We would suggest something similar occurred in Abraham’s first encounter with God when, “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Apart from some sort of miraculous, physical manifestation, how else could the Prophet know he could trust the Voice that spoke to him? Indeed, Stephen later relates the Jewish tradition that, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran” (Acts 7:2). The absence of any mention of a vision would suggest to us that a physical appearance of some kind is meant. Likewise, we read that after Abraham had entered Canaan, “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, Who had appeared to him,” the language again suggesting to us a physical appearance. All of this is to suggest that perhaps God interspersed apparitions of the more physical, objective kind in the life of one whom He gave visions of the more psychical and subjective kind so that the recipient would have some identification and authentication of whom was speaking to him. And more generally, it would have seemed most helpful if the initial encounter was of the more physical kind, as evidenced above. Therefore, perhaps Prophets and Apostles knew the voice and form of the Lord in their visions because they had experienced the same in the more objective physical realm as well. Additional authentication of what could have been merely subjective experiences is given particularly to the Apostles as well. For example, Ananias miraculously confirms the private vision Paul had experienced (cf. Acts 9:10-18), as does Cornelius with Peter’s vision (cf. Acts 10:1-33). Finally, even without physical, objective authentication, we should not dismiss the power and effectiveness of visions as a means of divine revelation. In fact, the Scriptures equate it with seeing something physically. For example, as noted above, the

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Apostle Paul describes his initial encounter of Christ as a “vision from Heaven,” the characteristic biblical word for an extrasensory revelation. In addition, the texts relate that, “The men traveling with Saul . . . heard the sound but did not see anyone” (Acts 9:7) and that the “companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of Him Who was speaking” (Acts 22:9). In other words, there were obviously some physical phenomena associated with the vision, but there is no mention of anyone physically seeing Christ in this encounter. How then are we to interpret the Apostle’s pivotal claim that, like Christ’s physical appearances to the other Apostles (cf. John 20:19-20; Luke 24:36-42), “last of all He appeared to me also” (1 Cor 15:8) and he had “seen Jesus our Lord” (9:1)? It is possible that the Apostle is referring to another, clearly physical visitation of Jesus that he had experienced, but which is not recorded in Scripture (however, cf. Acts 18-9-10 which involved another “vision” of Jesus). However, the best explanation would seem to be that the Apostle is referring to his encounter of Christ in a vision on the Damascus Road, and he is putting the vision on par with the physical apparitions that the other Apostles experienced with their physical senses. Accordingly, both Jesus and Ananias describe Paul’s Damascus road vision in terms of a real experience of Christ. Ananias tells the Apostle, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus . . . appeared to you on the road as you were coming here” (Acts 9:17) and “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from His mouth” (Acts 22:14). Likewise, Paul quotes Jesus as relating in the experience, “I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of Me and what I will show you” (Acts 26:16). Understandably, then, Paul believed he had experienced a postresurrection appearance of Christ just like the other Apostles, even though it would not seem to have been a physical one. 5 Therefore, Scripture, the Apostles, and apparently even God, do not distinguish between the revelatory authenticity or authority of a psychical vision experienced by the sensical parts of the mind, and a physical apparition which includes the physical sense of sight. The very nature of a revelatory vision is such that the recipient can hardly deny something supernatural has occurred. When it occurs it is supernatural, unmistakable, and even overwhelming because it is not a part of human experience. We see things with our eyes, hear things with our ears, have thoughts occur in our mind, and even dream all the time. But we never have visions. Therefore, even revelatory apparitions or dreams would at least be

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similar to rather normal human experience. But not visions. And this is perhaps why they are the most frequent mode of personal divine revelation that God has used. Did we mention that they were often overwhelming? One caused Isaiah to be terrified (Isa 6:5) and Ezekiel to fall “face down” (Ezek 1:28). Daniel said after receiving a vision from God that he “turned deathly pale,” was “speechless,” “overcome,” “helpless,” and “My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe” (Dan 10:8, 15-17). The Prophet John testified that when he began to receive his vision he, “fell . . . as though dead” (Rev 1:17). And the Apostle Paul said it was so real that he could not honestly tell if he experienced it “in the body . . . or out of the body” (2 Cor 12:2). When you had a vision from God, you knew you had a vision from God. Along these lines, OT scholars C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch comment on Abraham’s vision in Genesis 15: [There is] the erroneous assumption that visionary procedures had no objective reality, or, at all events, less evidence of reality than outward acts, and things perceived by the senses. A vision wrought by God was not a mere fancy, or a subjective play of the thoughts, but a spiritual fact, which was not only in all respects as real as things discernible by the senses, but which surpassed in its lasting significance the acts and events that strike the eye. 6 A.4) Modern examples of divine visions: Brother Yun & Muslims As in the case of apparitions, we see nothing in Scripture that would deny the possibility of God speaking to someone in a vision today. In fact, we believe the two occurrences below are legitimate experiences. First, we will quote the following at length from the Chinese underground Church leader Brother Yun because it is very instructive about how the Lord chose to speak to him, both through Scripture and miraculously. He writes: On the evening of 4 May 1997, like every evening for the previous six weeks, I reached down and took hold of my limp legs [made that way by the cruel torture of his captors]. Pain raced through my body as I propped them up against the wall. I found this was the best way to minimize the agony. By diverting the blood flow away from my legs they became numb and I could sleep fitfully throughout the night.

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The very next morning, in my depressed and hopeless condition, the Lord encouraged me with a promise from Hebrews 10:35, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." I awoke with these words in my mind. As the prison slowly stirred to life, I started to read the Book of Jeremiah. The Lord related it to my injuries and my situation in a very powerful and personal way. It was as if the Holy Spirit was speaking to me directly through his Word: "Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter - my people - has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow... Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come for a time of healing but there is only terror... For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonour your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it." Jeremiah 14:17,19,21. I felt just like Jeremiah. I was overwhelmed and it seemed as if the Lord had abandoned me to rot in prison forever. I cried out to the Lord, echoing Jeremiah's words, "Oh God, why have you afflicted me so that I cannot be healed? I hoped for peace, but no good has come. Please Lord, do not despise me." I continued reading, "Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me." Jeremiah 15:10. Once again the words seemed to leap off the paper and into my spirit. It was a very holy time, as though God Almighty himself had descended into my cell and was dealing with me face to face. I had so much grief stored up inside me, and it all started to gush out before the Lord. I sobbed, "Lord Jesus, just like Jeremiah said, everyone strives against me and curses me. I can't take any more. I've reached the end of myself." I wept so hard that my eyes became swollen from all my tears. My Lord comforted me like a loving father holding his little boy. He reassured me with the next verse, "The Lord said, 'Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose: surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress."' Jeremiah 15:11. From my inmost being I cried out to the Lord from Jeremiah 15:16-18, "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. I never sat in the company of revellers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because your hand was on me

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and you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?" Many times I asked him why I was in such pain, I could bear it no more. My heart was downcast and I was ready to give up. God's Word came again to me with both a severe warning and a promise, "Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you, declares the Lord. I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.'" Jeremiah 15:19-21. As soon as I read these verses, a powerful vision suddenly came to me even though I was wide awake. I saw my wife Deling sitting beside me. She had just been released from prison and was preparing some medicine. She lovingly treated my wounds. I felt greatly encouraged and asked her, "Have you been released?" She replied, "Why don't you open the iron door?" Before I could answer she walked out of the room and the vision ended. The Lord spoke to me, "This is the hour of your salvation." Immediately I knew this was a vision from the Lord, and that I was meant to try to escape. It was now more than six weeks since my legs had been smashed. Even putting a little weight on them caused tremendous agony. But I believed God had told me in three different ways that I was to try to escape: through his Word, through the vision I’d received that morning, and through brother Xu [who had told him to escape]. . . . I shuffled out of my cell and walked towards the locked iron gate in the hallway. And escape he did from the Zhengzhou Number One Maximum Security Prison in China. 7 It would seem that visions have also been occurring in rather amazing numbers among unregenerate Muslims. In the last ten years, more Muslims have come to Christ than in the previous one thousand years. And reports from numerous missions agencies claim that many of these conversions occur in the context of a vision to individuals or entire villages. In a recent newsletter from Campus Crusade's Jesus Film Project, Jim Green, a highly respected Crusade staffer for forty years, reported that if you were to gather a typical group of one

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hundred new converts from Islam and ask them how they first learned of Jesus, ninety-nine of them would say, “I saw Him in a vision. He appeared in brilliant white light and told me that He was the Way and that I was to seek Him out.” 8 Mr. Green goes on to relate the following: The next report comes from a traveling "JESUS" film team that was working in one of these countries. The team was driving through a remote, dangerous region that had hardly been touched by the good news. A policeman flagged down the team's car which was filled with 16mm projection equipment and gospel literature. The policeman asked the team to give a ride to an Islamic teacher who immediately got in. You can imagine their anxiety when this highly respected teacher asked, “Tell me, are you the ones planning to tell people about God?” Entrusting themselves to the Lord, they responded, “Yes, we are.” Astonishment followed. Bouncing along the dusty road the teacher told the team how he had experienced a vision. “I was told to come to this spot in the road, at this time, that I would encounter someone who would tell me about God. It must be you.” 9 A.5) The authority of modern divine visions: private, not public All of the above seem to us to be legitimate, although relatively extremely rare examples, of God granting miraculous revelation since the closing of the biblical canon. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to claim that God has not granted any additional personal revelation since then outside of Scripture. However, we notice in the examples above that the revelation was intended only to exercise authority and be applied to the individual receiving it. In other words, such extrabiblical revelations only had a private application and had no authority over others. This is an important distinction that, as we will note below, super-supernaturalism ignores. While we are willing to accept private revelations of this kind that exercise divine authority over only the individual, we would reject any claims to extra-biblical revelation that is supposed to exercise authority over others. The kind of people in Scripture who received visions that contained authoritative revelation for others were Prophets and Apostles who could then miraculously authenticate themselves as messengers of God. No one can or is doing such today.

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Nonetheless, any kind of enthusiasm that super-supernaturalists might claim for even private visions and dreams needs to be balanced by the fact that its occurrence is still relatively very rare and a great number of such events have been demonic, rather than divine. A.6) Demonic & fraudulent visions We have pointed out all along that the devil works to counterfeit virtually every means of revelation, and visions are no exception. Accordingly, God tells His people through the Prophet Jeremiah: Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD . . . I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in My name. They say, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? (23:16, 25-26; cf. Jer 14:4; Deut 13:13; Zech 10:2). No doubt these false prophets truly did experience a dream, but it was not divine revelation, underscoring the need for discernment. The first thing to note on this topic is that miraculous apparitions, visions, and dreams occur in clearly demonic contexts. The Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology (EOP) records: Visions occur to people of all cultures and all states and positions. They come to the irreligious and educated, and by no means have they been confined to the ignorant or the superstitious. Many men of genius have been subject to visionary appearances. . . . Another form of clairvoyance is “second sight.” . . . Persons gifted with second sight often see symbolical [visions]; for instance, the vision of a funeral or a coffin when a death is about to occur in the community. Symbolical appearances are indeed a feature of clairvoyance and visions generally. . . . One characteristic type of [vision] is the appearance of the Virgin Mary. . . . Such appearances involve messages for mankind as a whole, usually admonitions against sin and exhortations to repentance. . . . Such [visions] have reinforced the faith of thousands of Catholics, though many have pointed out that similar visitations have been recorded widely within non-Catholic Christianity and among most or all of the world’s religions and peoples. It is natural that sincere

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devotees envision a divine figure in the form familiar through the iconography of their own religion. The nineteenth-century Hindu mystic Sri Ramakrishna frequently had ecstatic visions of the goddess Kali. 10 Along these lines, the rightly respected Bible teacher Erwin Lutzer remarks: We know that satan can appear in whatever form he is expected. If you are a Catholic, he will appear as Mary; if you are a Protestant, he will appear as Jesus; if you are a Hindu, he will appear as Krishna. 11 The EOP also suggests some of the natural sources that have been discovered for visions: From the late-nineteenth century on, [visions] have usually been ascribed to hallucination. . . . Hallucinations, whether coincidental or otherwise, may and do present themselves to persons who are perfectly sane and normal, but they are also reported by people who are suffering mental disorders, under hypnosis, or in a state of hysteria. Hallucinations are also symptomatic of certain pathological conditions of brain, nerves, and sense-organs. . . . [Visions] may be produced experimentally by the projection of the double or powerful suggestion. The first attempts in the latter class are recorded from Germany in H. M. Wesermanns' Der Magnetismus und die allgemeine Weltsprache (1822). On four occasions he succeeded in inducing four separate acquaintances to dream on matters suggested by himself. On the fifth occasion he produced a collective [vision]. The subject and a friend who happened to be in his company saw, in the waking state, the apparition of a woman in accordance with the operator's suggestion. 12 The demonic potential of visions comes to the fore in their foundational place in non-Christian religions and cults. Zoroaster (c. 600 B.C.) founded a religion named after him, based on a vision he had received: It was at age 30 that Zoroaster received enlightenment. As the account goes, Zoroaster received a vision on the banks of the Daitya River when a large figure appeared to him. This personage identified himself as Vbhu Manah, or “good thought.” This figure took Zoroaster into the presence of the wise lord Ahura-Mazda, who instructed Zoroaster in the true religion. 13

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In the first and second century mystery cults, demonic visions were experienced as well. NT scholar James Dunn writes: We have little literary evidence of the mystical experiences which presumably came to many of the initiates to the mystery religions; but the enigmatic description of Lucius's experience in his initiation to the cult of Isis may probably be taken as typical: I approached the very gates of death and set one foot on Proscrpine's threshold, yet was permitted to return, rapt through all the elements. At midnight I saw the sun shining as if it were noon; I entered the presence of the gods of the underworld and the gods of the upper-world, stood near and worshipped them. 14 Likewise, we read of the founding of the Sikh religion in India by Nanak (1469-1539): At the age of 33 he was said to have received his divine call. One day after bathing, Nanak disappeared into the forest and was taken in a vision to God's presence. He was offered a cup of nectar, which he gratefully accepted. God said to him: "I am with thee. I have made thee happy, and also those who shall take thy name. Go, and repeat Mine, and cause others to do likewise. Abide uncontaminated by the world. Practice the repetition of my Name, ablutions, charity, worship, and meditation . . . My Name is God, the primal Brahma. And thou are the divine Guru" 15 Mormonism was likewise founded on demonic visions. Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of Mormonism, writes the following in his book, The Pearl of Great Price: So great was the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person, young as I was [15], and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. . .. I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter, and fifth verse, which reads, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth unto all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. . . . So I retired to the woods to make the attempt. . . . Finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to open up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me. . . . Thick darkness gathered around me. . . . But [I was] exerting all my power

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to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy. ... Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head . . . which descended gradually while it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said (pointing to the other) 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him.’ My object in going to inquire of the Lord, was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. . . . I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right . . . and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt. . . . When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. 16 Commenting on Joseph Smith’s vision, cult expert Dr. Walter Martin put the matter into perspective: With one "Special Revelation" the Mormon Church expects its intended converts to accept the totally unsupported testimony of a fifteen-year-old boy, that nobody ever preached Jesus Christ's gospel from the close of the Apostolic age until the "Restoration" through Joseph Smith, Jr., beginning in 1820! We are asked to believe that the Church Fathers for the first five centuries did not proclaim the true gospel -that Origen, Justin, Irenaeus, Jerome, Eusebius, Athanasius, Chrysostom, and then later Thomas Aquinas, Huss, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Tyndale, Wycliffe, Knox, Wesley, Whitefield, and a vast army of faithful servants of Jesus Christ all failed where Joseph Smith Jr., was to succeed! With one dogmatic assertion, Joseph pronounced everybody wrong, all Christian theology an abomination, and all professing Christians corrupt -all in the name of God! How strange for this to be presented as restored Christianity, when Jesus Christ specifically promised that "the gates of Hell" would not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18)! In Mormonism we find God contradicting this statement in a vision to Joseph Smith Jr., some 18 centuries later! 17 The early Mormon leadership experienced many visions. For example, it was common in the closed meetings of the Mormon

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leadership for them to report such things. One former member related the following from an early meeting of Joseph Smith and others: Soon after Joseph says, "Sidney [Rigdon], have you seen the Lord?" He [Sidney] answered, "I saw the image of a man pass before my face, whose locks were white, and whose countenance was exceedingly fair." Then Joseph replied, "I knew you had seen a vision, Sidney, but you would have seen more, were it not for unbelief." Hiram [Joseph Smith's brother] said he had seen nearly the same as Sidney, which was pronounced by Joseph to be the Redeemer of the world. . .. Joseph next passed round the room, and laid his hand upon each one, and spoke [in tongues] as follows, as near as the narrator call recollect. . . . After administering the sacrament several of the brethren were called upon to arise and speak in tongues. . . . This gibberish for several months was practiced almost daily. 18 The extremely popular, but very questionable “Mary movement” and healing shrine near Lourdes, France also began with a supernatural vision: At 12:30 on February 11, 1858-the Thursday before Lentthis young girl, Bernadette Soubirous, aged fourteen, very religiously inclined . . . was sent with her younger sister and a friend called Jeanne Abadie, to get firewood for their parents, who were poor peasants living in the village. . . . [W]hen Bernadette saw her companions going on without her [and they] were out of sight . . . she . . . heard a noise which she described as the sound of a rising storm. She says that as she looked about her, frightened at the sudden sound of a violent wind blowing, out of the interior of the grotto came a golden-colored cloud, and then a beautiful lady, more beautiful than any she had ever seen, came and stood at the entrance to an opening in the grotto, above a small bush. This lady smiled at her and beckoned to her. . . . The beautiful lady then took up a rosary which had been hanging on her own right arm, and . . . when the recitation of the rosary was over, the lady and the cloud disappeared. By this time the other two girls had missed Bernadette, and, coming to look for her, found her on her knees by the grotto in a state of ecstasy. They saw nothing of the lady. . . . Again and again Bernadette visited the grotto, both with others-who never saw or heard anything unusual-and alone. Bernadette

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claimed that when she asked the lady her name, she got the reply, I am the Immaculate Conception." 19 There are several reasons then to doubt the divine or supernatural nature of what is occurring at Lourdes. First, it promotes the unbiblical worship of Mary. There is no support in Scripture for the “Immaculate Conception” belief in Mary’s own sinless birth, and any “vision” that promotes it requires suspicion. 20 As Dr. Weatherhead put it concerning his own study of the Lourdes phenomenon: “There is an injunction to have faith in the Blessed Virgin, and one is almost wearied by the endless chanting of “Ave, Ave Maria.” 21 The Unification Church is another demonic cult founded on a vision given to Sun Myung Moon (b. 1920): At age 16 young Moon experienced a vision while in prayer on a Korean mountainside. Moon claims that Jesus Christ appeared to him in the vision admonishing him to carry out the task that Christ had failed to complete. Jesus supposedly told Moon that he was the only one who could do it. Finally, after much repeated asking by Jesus, Moon accepted the challenge. . . . Even though Moon's doctrines are opposed to Christianity, he claims that it was Jesus who revealed them to him. "You may again want to ask me, 'With what authority do you weigh these things? 'I spoke with Jesus Christ in the spirit world. And I spoke also with John the Baptist. This is my authority. If you cannot at this time determine that my words are the truth, you will surely discover that they are in the course of time. These are hidden truths presented to you as a new revelation. You have heard me speak the Bible. If you believe the Bible, you must believe what I am saying." 22 Obviously, many very dangerous and harmful deceptions have come through miraculous visions. We do not doubt that all of the above truly saw and heard something. They probably were not lying about experiencing a vision. But their own pride, foolishness, or lack of discernment led them to believe their vision was divine, when in reality it was demonic. As we note further below, the Church needs to heed this warning today. While the unbiblical content of a vision may help us discern its demonic rather than divine nature, ultimately, it is the virtue of the followers of such visions that reveal their true nature. For example, when we compare the supernatural historic virtue of authentic Christianity with the Mormonism that Joseph Smith’s vision founded, there is no comparison. Real Christianity has been a

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greater force for good on the Planet than all other religions and cults combined. 23 A.7) Biblical visions vs. super-supernaturalism: false prophecy from Jack Hayford What is rather alarming is that these very same phenomena are regularly claimed and acclaimed in modern super-supernaturalism as revelations from God. As further discussed elsewhere, supersupernaturalism is essentially the unbiblical over-expectation and excessive claims to miraculous deeds and communication. 24 Accordingly, the popular super-supernatural author Jack Deere devotes a whole chapter to the subject of dreams and visions in his Surprised by the Voice of the Spirit and writes: [T]here is something very wrong in our relationship with God when we do not see [visions] [or] hear [voices] . . . and yet leave our “time with him” feeling satisfied. 25 Accordingly, visions of Jesus are commonly claimed as a regular part of the Christian life. This, in spite of the fact that supersupernaturalists cannot claim the ministry of biblical characters who did receive visions from God. Do they really wish to say we can all expect to be a Prophet Isaiah or an Apostle John? Nonetheless, a number of professing Christians lacking any of the credentials of these biblical men, are claiming that Jesus regularly grants them visions as well. For example, Jack Hayford, well-known author and leader of super-supernaturalism related a vision he had to a meeting of the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America in which: He had seen Jesus seated on His throne at the right hand of the Father. In Hayford’s vision, Jesus began to lean forward and rise from his seat. As the annointing caught in the folds of His garments, it began to splash out and fall over the church. Jesus said, “I am beginning to rise now in preparation for my second coming. Those who will rise with Me will share in this double portion of annointing. 26 Clearly this is either new divine revelation apart from Scripture or a farce. There is nothing in between in such critical matters. However, there are several things that bring suspicion on such a vision. First, notice that this supposed divine revelation is to exercise God-like authority over all Christians. We are all obligated to believe it if indeed it is authentic, extra-biblical revelation from

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Jesus concerning His current actions and imminent return. However, as noted above, such a claim would need to be miraculously authenticated and Mr. Hayford has provided no such thing. It is one thing to claim that God may grant an extra-biblical revelation that exercises God-like authority over the individual receiving it like the legitimate examples shared above. But it is quite another thing to claim that a private vision is intended to contain a divinely authoritative message for a multitude of others, like all of the demonic examples shared above. Admittedly, our examples above are limited, but we would nonetheless suggest that one difference between legitimate post-biblical and extra-biblical divine visions, and modern demonic or fraudulent ones, is that the authority of the former is confined only to the individual, while the latter claims authority over others as well. In our opinion, extra-biblical revelation that would exercise authority over all Christians such as Mr. Hayford’s claims is not occurring today. This is demonstrated by the fact that all such messengers in Scripture could authenticate themselves as exercising such authority by performing convincing miracles or perfectly predicting the future. No one is doing that today, and therefore, we would not expect anyone to have that kind of revelation. Which is one more major problem with Mr. Hayford’s claim to have received such a revelation from God. He cannot authenticate himself as a messenger of God like biblical recipients of visions did. Has he perfectly predicted the future? Has he commanded a miracle? No. There are several other problems with Mr. Hayford’s vision as well. While he clearly intended to claim that Christ’s return was imminent, he reported his vision in 1990. How long should we wait until Mr. Hayford is exposed as a false prophet, the very kind that was to be stoned to death in the OT? Also, Mr. Hayford intentionally used his vision to support the false doctrine of some exclusive, and unbiblical extra anointing of the Holy Spirit, and to further claim that only those who would share his super-supernaturalist beliefs would share in it. As we have repeatedly noted, the real fruit of the Holy Spirit is virtue, and no right-minded Christian would claim they have a “double-portion” of love and holiness compared to their “unannointed” Christian brothers and sisters. And super-supernaturalists certainly shouldn’t claim it because they do not have it. 27 Such people are, “Like clouds and wind without rain” because they “boast of gifts” they do “not give” (Prov 25:14), nor even possess, nor can prove. We are reminded as well of the Apostle’s warning:

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Do not let anyone who delights in false humility . . . disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head [Christ] (Col 2:18-19). John MacArthur comments on what this “Colossian heresy” was: In addition to practicing false humility and worshiping angels, the false teachers were taking their stand on visions they had seen. Like many heretics and cultists down through the ages, they claimed support for their aberrant teachings in visions they had supposedly seen. Some of the worst excesses in the modern-day charismatic movement are derived from such visions. There is no need for extrabiblical revelation through visions, because “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2, italics added). 28 Normally, in all their fervor for promoting an expectation of miraculous revelation, super-supernaturalists are not honest enough about the potential spiritual pitfalls of following their doctrine. There is a great deal more disappointment among current and former members of the movement than they care to admit because visions and dreams have been sought and relied on and found to be false guidance rather than divine. For example, the rather popular but mystical author John Eldredge 29 relates the following: Over the course of those years we spent many nights in prayer that God would heal [his son] Blaine's heart. During one of those times, Stasi [his wife], not usually given to visions, had a picture of a light penetrating his heart. At that moment, she felt certain God had healed him. And just this morning, the day for his annual checkup, as I began to pray for Blaine, I sensed Jesus say, I’ve healed him. My heart rested, and I waited for the good report. [Stasi later calls John and says] "Hi . . . it's me." A long silence. "Blaine needs surgery . . . right away. Hope vanished. I felt that sick-in-the-gut feeling of an imminent free fall, that feeling you get on top of a ladder that's starting to sway under you. All kinds of thoughts and emotion rushed in. What? Oh, no . . . Not after all this I thought. My heart was sinking. Despair, betrayal [by God], abandonment by God. Failure on our part to pray enough or

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I felt moments away from a total loss of

And so will many who follow the super-supernaturalists. What then was the source of Staci’s vision and John’s “sensing” that Jesus had said something extra-biblical to him? Your guess is as good as ours, but it was not God. And how would a real extra-biblical vision or “sense” from Jesus be any different in its communication? Can we only know by the outcome? Is that how those who experienced such things in Scripture knew their visions were from God? Not at all. The Eldridge’s experience and much of their writing are classic examples of mega mysticism which we discuss further elsewhere. 31 As we have noted elsewhere, Brother Yun fits the biblical description of those having a rare, divine “controlling call” on their life (including severe suffering and playing a pivotal part in God’s plan of saving His elect), and therefore, the occurrence of such things has some biblical merit for him. 32 Nonetheless, the authority, importance, and comforting effect of Scripture that Brother Yun experienced even in the context of a miraculous vision should not be missed by the super-supernaturalists who insist visions are so necessary. Also, note Brother Yun’s human doubt, even after experiencing such a vision, when he prays afterwards: Lord you have shown me that I must try to leave this prison. I will obey you now and will try to escape. But when the guards shoot me, please receive my soul into your heavenly dwelling. 33 Finally, Brother Yun gives some wise advice concerning the topic of miraculous visions today: These don't happen frequently, but usually only when there is something important or urgent God wants to impress on me. All the visions I've received are very short, often lasting just a second or two. Often a picture or scene flashes into my spirit and mind, yet it is so vivid and real I know it's from the Lord. As Christians we are not to live by any vision or dream, nor should we seek after them. We must only live by the Word of God and seek the face of Jesus. But we should also be open to allow the Lord to speak to us in these ways if this is how he wants to. Any vision or dream we receive needs to be carefully weighed against the Scriptures, as nothing from God will ever contradict his Word. 34 Contrary to anti-supernaturalism then, we too believe that God may provide such a miraculous vision today to someone. Yet

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contrary to the claims of super-supernaturalism, they will only occur when God’s more normal means of communication are insufficient (e.g. Scripture, etc.), which is extremely rare. Nor does Brother Yun claim such things are to be the expected normal experience of Christians as super-supernaturalists do. On the contrary, Scripture and our New Nature are more sufficient than super-supernaturalists will admit for knowing and doing God’s will, and if they have truly experienced so many supernatural visions and voices, then we would remind them that there are other sources of such things other than God. While we would hesitate to say that only really important people should expect such divine visions, the most believable reports of them come from those in very unique situations. For example, the event described in the previous chapter concerning the Emperor Constantine was one of the most monumental ones in all of Church history. Constantine became the first real Christian Emperor, ceased all of the tremendous persecution of the Church at the time, was pivotal in bringing the scattered and divided Church together, and was instrumental in spreading the Gospel throughout the known world. Can someone today expect a vision from God in order to receive direction or confirmation of a job decision, or some such thing? Perhaps, but unlike mega mystics, ancient and modern, God’s habit of only intervening with such miraculous communication in the most critical and pivotal circumstances regarding His specific plans for the Church as a whole, should be heeded. In other words, if you have what amounts to a rare “controlling call” 35 on your life, similar to that of a Moses, David, Paul, Constantine, or Brother Yun, then one is in a better position to expect that God may grant such miraculous communication. Some have claimed that the promise in John 14:21 should lead us to be expectant of miraculous visions of Christ in our own day. Christ says, “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show [emphanizo: “appear in person”] Myself to him.” Is this a promise to all Christians that if we obey and love Jesus that He will somehow personally, and even visibly, reveal Himself to them? We do not think so. It is important to interpret the verse in the context of an intimate communication with the Twelve and to be very careful in applying its contents to Christians in general. Also, the meaning of Christ’s promise to “show” Himself is best found in this very passage. In the verses immediately preceding Christ’s statement here, He said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to

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you. Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me” (John 14:18-19). This promise refers specifically to the fact that Christ would physically reveal Himself to the Apostles after His death and resurrection, indicating that this is what Christ was referring to in verse 21. And this is precisely how the disciples themselves understood it when we read verse 22: “Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do You intend to show Yourself to us and not to the world?” It is clear then that when Christ promised to “show” Himself to those who love Him, He was specifically referring to His post-resurrection appearance to those He was talking to in this passage (cf. John 16:16), and it was not a promise of continuing personal revelations for Christians in general. Finally, as one studies the biblical instances of God-given visions, it will be noticed that the great majority of those who experienced a vision of God, or even an Angel, also experienced a great deal of terror, guilt, and exhaustion (cf. Exod 20:19-21; Judg 13:22; Dan 10:16-18; Matt 17:5-7; Luke 1:12, 29-30; 5:8; Rev 1:17). However, it is curious that few, if any, of the many people today who claim to have had visions of God or Angels, admit to being struck with the same emotions. Rather, the experience is most often described as a pleasant, if not rather mundane one. All of which makes us wonder what these people are really seeing. Along these lines, John MacArthur writes: A well-known charismatic 36 pastor told me that sometimes in the morning when he's shaving, Jesus comes into his bathroom and puts His arm around him and they have a conversation. Does he really believe that? I don't know. Perhaps he wants people to believe he is more intimate with Christ than most of us. Whatever the case, his experience contrasts sharply with biblical accounts of heavenly visions. Isaiah was terrified when he saw the Lord and immediately confessed his sin (Isa. 6:5). Manoah feared for his life and said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God" (Judg. 13:22). Job repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:5-6). The disciples were petrified (Luke 8:25). Peter said to Jesus, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord!" (Luke 5:8). Each of them was overwhelmed with a sense of sinfulness and feared judgment. How could someone casually talk and shave while in the presence of such an infinitely holy God? 37

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A.8) Biblical visions vs. “inspiration” As discussed further elsewhere, the most popular and traditional view of how God communicated Scripture to those who wrote it is commonly described as some sort of mental telepathy in which God subjectively, even imperceptibly, supernaturally guided the Prophet or Apostle while they wrote. 38 On the contrary, much of the divine revelation experienced by Prophets and Apostles, occurred in the form of much more real visions, objectively authenticated, rather than some mere form of mystical mental telepathy as commonly thought. This is why you will not find a category of divine revelation in this chapter labeled “divine inspiration” because there are no examples in Scripture of what is normally understood by this term. A.9) Biblical Visions vs. Mega Mysticism Mega mysticism is our term for the popular belief that God is rather consistently revealing extra-biblical guidance through some sort of direct mental telepathy resulting in impulses and impressions of divine revelation. On the contrary, we do not see any descriptions of this kind in Scripture. The most mystical and subjective type of divine revelation we encounter in the Bible is visions and dreams. And as noted above, God often ensured these were authenticated in some objective ways. The fact that God always made it clear when He was providing someone with extra-biblical miraculous revelation underscores His desire to make it abundantly evident to people when He is speaking to them, a fact often neglected by modern mega mysticism which insists we need to be listening for some “still small voice” to understand God’s will. 39 There simply are no biblical examples of this in Scripture. Unfortunately, mega mystics want to claim that God is speaking to people today just as He did in Scripture. However, God spoke to people in very real visions, not a “still small voice.” Therefore, many of the biblical examples that mega mystics wish to use to promote their false teaching simply do not apply.

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B) Dreams from God B.1) Comparing biblical dreams & visions Above we distinguished apparitions from visions by saying that the former is experienced with the physical senses, while visions are not. There is another type of revelatory vision described in Scripture that is extrasensory as well called dreams. Even though both dreams and visions occur only in the mind, they can be distinguished by the fact that the former occur while sleeping in an unconscious state, while visions occur while awake and in a conscious state. Such a distinction may be seen in the apparent vision given to Abraham where we read: “The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward’” (Gen 15:1). It seems most apparent that Abram was consciously awake during this episode, but later in the same encounter “Abram fell into a deep sleep” (15:15) in which he further heard and saw revelation. Technically speaking, then, we could say the first revelation was given through a vision and the second through a dream. 40 However, the Scriptures are often not clear in this distinction. Particularly in the OT, terms used for visions (chazown) and dreams (chalowm) are used interchangeably (cf. Isa 29:7; Dan 2:28; 4:5). Daniel in particular describes having “night visions,” making it rather difficult to know if he was awake or asleep when he received them. 41 We will note here that it would seem God valued revelatory dreams less than visions. We would suggest this is because dreams are the most difficult to authenticate. At least in a vision one is consciously awake, often aware of physical surroundings, and immediately aware that a vision is occurring. Accordingly, in Scripture the unconscious dream was a relatively very minor mode of divine revelation compared to the conscious vision. In fact, most of the revelatory dreams recorded in Scripture were given to God’s enemies, not messengers. Accordingly, biblical scholars John McClintock and James Strong relate: While we frequently read of . . . visions, dreams are not referred to as regular vehicles of divine revelation. In exact accordance with this principle are the actual records of the dreams sent by God. The greater number of such dreams were granted, for prediction or for warning, to those who were aliens to the Jewish covenant.

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Thus we have the record of the dreams of Abimelech (Genesis 20:3-7); Laban (Genesis 31:24); of the chief butler and baker (Genesis 40:5); of Pharaoh (Genesis 41:1-8); of the Midianite (Judges 7:13); of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:1, etc.; 4:1-18); of the magi (Matthew 2:12), and of Pilate's wife (Matthew 27:19). 42 We would suggest then that even God deemed dreams as an inferior mode of revelation because of its more subjective nature than a vision. B.2) Modern revelatory dreams Of course, we must keep in mind the normal source of our dreams. Typically they merely reflect what our subconscious mind has been thinking about. Accordingly, we read in the Encyclopedia Britannica: Dreams have provided creative solutions to intellectual and emotional problems and have offered ideas for artistic pursuits. A type of cognitive synthesis that facilitates conscious insight may occur subconsciously during dreaming. 43

Therefore, we must obviously be very careful about expecting our dreams to be some sort of revelation from God. Nonetheless, as with visions, there are no biblical reasons why God would not use them today to communicate to His people and it would seem there are some believable and more modern examples. For example, we read the following: George W. Truett, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, was one of America's finest preachers during the early twentieth century. However, a crisis early in his life almost ended his ministry. The Dallas police chief, J. C. Arnold, was a member of Truett's church. He and Truett were good friends. One day Arnold invited Truett and a mutual friend to go quail hunting. While Truett was shifting his gun from one arm to the other, it accidentally fired and struck Arnold in the leg. Arnold assured Truett the wound was not serious, as did the doctors and nurses once they arrived at the hospital. Nevertheless, Arnold died from complications of his wound. Truett was devastated. He told his wife he could never stand before a congregation to preach again. He concluded he would have to leave the ministry. For the rest of that week Truett prayed and read Scripture, desperately seeking comfort

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and understanding for his heartbreaking circumstances. Saturday evening, he could be heard praying, "My times are in thy hands," over and over again. Finally, he fell asleep for the first time since the accident. That night he had a dream where Jesus came to him and said, "Be not afraid. You are my man from now on." Truett awoke and told his wife what had happened. Returning to sleep, Truett had the same dream a second time and then a third. Truett went on to preach that Sunday, but those who heard him said his preaching was changed. His biographer notes: "But his voice, I shall never forget his voice that morning, as we heard for the first time the note of sadness and pathos which now we know so well. His vast capacity for helping people in trouble, as well as his power in the pulpit, is born of the tragedy which remade him." A devastating circumstance seemed as if it would destroy him, but a word from Jesus changed everything. Jesus turned a tragedy in a young preacher's life into an event through which God would fashion one of his greatest servants of that era. 44 But again, satan is always in the business of demonically counterfeiting means of divine revelation, and like the examples of demonic visions above, the devil has certainly given people dreams. Accordingly, speaking of the famed although, occultic powers of psychic Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), the Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience relates that, “He had vivid dreams that seemed to contain [famously accurate] past-life and prophetic information.” 45 However, Cayce’s apparently supernatural abilities certainly were not “inspired” by God. B.3) Biblical dreams vs. super-supernaturalism Elsewhere in KOG we write at length about supersupernaturalism’s characteristic involvement in spiritual fads occurring in our pagan culture. Whatever seems popular in the world, is eventually adopted by super-supernaturalism, which is an important explanation for the great numbers of unregenerated but religious people among them. 46 The area of revelatory dreams and their interpretation is just one more example. Such a thing has always been a bigger part of pagan spirituality then the authentic Christian kind. Accordingly, we read in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:

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According to biblical testimony, the royal courts of both Mesopotamia and Egypt had among their wise men and prognosticators those who professionally interpreted dreams. Extrabiblical literature recovered from both areas contains documents of instructions for these professionals. From these and related materials we learn that there was among the peoples of the ancient Near East generally a much greater preoccupation with dreams as portents of the future than appears to have been present in Israel. 47 More recently, dreams and their interpretation have manifested themselves in New Age and occult environments. The Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs reports: The interpretation of dreams had always been regarded as an occult science [until its popularity in “Christian” supersupernaturalism], with a popularity that waxed and waned with fashion and politics . . . New Age philosophy commonly portrays dreams as a medium for receiving clairvoyant or spiritual information. Various traditional occult systems of dream interpretation are being revived and reinterpreted to be used for this purpose. 48 Dream work is the attempt to explore and interact with dreams for psychological insight in psychotherapy . . . or in manipulating dreams for occult revelations or “spiritual growth” in New Age practices. . . . In New Age practice, dreams can be explored and even manipulated for occult revelations, spirit contact, astral travel, and to induce altered states of consciousness. . . . Newsweek magazine has observed that a “New Age” of revived interest in dreams and dream work has arrived. The article noted, “What was once a fad is now mainstream. . . . Like crystal work and channeling, dream work is one of the more popular New Age practices.” 49 Which is precisely why it is also popular in super-supernatural “Christianity.” Accordingly, super-supernatural apologist J. P. Moreland writes: Currently, dreams are being welcomed again by various Christian leaders as legitimate means for gaining insight into our inner lives and as a way God can communicate to us. 50 First of all, it is only leaders in the super-supernaturalist movement who are welcoming such things. The rest of Christianity is maintaining the more discerning view the Church has held for centuries. Secondly, Dr. Moreland shares this resurgence in the

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Church of looking to dreams and their interpretation as extrabiblical revelation as a positive thing, with no question whatsoever as to whether or not a resurgence that just happens to parallel what is occurring in the New Age movement is a good thing. Dr. Moreland’s best explanation for why the Church has historically viewed such a thing with suspicion and scorn is that Jerome (c. 347-420) mistranslated the OT. Dr. Moreland writes: Although the early church welcomed dreams as one means for God to speak to them [an exaggeration for which he gives no evidence for], there is good evidence to indicate that dreams were brought into disrepute in the church by a mistranslation in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible that became the standard version for the church for a thousand years. . . . [F]or some unknown reason, in his translation of the Old Testament, Jerome associated "observing dreams" with the practice of sorcery in three particular Old Testament verses (Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:10; 2 Chronicles 33:6; where "witchcraft" or "sorcery" appears in our English versions, the words "observing dreams" appeared)." [As a result?] Eventually dreams fell out of favor as a common means of divine guidance through much of church history. 51 First, Jerome’s “mistake” may not be as great as Dr. Moreland claims. It is true that a more literal translation of the Hebrew in the above mentioned verses would be “divination.” However, one of the foremost methods of divination among the pagans that these Scriptures are referring to was “observing dreams” as Jerome put it. Secondly, we are once again rather amazed at the lengths super-supernaturalists will go, in order to explain why what they feel is so important and spiritual today, has been denounced throughout Church history by the most godly Christians. The reason is not some supposed slip in the Latin Vulgate, but rather, “dreams fell out of favor as a common means of divine guidance through much of church history” for the very reason they are viewed with suspicion by most godly Christians today. They were never intended to be “a common means of divine guidance,” as Dr. Moreland suggests, even in biblical times, and those who have believed so have always hurt themselves or others. Heresy always hurts people. For example, Tom Stipe, former member of the Board of Directors for the super-supernaturalist Vineyard Association of Churches recounts that in this movement: Dreams and their interpretation soon moved to center stage as [Vineyard] prophecy conferences taught devotees to keep a

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pencil and notebook on their nightstands to write down each dream as it occurred. These were later interpreted [by “prophets”] for God’s message. People lived on the edge of their seats, waiting for the grandiose promises of prophesies to come true. Most waited in vain. Not long after [this] became the primary source of direction, a trail of devastated believers began to line up outside our pastoral counseling offices . . . [suffering from] shattered hopes because God had apparently gone back on his promises . . . Many were left to continually live from one prophetic “fix” to the next, their hope always in danger of failing because God’s voice was so specific in pronouncement, yet so elusive in fulfillment. 52 We are reminded of the following sad commentary of God concerning Israel, and it especially saddens us because such harmful heresy is being allowed to occur in God’s own precious Church among His precious people. God says to these deceived and deceiving churches: “The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” (Zech 10:2). At least a shepherd with the correct biblical understanding, courage, and humility to stand up to such damaging and/or demonic invasions of His Church. Is demonic too strong? Not when the fruit is honestly assessed (cf. Matt 7:15-23). One reason we know that the practice of dream interpretation as practiced in modern super-supernaturalism is unbiblical is that God always intended visions or dreams to be revelations, not mysteries, as the meaning of them is always made clear to the one receiving it. In other words, in Scripture only the heathen needed to have dreams interpreted for them by others, which should prove as a warning to the current fad in cults and super-supernaturalism involving dream interpretation. Even in the example of Paul’s vision of Paradise, it was not that he did not understand what he had heard, but they were simply, “things that man is not permitted to tell” (2 Cor 12:4). In addition, when the vision or dream is given to one of God’s people, God directly reveals its meaning to the person either as part of the vision or by personal and additional revelation.

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Extras & Endnotes Gauging Your Grasp 1) How are apparitions distinguished from visions? 2) Why did visions “feel” the same as a physical apparition? 3) What demonstrates the importance of the revelatory vision in Scripture? 4) What other factors made even “visions” more objectively authenticated in Scripture? 5) We claim it would be inaccurate to claim that God has not granted any additional personal revelation since the closing of the canon of Scripture. Do you agree or disagree and why? 6) Why are we willing to accept private revelations through visions that exercise divine authority over only the individual, but reject any claims to extra-biblical revelation that is supposed to exercise authority over others? 7) What are some examples of the demonic potential of visions? 8) Why should we be skeptical of those who are claiming that they regularly have visions of Jesus or Angels? 9) What is the reason for the great deal of disappointment among current and former members of super-supernaturalism regarding dreams? 10) Why don’t we have a category of divine revelation in this chapter labeled “divine inspiration”? Do you agree or disagree and why? 11) What is the most mystical and subjective type of divine revelation we encounter in the Bible? How does this fact relate to mega mysticism? \\ 12) How are dreams and visions distinguished?

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13) What attributes of dreams as divine revelation are revealed in Scripture? How does this relate to the growing focus on them in super-supernaturalism? Publications & Particulars 1

Accordingly, David Aune, a recognized scholar on the topic, relates: The vision trance . . . is an altered state of consciousness in which extrasensory audiovisual experiences, usually revelatory in character, are perceived in private by individuals, often prophets or seers. The visions themselves may be experienced as occurring within an earthly setting or may involve apparent out-of-body experiences such as ascents to heaven . . . All the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek terms translated "vision" in modern versions of the Bible are terms that primarily denote "appearance" or "sight" in contexts that refer to normal visual perception. Only the context reveals when the "vision" refers to a psychological or revelatory experience in which the subject privately "sees" that which is not physically present to ordinary unaided sense perception. (“Vision” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), Geoffrey W. Bromiley ed., 4 vols., [Eerdmans, 1988], IV:993)

2

C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch write concerning Daniel’s vision: According to this verse, the form described in vv. 5 and 6 was visible to Daniel alone. His companions saw not the appearance, but they were so alarmed by the invisible nearness of the heavenly being that they fled and hid themselves. What is here said resembles Acts 9:3ff., where Christ, after His exaltation, appeared to Paul and spoke to him—Paul’s companions hearing only the voice, but seeing no one. (Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CDROM [Findex.com, 2000], loc. cit.

3

Our claim that the reference to Prophets being “carried” in 2 Peter is describing the same phenomenon in Revelation 17:3 of being “carried” in a vision is strengthened by the fact that the root word used in both places is pherō which simply means: “to bear or carry from one place to another,” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Early Christian Literature (BAGD), F. W. Danker ed., 3rd ed. [University Of Chicago Press, 2001]), which is virtually what John and several other Prophets describe happening to them. Accordingly, in what Michael Green calls “perhaps the fullest and most explicit biblical reference to the inspiration of its authors” the statement in 2 Peter is also merely speaking of experiencing a vision. Accordingly, Dick Lucas and Christopher Green in their commentary in the Bible Speaks Today series (2nd Peter and Jude [Intervarsity, 1995]) are wrong to interpret the text as saying, “The prophets were gripped by God as he spoke to them and gave them a message to communicate.” On the contrary, being “carried” by the Spirit specifically refers to being

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“carried” somewhere, at least in the mind, in the form of a revelatory experience. 4

For further on the revelatory methods experienced by the Apostles see chapter 8.3. For the Apostle/Prophet John section 9.7.H.

5

Therefore, we would disagree with NT scholar Gordon Fee who writes regarding 1 Cor 15:8: There has been considerable debate as to whether this language describes a merely revelatory vision (e.g., W. Michaelis, TDNTV, 35560, and W. Marxsen, The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth [ET, Philadelphia, 19701, pp. 98-111) or an actual objective seeing (G. O'Collins, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ [Valley Forge, 19731, pp. 7-9). Paul surely believed the latter. See the discussion in Kim, Origin, pp. 55-66; cf. F. Keff, "Paul's Experience: Sighting or Theophany?" New Blackfriars 58 (1977), 304-13. . . . Paul believed that his experience on the Damascus road was more than a mere vision. For him it was a resurrection appearance of a kind with all the others [Apostles]-to be sure, after the ascension and therefore out of due season (15:3-8). (The First Epistle to the Corinthians NICNT [Eerdmans, 1987], 395)

6

Keil and Delitzsch, Gen 15:1.

7

Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway, The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun (Monarch Books, 2002), 248-56.

8

Jim Green, The Jesus Film Project (Campus Crusade, 2005), 1.

9

Jim Green, The Jesus Film Project (Campus Crusade, 2005), 1-2.

10

Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology (EOP), ed. Melton, J. Gordon, 4th ed., 2 vols., (Gale Research, 1996), 55, 1376.

11

Erwin Lutzer, Who Are You to Judge? (Moody, 2002), 214.

12

EOP, 60.

13

McDowell & Stewart, Handbook of Today’s Religions (Nelson, 1983), 67.

14

James Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit: A Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience of Jesus and the First Christians as Reflected in the New Testament (Westminster, 1975), 303.

15

M. A. McAuliffe, Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings, and Authors (Oxford University Press, 1909), pp. 33-35.

16

Quoted by Alexander Mackie in The Gift of Tongues: A Study in the Pathological Aspects of Christianity, (Doran, 1921), 202-204.

17

McDowell and Stewart, 67.

18

Alexander Mackie, The Gift of Tongues: A Study in the Pathological Aspects of Christianity (Doran, 1921), 227-8

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19

Leslie Weatherhead, Psychology, Religion, and Healing (Abingdon, 1952), 145-6.

20

For further discussion of the Immaculate Conception doctrine in Roman Catholicism see chapter 13.8.

21

Weatherhead, 151.

22

McDowell and Stewart, 99, 100

23

For further discussion of virtue apologetics for the Christian faith see Book 5: Biblical Apologetics.

24

For further discussion of super-supernaturalism see chapters 7.13-16.

25

Jack Deere, Surprised by the Voice of God (Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 291-2. For discussion of the mega mystical idea that God grants private inspiration apart from Scripture see Book 14.

26

“Pentecostals Set Priorities,” Charisma (January 1991), 44.

27

For further discussion of the false claim of Charismaticism to experience or possess more of the Holy Spirit see section 10.15.A.7.

28

John MacArthur, MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM (Parsons Technology, 1997), Col 2:18

29

For further discussion of the mega mysticism in John Eldredge’s writings, see section 14.1.B.

30

John Eldredge, Waking the Dead (Nelson, 2003), 7.

31

For further discussion on mega mysticism see Book 14.

32

For further discussion of why we might expect miracles surrounding Brother Yun’s life see section 10.3.C.3-5.

33

Yun, 255.

34

Ibid., 108.

35

For further discussion of the biblical concept of a “controlling call” see section 7.15.B.1.b.

36

For a definition of charismaticism see endnote in chapter 8.1.

37

John MacArthur, “The Sufficiency of the Written Word” in Sola Scriptura! The Protestant Position on the Bible (Soli Deo Gloria, 1995), 183.

38

For further discussion of the nature of “divine inspiration” for Scripture see forthcoming chapter 8.8.

39

For further discussion of God’s desire to make revelation evident in spite of mega mystical claims see section 14.9 sections E and G.

40

Keil and Delitzsch comment on Abram’s first recorded vision in Genesis 15:

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The “word of Jehovah” came to him “in a vision;” i.e., neither by a direct internal address, nor by such a manifestation of Himself as fell upon the outward senses, nor in a dream of the night, but in a state of ecstasy by an inward spiritual intuition, and that not in a nocturnal vision, as in Gen 46:2, but in the day-time. The expression “in a vision” applies to the whole chapter. There is no pause anywhere, nor any sign that the vision ceased, or that the action was transferred to the sphere of the senses and of external reality. Consequently the whole process is to be regarded as an internal one. The vision embraces not only vv. 1-4 and 8, but the entire chapter, with this difference merely, that from v. 12 onwards the ecstasy assumed the form of a prophetic sleep produced by God. 41

J. H. Stek comments on the often obscure biblical distinction between visions and dreams in the Bible: Biblical writers appear to have made no clear distinction between a revelatory dream and a night vision. There are a number of passages where dreams (or night visions) are not explicitly mentioned, but seem to be implied (cf. Gen 26:24; Num 22:20; 1 Sam 15:16; 2 Sam 7:4; 1 Kgs 9:2; 1 Chron 17:3; 2 Chron 1:7; 7:12; Jer 31:26; Zech 1: 8; 4: 1; Acts 23: 11; 27:23) - but perhaps in some instances these did not involve a sleep experience; cf. Isa 3:4ff. (“Dream” in ISBE, 1:992)

42

John McClintock and James Strong, “Dreams” in Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, CD-ROM (Ages Software, 2000

43

“Dreams,” Encyclopedia Britannica; online at www.britannica.com.

44

Henry and Richard Blackaby, Hearing God’s Voice (Broadman & Holman, 2003), 156.

45

Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience (EMPE), Rosemary E. Guiley (Harper Collins, 1991), 84.

46

For further discussion of super-supernaturalism’s fake revival and adoption of pagan practices see section 10.15.B.

47

J. H. Stek, “Dream” in ISBE, 1:992.

48

New Age Encyclopedia, J. Gordon Melton ed., (Gale Research, 1990), 154-5.

49

Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, John Ankerberg and John Weldon eds. (Harvest House, 1996), 193-4.

50

J. P. Moreland and Klaus Issler, In Search of a Confident Faith (Intervarsity, 2008), 195.

51

Ibid., 195-6.

52

Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Word, 1997), xii.

Book 10 God’s Miracles

Part IV Extreme & Unbiblical Views of Miracles

 10.12: Miracles & Anti-supernaturalism:

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An Attack on God’s Glory

 10.13: Miracles & Super-supernaturalism:

313

A Monumental Delusion

 10.14: A History of Super-supernaturalism:

337

The Making of a Monumental Delusion

 10.15: An Evaluation of Super-super-

371

naturalism: The Fruit of a Monumental Delusion

 10.16: The Dangers of Super-supernaturalism: The Damage of a Monumental Delusion

413

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Chapter 10.12

Miracles & Anti-supernaturalism An Attack on God’s Glory

Table of Topics A) Types of Anti-supernaturalism A.1) Atheistic Anti-supernaturalism A.2) Deistic/Liberal Anti-supernaturalism A.3) Evangelical Anti-supernaturalism A.4) Arminian Anti-supernaturalism A.5) Anti-Charismatic Anti-supernaturalism B) Problems with Anti-supernaturalism B.1) There is a God! B.2) Biblical faith in the supernatural is based on miraculous evidence B.3) God judges people based on their response to miracles B.4) God’s miracles intervene in God’s natural laws B.5) Scientific advances have not and will not explain away biblical miracles Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  Anti-supernaturalism is a bias against, or the outright denial of the possibility or existence of miracles.  Anti-supernaturalism manifests itself in various forms and degrees from the atheistic kind, to the Evangelical type.  Deistic anti-supernaturalism is a foundation of the criticism of the Bible.  Many professing, Evangelical Christian Bible scholars go to great lengths to give natural explanations for the miracles in the Bible.  Anti-supernaturalists are guilty of slander against God because they put His miracles in a less God-glorifying light than they were intended to have.  A dilution of the miracles in Scripture is a direct attack on their divine source and subsequently on the divine authority of Scripture.  the abuses, deceptions, and doctrinal errors in supersupernaturalism have tempted many Christians to be overly wary of any claim to the supernatural.  If an all-powerful God exists, then miracles are very possible, and because He loves His Creation His supernatural interventions are even probable.  Anti-supernaturalism seems to ignore the fact that God has and will judge people for not properly recognizing miracles.  While some divine miracles merely use the laws of Nature, many of those recorded in the Bible clearly violated and broke natural laws.  God is sovereign enough to ensure that no scientific understandings will undermine the purpose He has for the miracles recorded in Scripture.

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A) Types of Anti-supernaturalism In the next chapter, and throughout Knowing Our God, we exhibit a great deal of skepticism toward the plethora of modern claims to miracle workers because we believe such supersupernaturalism is unbiblical and harmful to the Church. However, we are quick to defend the supernatural nature of the miracles and miracle working recorded in Scripture. Those with a bias against, or outright denial of the true nature of these miraculous events in Scripture can be referred to as anti-supernaturalists. God’s miraculous deeds are a great glory to Him, and any attack on the divine nature of His miracles is an offense to His glory. Such is the case with unbiblical anti-supernaturalism in any form. A.1) Atheistic Anti-supernaturalism While the term anti-supernaturalism generally refers to those who are unnecessarily opposed to, or skeptical of miracles, it is helpful to distinguish different categories of it. Atheistic antisupernaturalism is simply and commonly referred to as Naturalism. Norm Geisler defines this when he writes: Philosophical or metaphysical naturalism refers to the view that nature is the "whole show." There is no supernatural realm and/or intervention in the world. In the strict sense, all forms of nontheisms are naturalistic, including atheism, pantheism, deism, and agnosticism. 1 While many atheistic anti-supernaturalists may not be strictly atheists, they approach the world from a perspective that denies the existence of God, and therefore makes the miraculous either impossible or highly improbable. The most notorious anti-supernaturalist was, of course, the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776). Tucked away in the tenth chapter of his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), was a twenty page chapter simply entitled, “Of Miracles.” The influence of this small treatise is described when one Christian scholar writes, “No work on miracles penned in the seventeenth, eighteenth, or nineteenth centuries receives greater attention today than Hume's slim essay.” 2 A modern day supporter of Hume’s views, philosopher Anthony Flew, writes concerning “Of Miracles,” “These pages . . . provoked in Hume's own lifetime more protest and controversy than all the rest of [Hume’s] writings put together.” 3

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It would seem Hume anticipated the endurance of his thoughts when he wrote: I flatter myself that I have discovered an argument . . . which, if just, will, with the wise and learned, be an everlasting check to all kinds of superstitious delusion, and consequently will be useful as long as the world endures. 4 Hume, along with other atheistic anti-supernaturalists, simply deny that miracles are believable. We have already addressed Hume’s specific arguments elsewhere concerning historical skepticism. 5 A.2) Deistic/Liberal Anti-supernaturalism Deism was a popular philosophical trend in seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe, and was held by such early Americans as Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). 6 While they believed in a divine Creator, they denied that He was active in His creation. Douglas Geivett and Gary Habermas write: Classical deists generally opposed belief in divine intervention in history, whether in the form of prophecy or miracles, for such belief seemed to them to violate the canons of reason. Divine intervention was often regarded as superfluous or gratuitous in that it implied that God's original creation was somehow defective. Sometimes alternative schemes [explanations] were advanced in order to explain the supernatural components of traditional beliefs [and miracles in Scripture]. 7 Similarly, Norm Geisler writes: [S]ome theists, especially scientists, hold a form of methodological naturalism. That is, while acknowledging the existence of God and the possibility of miracles, they employ a method of approaching the natural world that does not admit of miracles. This is true of many theistic evolutionists. 8 While deistic anti-supernaturalists are more favorable toward the existence of God than atheistic ones, they are extremely skeptical of any miracles. Accordingly, Dr. Geisler writes of Jefferson: Thomas Jefferson literally cut the miracles from the four Gospels and pasted the desupernaturalized remains in a scrap book. It was later published as The Jefferson Bible. It ends thus: "There laid they Jesus, and rolled a great stone to the

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door of the sepulchre, and departed." The rest of the story-the resurrection of Christ--is a miracle that cannot, thought Jefferson, be accepted by good reason. 9 Other religious persons we would put in the category of deistic anti-supernaturalists include the philosophers Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). In addition, an anti-supernatural deism is one of the foundations of liberal biblical criticism. Accordingly, the very influential twentieth-century NT scholar Rudolph Bultmann (1884-1976) wrote: It is impossible to use the electric light and the wireless and to avail ourselves of modern medical and surgical discoveries, and at the same time to believe in the New Testament world of spirits and miracles. We may think we can manage it in our own lives, but to expect others to do so is to make the Christian faith unintelligible and unacceptable to the modern world. 10 What is surprising is that such people claim to be Christians and have been widely accepted as such. On the contrary, as the renowned theologian J. I. Packer writes: Belief in the miraculous is integral to Christianity. Theologians who discard all miracles, thus obliging themselves to deny Jesus’ incarnation and resurrection, the two supreme miracles of Scripture, should not claim to be Christians. 11 Which rightly condemns a whole horde of particularly twentieth century German Bible scholars to Hell, and all the liberal antisupernatural Bible critics who would follow them today. As we have written elsewhere: The effects of [unregenerated] devil-darkened reason is one reason why those who deny the authenticity of the miracles recorded in Scripture are hardly in a position to convincingly claim they are born again Christians. A denial of the biblical miracles normally exposes an unregenerated mind that, underneath all the religious veneer, is actually “hostile to God” (Rom 8:7) and unwilling to give Him the glory He deserves. 12 Several years ago, James Orr (1844–1913) described this liberal/deistic antisupernaturalism and its absurdity when he wrote: To those who deny supernatural revelation Jesus is necessarily a problem. What are they to make of Him? The one thing they are sure of is, that the supernatural claims set

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up for Him cannot be admitted. Whatever their admiration for His Personality and religion, He must be brought and kept within purely human limits. To show how this may be successfully done is the aim of numerous recent efforts at depicting His life and work. There are many schools in the negative camp, but this is the common denominator of them all-the gravitation-level to which they all tend. Jesus must be non-miraculous. . . . [Such antisupernaturalism] does not explain the Jesus of the Gospels. It does not explain the faith and hope of the early Christian Church, based on the facts which the Gospels record. It does not explain the vast effects which have come from the appearance and work of this Jesus. It does not explain how even such an image of Jesus came to be there-who created it, or could create it, or whence the materials came from which it was composed. It does not explain the edifice of Christian life, work, hope, and aspiration which has been built on Jesus, and, despite of all assaults on it, has endured through the ages. 13 A.3) Evangelical Anti-supernaturalism A surprising discovery in a contemporary study of miracles is the amount of effort that even more conservative, Evangelical scholars invest in trying to offer natural explanations for the miracles recorded in Scripture. Many of the OT miracles for example have been attacked in this way. Notice the anti-supernatural attitude in the following excerpt from Colin Brown, a respected NT scholar, in the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT): In the cases of the healing of Naaman (2 Ki. 5) and the restoration to life of children (I Ki. 17:17-24; 2 Ki. 4:18-37) we have [today] instances of paranormal healings beyond normal medical explanation. The long day in Joshua 10 may well be a poetic description of the invigoration of Joshua's soldiers. Alternatively it has been explained as an abnormal refraction of the rays of the sun and moon and as a supernaturally induced thunderstorm giving the men relief from the burning heat (cf. B. Ramm, The Christian View of Science and Scripture, 1955, 107-10) . . . John Gray comments, “The factual basis of the ‘miracle’ of the floating axe-head may be that Elisha with a long pole or stick probed about the spot indicated (an important point in the text) until he succeeded either in inserting the stick into the socket, or, having located the hard object on the muddy

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bottom, moved it until the man was able to discover it” (I & II Kings, 1964, 460). It may be noted that the text itself does not call the event a miracle or even a sign . . . The view that one takes of Daniel in the fiery furnace and the lions' den (Dn. 3 and 6) will depend on the view that one takes of the Book of Daniel as a whole. The stories . . . might have a didactic value, but little basis in historical reality. Alternatively, they might be a figurative, stylized way of describing some historical event . . . Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego . . . survived their ordeal possibly protected by their clothing mentioned in the narrative [rather than the angel also mentioned in the narrative!]. 14 Dr. Brown has become considered as something of an expert on biblical miracles and makes the following entry in the influential International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE): The [Egyptian] plagues have been interpreted [by Brown] as a series of natural disasters, beginning with the washing down of red earth from the Abyssinian and Ethiopian plateau together with reddish microorganisms called flagellates [Nevermind that the Bible says it was blood (Ex. 7:17)!]. Decomposing fish caused the frogs to leave the Nile and spread the diseases described in the second set of plagues. The third set begins with hail and thunderstorms typical of the time of year which produced the earlier sequences. The hail would [naturally?] destroy flax and barley, but would leave wheat and spelt for the locusts. The darkness was an unusually strong Khamsin, or desert sandstorm, of the kind which strikes Egypt from the south in late February or early March . . . The manna described in Ex. 16:14,31 and Nu. 11:7-9 resembles the excretion of two scale-insects which feed on the twigs of the tamarisk tree. 15 A similar concession is made by the Baptist theologian Millard Erickson, another respected conservative scholar, in his Christian Theology, when he writes: [M]iracles [may be] actually the manifestations of little known or virtually unknown natural laws. If we fully knew and understood nature, we could understand and even predict these events. Whenever the rare circumstances that produce a miracle reappear in that particular combination, the miracle will reoccur. [F]or example, the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5. According to this view, Christ did not create fish for the occasion, nor did he somehow drive them from their places in the lake to where the net was to be let down.

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Rather, unusual conditions were present so that the fish had gathered in a place where they would not ordinarily be expected. Anytime those particular circumstances were present, the fish gathered in that spot. Thus, Jesus' miracle was not so much a matter of omnipotence as of omniscience. The miracle came in his knowing where the fish would be. Other types of miracles come to mind as well. Some of Jesus' healings could well have been psychosomatic healings, that is, cases of powerful suggestion removing hysterical symptoms. Since many illnesses involving physical symptoms are functional rather than organic in origin and character, it seems reasonable to assume that Jesus simply utilized his extraordinary knowledge of psychosomatics to accomplish these healings. Much about this view is appealing, particularly since some of the biblical miracles fit this scheme quite well; it may well be that some of them were of this nature. 16 In a similar vein, the respected Baptist NT scholar James Dunn has written: Just how extraordinary his [Christ’s] healings were by the standards of modern medical knowledge is not clear. No doubt Jesus was responsible for curing mental illness, blindness, lameness and deafness; but these could all be hysterical disorders. Even the healing of leprosy and raising of the dead, which Jesus probably [probably?] claimed (Matt. 11.5) may not take us beyond the range of psychosomatic illnesses. In the one case a nervously conditioned disease which gave the appearance of leprosy and which was described as a form of leprosy, and in the other some form of coma or catalepsy. What is rather striking is that no instances of healing purely physical injuries or mending broke limbs are attributed to Jesus in the earliest stratum of tradition [a very convenient argument]- that is to say, there is no instance of a healing miracle which falls clearly outside the general category of psycho-somatic illnesses [in the parts of Scripture Dunn wants to accept as authentic] . . . At the very least we must say, I think, that Jesus was that type of charismatic (what Robert Graves might call the 'psychic 5 %’), who could draw on sources of energy within himself of which the ordinary man is only rarely aware, or who was so in tune with wider reality that he could act as a sort of receiver and transmitter from a richer source of energy outside himself. . . .

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If Jesus' mighty works of healing can be established as facts on the basis of his own words, the same does not hold for the so-called ‘nature miracles’ - particularly calming the storm, walking on the water, feeding the five thousand (or four thousand) in the desert, and cursing the fig tree. 17 Like Thomas Jefferson noted above, Dr. Dunn would seem to use subjective biblical criticism to cut and paste Scripture to his liking. We suggest that such denials of the miraculous nature of the events recorded in Scripture have some devastating consequences. Isn’t it slander against our Creator and Savior to put things in a less God-glorifying light than they actually were? Evangelical antisupernaturalists seem to suggest at times that the extraordinary miracles of the Bible were merely coincidences. For example, Dr. Erickson suggests that a miraculous catch of fish which caused the Apostle Peter to fall on His face in fearful recognition that Christ was the Lord (cf. Luke 5:8), was merely a result of Jesus knowing more about the schooling patterns of fish than the fishermen He was with. While such scholars are willing to admit divine intervention such that, “the event is a providential ordering of natural causes,” many of their examples seem to deny the need for such intervention. There is a “watering down” of the supernatural nature of the biblical writers. The real question here is did God intend for these events to be interpreted as miracles of the extraordinary, rare, supernatural and awe-inspiring kind, or merely those within the power of humans and Nature? There is no doubt that His intention was the former. Anti-supernatural Evangelicals will claim that their interpretations maintain that intention, however, when they suggest, for example, that the manna which the Bible says “rained down [as] the grain of heaven” (Ps 78:24) was actually bug dung, as Colin Brown does, they should not be surprised that the rest of us would take offense, and suggest that God might too. The healings in the Bible are not intended to be interpreted as something that occurred from the more natural processes of the human mind or body, like the type of healings that occur today in hospitals, “faith-healing” services, and among New Age positive thinkers. The healings in the Bible accomplished what no process in Nature can. In addition, there seems to be a hint of rationalism in Evangelical anti-supernaturalism in that there is a presumption that all biblical miracles can and need to be explained, in order to be believed. As we have written elsewhere, this is a foundational tenet of rationalism and does not belong in a biblical world view. 18

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Evangelical anti-supernaturalism is not a minor issue. Any kind of dilution of the miracles of Christ or the Prophets and Apostles is a direct attack on their divine authority and subsequently on the divine authority of Scripture. As we have demonstrated elsewhere, God intends to authenticate divine authority with supernatural deeds, 19 and if these deeds were merely things that any highly intelligent or charismatic person could do, then the divine authority of Christianity is substantially undermined. Far too many “Christian” “scholars” today deserve the condemnation of the nineteenth century “Old Princeton” Reformed theologian B. B. Warfield (1851–1921), who wrote regarding the “Christian” anti-supernaturalists in his day: The supernatural is the very breath of Christianity's nostrils and an anti-supernaturalistic atmosphere is to it the deadliest miasma [“poisonous air”]. An absolutely antisupernaturalistic Christianity is therefore a contradiction in terms. Nevertheless, immersed in an anti-supernaturalistic worldatmosphere, Christian thinking tends to become as antisupernaturalistic as is possible to it. And it is indisputable that this is the characteristic of the Christian thought of our day. As Dr. Bascom puts it, the task that has been set themselves by those who would fain be considered the "bolder thinkers of our time" is "to curb the supernatural, to bring it into the full service of reason." The real question with them seems to be, not what kind and measure of supernaturalism does the Christianity of Christ and His apostles recognize and require; but, how little of the supernatural may be admitted and yet men continue to call themselves Christians. The effort is not to Christianize the world-conception of the age, but specifically to desupernaturalize Christianity so as to bring it into accord with the prevailing world-view. 20 Along these lines, Gordon H. Clark (1902-1985) had written more recently: Some of the modernistic attempts to explain miracles are no less than the most tawdry of intellectual dishonesty. The piety which defends Scripture by explaining the feeding of the five thousand on the ground that when the boy opened his lunch box the others were inspired by his example to open theirs, and thus a huge picnic resulted, is a piety which deserves contempt, not intellectual refutation. How people who propose such explanations can pose as religious and moral leaders is beyond honest understanding. Whatever a miracle may be, this type of device does not

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explain it, because of its absurd distortion of the text. Average morality dictates either an open denial of the alleged event, or a [God-honoring and reasonable] attempt to explain what the narrative actually contains. 21 A.4) Arminian Anti-supernaturalism Elsewhere we have written: A great deal of sound doctrine depends on when a miracle is to be expected. . . . [A]nti-supernaturalists are in error because they ignore when God has promised a miracle because it is needed. Here is where Arminian theology reflects an unbiblical anti-supernaturalism. In such a perspective, no supernatural rebirth or action of the Holy Spirit is needed in order for someone to receive the Gospel in a saving way. On the contrary, as we discuss elsewhere, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God [including the Gospel], for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14). 22 Arminian theology ignores the biblical promises and the foundational need for the miracle of regeneration in saving faith, and therefore, can also be categorized as antisupernaturalists. 23 A.5) Anti-Charismatic Anti-supernaturalism Unfortunately, the many documented abuses, deceptions, and doctrinal errors in super-supernaturalism 24 have tempted many Christians to be overly wary of any claim to the supernatural. We are reminded of something Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) wrote in his own effort to help fellow Christians maintain a balanced perspective on miracles during the debates that surrounded similar phenomena in his own day: [D]uring the strife, satan leads both parties far out of the right way, driving each to great extremes, one on the right hand, and the other on the left, according as he finds they are most inclined, or most easily moved and swayed, till the right path in the middle is almost wholly neglected. 25 Accordingly, our super-supernaturalist friends may be right at times to reprove the rest of us for not praying for the healing of the sick diligently and expectantly enough, and unnecessarily

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discounting all reports of the miraculous. While we may be tempted to blame the excesses in super-supernaturalism, we can never blame others for being unbiblical, which is true of any kind of antisupernaturalism. What we are looking for is a biblical and Godhonoring supernaturalism which neither anti or supersupernaturalism has the right to claim.

B) Problems with Anti-supernaturalism B.1) There is a God! Obviously, the first three of the above types of antisupernaturalists have their reasons for denying the miraculous in Scripture. Atheists, of course, wish to avoid one more evidence for the existence of a Creator whom they are accountable to. Deists want to exalt the power and authority of humans like themselves at the expense of God’s rightful position. The denial of God’s presence means no miracles and the denial of miracles means no God, and that is just how they want it to be. A belief in God is prerequisite to a belief in His miracles, as evidenced by studies which show that the frequency of these beliefs are essentially the same. No wonder that a denial of God’s existence or involvement would have the opposite effect. And this perspective obviously skews their perception of the world. While ones like David Hume claimed that the probability of a miracle is essentially non-existent, we who know the real God also know that, while miracles may be relatively rare, their existence is very probable. Accordingly, we can say with H. D. Lewis, “A world created by God . . . has room for a miracle in it.” 26 Likewise, Christian philosopher Ronald Nash writes: “Having the right worldview, that is, viewing the world through the right conceptual lens, is vital to the proper appraisal of miracle claims and their significance for our lives.” 27 And because atheistic and deistic anti-supernaturalists leave something as big as God out of their worldview, they are in a very limited position to correctly interpret the world at all. If an allpowerful God exists, then miracles are eminently possible, and because He loves and cares for His Creation His supernatural interventions are even probable. It is only born again Christians who can rightly recognize the miraculous works of the One only they know. Accordingly, Winfried Corduan writes:

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There is no good reason to stipulate that being able to persuade unbelievers or skeptics delineates the single or even the crucial test for the possibility of recognizing a miracle. Many observers may fail to recognize the aurora borealis, the symptoms of diabetes or the invalid character of an AAA-2 categorical syllogism. But that fact does not mean that people trained to recognize such things are not entitled to make the identification. It is quite possible that believers are more expert when it comes to recognizing miracles because their worldview enables them to recognize them more easily and accurately. The fact that someone with a different worldview cannot recognize miracles need not be fatal to the possibility of any such recognition. 28 Likewise, spiritually unregenerated people such as atheists and deists have a God-hating nature which seriously handicaps their reason, resulting in what we have called elsewhere, “the insanity of humanity.” 29 However, not only has such regeneration freed up our minds for the truth about God, but through it we have experienced our own real miracle. The reason that many antisupernaturalists do not believe in miracles is because they have never experienced one. As Bernard Ramm (1916-1992) put it: The Christian has had a taste of the power indicated by the evidences. The power which raised Christ from the dead is the same power quickening the believer from spiritual death to spiritual life (Eph. 2: 1 ff.). The power that dispelled the gloom of cosmic darkness dispels the sinful darkness of the human heart (II Cor. 4: 1 ff.). The power which took away the blindness of a Bartimaeus takes away the blindness of human sin in the believer’s mind. The omniscience of God in prophecy is tasted by the Christian when he must confess that he did not know God, but God knew him. The Christian is partaker of the powers that have been-in the mighty acts of God in the past-and of the age that shall be. 30 It is interesting to note that any atheist living in the time of the antichrist will believe that he is God, and will likewise believe he can do miracles. There will be no skeptics in that day because “God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (1 Thess 2:11) when the antichrist is “proclaiming himself to be God” (1 Thess 2:4) and performing “all kinds of . . . miracles, signs and wonders” (v. 9). 31 The foundational philosophical premise of most antisupernaturalism (i.e. there is no God) is unreasonable, and

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impossible for the Christian. Equally unreasonable is the idea that there are no miracles. The Christian knows better. Perhaps the greatest problem with a disbelief in miracles is the fact that they are really happening today. Again, the greatest, most amazing, and abundant modern miracle is the spiritual one of regeneration, examples of which we have documented elsewhere. 32 However, there are parts of the world in which God is allowing some amazing physical miracles as well, some of which we have noted elsewhere. 33

B.2) Biblical faith in the supernatural is based on miraculous evidence Some see no need for miracles to substantiate the claims of Christianity. Accordingly, Reformed theologian R. C. Sproul writes: Since the [Immanuel] Kantian watershed consigned miracle to the realm of the unknowable or incredible, many Christians have abandoned the debate, unnecessarily surrendering the weapons of reason and empirical investigation to the arsenals of the skeptic. Hiding behind a mystical type of evidenceless "faith," these Christians have believed that rational inquiry into miracles would be futile at best and impious at worst. They have substituted credulity for credibility, giving some justification for the skeptics' contempt for their faith. 34 Likewise, Christian philosopher William Abraham remarks: It has been objected that the very thought of asking for a [supernatural] justification of a claim to possess a [divinely authoritative] revelation is a betrayal of faith. Thus [the neoorthodox theologian] Reinhold Niebuhr writes: 'Christ cannot be known as the revelation of God except by faith and repentance; but a faith not quite sure of itself always hopes to express its scepticism by establishing the revelatory depth of a fact through its marvellous character. This type of miracle is in opposition to true faith. 35 We have demonstrated elsewhere in a discussion regarding the popularity of fideism, 36 that a biblical conception of faith is based on evidence, not the lack of it. This is precisely how God made us, and why He has always provided supernatural authentication for any divine revelation. 37

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B.3) God judges people based on their response to miracles However, it must be admitted that this divine authentication is primarily meant for those who already have a relationship with God. As we have written elsewhere, miracles are not intended to produce faith in unbelievers, but rather to strengthen the faith of believers. 38 In fact, God withholds miraculous revelation from some because it merely results in their greater condemnation. 39 Accordingly, the King said of those who had witnessed His miracles: If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both Me and My Father. (John 15:22-25; cf. Matt 11:20-27; John 12:37-41) Here, and in many other statements made by Christ, we see a balance in a biblical view of the purpose of miracles. First, while it is true that miracles do not guarantee faith in unbelievers, there is no denying their effect on some. Secondly, the reason that miracles do not have a saving effect on people is not because there is something lacking in the miracles to produce such a result. The problem is the corrupted and unregenerated heart and mind of unbelievers. This is, of course, true of the miracle of Creation and why those who see it are “without excuse” (Rom 1:20) for not recognizing it as a miracle, and why they will be judged for their stubbornness. Finally, while we would suggest that many over emphasize the objective value of miracles as an apologetic to unbelievers the above statement from Christ should caution anyone in claiming that His miracles have no apologetic value, because from God’s perspective, they definitely do, so much so that people will receive a greater judgment for viewing them and not believing them. B.4) God’s miracles intervene in God’s natural laws Elsewhere in Knowing Our God we have written: [S]ome strains of anti-supernaturalism deny that divine miracles violate “natural laws” at all. However, the supernatural characteristic of miracles need not be interpreted as a disparagement of Nature, but is actually a recognition of its God-ordained power. In other words, it is because the natural processes that God has established in Creation are so stable and strong that the supernatural intervention of them is so recognizable and therefore miraculous. 40

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Indeed, the temporary suspension, violation, reversal, and breaking of natural laws was an obvious and necessary part of many miracles recorded in Scripture, and for miracles in general. Of course, pagan philosophers want to deny this. For example, the very influential seventeenth century Rationalists philosopher Benedict Spinoza (1632–1677) wrote: Nature cannot be contravened, but . . . she preserves a fixed and immutable order. If anyone asserted that God acts in contravention to the laws of nature, he, ipso facto, would be compelled to assert that God acted against His own nature-an evident absurdity. 41 This is nothing less than the worship of Creation rather than the Creator. Unfortunately, even among orthodox theologians, there is an unnecessary and unfounded crusade to deny that miracles momentarily suspend the normal laws of Nature. Accordingly, Dr. Geisler writes: Theists define miracles in either a weak sense or a strong sense. Following Augustine, the weaker definition describes a miracle as “a portent which is not contrary to nature, but contrary to our knowledge of nature. . . .” Others, following Thomas Aquinas, define a miracle in the strong sense of an event that is outside nature’s power, something only done through supernatural power. [In this sense] A miracle is a divine intervention, a supernatural exception to the regular course of the natural world. 42 Augustine (354–430), of course, popularly wrote in his City of God (c. 426): We do, of course, call all portents [miracles] against nature, but they are not. For how is something against nature that happens by the will of God? How can this be when the will of so great a founder is without a doubt the nature of every created thing? And so a portent is not against nature, but against the nature which is known. 43 Accordingly, we have already noted the difficulties of Augustine melding together the natural and supernatural. 44 Here we will address the erroneous thought that for God to intervene in Nature, is to act against Himself. It would seem a great deal of this kind of thinking has come in response to David Hume’s arguments against miracles in the treatise noted above. Actually, Hume stated it as a fact that a miracle would violate the laws of Nature. 45 However, Hume’s real argument was actually based on a disbelief in the value of historical

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testimony, not that natural laws couldn’t be broken. He essentially said that such a break in natural laws would be so rare that the evidence for it, compared with the continual evidence for natural laws against it, would not be great enough to believe a miracle had occurred. Therefore, instead of addressing Hume’s skepticism regarding the value of history, (not to mention the nature of God and the truth of Scripture) many theologians have attempted to defend miracles by denying they violate Nature. For example, the great Baptist theologian A. H. Strong (1836– 1921) wrote: [Hume states]: “A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature.” Christian apologists have too often needlessly embarrassed their argument by accepting Hume's definition. The stigma is entirely undeserved. If man can support the axe at the surface of the water while gravitation still acts upon it, God can certainly, at the prophet's word, make the iron to swim, while gravitation still acts upon it [cf. 2 Kgs 6:6-7]. 46 Contrary to this very intelligent scholar, it is not an embarrassment to accept Hume’s definition of a miracle, for it is the Bible’s own definition. And while Dr. Strong might have been correct in not interpreting every miracle as a violation of natural laws, as we will note below, some of those recorded in Scripture certainly did. Nonetheless, this apparent mis-reaction to Hume has persisted in Christian scholarship today, resulting in the Evangelical antisupernaturalism described above. For example, Colin Brown writes: Many of the . . . miraculous events in the OT did not involve suspension of natural causes. The locusts which plagued Egypt were blown there by a strong east wind and were blown away by a strong west wind (Exod. 10: 13, 19). The arrival of the quails coincided with the spring migration (Exod. 16:13). [T]he manna . . . may have attracted the quails . . . The parting of the Red Sea was caused by "a strong east wind" blowing all night (Exod. 14:21). In such instances the event is a providential ordering of natural causes for the benefit of the people of God. 47 Similarly, Millard Erickson writes in his popular, and otherwise helpful Christian Theology: [The] suspending or breaking of the laws of nature usually introduces complications requiring a whole series of compensating miracles [so?]. In the story of Joshua's long day (Josh. 10: 12-14), for example, numerous adjustments would have to be made, of which there is no hint in the

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narrative, if God actually stopped the revolution of the earth on its axis. [Never mind that Joshua asked specifically that the sun would stop in the sky and that the text says twice it did]. While this is certainly possible for an almighty God, there is no indication of it in the astronomical data. [Could not God have made the necessary “numerous adjustments”?] There are two other problems, one psychological and one theological. Psychologically, the apparent disorderliness introduced into nature by the view that miracles are violations of natural law unnecessarily predisposes [unregenerated] scientists to be prejudiced against them. This definition makes miracles particularly difficult to defend. As a matter of fact, there are those who categorically reject miracles strictly on the basis of this definition. And, theologically, this view seems to make God work against himself, thus introducing a form of self-contradiction. . . [W]hen miracles occur, natural forces are countered by supernatural force. In this view, the laws of nature are not suspended [really?]. They continue to operate, but supernatural force is introduced, negating the effect of the natural law [essentially breaking it it would seem]. In the case of the [floating] axhead [2 Ki. 6:5-6], for instance, the law of gravity continued to function in the vicinity of the axhead, but the unseen hand of God was underneath it, bearing it up, [breaking, violating, reversing the law of gravity in that place at that time] just as if a human hand were lifting it. This view has the advantage of regarding miracles as being genuinely supernatural or extranatural, but without being antinatural, as the [other] view makes them to be. 48 Several responses are in order. First, it should be conceded that not all miracles can clearly be described as violations or suspensions of Nature. This is why we have elsewhere defined a miracle as an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power . . . by which He intervenes in (not necessarily violates) the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained. For example, one thinks of the several timely storms recorded in Scripture (cf. Deut 11:13-14, 17; 1 Sam 12:16-18; Jonah 1:4; Amos 4:7). In such cases there is not a stopping or breaking of natural laws, but rather a use and manipulation of them such that they occur with a timing, location, and intensity to serve God’s purposes. Therefore, these manipulations of natural laws are just as miraculous as any other, although they do not seem to violate or suspend natural laws. However, we would suggest that the manipulation of Nature in some miracles is so great that it should be considered a violation

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and alteration of natural laws. For example, Dr. Brown writes, “The parting of the Red Sea was caused by ‘a strong east wind’ blowing all night (Exod. 14:21). In such instances the event is a providential ordering of [merely] natural causes.” However, the Red Sea miracle required significantly more than a mere ordering of Nature, but also an unprecedented altering of it. In other words, how strong a wind would it have to be to open up a sea from shore to shore and cause the bottom to be dry (cf. Exod 14:21-2)? This was like no other “wind” that has ever blown. No matter how anti-supernaturalists want to massage the attributes of these events as the biblical text presents them, they are manipulations of natural laws to the point of temporarily, but significantly modifying and violating them. Along these lines, C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) attempted to protect Christ’s miracles from the accusation of violating Nature by maintaining that they were simply a case of speeding up natural laws such as the body’s natural powers of healing. While it may be true that Christ at times did something similar to what Nature may do in time, the remarkable acceleration of those laws is a significant altering of them that anti-supernaturalists are reluctant to admit. For example, if an automobile is designed to cruise at sixty miles per hour and one day it travels at six hundred miles per hour, we would suggest its original design has been significantly altered. Nonetheless, even if some miracles in Scripture can be explained as mere mild manipulations of natural laws, there simply is no honest way to re-explain all of them in this way. For example, the “sun” will not naturally be “stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day” (Josh 10:13). Even the “angel” who “shut the mouths of the lions” (Dan 6:22) performed a miracle that violated Nature, as hungry lions usually eat humans if nothing else is available. Water does not have any chemical properties that will cause it to turn into “choice wine” (John 2:9-10) or hold the weight of men walking on it (cf. Matt 14:25-29). There is no power in humans or Nature that will enable a “furious storm” to instantly become “completely calm” (Matt 8:24-26) upon command. Nor is there any power on Earth that will enable a man who has been flogged, crucified, stabbed, certified by all present (friend and foe alike) to be dead, and placed in a guarded tomb; to be seen living and well only three days later by a multitude of people. The biblical examples of miracles over the usual laws of Nature could be multiplied, and none of them could have occurred without supernatural intervention and the actual suspension and violation of natural laws. All of Nature serves God in any way He sees fit,

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including either sustaining humans by maintaining natural laws, or amazing humans by temporarily breaking those same laws. There is also a claim by anti-antisupernaturalists that a decision on the Creator’s part to intrude on His Creation is somehow contradictory to His perfection. As Dr. Erickson said above, the view that God violates Nature, “seems to make God work against himself, thus introducing a form of self-contradiction.” On the contrary, Nature is not God. God is the Person that created the thing we call Nature, and it is only a pantheistic 49 perspective that would make the “self-contradiction” Dr. Erickson speaks of possible. When God violates Nature, then, He is not violating Himself. God’s miracles do indeed violate, break, reverse, and otherwise modify natural processes in order to achieve God’s purposes. Unfortunately, while some great theologians like Augustine have felt that fact disparages God, others have rightly (in our opinion), believed it actually glorifies Him. Accordingly, Vernon C. Grounds, a Chancellor of Denver Seminary wrote: Undeniably nature has an order, but, fixed and dependable though it is, the order of nature is not iron-clad, a strait-jacket in which God finds himself helplessly bound. Biblically viewed, nature is plastic in the hands of its sovereign Creator. 50 The respected Reformed theologian B. B. Warfield believed that: “miracles are not merely above nature or our understanding of it, but against nature, requiring an adequate cause, the Creator of nature himself.” 51 In addition, Warfield wrote: It is equally inconceivable that His activities with reference to it [Nature], or even within it, should be confined to the operation of the laws which He has ordained for the regulation of its activities and not of His. What power has this little speck of derived being to exclude the operation upon it and within it of that almighty force to whose energy it owes both its existence and its persistence in being? Have its forces acquired such strength as to neutralize the power which called it into being? Or has it framed for itself a crust so hard as to isolate it from the omnipotence which plays about it and successfully to resist the power that made it? 52 Likewise, J. I. Packer has stated, “There is nothing irrational about believing that God who made the world can still intrude creatively into it.” 53 Similarly, C. S Evans comments: Sometimes it is argued that a miracle would be a sign of inconsistency on God's part; God "would not violate the laws he has made." However, natural laws are not normative ethical or legal principles that it would be wrong for God to

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violate. Nor does it seem that it would be inconsistent of God to perform some special action for a special reason on a special occasion. It is the sign of a brilliant stylist, and not an imperfection, for a writer to make an exception to a literary rule that she normally follows, and that a lesser writer may feel the need to slavishly obey. 54 Along the same lines, James Orr wrote: The definition of miracle, with Hume and others, as a 'violation' of the laws of nature, is a question-begging and objectionable one. It suggests a sanctity belonging to the usual order of nature which is by no means to be attributed to it, and precludes the view that nature itself, in the divine purpose, may be subordinate to a higher spiritual order, whose ends call for an action of God above and beyond what nature is capable of. In nature itself one law crosses and modifies the action of another, and higher laws suspend or control the action of lower. Mechanical laws are over-ruled by chemical and vital. Gravitation is counteracted by the raising of the arm in obedience to an act of will. But nothing in nature is 'violated' thereby. The whole system of nature, in its reciprocal relations, is a unity, and all, in the last resort, depends on God, whose will, guided by His wisdom, is the ultimate law-the law of all laws, cause in all causes. 55 More recently, the Christian philosopher William Abraham has agreed that the “classical definition” of miracles is “events which violate a law of nature.” 56 Elsewhere he explains: A further worry is that if God intervenes [into Nature], then his intervention must somehow be capricious and unpredictable. Now certainly it will not be predictable, for God remains free in all that he does. It will not, however, be capricious. If God intervenes, we can be sure that he will do so for some legitimate intention or purpose. It will, to be sure, often be very difficult to discern why God intervenes or, for that matter, why he does not intervene. His ways are not always our ways or our thoughts his thoughts. But that his action should be capricious seems on the face of it false. 57 Similarly, we have elsewhere quoted John Gerstner (1914-1996) who pointed out a common misunderstanding when he writes: [T]he argument for miracle is not meant to be an argument against the regularity of nature. It is merely an argument against the regularity of nature in every particular instance.

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Indeed the argument for miracle rests on the regularity of nature generally. There is no such thing as supernatural events except as they are seen in relation to the natural. And they would not be extraordinary if there were no ordinary against which background they are seen. 58 Not only are such concessions to anti-supernaturalists unnecessary in somehow trying to protect God’s character, they are equally unnecessary in an attempt to impress unbelieving humanity. We quoted Dr. Erickson above as stating, “the apparent disorderliness introduced into nature by the view that miracles are violations of natural law unnecessarily predisposes scientists to be prejudiced against them.” As demonstrated above (section B.1), miracles are primarily intended to impress in a preexisting atmosphere of God given faith. The effort of making erroneous concessions to unbelievers to try to make miracles more acceptable to them ignores this truth. Biblical miracles were indeed complete violations of natural laws, and we need to recognize the possibility that God intends to offend the mind of unbelievers with His miracles, not console them in their sinful state. Such concessions simply result in a lie. Robert Reymond, Professor of Systematic Theology at Knox Theological Seminary is rather refreshing regarding particularly Evangelical anti-supernaturalism when writes: I have no sympathy with the contention of many theologians that miracles of power are simply interventions of God into human affairs in ways which run counter to known or observable processes but which do not really violate the laws of nature. Some may be such, but others are clearly contrary to the laws of nature, such as Jesus' changing of water into wine, and it seems to me that it is catering too much to modern man's hostility to the whole idea of the supernatural so to define biblical miracles that they are emptied of their supernatural uniqueness. I believe that the [Westminster] Confession of Faith more accurately reflects the true situation when it states: "God, in His ordinary providence, maketh use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at His pleasure" (IV/iii, emphasis supplied). 59 A related error to the denial of the violation of Nature in divine miracles is a misconception of divine providence. Several respected Evangelical theologians label supernatural manipulations of Nature as divine providence, then exclude the miraculous from the idea of divine providence, and therefore make such actions non-

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supernatural. For example, the rightly respected Christian apologist Norm Geisler reveals a reluctance to define a miracle as a supernatural manipulation of natural forces when he writes: That they [natural laws] are not miracles does not mean they do not belong to God's special providence. He uses them and is in control of them. We can be sure that sometimes he intervenes in their operation in dramatic ways. A fog at Normandy aided the Allied Forces' invasion of Europe on DDay and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. Fog has natural causes, but the timing of this one was an evidence of God's providence. But it was no miracle. Bullets bouncing off the chests of Allied soldiers would have been a miracle. . . . Some events are caused by God indirectly, not directly. That is, God uses natural laws to accomplish them. These may be quite remarkable and may stimulate faith, but they are not supernatural. Robert Muller gathered his English orphans around the dining table and gave thanks for food they did not at that moment have to eat. At that time a wagon loaded with bread broke down in front of the orphanage, and all of it was given to Muller. That was an act of wonderful providence, but it was not a miracle. 60 First, there is an erroneous claim here that anything labeled as divine providence is not miraculous. Accordingly, when God manipulates “natural laws” it is simply divine providence. As we wrote elsewhere, “it is important to distinguish between the supernatural power in miracles from the divine power working in Nature, if we are to distinguish miracles at all.” 61 We would suggest this same failure to distinguish between God’s power operating in the ordinary processes of Nature from the supernatural power that operates in miracles, is a fundamental error in Wayne Grudem’s discussion of miracles in his Systematic Theology. In fact, he states clearly that he does not want to define a miracle as “a different kind of working by God.” 62 More specifically, Dr. Grudem’s error would seem to be based on an oversimplified definition of divine providence which is how, “God preserves, controls, and governs all things.” 63 What Dr. Grudem apparently fails to recognize is that God “governs all things” through both natural processes implemented and maintained by His power, and, on rare occasions, supernatural events which interrupt and manipulate those processes. The former means of divine governance properly comes under the heading of providence, but the latter is a miracle, and it is best to distinguish the two.

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Dr. Grudem confuses the issue by referring to the natural processes God has implemented as continuous divine “intervention.” 64 And because he also considers miracles as divine intervention, therefore failing to distinguish the natural from the supernatural, he also drops several important attributes from his definition of a miracle. For example, he rejects the idea that a miracle is “a direct intervention of God in the world,” 65 or “an exception to a natural law.” 66 While we agree that the natural processes that maintain Creation depend on the continual power of God operating within them (i.e. providence), we suggest that a miracle can only be noticed because it is “an exception to a natural law.” B.5) Scientific advances have not and will not explain away biblical miracles As noted above, anti-supernaturalists insist that miracles be understood merely as operating according to ongoing but unknown natural laws. Again, Augustine heavily influenced this kind of thinking. More recently, the influential British philosopher Patrick Nowell-Smith (1915-2006) has written: No matter how strange an event someone reports, the statement that it must have been due to a supernatural agent cannot be a part of that report. [Just because] no scientist can at present explain certain phenomena, it does not follow that the phenomena are inexplicable by scientific methods, still less that they must be attributed to supernatural agents. . . . [T]here is still the possibility that science may be able, in the future, to offer an explanation which, though couched in quite new terms, remains strictly scientific. 67 This same idea was proposed by the twentieth century Cambridge philosopher of religion F. R. Tennant when he said that no one is in a position to claim that certain events are miraculous, “so long as our scientific knowledge of Nature is inexhaustive.” 68 What is implied here is that future scientific discoveries will provide natural explanations for miracles, including the biblical ones. More recently, the philosopher Anthony Flew has said: The very essence of the work of the scientist demands being open to new possibilities in observations of nature. If new observations conflict with present theories, the scientist needs to revise his or her theories, not blame the event on something supernatural. Thus the best approach to understanding an anomalous event, which might otherwise be

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regarded as a miracle, is always to expand our understanding of the potentialities of nature. Rather than claiming we saw something supernatural, we should recognize that nature is capable of doing more than we had expected. And so it becomes impossible a priori ever to identify an event as a miracle. 69 Such theories may initially seem to have some value. Except for the fact that several thousand years later we are still waiting for believable scientific explanations for the miracles recorded in Scripture. It would seem such skeptics would have us wait many more thousands of years expecting a scientist to “naturally” explain how Christ walked on water and multiplied a little fish and bread to feed thousands. If they want to wait, they can wait, but any reasonable person who believes in God will accept the biblical explanations at face value. In fact, we would suggest that because God obviously intended such miracles to be supernatural, we can rest assured that no such undiscovered natural processes even exist. As C. S. Lewis wrote in his study on miracles: You and I may not agree, even by the end of this book, as to whether miracles happen or not. But at least let us not talk nonsense. Let us not allow vague rhetoric about the march of science to fool us into supposing that the most complicated [modern] account of birth, in terms of genes and spermatozoa, leaves us any more convinced than we were before that nature does not send babies to young women who 'know not a man'. 70 We will add that there is a tendency as well to allow modern science to increasingly dilute miracles as well. It is suggested that just because we think we have figured out how something works, it necessarily ceases to be a miracle. However, the severe limits of scientific discovery discussed elsewhere argue against this. 71 Modern botanical research has done nothing to diminish even the “ordinary miracle” of a daffodil. While scientists have been able to put a label on the process by which the flower produces its energy (photosynthesis), they have no clue as to how such a remarkable process ever developed, and few clues as to how it really works, and they certainly cannot mechanically duplicate it. The honest scientist, whether they are studying plants, animals, or the stars, will admit that every “discovery” of what they think is true, only produces dozens of more questions, many of which will never be answered this side of meeting the Creator.

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While modern science still has not given a plausible explanation for any of the biblical miracles, nor do we have reason to ever expect them to, the suggestion that they may some day do so does not discount such miracles. While we have no evidence for it, God may increase the extraordinariness of miracles to match the technological advance of the people He is purposing to effect. Just because a miracle may be able to be explained by future science, does not mean that God did not intend it to be perceived as supernatural at the time. We have quoted Bernard Ramm elsewhere concerning humanity’s “alphabet of power” by which they readily recognize a miracle: Christian evidences deals with the action of God in transcending the alphabets of power of the various cultures and periods into which his revelation came. When God so transcends an alphabet of power, he has prepared the situation. God has controlled the alphabet of power of the people to whom he shall speak; he has chosen, furthermore, to act supernaturally in connection with his plans of revelation and redemption. 72 Along these lines, Sproul, Gerstner, and Lindsay have written: Suppose by the year 2000 scientists are able to revive dead bodies. That is not the same thing as saying that in A.D. 29 it was a natural phenomenon to revivify a dead body. If the scientist has achieved that ability by A.D. 2000, does that prove that it was not a supernatural event two thousand years earlier? Because one could resurrect a body in A.D. 2000 by natural means does not imply that that was the case two millennia earlier. Manifestly, raising a body from the dead, as Christ's body was raised, was something which could have been done-at that time in any case-only by the immediate exercise of divine power. Whatever scientists may be able to do in the future could hardly disprove a past miracle. Something may be a miracle in A.D. 29 that is not a miracle in A.D. 2029. 73 A related example would be the relationship between the virgin birth of Christ and our ability to artificially inseminate women today. While we can make virgins pregnant today “without a man,” as Lewis put it above, no doctor knowing the complexities of such a procedure today would claim that it could have been done two thousand years ago, and apart from the artificial means involved in invitro fertilization. We have also seen that particularly Evangelical antisupernaturalists have downgraded Christ’s miracles by attributing

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them to some sort of super knowledge, rather than super power. There is no reason to believe this, whether biblically, scientifically, or reasonably. Nonetheless, John Gerstner remarks: [I]f Christ had had the kind of knowledge which this theory attributes to him, such knowledge would have been as miraculous as the miracles it attempts to explain away. For centuries before and for centuries after, no other person but this solitary, untutored Jew knew how to walk on water. Modern science has performed many amazing feats in this century, but it still is nowhere nearer than it was in Jesus' day to multiplying loaves and fishes by a mere word. 74 Finally, many have suggested that in our own more technologically advanced world, that the miracles of Christ, the Prophets, and Apostles would not have the same effect. More specifically, the claim is that these miracles were believed because the people were especially ignorant or gullible. This was one of David Hume’s foundational premises for denying the existence of miracles. In reply, Dr. Geisler writes: “In both New and Old Testament contexts, people did not show naïve acceptance of every alleged word or act from God. Like moderns, they wanted proof.” 75 Along the same lines, Stephen T. Davis says: The implication seems to be that the people of New Testament times were much more backward and superstitious than we are; that is why they were prepared to believe in miracles at the drop of a hat. They just didn't have the great benefit of our advanced scientific knowledge and reasoning power. But surely this is misleading. If belief in miracles was so commonplace during ignorant times like the first century, why were such biblical miracles as Jesus' turning water into wine or Jesus' being raised from the dead taken to be so significant? It seems that the idea of water being turned into wine or of a dead man living again was no less intellectually scandalous to first-century folk than it is to us. (Note the reaction of the apostle Thomas to talk of the resurrection of Jesus in John 20, or of the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers to that same sort of talk in Acts 17.) 76 In any age of human existence, it is “The fool [who] says in his heart, “There is no God” (Ps 14:1), and likewise denies His miraculous deeds.

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Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Father, we exalt in your ability and willingness to show yourself mighty in the miracles you have done. From Creation to Resurrection, you have demonstrated Yourself worthy of our worship. Help us to defend the miracles of Scripture against those who would steal Your glory by attacking them. And help us to treasure the miracles recorded in Scripture as a revelation of what kind of God we serve. Gauging Your Grasp 1) How do we define anti-supernaturalism? 2) What are the distinguishing characteristics of the different types of anti-supernaturalism we discuss? 3) Who are some influential Christian scholars and theologians who seem to go to great lengths to give natural explanations for the miracles in the Bible? 4) What is your opinion of the more “natural” explanations for the miracles recorded in Scripture? 5) What are some of the unfortunate consequences of antisupernaturalism toward the miracles recorded in Scripture. 6) What are some of our arguments against anti-supernaturalism? Would you have additional ones? 7) Why do some anti-supernaturalists want to deny that divine miracles violate natural laws? What is our response to this perspective? What is your response? 8) Why do we claim that no scientific understandings will undermine the purpose He has for the miracles recorded in Scripture? Do you agree or disagree?

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Recommended Reading 

C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study (Macmillan, 1947).



In Defense of Miracles, Douglas Geivett, Gary R. Habermas, eds. (Intervarsity, 1997). Several good articles concerning the more philosophical questions regarding miracles.



Jesus the Miracle Worker: A Historical and Theological Study, Graham Twelftree, (Intervarsity, 1999). A reviewer in JETS writes: Twelftree sets forth four objectives. He seeks to identify (a) how the Gospel writers understood Jesus’ miracles; (b) how Jesus most likely understood them (these two objectives are covered through part 3); (c) to what extent the miracle stories reflect “what actually happened”; and (d) what the implications are for the quest for the historical Jesus (covered in the book’s final parts). . . . Twelftree has done admirably in presenting just such a corrective, and we are in his debt for this magnificent treatment of the intricate and intrinsic relationship of Gospel miracles to the historical Jesus. 77



Yun, Brother and Paul Remarkable True Story (Monarch Books, 2002)modern day miracles characteristics, without mystical agenda.

Hattaway, The Heavenly Man: The of Chinese Christian Brother Yun A good book that honestly chronicles with biblical circumstances and a super-supernaturalist or mega

Publications & Particulars 1

Norm Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999), 521.

2

Reference unavailable.

3

Anthony Flew, “Neo-Humean Arguments About The Miraculous” in In Defense of Miracles, Douglas Geivett, Gary R. Habermas, eds. (Intervarsity, 1997), 45.

4 5

6

Quoted by Geisler, 457. For further discussion of David’s Hume’s historical arguments against miracles see chapter 2.7. For further discussion of deism and rationalism see chapter 2.10.9.

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7

Geivett and Habermas, 11.

8

Geisler, 521.

9

Norm Geisler, Introduction to Christian Philosophy (Baker, 1980), 262.

308

10

Rudolph Bultmann, “The New Testament and Mythology” in Kerygma and Myth, ed. Hans Werner Bartsch (Harper and Row, 1961), 5. However, Geivett and Habermas note: While the last few decades of the twentieth century have witnessed the efflorescence of various approaches to the study of miracles, much of recent critical theological thought has been more open to some sense of God's acting in history. . . . One notable exception to this trend is the position adopted by the controversial Jesus Seminar. Acknowledging the need for further research into the historical Jesus, these scholars favor a return to a mythical approach to the Gospels, more in concert with the methodologies of Strauss and Bultmann. (13).

11

J. I. Packer, Concise Theology (Tyndale House, 1993), 58.

12

Excerpt from section 4.13.B.

13

James Orr, Revelation and Inspiration (Eerdmans, 1952), 131-3.

14

Colin Brown, “Miracle,” New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNT) Colin Brown ed., 4 vols. (Zondervan, 1986), 2:628.

15

Colin Brown, “Miracle,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), Geoffrey W. Bromiley ed., 4 vols., (Eerdmans, 1988), 3:372. It is somewhat difficult to ascertain what Dr. Brown believes as, to his credit, he remarks in his book, Miracles and the Critical Mind (Eerdmans, 1984), that, “I have to confess that I am more than ever convinced that we cannot have Christianity without the miracle-working Jesus of the four Gospels.” (vii).

16

Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed., (Baker, 1998), 432.

17

James D. G. Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit: A Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience of Jesus and the First Christians as Reflected in the New Testament (Westminster Press, 1975), 71-2.

18

For further discussion of rationalism see chapter 2.9.

19

For further discussion of divine authentication see sections 3.1.C-D and 7.1.B.5.

20

Benjamin B. Warfield, “Christian Supernaturalism” in The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, reprint, 10 vols. (Baker, 2000), IX:29. 21 Gordon H. Clark, “Miracles, History, and Natural Law,” in The Evangelical Quarterly, 1940, Volume XII, p. 24. 22

For further discussion of the process of saving faith see chapters 4.16; 6.2-3

23

Excerpt from section 10.1.B

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24

Many of the abuses, frauds, and doctrinal errors of supersupernaturalism have been detailed by John MacArthur in Charismatic Chaos (Zondervan Publishing House, 1992) and even the Charismatic Bible teacher Hank Hanegraaff in Counterfeit Revival (Word, 1997).

25

Jonathan Edwards, Treatise Concerning introduction; online at www.ccel.org.

26

H. D. Lewis, Philosophy of Religion (English Universities Press, 1965), 303.

27

Ronald Nash, “Miracles & Conceptual Systems” in Geivett and Habermas, 116.

28

Winfried Corduan, “Recognizing a Miracle” in Geivett and Habermas, 107.

29

For further discussion regarding the effect of the unregenerated sinful nature on the epistemological abilities of humans see chapters 4.12-14.

30

Bernard Ramm in Revelation and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical Thought, Carl F. H. ed. (Baker, 1958), 258.

31

For further discussion of the very real supernatural nature of the antichrist’s miracle working see chapter 10.6.

32

For examples of the supernatural power of the spiritual regeneration that only occurs in conjunction with the Christian Gospel see applicable sections of Book 5: Biblical Apologetics.

33

For examples of modern day miracles see esp. chapter 10.2.

34

R.C. Sproul in Miracles and Modern Thought, Norm Geisler ed. (Probe Ministries, 1982), 155.

35

William Abraham, Divine Revelation and the Limits of Historical Criticism (Oxford, 1982), 167.

36

For further discussion of fideism see chapter 2.10.

37

For further discussion of the need for objective evidence for biblical faith see chapters 6.12-14.

38

For further discussion of the fact that divine miracles are especially intended for believers rather than unbelievers see section 11.6.E.

39

For further discussion regarding the response of the unregenerate to miracles see section 4.13.B.

40

Religious

Affections,

Excerpt from section 10.2.A.6.

41

Benedict Spinoza, A Theologico-Political Treatise, trans. by R. H. M. Elwes (Dover, 1951).

42

Geisler, BECA, 450.

43

Saint Augustine, City of God, 12, 21.8; online at www.ccel.org.

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44

For further discussion of the importance of distinguishing between the natural and supernatural see section 10.2.A.6.

45

Webster’s defines “nature” is several ways including, 1) “a creative and controlling force in the universe,” and 2) “the external world in its entirety.” (789). Of course a Christian world view would only accept the latter, and this is all we mean by the term.

46

Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology, 3 Vols. (Judson, 1907, 1953), 121.

47

Brown, NIDNT, 2:628. It seems a little contradictory for Dr. Brown to consistently say that the miracles of the Bible were recognized as such because they, “differed radically from [the observers’] expectations based on the normal course of nature” (281), but then to insist that the Bible does “stress” that such phenomena are not “violations of nature” (Ibid.).

48

Erickson, 433.

49

Geisler writes concerning pantheism: Means all ("pan") is God ("theism"). It is the worldview held by most Hindus, many Buddhists, and other New Age religions. It is also the worldview of Christian Science, Unity, and Scientology. According to pantheism, God "is all in all." God pervades all things, contains all things, subsumes all things, and is found within all things. Nothing exists apart from God, and all things are in some way identified with God. The world is God, and God is the world. But more precisely, in pantheism all is God, and God is all. (BECA, 580)

50

Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology (WDT), Everett F. Harrison, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Carl F. Henry eds., (Hendrickson, 1960, 1999), 357.

51

John H. Gerstner, “Warfield’s Case for Biblical Inerrancy” in God’s Inerrant Word, John Warwick Montgomery ed. (Bethany Fellowship, 1974), 125.

52

Warfield, IX:35.

53

Packer, 58.

54

C. S. Evans, Faith Beyond Reason (Edinburgh University Press, 1998), 58.

55

Orr, 112

56

William Abraham, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (PrenticeHall, 1985), 153.

57

Ibid., 198

58

Gerstner, 30-1.

59

Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Thomas Nelson, 1998), 409.

311

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60

Geisler, BECA 472-3. On the contrary, we would suggest that such apparently supernatural manipulations of Nature are miracles. In fact, elsewhere Geisler is willing to call such events a “class two” miracle, something that R. F. Holland calls a “contingency” miracle, and W. Corduan refers to as a “constellation” miracle.

61

Excerpt from section 10.2.A.6.

62

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Zondervan, 1994), 356.

63

Ibid., 355.

64

Ibid.

65

Ibid.

66

Ibid., 356.

67

M. Nowell-Smith as cited in New Essays in Philosophy Theology, Anthony Flew and Alasdaire MacIntyre eds. (Macmillan, 1955), 246-8.

68

Brown, Critical Mind, 219.

69

Corduan, 100.

70

C. S. Lewis, Miracles: 1947), 59.

71

For a fuller discussion of science from a Christian perspective see 2.5.B.

72

Bernard Ramm, Henry, Bible, 261.

73

R. C. Sproul, John Gerstner, and Arthur Lindsey, Classical Apologetics: A Rational Defense of the Christian Faith and a Critique of Presuppositional Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Academie Books, 1984), 283.

74

Gerstner, 38.

75

Geisler, BECA, 454.

76

Stephen T. Davis, “God’s Actions” in Geivett and Habermas, 174.

77

Paul Copan, JETS 44:2 (June 2001), 337-8.

A Preliminary Study (New York:

Macmillan,

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Chapter 10.13

Miracles & Super-supernaturalism A Monumental & Divisive Delusion

Table of Topics A) Basic Beliefs of Super-supernaturalism A.1) Defining super-supernaturalism A.2) “There is an abundance of miracles occurring today” A.3) “Christianity is ineffective without an outpouring of miracles” A.4) “There is something wrong with Christians who are not experiencing miracles” B) The Primary Source of Super-supernaturalism: The “Charismatic” Movement B.1) Defining charismaticism B.2) Charismaticism vs. historicism B.3) “Perhaps the single most significant development in twentieth-century Christianity” C) The Seriousness of Super-supernaturalism Extras & Endnotes Table 10.13: The Four Views of Miraculous Gifts

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Primary Points  In fact, the greatest and most important uniqueness of “charismatic” churches over other Christian churches is not their love or holiness or evangelistic effectiveness, but merely their claim that God has uniquely restored the miraculous gifts to them after over 1600 years of absence.  Only in the last one tenth of one percent of Church history has super-supernaturalism gained any significant acceptance in the Church, which is why we refer to non-supersupernaturalists as historicists.  Super-supernaturalism claims almost 500 million followers world-wide.  Basic beliefs of super-supernaturalism include: 1) there is a multitude of physical miracles occurring in the world today, 2) such physical miracles are essential to the effectiveness of Christianity in our world today, and 3) it is because of some moral or spiritual deficiency in non-super-supernaturalists (Western) churches that they are not experiencing what the super-supernaturalists apparently are.  Super-supernaturalism is the unbiblical and harmful overexpectation of, and over-dependence on, miracles. This includes the belief that miraculous gifts and extraordinary means of revelation apart from Scripture are regularly operating in the modern Church.  Historicism reflects the fact that for about 1600 years of Church history, the universal belief and practice of God’s people was opposed to all of the uniquenesses that the “charismatic” movement claims today.  Super-supernaturalism has a very difficult time explaining why the cessation of these gifts lasted for so many centuries, and have now been restored only to them.  Super-supernaturalists also refuse to admit, or take seriously enough, is that the modern versions of the miraculous gifts they claim, do not match the attributes of their biblical counterparts.  Although the issues regarding super-supernaturalism are serious, it must be kept in mind that this debate is, for the most part, between authentic believers in Jesus Christ.

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Primary Points continued  In the debate over super-supernaturalism there are only two options: 1) either historicists Christians and churches have missed out on the biggest outpouring of miraculous power ever in the history of the Church because of their lack of faith and zeal, or 2) super-supernaturalists Christians and churches are guilty of the most divisive and demonic deception that has ever occurred among God’s people.  The solution to this debate must be based on the proper interpretation of Scripture, not on human experiences.  One could not point to an issue throughout all of American Church history that has divided more churches than disputes over super-supernaturalists doctrine and practices.  Our super-supernaturalist friends have misinterpreted both the Bible and their experiences.

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A) Basic Beliefs of Super-supernaturalism A.1) Defining super-supernaturalism In the previous chapter our concern was the unfounded skepticism that people have regarding the supernatural nature of the miraculous events recorded in Scripture. Here, our concern is the unfounded sensationalism concerning miracles and miracle working outside of those recorded in Scripture. While some in the Church may suffer from anti-supernaturalism regarding miracles in Scripture, many more have fallen into super-supernaturalism, claiming modern miracles and miracle working in an abundance that rivals the days when Christ walked the Earth. Of course we believe God is doing all kinds of miracles today, and have documented some throughout Knowing Our God (KOG). 1 In fact, considering all the things we believe to be miracles (i.e. conversion, love, spiritual serving gifts, exorcisms, demonic possession, etc.) as discussed elsewhere, some might accuse us of being super-supernaturalists. 2 And when it comes to the miracles recorded in Scripture, and the born-again experience throughout Church history, we are. However, when people are claiming that they are working miracles to the same degree as OT Prophets, Christ, and the Apostles, we are alarmed at the heresy involved in such claims and the harm it will do to the Church. Elsewhere in KOG we define a miracle as: an extraordinary revelation of God’s supernatural power or communication by which He intervenes in the ordinary and natural processes He has ordained because they are not sufficient to accomplish or communicate His will. 3 An important concept here is that God has ordained natural processes that are so sufficient for accomplishing His will, that miraculous interventions are relatively rarely needed. At the core of super-supernaturalism is a disdain for those Godordained natural processes. Accordingly, the great Evangelical theologian J. I. Packer has written: Super-supernaturalism is my word for that way of affirming the supernatural which exaggerates its discontinuity with the natural. Reacting against flat-tire versions of Christianity, which play down the supernatural and so do not expect to see God at work, the super-supernaturalist constantly expects miracles of all sorts--striking demonstrations of God's presence and power--and he is happiest when he thinks he sees God acting contrary to the nature of things, so confounding common sense. For God to proceed slowly and

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by natural means is to him a disappointment, almost a betrayal. But his undervaluing of the natural, regular, and ordinary shows him to be romantically immature and weak in his grasp of the realities of creation and providence as basic to God's work of grace. Charismatic thinking tends to treat glossolalia [speaking in tongues], in which mind and tongue are deliberately and systematically disassociated, as the paradigm case of spiritual activity and to expect all God's work in and around his children to involve similar discontinuity with the ordinary regularities of the created world. This almost inevitably makes for super-supernaturalism. 4 Essentially, we define super-supernaturalism as the unbiblical and harmful expectation of, and dependence on, miracles. This includes the belief that miraculous gifts and extraordinary extrabiblical means of revelation such as dreams and visions are regularly operating in the modern Church. A.2) “There is an abundance of miracles occurring today” This has led to three primary tenets of super-supernaturalism which are reflected in the following quote from a foremost promoter of super-supernaturalism, the respected Christian apologist J. P. Moreland. In a recent book, Dr. Moreland claimed that God healed his scratchy throat one day in answer to prayer. This may be true. However, he goes on to claim several other things that would seem to characterize super-supernaturalism: But there's something else looming in the shadows of my healed throat, and it is so wonderful, so powerful, so real, that nothing can contain or stop it. According to every credible statistic available, it [the occurrence of physical miracles 5] is bursting forth at a breathtaking rate all over the world. If we Western Christians want to be a part of it, we will discover in a fresh, new way that it is a main part of the solution for the crisis of our age. 6 Here, Dr. Moreland touches on three primary beliefs of supersupernaturalists: 1) There is a multitude of physical miracles occurring in the world today, 2) Such physical miracles are essential to the effectiveness of Christianity in our world today, and 3) It is because of some moral or spiritual deficiency in particularly Western churches that they are not experiencing miracles like the supersupernaturalists apparently are.

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On the first tenet of super-supernaturalism, several leaders within its ranks have claimed the abundance of physical miracles uniquely among them and around the world. Against such a claim, we have discussed the actual rarity of miracles in both biblical and modern times. 7 Nonetheless, super-supernaturalist Jim Rutz has said: Since about the mid 1980s, a tide of miracles has begun to engulf the entire planet. As time goes on, miracles are multiplying like loaves and fishes. 8 There is obviously a great deal of debate in the Church today about how many claims to miracles among super-supernaturalists are actually true. For those who would suggest Mr. Rutz is exaggerating, Dr. Moreland answers: “One reason people don’t know about these matters is that they do not share miracle stories with others when they experience them.” 9 This would seem to be his best answer to anyone who would doubt the super-supernatural claim that an abundance of miracles are occurring among them. Are all the people who truly experience a miracle from God usually prone to keep it to themselves? Not in our experience. While most would think Mr. Rutz is exaggerating, Dr. Moreland nonetheless has attempted in recent writings to make miracles seem abundant. His primary tactic is to describe supposed miracle after supposed miracle around the world. However, it would seem that in order to share the best stories, he had to repeat three of them in his latest book from previous books. 10 Evidently, there hasn’t been any better stories over the last few years. If amazing miracles are so abundant, why the redundancy? In our opinion, Dr. Moreland, like Mr. Rutz, and all supersupernaturalists, resort to exaggeration in order to support their first tenet: miracles are abundant. For example, after sharing the story of a Muslim man in a remote Muslim country receiving a vision telling him to go to a certain place to hear the Gospel, Dr. Moreland writes, “Supernatural events like these are happening all over the world, but they also happen quite regularly in this country.” 11 We don’t believe so. Along the same lines, John Wimber (1934-1997), founder of the Vineyard Association of Churches, claimed some years before he himself contracted cancer: Today we see hundreds of people healed every month in [our] . . . services. Many more are healed as we pray for them in hospitals. On the streets and in homes. The blind see; the lame walk; the deaf hear. Cancer is disappearing! 12

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Unfortunately, as we demonstrate elsewhere, actual research into Mr. Wimber’s claims prove that he was lying. 13 Because such investigations into the claims of supersupernaturalists have exposed consistent exaggeration, 14 it has become more common to hear predictions of an upcoming outpouring of miracles. Accordingly, Mr. Wimber had said: We are entering a time in history in which the ability to perform mighty deeds is going to become somewhat commonplace. . . . There are already in Korea and Japan religious groups that do not relate to Christ at all who are healing the sick and casting out demons and performing miracles over nature. 15 Likewise, John Arnott of the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church has said: We are currently in a time similar to the ministry of John the Baptist and will soon be coming into a time resembling the ministry of Jesus where powerful signs, wonders, and miracles will take place. 16 The well known super-supernaturalist Benny Hinn is typical when he claims: The day is coming, I tell you this, I know it like I know my name, the day is coming there will not be one sick saint in the body of Christ. Nobody will be, nobody’s gonna be, no one will be raptured up out of a wheelchair. No one will be raptured out of a hospital bed. You’re all gonna be healed before the rapture. 17 Finally, the popular author Dallas Willard has said: [W]e should come to a point that we expect to see the miraculous outbreak of the Kingdom take place as an “ordinary” part of our “extraordinary” Christian lives. 18 A.3) “Christianity is ineffective without an outpouring of miracles” While there is obviously the claim of a current or upcoming outpouring of miracles in super-supernaturalism (tenet 1), there is also the belief that Christianity is rather ineffective without such an outpouring (tenet 2). For example, the Pentecostal NT scholar Gordon Fee equates physical miracles and gifts with experiencing more of the Holy Spirit and claims their necessity when he writes:

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In recapturing the dynamic life of the Spirit there will also be the renewal of the charismata, not for the sake of being charismatic, but for the building up of the people of God for their life together and in the world. . . . I also believe that that perspective . . . must become our own, if we are going to make any difference at all in the so-called post-Christian, post-modern era. 19 One wonders what the leaders of the Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe, or the Great Awakening in 18 th century America, might have to say about such a notion. As we discuss elsewhere, they saw great and real revivals of Christianity and were rather convinced that super-supernaturalism was a demonic distraction, instead of being integral to the effectiveness of the Gospel. 20 Nonetheless, the second principle of supersupernaturalism is that Christians today need to be working miracles like the King did in order to accomplish God’s purposes on Earth. And they’re not talking about the spiritual miracle of regeneration. A.4) “There is something wrong with Christians who are not experiencing miracles” Thirdly, then, inherent in super-supernaturalism is the claim that there is something wrong with Christians and churches that are not experiencing miracles like they supposedly are. There is at least the indirect but clear implication that super-supernaturalists are somehow spiritually superior to others because they are uniquely exercising the faith and virtue necessary to experience more miracles from God in their churches. Along these lines, the popular super-supernaturalist author Jack Deere writes: Apostasy, legalism, and lukewarm faith are serious problems in the church today. These things significantly hinder God’s miraculous ministry among contemporary believers. However, I believe that there is another factor that is a greater hindrance than all three of these put together. I am referring to the present unbelief that is rampant in the church. . . . The surprising thing to me today is not how little God heals among the conservative [i.e. non-super-supernaturalist] evangelical church, but that he heals at all. So much of the church is so filled with unbelief that I am truly amazed that anyone ever gets healed. 21

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The obvious implication is that wherever more miracles are supposedly happening (i.e. the super-supernatural churches), the people there possess more faith and suffer less from, “Apostasy, legalism, and lukewarm faith” and “unbelief” in God. One might be tempted to be offended by such an arrogant statement, particularly when it is absolutely untrue. And in terms of “apostasy” one may conclude from subsequent chapters of KOG that Mr. Deere is pointing his finger in the wrong direction. Nonetheless, the third tenet of super-supernaturalism is clear: the reason miraculous healing is not occurring in the churches to the degree it could is because of something lacking in the Church. The unavoidable conclusion of this is that the reason miraculous gifts have been restored only to super-supernaturalist churches after over 1600 years of absence, 22 is that these churches are superior in Christian virtues to not only churches throughout that long history, but the historicist churches today.

B) The Primary Source of Super-supernaturalism: The “Charismatic” Movement B.1) Defining charismaticism Dr. Packer’s mention of “Charismatic thinking” as synonymous with super-supernaturalism is expected, considering the beliefs, practices, and claims of this movement. In fact, the greatest and most important uniqueness of “Charismatic” churches over other Christian churches is not their love or holiness or evangelistic effectiveness, but merely their claim that God has uniquely restored the miraculous gifts of tongues and healing to them after centuries of their absence. Accordingly, the belief, practice, and promotion of super-supernaturalism are almost exclusively found among “Charismatic” churches. 23 By charismaticism we are referring to the movement that began with the Pentecostals in the early 1900’s, spread into denominational churches in the 1960’s and 70’s, and has merged with what is referred to as the Third Wave (supposedly of the Holy Spirit) churches today. Pentecostal churches include Assembly of God, Church of God, Open Bible, Apostolic, Foursquare Gospel, and Full Gospel. Third Wave churches include Vineyard and a variety of independent congregations. The foremost American personalities in charismaticism include Oral Roberts, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, Kenneth Hagin, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Myers, C. Peter

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Wagner, John Wimber, and Ted Haggard. While there are some differences in the beliefs of these leaders of “charismatic” Christianity, they all hold to the essence of it: the return of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, including healers and tongues, after their absence from the Church for about 1600 years. Wayne Grudem, formerly a Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a “charismatic” himself, concisely summarizes the history and makeup of the debate concerning this issue: Pentecostals refers to any denomination or group that traces its historical origin back to the Pentecostal revival that began in the United States in 1901, and that holds the following doctrines: (1) All the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are intended for today; (2) baptism in the Holy Spirit is an empowering experience subsequent to conversion and should be sought by Christians today; and (3) when baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs, people will speak in tongues as a “sign” that they have received this experience. . . . Charismatic, on the other hand, refers to any groups that trace their historical origin to the Charismatic renewal movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s and that seek to practice all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament (including prophecy, healing, miracles, tongues, interpretation, and distinguishing between spirits). . . . Charismatics by and large have refrained from forming their own denominations, but view themselves as a force for renewal within existing Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. . . . In the 1980’s a third renewal movement arose, a movement called The Third Wave [of the Holy Spirit apparently]. . . . Third Wave people encourage the equipping of all believers to use New Testament spiritual gifts today and say that the proclamation of the gospel should ordinarily be accompanied by “signs, wonders, and miracles” [i.e. “power evangelism”]. . . . Though they believe the gift of tongues exists today, they do not emphasize it to the extent that Pentecostals and Charismatics do [but rather, prophecy has come to the fore]. 24 We thank God for all He has done through the “charismatic” movement, and for the dear Christian brothers and sisters who would claim membership in it. However, often throughout KOG we refrain from referring to this movement as “charismatic,” because this implies a uniqueness and even superiority in Christian grace (charis), and by further implication, a superior possession or experience of the Holy Spirit.

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On the contrary, surely no right-minded “charismatic” would desire to claim such a superiority over their Christian brothers and sisters, especially since they cannot demonstrate one. Biblically speaking, being “led by the Spirit,” experiencing His power, and living “not under law” but by “grace [charis]” is most clearly manifested in the “fruit of the Spirit” which the Apostle Paul describes as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:4, 18, 22-3). “Charismatic” Christians in general are not superior in these virtues of love and holiness compared to other Christians, and these virtues are the real essence of Christian charisma, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit, making all obedient Christians true “charismatics,” not just a particular sect. As we have said, the greatest and most important uniqueness of “charismatic” churches over other Christian churches is not their love, holiness, or evangelistic effectiveness, but rather an emphasis on and practice of: 1) emotional worship, 2) speaking and/or praying in an obscure tongue, 3) claims to direct divine revelation through spiritual gifts such as prophecy, and 4) claims to a greater abundance of miracles in general through the gifts of healing and miracle working. Therefore, throughout KOG we use the terms emotionalism (see chapters 4.8-11), glossaism (Gr. glossa: “tongue,” see Book 12: The Truth About Tongues), prophetism (see Book 9: God’s Prophets), and super-supernaturalism (see chapters 10.14-16) to refer to these distinctives respectively, while recognizing that they may exist elsewhere as well. Accordingly, we believe this allows us to address the areas of concern we have regarding the movement, and avoid speaking critically of the movement as a whole, which has many good, although not unique, attributes as well. Likewise, we refrain from referring to those Christians who would differ from “charismatics” as “non-charismatics,” erroneously implying again that the latter is somehow lacking in grace or Godgiven spiritual gifts. Rather, those who oppose the bizarre worship of emotionalism, the obscure utterances of glossaism, the extrabiblical revelations of prophetism, and the miracle-a-minute mindset of super-supernaturalism are better labeled as historicists. This reflects the fact that for about 1600 years of Church history, the universal belief and practice of God’s people was opposed to all of the uniquenesses that the “charismatic” movement claims today.

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B.2) Charismaticism vs. historicism A recent book on the topic of miracle gifts is entitled Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? The editor Wayne Grudem divides the debate into four camps: 1) cessationist, 2) open but cautious, 3) charismatic/Pentecostal, and 4) Third Wave. As demonstrated above, the differences between the latter two (three) are not worth discussion and both “charismatics,” Pentecostals and Third Wave churches share a super-supernaturalist mindset. The “open but cautious” view is an interesting one. This is Dr. Grudem’s label for those he describes as follows: These people have not been convinced by the cessationist arguments that relegate certain gifts to the first century, but they are not really convinced by the doctrine or practice of those who emphasize such gifts today either. They are open to the possibility of miraculous gifts today, but they are concerned about the possibility of abuses that they have seen in groups that practice these gifts. . . . I suspect it is the position held by the majority of evangelicals today, at least in the United States. 25 Several responses are in order. First, it is unfortunate that the cessationist position has been narrowly defined to “relegate certain gifts to the first century.” It is often also defined as stating that the miraculous gifts could not operate anywhere today. Accordingly, this view has several weaknesses. One, it can be proven that the miraculous gifts such as prophecy and healing extended into the fourth century. Two, nobody should put God in a box, and it should always be admitted that God can do anything He wants. Thirdly, this cessationist position is very politically incorrect in a world where hundreds of millions claim these gifts. We suggest it is because of these weaknesses that many wouldbe cessationists have wanted to label themselves as “open but cautious” or “charismatic with seatbelts.” Such a position cannot be accused of putting God in a box, and it at least seems kinder to super-supernaturalists. In fact, the “open but cautious” group would seem to be a very likely source of potential converts to super-supernaturalism because if super-supernaturalists can just reduce or remove their perceived abuses, this group is supposedly quite open and accepting to the operation of miraculous gifts. And this may be all too true because of a lack of biblical convictions on the matter. In our opinion, the “open but cautious” view is not careful enough to define the biblical purpose of these gifts, suggesting they could return without the need of implementing a new covenant with

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new extra-biblical revelation. Nevertheless, it should be noted that “open but cautious” Christians, churches, and denominations practically operate the same as the cessationists they wish to distance themselves from, because the miraculous gifts do not operate among them either. Our own view is historicism. The characteristics of this view are as follows: 1) The biblical purpose of miraculous gifts such as tongues, prophecy, divine knowledge and wisdom, and healing were to receive and authenticate the New Testament revelation. 2) Accordingly, the attributes of these gifts were truly and undeniably supernatural, and supernaturally authenticated. 3) Accordingly, there is an honest recognition of the historical fact that the early Church testified to the cessation of all of these gifts by the fourth century at precisely the same time as the sufficient recognition, copying, and distribution of the New Testament revelation was completed. 4) Historicism also recognizes the fact that from about 350 to 1950, or about 1600 years of Church history, practitioners of “charismatic” doctrine were virtually universally shunned by orthodox Christians as dangerous heretics. 5) Historicism distinguishes the miraculous gifts from the fact that God is still performing miracles and at rare times providing visions. However, these have nothing to do with the biblical attributes of the Scripture and sign gifts that biblical Apostles and Prophets possessed, and which super-supernaturalists claim today. Consequently, all the categories of super-supernaturalism, and even the “open but cautious” view as well, have a very difficult time explaining why the cessation of these gifts lasted for so many centuries, and have now been restored only to supersupernaturalists. Unfortunately, they almost universally fall back on what appears to us as the arrogant, self-serving, unfounded accusation that churches existing before them were too sinful, bureaucratic, and unbelieving for such miracle working to operate. What they refuse to admit is that God’s purpose for the miraculous gifts was to uniquely authenticate the initial messengers of new divine revelation of the New Covenant and when that revelation was received, recorded, copied, and distributed, these gifts were no longer needed and ended precisely when the Apostle Paul predicted they would 26 and when early Church Fathers claim they did. 27 What super-supernaturalists also refuse to admit, or take seriously enough, is that the modern versions of the miraculous gifts they claim, do not match the attributes of their biblical counterparts. Their “miracle workers” do not heal consistently and

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completely on command, 28 their “tongue speakers” do not miraculously speak foreign human languages, 29 and their “prophets” do not accurately predict the future. 30 And yet supersupernaturalism still wishes to claim the miraculous gifts of the Prophets, Apostles, and the King Himself. This is just one of the many things that we believe is “unbiblical” about the many claims of the modern “charismatic” movement. As mentioned, the central debate between historicism and all the varieties of super-supernaturalism noted above is the question of whether or not miraculous spiritual gifts have been restored to the super-supernaturalist churches, and why they have not been to the historicist churches. As already noted, a recent book regarding our topic is entitled, “Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?” 31 For some, the answer is a simple “No.” Unfortunately, however, such a simple answer is not adequate today for several reasons. B.3) “Perhaps the single most significant development in twentieth-century Christianity” First of all, it would seem that hundreds of millions of people all over the world would strongly disagree with such an answer, being part of one of the fastest growing movements in history. As Pentecostal historian Walter Hollenweger puts it, “from zero to 500 million in less than a century, a growth which is unique in church history.” 32 Regarding this movement, the Dictionary of Christianity in America says: [The] movement has emerged as. In contrast to the stigmatization of early adherents, contemporary charismatics bask in the light of a modern-day success story. . . . No one knows just how large the movement is, nor is there agreement even on who should be included in its ranks. The latest estimates suggest over 30 million adherents in the U.S., with over 450 million worldwide. 33 Likewise, the Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements reports that: By 1990, the Pentecostal churches, together with their spiritual children in the Charismatic Renewal movement, and New Church movements, together formed 23.4 percent of the totality of the world’s church-member Christians, and by far the largest group in Protestant Christianity. 34

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Along the same lines, Harvey Cox, Professor of Religion at Harvard University asks: Why [do] Presbyterians, Methodists, and Episcopalians seem to be losing members—down 20 to 40 percent in the [last] twenty-five years . . . while certain other churches, mainly Pentecostal ones, have doubled or tripled their memberships in the same period? . . . [There are] reports that Pentecostalism [is] growing very quickly in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia. . . . I [have] read some of the amazing statistics, including the estimate that Pentecostal churches are growing at a rate of 20 million new members a year. 35 The New York Times has also noticed what they call “the fastest growing trend within Christianity.” 36 Reporter Walter Goodman goes on to say that this growing trend promotes an “experiential” Christianity that “promises an emotional encounter with God” manifested by “shaking, screaming, fainting, and falling into trances.” Unfortunately, this is a factual and undeniable description of super-supernaturalism.

C) The Seriousness of Super-supernaturalism Therefore, the issues surrounding super-supernaturalism are quite serious. First, the issue involves the correct interpretation of a significant portion of the NT. Interpretations of biblical texts, and opinions on how the Bible is to be interpreted vary so widely between super-supernaturalists and historicists that they are essentially reading two different Bibles. These differences in biblical interpretation are so great that they cannot coexist, and in light of God’s desire that we accurately interpret His word, the issues are more than worth some discussion. This is particularly true when some of the most respected Bible teachers and scholars of our day are increasingly interpreting the Scriptures in favor of a supersupernaturalistic view. 37 Secondly, super-supernaturalists interpretations of both the Bible and their experiences result in not only essentially reading a different Bible, but several vital Christian issues are affected. Is there a “super prayer language” that enables only those who have been blessed with the gift of tongues to communicate with our Father in an additional, and more intimate way, than the rest of God’s children pray? Would God do more miracles in and around our lives if we just expected them more? Are historicist Christians and churches

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missing out on an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Could we be more effective in evangelism if we would embrace super-supernaturalism? These are among the claims of this movement and it becomes obvious that if we truly desire to be in God’s will, and effectively minister in the Church today, we had better have a biblical response to these questions. Thirdly, the beliefs and practices that divide historicists from their super-supernaturalists brothers and sisters are not minor, but major. Accordingly, Robert L. Saucy, Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Talbot School of Theology is right when he shares: Among the many theological issues over which Christians differ, some hinder practical fellowship far more than others, especially those that immediately impact the life of the church. People may live together happily while differing on theological interpretations that do not directly or significantly impact behavior (e.g. eschatology or creation issues). . . . Such is not the case with the topics [concerning supersupernaturalism]. Many of these issues directly affect behavior within the corporate church, making it difficult for people of differing positions to fellowship together. 38 This explains, of course, why so many churches have simply split over this issue. In fact, one could not point to an issue throughout all of American Church history that has divided more churches than disputes over super-supernaturalists doctrine and practices. Along these lines, D. A. Carson, Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School writes: In the whole range of contemporary Christian theology and personal experience, few topics are currently more important than those associated with what is now commonly called “the Charismatic movement.” . . . Whatever their theological commitments, young clergy will wrestle with questions raised by the Charismatic movement as frequently, and in some instances, as painfully as anything else that comes their way. . .. As judged by the Charismatics, non-Charismatics tend to be stodgy traditionalists who do not really believe the Bible and who are not really hungry for the Lord. They are afraid of profound spiritual experience, too proud to give themselves wholeheartedly to God, more concerned for ritual than for reality, and more in love with propositional truth than with the truth incarnate. They are better at writing theological tomes than at evangelism; they are defeatist in outlook, defensive in

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stance, dull in worship, devoid of the Spirit’s power in their personal experience. The non-Charismatics themselves, of course, tend to see things a little differently. The Charismatics, they think, have succumbed to the modern love of “experience,” even at the expense of truth. Charismatics are thought to be profoundly unbiblical. . . . If they are growing numerically, no small part of their strength can be ascribed to their raw triumphalism, their populist elitism, their promise of short cuts to holiness and power. They are better at splitting churches and stealing sheep than they are at evangelism, more accomplished in spiritual one-upmanship before other believers than in faithful, humble service. They are imperialistic in outlook (only they have the “full gospel”), abrasive in stance, uncontrolled in worship, and devoid of any real grasp of the Bible that goes beyond mere proof-texting. Of course, both sides concede that the caricatures I have drawn admit notable exceptions; but the profound suspicions on both sides make genuine dialogue difficult. This is especially painful, indeed embarrassing, in light of the commitment made by most believers on both sides to the Bible’s authority. 39 The most serious elements of the debate between historicists and super-supernaturalists can be summed up in the following two options, one of which must be true: 1) Either historicists Christians and churches have missed out on the biggest outpouring of miraculous power ever in the history of the Church because of their lack of faith and zeal, or 2) super-supernaturalists Christians and churches are guilty of the most divisive and demonic deception that has ever occurred among God’s people. We do not think these are exaggerations. In fact, super-supernaturalist Robert Andrews has essentially admitted the same when he writes: Can we expect spiritual gifts to be operative in the church today as they were in the New Testament, or has God changed the way He relates to His church and through His church to the world? This is no peripheral issue; it strikes at the heart of our ability to fulfill the commission Jesus Christ has given His church to attack the very gates of Hell by discipling the nations. If the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit have indeed ceased to function, those who attempt to exercise them are deceived, and they are wasting their time and energy on a gigantic effort in the flesh which is not only useless to

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accomplish anything of genuine spiritual value, but may even be counter-productive. On the other hand, if spiritual gifts are to be a part of our spiritual arsenal for the accomplishment of the task before us, ignoring them or resisting them severely limits us and removes God-given weaponry from the church. So the question of the present-day legitimacy of spiritual gifts, including the revelatory gifts, is of utmost importance. 40 And all of this explains why this must be a biblical evaluation of super-supernaturalism. The tendency is to discuss these issues in light of our experiences rather than what the Bible says; and it would seem today that the primary difference between historicists and super-supernaturalists has more to do with what they have or have not experienced, rather than with what they have studied in Scripture. Ask a super-supernaturalist brother or sister why they do and believe what they do, and they will most likely begin answering by describing experiences they have had, rather than explaining particular texts of Scripture that produced their convictions. Because of this, it is hoped that anyone reading this section of KOG will set aside their experiences for a moment and take a second, sincere look at what the Scripture says. However, super-supernaturalists are not the only ones who may depend too much on experience. Ask a historicist why he or she doesn’t practice or believe what the super-supernaturalists do, and their answer is also commonly in the realm of experience. Their confidence in their conviction would seem to rest significantly on simply how “weird” and bizarre they think some of the modern super-supernatural phenomena are. Or simply on the fact that they haven’t experienced what their super-supernaturalist brethren have. The question could then be asked that if they did experience super-supernatural phenomena, would they have supersupernatural convictions? Unfortunately, considering how persuasive supernatural experiences can be, and the relative difficulty and complexity of distilling clear biblical teaching on the subject, it is feared that many would. The obvious question at this point then is does the Bible contain a clear and authoritative teaching on these issues? Because if it doesn’t, there is no reason to argue about it. Obviously it will be up to the reader to decide, but it is confidently (although not arrogantly) asserted here that the Bible does give a clear teaching on these issues if one is at least as open to accepting and trusting it, as they are supernatural experiences. It is additionally

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suggested that our super-supernaturalist friends have misinterpreted both the Bible and their experiences. This is obviously a considerable claim considering how many people around the globe share their beliefs and practices, and considering the consequences if those beliefs are wrong. To misinterpret the Scriptures is to be potentially deceived by satan and unavoidably misrepresent God, things that no sincere Christian desires to do. While the issues raised by super-supernaturalism are significant, there are understandable reasons why many may be hesitant to confront them. First, just the overwhelming popularity of supersupernaturalism can make one timid to disagree. Secondly, the issues are complex and not only include the need to accurately interpret the subjective experiences of super-supernaturalists, but also to accurately interpret some of the most difficult passages of Scripture. This explains why godly men have come down on several different sides of the issue. Thirdly, if indeed our super-supernaturalist friends are wrong in their interpretations of both their experiences and these Bible texts, then that is not easy either because some of them are just that, among some of our dearest friends, and the differences understandably strain the friendship. Finally, it is never attractive, nor easy, to critique others, knowing that the weight of your own errors and erroneous beliefs could sink a battleship. No Christian is perfect in their interpretation or practice of Scripture. Although the issues regarding super-supernaturalism are serious, it must be kept in mind that this debate is, for the most part, between authentic believers in Jesus Christ. Regardless of what excesses or errors may be present and practiced among super-supernaturalist brothers and sisters, they are still just that, our brothers and sisters in Christ, saved and forgiven by the same blood as any true Christian. Unfortunately, in a debate such as this, the term “charismatic” or super-supernaturalist can almost become a cuss word. That is not the intention here and these terms must be held in high esteem, reflecting the fact that they often represent true sons and daughters of the King. Any mature Christian knows one must be extremely careful to admit and address the plank of doctrinal error in his or her own life before seeking to address the specks of error that may exist in a fellow Christian’s life. The most important doctrine in Scripture is love, and God would not have it violated in any discussion regarding the other doctrines. Still, there is a time to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), and this and the following chapters is an attempt to do just that.

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Extras & Endnotes Table 10.13: The Four Views of Miraculous Gifts

Historicism

Cessationism

“Open but cautious”

Super-supernaturalism

View

Beliefs Believe: 1) There is a multitude of physical miracles occurring in the world today, 2) Such physical miracles are essential to the effectiveness of Christianity in our world today, and 3) It is because of some moral or spiritual deficiency in particularly Western churches that they are not experiencing miracles like the super-supernaturalists apparently are.

Proponents Pentecostals and “Charismatics” barely beginning in the early 1900’s, but growing rapidly since 1960.

Don’t want to put God in a box and are therefore “open” to God granting miraculous gifts, but are “cautious” because of the abuses of them in supersupernaturalism. However, they are not careful enough to define the biblical purpose of these gifts and they practically operate just like the cessationists that they think are too dogmatic. The gifts were for the purpose of receiving and authenticating the NT revelation and ceased in the first century when the Apostles died.

Perhaps the most common view among “noncharismatic” Evangelicals.

The gifts were for the purpose of receiving and authenticating the NT revelation and ceased in the fourth century when this revelation had been sufficiently recorded, copied, recognized, and distributed.

Knowing Our God

B. B. Warfield, many fundamentalist churches.

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A Devotion to Dad Our Father in Heaven, in charismaticism we fear we are witnessing one of the greatest deceptions to ever afflict Your Church. It is somewhat overwhelming to think about it, incredibly challenging to biblically dissect it, and necessary to do it all in love if we are to please You with not just holding to truth, but grace as well. All of which is why we ask for Your divine help, not only to write accurately on these issues, but to help a multitude of Your people live closer to the truth, experiencing Your grace. Gauging Your Grasp 1) How do we define super-supernaturalism? 2) What are the three basic beliefs of super-supernaturalism? 3) What do we claim is the most important uniquenesses claimed by “charismatic” churches over other Christian churches? 4) What is cessationism? 5) What is the “open but cautious” view? 6) What is historicism? How does it differ from cessationism, and the “open but cautious” view? 7) How recent is super-supernaturalism in Church history? 8) How large is modern super-supernaturalism estimated to be? 9) What are the two monumental options in the debate over supersupernaturalism? 10) What must we keep in mind in this serious debate? Publications & Particulars 1

For examples of modern miracles see esp. chapter 10.2.

2

For further discussion of what we see as miracles see chapter 10.2.

3

Regarding our definition of a miracle see section 10.1.C.

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4

J. I. Packer, Keep in Step With the Spirit (Revell, 1984), 193-4.

5

We distinguish between physical miracles such as the physical healing of the body, and spiritual miracles such as conversion to Christ. The latter is the “greater works” that Jesus promised we would do and is, of course, happening in abundance today. However, it is not this spiritual miracle of conversion that super-supernaturalists are normally speaking of, and claim that physical miracles are abundant as well. For further discussion see section 10.1.D.

6

J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007), 166.

7

For further discussion of the rarity of miracles see section 10.2.B.

8

Quoted by Moreland, 171.

9

Ibid. 161.

10

For redundancy in miracle stories illustrated in Dr. Moreland’s books see In Search of a Confident Faith (Intervarsity, 2008), p. 216, footnote 7, p. 217 footnote 10, p. 219 footnote 24.

11

Moreland, Faith, 153.

12

Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (Hendrickson, 1998), 332.

13

For further discussion of fraud in super-supernaturalists claims see sections 11.7.B.9 and 11.8.E-F.

14

Regarding exaggeration in super-supernaturalism see sections 11.7.B.9 and 11.8.E-F.

15

John Wimber, “Speaking on Paul Cain and the Office of the Prophet,” Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Anaheim, CA, 2-19-89, audiotape.

16

John Arnott, “Moving into Increasing Anointing”, Spread the Fire 1, 3 (May/June 1995).

17

Benny Hinn, “Praise the Lord,” 11-8-90, audiotape. The awkward grammar is not due to mistakes in the quotation, but rather to Hinn’s “unique” style of speech.

18

Quoted by Moreland in Kingdom, 182.

19

Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence (Hendrickson, 1994), 902.

20

For a discussion of the perspective of leaders of the Great Awakening concerning aspects of Charismaticism see section 11.7.B.7.

21

Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan, 1993), 152, 154.

22

It is a historical fact that the early Church, beginning about 300 A. D., universally believed that the miraculous gifts had ceased to function in the Church, and it was not until the mid 1900’s that a significant number of Christians in America believed otherwise. For further discussion of the

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history of miracle working see chapter 11.7. Regarding the history of the gift of tongues see chapter 12.13. 23

However, super-supernaturalism is also among promoters of the “testimony” or “illumination” of the Spirit in which a miracle is being claimed for the proper recognition or interpretation of Scripture. On the contrary, through the initial spiritual miracle of regeneration, the Spirit fixes our human reason, enabling it to conduct the historical and hermeneutical research necessary for these tasks. In general, we must watch for the tendency to expect or claim the miraculous intervention of the Spirit where He is not needed and God has already enabled us to do what He wants us to do. For further discussion see chapters 3.4-5.

24

Wayne Grudem, Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?, Wayne Grudem ed. (Zondervan, 1996), 11.

25

Ibid., 13

26

Regarding Paul’s claim that the miraculous gifts would cease with the completion of the NT revelation see chapter 8.6.

27

For further discussion of the timing and purpose of the cessation of the miraculous gifts see chapter 11.7.

28

For further discussion of how modern versions of the gift of miracle working and healing differ from the biblical variety see chapter 11.1.

29

For further discussion of how modern versions of the gift of tongues differ from the biblical variety see chapters 12.2-5.

30

For an introduction of how modern versions of the gift of prophecy differ from the biblical variety see section 9.1.B.

31

Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?, Wayne Grudem ed. (Zondervan, 1996).

32

Walter J. unavailable.

33

Concise Dictionary of Christianity in America, “Pentecostal Movement,” Daniel Reid, et al., (Intervarsity Press, 1995), 262.

34

Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, Stanley M. Burgess, Gary B. McGee, and Patrick H. Alexander eds. (Zondervan, 1988), 811.

35

Harvey Cox, Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century (Addison-Wesley, 1995), xv.

36

New York Times, Walter Goodman, “About Churches, Souls, and ShowBiz Methods,” (3/16/95, B4).

37

Regarding the modern popularity of super-supernaturalism among Christian scholars see section 10.14.D.

38

Robert L. Saucy in Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?, 144.

Hollenwager,

Pentecostalism

(Hendrickson,

1997),

ref.

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39

D. A. Carson, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14 (Baker Book, 1987), 11-12.

40

Robert Andrews, in Sola Scriptura and Revelatory Gifts, Donald Codling (Sentinel Press, 2005), Preface.

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Chapter 10.14

A History of Supersupernaturalism The Making of a Monumental Delusion

Table of Topics A) The Condemnation of the First Super-supernaturalists: the Montanists B) The Condemnation of Super-supernaturalism for 1600 years of Christianity C) The Modern “Waves” of Super-supernaturalism C.1) The “first wave”: Classic Pentecostalism C.2) The “second wave”: “Charismatic renewal” C.3) The “third wave”: The Vineyard Movement D) The Modern Approval & Popularity of Supersupernaturalism Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  When Christians just as spiritual as any today have virtually universally avoided super-supernaturalism like a spiritual plague for over 1600 years, we should be very slow to significantly differ from them.  The first false teaching popular and serious enough to cause the first synod was Montanism and it was condemned for the very things that are unique to modern super-supernaturalism today.  Pentecostalism in America essentially began on the very first day of the twentieth century, January 1, 1900, when Charles Parham laid his hands on a young women who began to speak gibberish supposed to be Chinese.  Parham’s false teachings, racism, and immorality should cause concern over the roots and fruit of this movement that has swept Christianity.  The “first wave” of super-supernaturalism was an embarrassment to Christians, which is an effect that no real move of the Holy Spirit has ever had in either biblical or Church history.  “Charismatic renewal” has been the most divisive movement in the history of Christianity, causing more local church splits than any other doctrinal issue ever has.  Contrary to super-supernaturalist doctrine, real moves of the Holy Spirit do not offend other Christians because “love . . . is not rude”.  The supposed “third wave” of the Spirit was instigated by a homosexual hypnotist.  The doctrinal retreat and defeat that has occurred regarding super-supernaturalism in only the last one tenth of one percent of Church history is unparalleled in all the history of Christianity  Although the conclusions and biblical arguments of our study in the following chapters might be considered the minority view today, throughout those 1600 years it would have reflected the almost universal view of the most respected Bible teachers.

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A) The Condemnation of the First Supersupernaturalists: the Montanists While today the beliefs, claims, and practices of supersupernaturalism are widely accepted with little concern, throughout Church history they have been denounced and condemned as demonic and heretical deceptions. That does not prove that the same should occur today, but when Christians just as spiritual as any today have virtually universally avoided super-supernaturalism like a spiritual plague for over 1600 years, we should be very slow to significantly differ from them. While elsewhere we go into more detail concerning the history of each miraculous gift in question, here we share a rather brief overview. 1 The first group within Christianity to exhibit supersupernaturalists tendencies were the Montanists, named after a self-proclaimed “prophet” named Montanus. This movement began on the heels of the Apostolic Age around the year 170, spread widely throughout the known world, and persisted into the eighth century. As the standard reference Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature puts it: Montanism, in the first place, sought a forced continuance of the miraculous gifts of the apostolic church which gradually disappeared as Christianity became settled in humanity, and its supernatural principle was naturalized on earth. 2 Likewise, one of the most respected Church historians, Philip Schaff (1819–1893) writes: Montanism . . . was an excessive supernaturalism and puritanism against Gnostic rationalism and Catholic laxity. It is the first example of an earnest and well-meaning, but gloomy and fanatical hyper-Christianity, which, like all hyperspiritualism, is apt to end in the flesh. Scenes took place similar to those under the preaching of the first Quakers, and the glossolalia [tongues speaking] and prophesying in the Irvingite congregations. The frantic movement soon far exceeded the intention of its authors, spread to Rome and North Africa, and threw the whole church into commotion. 3 Because the Montanists believed themselves to be the special recipients of a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit Dr. Schaff adds that they: called themselves the pneumatics, or the spiritual church, in distinction from the psychical (or carnal) . . . church. . . . They put a great gulf between [themselves as] the true

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spiritual Christians and the merely psychical; and this induced spiritual pride and false pietism. 4 Along the same lines, the well-known Presbyterian theologian Donald Bloesch writes: The Montanists heralded the new age of the Spirit and the fulfillment of Christian baptism in a baptism of the Spirit. They were eager to reclaim the charismatic gifts, including prophecy and speaking in other tongues (glossolalia). . . . The Montanists saw themselves as the illuminati, the specially enlightened. 5 There are two remarkable things about the Montanists that directly apply to our current topic. First, their similarities to modern super-supernaturalism are undeniable. They claimed a special reception of the Holy Spirit, practiced a version of the gift of tongues that did not involve miraculously speaking in foreign human languages, and they claimed the gift of prophecy but never predicted the future. Secondly, they were virtually universally judged as dangerous to the sound doctrine and spiritual health of Christians. Accordingly, Kenneth Latourette, former Professor of Church History at Yale relates: The first . . . synod [gathering of early Church leaders] . . . was held to deal with Montanism. The movement was condemned as heretical and its adherents were expelled from the Church and debarred from communion. 6 The very first false teaching that was popular and serious enough to bring the leadership of the early Church together was Montanism and it was condemned for the very things that are unique to modern super-supernaturalism today. While those Christians less than a century after the Apostolic Age condemned and excommunicated the Montanists as dangerous heretics precisely because of their “charismatic” claims, the Church today lauds similar claims as a movement of the Holy Spirit. 7 So we are left to ask again, why has the mood of Evangelical Christianity changed so dramatically on this issue over the last one tenth of one percent of Church history? The simple answer is that during those same 30 years, American Christianity has experienced a significant decline in the pursuit and value of doctrinal purity in general, and has increasingly abandoned Authentic Christianity and defined spiritual success

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B) The Condemnation of Super-supernaturalism for 1600 years of Christianity Super-supernaturalism and its claims to the miraculous gifts of the Spirit occurred sporadically among Christians until around 1900. Without exception, these self-proclaimed “movements of the Spirit” were condemned by the most spiritual, committed, fruitful, and learned Christians of their day. The Jansenists, French Prophets, Shakers, Irvingites, and early Mormons all emphasized precisely what super-supernaturalism emphasizes today, and they were all condemned as unbiblical, dangerous, deceitful, and divisive movements of the flesh, if not the devil. While modern super-supernaturalists can claim that our Christian forefathers were misguided in their reaction to claims to the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, it cannot be denied that for well over the first 1600 years of Christianity, after the Apostolic Age, claims to the miraculous gifts were extremely rare, and when they did arise they were denounced and avoided like a spiritual plague. This, of course, is discussed in much more detail elsewhere in KOG. 8

C) The Modern “Waves” of Super-supernaturalism In the previous chapter, we noted the popular perspective that the twentieth century experienced three distinct “waves of the Holy Spirit” reflected in Pentecostalism in the early 1900’s, “charismatic renewal” in the 1960’s and 70’s, and the “third wave” in the 80’s and 90’s. We would like to suggest that both the roots and much of the fruit of these so-called “waves of the Holy Spirit” have been characteristically unholy. Regardless of how popular supersupernaturalism is today, the nature of its beginnings is an important aspect of evaluating its true nature today. Accordingly, Rick Joyner, a foremost leader of supersupernaturalism today writes: Understanding how true moves of God begin is crucial. . . . Just as the genetic code that determines what a grown man will look like is set at conception, the genetic code of entire movements is usually set even before their birth. 9 Mr. Joyner’s words are self-condemning because, unfortunately, the “genetic code” of the supposed “three waves of the Holy Spirit” has some considerable flaws.

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C.1) The “first wave”: Classic Pentecostalism The twentieth century, of course, marks the beginning of supersupernaturalism in America. Pentecostalism in America essentially began on the very first day of the twentieth century, January 1, 1900, when Charles Parham (1873-1929) laid his hands on a young women who began to speak gibberish supposed to be Chinese. Accordingly, the Pentecostal historian Walter Hollenwager describes Mr. Parham as, “the "inventor" of the doctrine of tongues as the initial, outward sign of the Baptism of the Spirit” 10 While we discuss this incident further elsewhere, it would seem his false teaching concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, grandiose expectations laid upon young college students in his classes, and demonic influences all coalesced to create an atmosphere in which speaking in tongues manifested itself. 11 In addition to Mr. Parham’s ardent belief that speaking in tongues was the evidence that someone had been baptized in the Holy Spirit, he also believed that “one need only receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit and he could go to the farthest corners of the world and preach to the natives in languages unknown to the speaker.” 12 Pentecostal historian Vinson Synan relates that when Mr. Parham’s teaching was put to the test by missionary Alfred Garr in India “it ended in failure.” 13 Mr. Parham was correct, of course, (unlike his glossaist contemporaries) to claim that the biblical gift of tongues was the miraculous ability to speak in foreign human languages just as it had occurred at Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1-12). 14 However, we believe Mr. Parham was wrong to think anyone he knew actually had the gift. In addition, Mr. Parham taught that Anglo-Saxons (whites) were God’s chosen race. 15 Blacks were not allowed to sit in his classes but were forced to sit in a hallway. 16 Mr. Parham was against mixed marriages and felt that there should be a separation of the races at church services. In fact, while contemporary leaders of super-supernaturalism such as Rick Joyner refer to Charles Parham as the “true spiritual father . . . of the modern Pentecostal Movement,” 17 Mr. Synan reveals that Mr. Parham spent “the later years of his life as an avid supporter of the Ku Klux Klan.” 18 One would think this would be a great embarrassment to those within Pentecostal/Charismatic circles today who are spearheading a noble effort to bring whites and blacks together. Finally, because of the many allegations of sexual immorality that surrounded Mr. Parham’s life, and actually being arrested in 1907 for homosexual activity, it is worth noting the remark of respected Church historian Edith Blumhofer that, “Pursued by charges of sexual infraction, Parham was rejected by a large

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percentage of his followers in Texas and increasingly ministered on the peripheries of mainstream Pentecostalism.” 19 Charles Parham is the recognized modern founder of a phenomenon that has swept Christianity in the last century, and his unbiblical teaching regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the gift of tongues, and his racism, and immorality should cause some concern regarding the roots and fruit of this movement. Considering Mr. Parham’s view of blacks, it is remarkable that the next recognized leader of the Pentecostal movement 20 was a “Southern Negro [who was a] short, stocky man, [and] minus one eye,” 21 and who Mr. Synan says, “was given to dreams and visions.” 22 His name was William Seymour (1870-1922), a student of Mr. Parham’s (although one of the black “hallway” students). Although William Seymour understandably took offense at Charles Parham’s bigotry, he wholeheartedly embraced his idea that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was solely evidenced by speaking in tongues. In the early years of the 1900’s Mr. Seymour moved to Los Angeles and began meetings that would prove to be a watershed event in super-supernaturalism. Hank Hanegraaff, the well known head of the Christian Research Institute and a member of charismaticism himself, writes in his very important book, Counterfeit Revival: On April 18, 1906, subscribers to the Los Angeles Times were startled by the headline “Weird Babel of Tongues.” The article proclaimed: “New Sect of Fanatics Is Breaking Loose; Wild Scene Last Night on Azusa Street; Gurgle of Wordless Talk.” . . . The notoriety only served to fan the flame. As news spread, people from across America headed to Azusa Street to “catch the fire.” The endtime restoration of Pentecostal power proved to be so compelling that Christians and cultists alike suspended their meetings and headed to 312 Azusa Street. Together they engaged in the “jerks” . . . It wasn’t long before “spiritualists and mediums from the numerous occult societies of Los Angeles began to attend and to contribute their seances and trances to the services.” In time things got so out of hand that “Seymour wrote Parham for advice on how to handle ‘the spirits’ and begged him to come to Los Angeles to take over supervision of the revival.” When Parham arrived, he was outraged at the spiritual pandemonium he encountered. He forcefully denounced the “hypnotists and spiritualists [occult mediums] who seemed to have taken over the services.”

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While Seymour was sympathetic to Parham’s concerns, he refused correction, and the two pillars of Pentecostalism suffered an irreparable falling out. Seymour barred Parham from ever preaching at Azusa Street again. Parham, in turn, denounced Seymour as “possessed.” 23 Doesn’t the types of things occurring in these meetings tell us something about the character of their leader, and what he was teaching? Why would occultists feel so comfortable in, and attracted to, Mr. Seymour’s “revival?” We would suggest it was because there was very little authentic Christian spirituality or teaching occurring. In spite of the false doctrine, demonic practices, and virtually universal rejection of authentic Christian leaders in America regarding William Seymour’s ministry, modern supersupernaturalists have made him a hero. Rick Joyner, for example, regards his “remarkable leadership at Azusa” 24 as the key to supposedly giving the Holy Spirit the freedom that He needed in “the recovery of lost truth”: In spite of almost constant pressure from world renowned church leaders, who came from around the globe to impose what they perceived to be needed order and direction on the [supposed] revival, for over two years Seymour held the course and allowed the Holy Spirit to move in His own, often mysterious ways. 25 It is amazing how much we are prone to revise history when such revisions can serve to support our present delusions. Mr. Seymour had absolutely no biblical support to claim that his “revival” was of the Holy Spirit. 26 Tongues and emotional worship services are features of demonic religions around the world, and there was little in the first supposed “wave of the Spirit” to prove that it was. Simply put, the first modern super-supernaturalists were not known by anyone as exemplary examples of supernatural virtue, the only real sign of a wave of the Holy Spirit. Essentially, at this point in the history of super-supernaturalism, it was regarded as a non-Christian cult by Evangelicals. Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State, relates in his insightful book, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History that the rise of supersupernaturalism was generally caught up with the rise of American cults such as Christian Science and Mormonism, and widely considered a non-Christian cult itself by the Christian community. Dr. Jenkins relates:

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The 1880’s were an exciting time of growth for the new movements promising spiritual healing, which coalesced into the church of Christian Science and the various schools of New Thought. . . . Mind-cure [like Christian Scientists] continued to attract a powerful and lasting religious polemic because it seemed to be importing into Christianity ideas with strong occult and Asian connotations, misleadingly labeled a rediscovery of an authentic Christian tradition. . . . In their first decades, Holy Rollers [so named because of their habit of rolling on the ground during their worship services], or Pentecostals, were consistently viewed as another classic cult, though they were usually deemed so outrageous and even ludicrous as not to need the detailed refutation offered by scholars. . . . In fact, some Pentecostals did accept heretical and anti-Trinitarian views, but we rarely find their opinions denounced by the theologians [because] . . . Pentecostalism was beneath contempt and chiefly featured in the mainstream media as a source of humor or shock value. If New Thought [i.e. Christian Science] was a modernist fad of the leisured, Pentecostalism seemed a bizarre irruption of preChristian primitivism into the twentieth century. They were the "Noisyrenes." [Nonetheless] the movement did not lack critics . . . the most savage attacks came from evangelicals, unsurprisingly given the . . . sense that Pentecostals were leading believers away from the revealed truth. Evangelicals stressed the faddery of the new movement, all the more so given its origins in the cult wonderland of Los Angeles, "the home of almost numberless creeds." British critics scorned a movement born in America, "the land of wonder-meetings and freak religions." This was no Christian development, but a snare of Satan. . . . Enemies of Pentecostal fervor charged that the movement enticed the faithful to desert reason for a dangerous emotionalism. . . . Pentecostalism was mindless enthusiasm in the old sense of that word. . . . In southern California, the dividing line between the Pentecostals and the New Age sects was never as hard and fast as one might expect. . . . At Azusa Street, evangelist William Seymour was repeatedly troubled by mediums and occultists who used Pentecostal services as a setting for seances, and a visiting preacher was shocked to see "the manifestations of the flesh, spiritualistic controls, [and] saw

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people practicing hypnotism at the altar over candidates seeking the baptism" . . . . The two seemingly incompatible strands of belief, Pentecostal and New Age, were also united by their belief in spiritual healing. . . . Sinclair Lewis remarked that although spiritual healings like Sister Aimee's [McPheerson] would soon become a feature of evangelistic services, they were in the early days more closely associated with Christian Scientists and New Thoughters. Pentecostal sects, like the New Age groups, also had strong female components in their leadership. However little it superficially resembles New Thought, Pentecostalism was similarly denounced as a vehicle for Oriental and occult influences. 27 However, it was not only the Church which initially denounced super-supernaturalism but, less importantly the press did as well. Accordingly, Dr. Jenkins reports that during this time: Life magazine offered a harrowing photo spread of snakehandling services, with captions describing "cultists" and "hysterical saints." . . . When these . . . believers spoke in tongues, the magazine reported this as "a frenetic gibberish to which the cultists resort." Newsweek similarly portrayed [Pentecostals as] a "weird cult" of "fanatical, jerking, cultists." 28

And we are to believe this was a second Pentecost? Let us note that in the real Pentecost the gift of tongues was readily recognized by unbelievers as a miracle from God (cf. Acts 2:1-12), whereas in this supposed Pentecost, it is recognized only as “frenetic gibberish.” Accordingly, the leaders, doctrines, and practices of the “first wave” of super-supernaturalism was an embarrassment to Christians, which is an effect that no real move of the Holy Spirit has ever had in either biblical or Church history. Authentic movements of the Holy Spirit do not, and never have, alarmed or embarrassed authentic Christians. But that was precisely the foremost effect of the “first wave” of super-supernaturalism in America, which certainly suggests a defective “genetic code” indeed.

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C.2) The “second wave”: “Charismatic renewal” Regarding what would be considered the “second wave” of this supposed modern outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Hank Hanegraaff relates: Most historians point to April 3, 1960, as the official birthdate of the charismatic movement. On this Sunday Father Dennis Bennett (1917-1991), an Episcopal priest, publicly announced to his parishioners that he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. . . . By 1963 the topic of tongues had become a common subject of conversation in Christian circles. [In an article in Eternity magazine] a Lutheran [charismatic] Pastor [referred to charismatic phenomenon] as ‘charismatic renewal,’ the first time this designation was used in a definitive manner. . . . This new designation reflected definitive distinctions between the [supposed] first and second waves of the Spirit. In the first wave, tongues were typically considered the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the second, tongues were thought to be an evidence. Furthermore, while it had been common for first wave leaders to encourage their devotees to become denominational Pentecostals, prominent second wave leaders urged followers to remain in their denominations and effect change from within. They were convinced that only through the restoration of charismatic gifts would there be hope for global revival. . . . Todd Hunter [national coordinator of the Association of Vineyard Churches] believes that the second wave crested in 1977 at a hugely successful interdenominational charismatic conference in Kansas City. After that the charismatic renewal was “forever divided” and began “to lose its steam.” 29 A prominent feature of “charismatic renewal” was its beginnings and spread in essentially spiritually dead mainline denominational churches, including to a great extent Roman Catholic churches, in which sound doctrinal teaching from Scripture had been abandoned and even the Gospel unheard of. Nor did “charismatic renewal” begin with sound doctrinal teaching or the preaching of the Gospel in these relatively dead churches. And again, the fruits of this supposed outpouring of the Holy Spirit were never known to be exceptional holiness or love, but in fact, the opposite. “Charismatic renewal” turned out to be the most divisive movement in the history of Christianity, causing more local church splits than any other doctrinal issue ever has. Not only did

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thousands of churches experience people being torn from their membership by super-supernatural doctrines and practices, but no religious movement has experienced more splits among themselves than this one. For example, if one were to compare the number of church splits among Baptist since 1960, with those occurring in supersupernaturalists churches, everyone knows that the splits in the latter far exceed those in the former. It is no joke that one of the reasons for the growth in the number of super-supernatural churches is because of the selfish, proud, destructive divisions that have occurred among them. Accordingly, charismatic historian Richard Quebedeaux admitted that wherever this so-called move of the Holy Spirit occurred, Christians, “were profoundly disturbed by the confusion and division that seemed to attend the appearance of Neo-Pentecostalism in their denominations.” 30 Likewise, Dr. Paul G. Hiebert, former Distinguished Professor of Mission and Anthropology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School has written: Unfortunately, divisions frequently occur when renewal takes place. This is true also in the Charismatic Movement, which, particularly in third world countries, has been characterized by divisions and sectarianism. 31 What divisive authentic spiritual renewal could Dr. Hiebert possibly have in mind? The first century awakening divided believers from unbelievers. This was the essence of the division that occurred in the Protestant Reformation as well. The foremost and most respected leaders of the Great Awakening in the eighteenth century were unanimous that it was the spiritual fakes and super-supernaturalists that caused confusion and division among believers, not the movements of the Holy Spirit. Along these lines, an article appeared in Christianity Today in 1975 that told the following story: J. Grant Shank, Jr., writing in Christianity Today described the arrival and departure from his church of a group of a dozen tongue-speakers. Grant Shank, pastor of a Nazarene church (a group that maintains second blessing and Arminian teaching) gave these friends a warm welcome. There were smiles all round, hand-shakes and the familiar expression, much repeated, ‘praise the Lord!’ After several months, relates Shank, it was obvious that these newcomers regarded themselves as spiritually superior with a ‘know-it-all’ attitude giving the impression that the nonglossolalia [tongues] members had not ‘arrived’ spiritually speaking. This seemed to blind them to the fact that there

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were serious deficiencies in their own lives in the area of disciplined living. . . . [P]astor Shank . . . was deeply grieved. He noted that I Corinthians 12 teaches unity and that whatever brings disunity is not to be tolerated. He could see a split coming in his church and after doing his best to offer a basis of cordiality and understanding with the tongue-speakers he was compelled to admit defeat. He had hoped that the additions would be a blessing to the assembly and result in soul-winning but he came reluctantly to the firm conclusion that the tongue-speakers ‘did not have the Holy Spirit.’ They were possessed with a counterfeit, a fake. They were living on an ego trip, a manufactured religious ‘High.’ The daily lives of these people did not match their witness, and so they hurt him, the congregation, and their own testimony as well as the cause of Jesus Christ. The tongue-speakers left for another church but pastor Shank has noted that these people become ‘church hoppers’ and when they move on they do not hesitate to take people with them and when they have left ‘they criticise with barbed speech persons in the previous church.’ 32 This story reflects the experiences of a multitude of congregations during the so-called “charismatic renewal” in the 1960’s and 70’s. Instead of bringing a blessing of unity, humility, and peace among Christians, which any real movement of the Holy Spirit will do, the most prominent feature of this movement was that a multitude of Christians and churches experienced the painful destruction of their relationships with one another. This is rather alarming considering the fact that, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Cor 14:33). Such things smell demonic, not divine. The “the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3) will automatically occur when the Holy Spirit is truly operating within and among Christians. Relational upheaval and turmoil among God’s people are the works of another spirit. Contrary to super-supernaturalist doctrine, real moves of the Holy Spirit do not offend other Christians because “love . . . is not rude” (1 Cor 13:5) and the “in your face” antics and claims of the “second wave” of super-supernaturalism in America had just that feel. Instead of earning the respect of their Christian peers by their virtue, they repelled them by their arrogance, weirdness, and unbiblical doctrines and practices, and no super-supernaturalist can point to any other authentic movement of the Holy Spirit that affected authentic Christians the way super-supernaturalism has.

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Of course, super-supernaturalist claim that the many divisions that occurred during this supposed “wave of the Spirit” were a result of the Church’s unwillingness to welcome a new move of God. In reality, “charismatic renewal” was introducing and promoting Montanist interpretations of Scripture and experience that had been rather universally condemned as heretical, dangerous, and even demonic by the godliest people in the Church for over 1600 years. For all of these reasons, the virtual universal response to “charismatic renewal” by Evangelical Christians was rejection, warning, and condemnation. The foremost teachers of Evangelicalism in that day biblically debunked and denounced it, including Anthony Hoekema (What About Speaking in Tongues?, 1966), Robert G. Gromacki (The Modern Tongues Movement, 1967), Merrill F. Unger (New Testament Teaching on Tongues, 1971), Francis Schaeffer (The New Super-spirituality, 1972), Joseph Dillow (Speaking in Tongues, 1975), Douglas Judisch (An Evaluation of Claims to the Charismatic Gifts, 1978), and Richard B. Gaffin (Perspectives on Pentecost, 1979), and a number of scholarly articles in such respected journals as the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Bibliotheca Sacra, Westminster Theological Journal, and Grace Theological Journal. Therefore, while “charismatic renewal” found open doors in theologically liberal, non-Evangelical denominations, it was essentially rejected by Evangelical Christianity until the 1980’s. C.3) The “third wave”: The Vineyard Movement Many believe that super-supernaturalism would have remained in those liberal non-Evangelical denominations, and eventually died out, except the deception found another open door through the relatively liberal Fuller Theological Seminary and John Wimber (1934-1997). Accordingly, the charismatic scholar Hank Hanegraaff continues in his Counterfeit Revival: Just as the “charismatic renewal is beginning to peter out” something “dramatic happened.” Along came a man named John Wimber who, according to such church growth leaders as Peter Wagner, “spawned the third wave—the third wave of the Holy Spirit in this century.” [As if the Spirit has only, or mostly, been active only in modern super-supernaturalism?]. . .. While the first and second waves had restored such supernatural gifts as tongues and healing, the third wave would restore super Apostles and Prophets. Counterfeit Revival leader Jack Deere says that with the third wave would

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come endtime Apostles and Prophets who would “do greater works than the Apostles, than Jesus, or any of the Old Testament Prophets.” Paul Cain, whom Deere believes to be one of these endtime Prophets, says that the emerging third wave will “contain the good [?] of all previous moves and much more. . . . [Cain says] When God “releases His mighty wave it’s going to engulf everybody. . . . Something’s going to come so strong to you that you won’t even know that there be any baptism of the Holy Ghost compared to the enormous baptism you’re about to receive.” 33 We are still waiting for this false prophet’s predictions to come true. The premier leader of the “third wave” is, no doubt, John Wimber. 34 Erwin Lutzer, longtime teacher at the Moody Bible Church writes of Mr. Wimber: The late John Wimber, who founded the Vineyard Movement, said that the two most important miracles for impressing unbelievers are "falling [being “slain”] in the power of the Spirit and filling teeth." Some of the Vineyard Prophets actually claim to "smell God" when those seeking healing come to them as the walls of their offices dissolve and they see visions of the person's past. Clouds with dollar signs appear over the heads of people in an auditorium who have financial problems. John Armstrong is quite correct when he writes, "Advance courses in healing are offered, as though it were training in the magical arts." Such an approach blends nicely with the superstition, magic, and spiritual dimensions of the New Age Movement. No wonder Wimber actually defended the practice of employing medieval relics in healing. "In the Catholic Church for over a 1,200-year period people were healed as a result of touching the relics of the saints. We Protestants have difficulty with that . . . but we healers shouldn't, because there is nothing theologically out of line with that." 35 Nonetheless, Mr. Wimber wanted to be considered a consistent Evangelical, which one has to wonder about when he said, “I identify myself as a ‘conservative evangelical’ in my theology. I identify myself as something other than that in my practice.” 36 Mr. Wimber’s apparent looseness with the Scriptures may be further demonstrated by his response to an earthquake that hit southern California on December 3, 1988. He believed it to be a prophetic omen and:

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[Wimber] concluded that the interpretation of this omen would be found in Jeremiah 33:8 [because the earthquake had hit at 3:38 A.M.]. Wimber explained that “near judgment” had “come on the Vineyard as a result of immorality in the ranks.” . . . . But God’s promise through Jeremiah 33:8 was “I will cleanse them—the Vineyard—from all the sin that they have committed against Me” . . . . As Wimber went on to say, God Himself appeared to [Paul] Cain and told him that since the sins of Vineyard leaders had been forgiven, “I [Wimber] was the man that he [Paul Cain] had been looking for [the “endtime Apostle”] and . . . we were the people [the Vineyard Association of Churches] and this is the movement that God wants to endorse and begin this ministry with.” 37 In addition, it would seem that Mr. Wimber had a habit of embellishing the truth (i.e. lying) for his own advantage at times. 38 It is pointed out elsewhere that super-supernaturalist theologian Max Turner admitted the same regarding Mr. Wimber’s claims to the abundance of healing occurring in the Vineyard Churches. 39 Mr. Hanegraaff relates what would appear to be intentional deception on Mr. Wimber’s part in his own description of how the “third wave” of super-supernaturalism began: It was Mother’s Day 1979, and all hell broke loose. John Wimber had invited a young evangelist to speak during the evening service at his church. He says the “power encounter” that took place that night was “similar to the one described at Pentecost.” . . . Here’s Wimber’s recollection of that unforgettable evening: I had invited a young man to speak at the evening service of the church at which I had only recently become pastor, what would later become the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Anaheim, California. . . . I was apprehensive about him, but I sensed God wanted him to speak nevertheless. He had been used by God to lead Christians into a refreshing experience of the Holy Spirit, and it was obvious to me that the congregation needed spiritual renewal. . . . That evening he gave his testimony, a powerful story of God’s grace. As he spoke, I relaxed. Nothing strange here I thought. Then he did something that I had never seen done in a church gathering. He finished his talk and said, “Well, that’s my testimony. Now the church has been offending the Holy Spirit a long time and it’s quenched. So we are going to invite it to come and minister.” We all waited. The air became thick with anticipation—and anxiety. Then he said,

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“Holy Spirit, come.” And it [it? As if it is a power, not a Person?] did! (I must remind you that we were not a “Pentecostal” church with experience or understanding of the sorts of things that began to happen. What happened could not have been learned behavior.) People fell to the floor. Others, who did not believe in tongues, loudly spoke in tongues. The speaker roamed among the crowd, praying for people, who then immediately fell over with the Holy Spirit resting on them. I was aghast! All I could think throughout the experience was “Oh, God, get me out of here.” In the aftermath, we lost church members and my staff was extremely upset. That night I could not sleep. Instead, I spent the evening reading Scripture, looking for the verse, “Holy Spirit, come.” I never found it. By 4:30 in the morning I was more upset than I was earlier at the meeting. . . . I . . . found a box of books about revivals and revivalists and began to read them. By 6:00 I had found at least ten examples of similar phenomena in church history . . . 40 First, we will see below that Mr. Wimber is flat out lying about his church not having “’Pentecostal’ . . . experience or understanding.” Secondly, what in Scripture or Church history would lead us to think that losing church members and making pastoral staff “extremely upset” is a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work? Finally, whatever “examples of similar phenomena in church history” that Mr. Wimber found, none of them were considered by contemporaries as evidences of the Holy Spirit’s work. This we demonstrate at length elsewhere. 41 Carol Wimber describes this same event as the “watershed experience that launched us into what today is called power evangelism . . . [although] she disagreed with her husband on the date (John says it was 1979, Carol says it was 1981).” 42 Much of Carol’s rendition significantly differs from John’s, but she concurs that it seemed the Holy Spirit had visited them. She adds: One fellow, Tim, started bouncing. His arms flung out and he fell over, but one of his hands accidentally hit a mike stand and he took it down with him. . . . The majority of young people were shaking and falling over. At one point it looked like a battlefield scene-bodies everywhere, people weeping, wailing, and speaking in tongues, much shouting and loud behavior. . . . Some members of our staff were fearful and angry. Several people got up and walked out, never to be seen again-at least

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they were not seen by us. But I knew that God was visiting us. I was so thrilled, because I had been praying for power for so long.... I got up and started stepping over bodies and putting my hand next to them. I could feel the power, like heat or electricity, radiating off of their bodies. I asked one boy who was on the floor, "What's happening to you right now?" He said, "It's like electricity. I can't move!" I was amazed by the effect of God's power on the human body. I suppose I thought that it would all be an inward work, such as conviction or repentance. I never imagined there would be strong physical manifestations. 43 This is the “watershed experience” that launched the supposed “third wave of the Holy Spirit.” Only one question needs to be answered. Where in Scripture is the power of the Holy Spirit manifested in “bouncing,” “shaking and falling over,” “heat or electricity radiating off of bodies,” or paralysis? As we discuss elsewhere, these mindless antics have no biblical support whatsoever, and if they were not faked or of the flesh then they were demonic. 44 Many have tried to claim some sort of supernatural authentication of the foundational event of the “third wave” by telling the following story that Carol Wimber shares: By 5 A.M. John was desperate. He cried out to God, “Lord, if this is you, please tell me.” A moment later the phone rang and a pastor friend of ours from Denver, Colorado, was on the line. “John,” he said, “I’m sorry I’m calling so early, but I have something really strange to tell you. I don’t know what it means, but God wants me to say, ‘It’s me, John.” That was all John needed. He didn’t have to understand the trembling or why everything happened as it did. 45 As we will see, this too was a fabrication of the Wimber’s. After relating the version of the events as told by charismatic leader John White in his book, When the Spirit Comes with Power, the charismatic author Hanegraaff concludes: What John Wimber portrayed as a “power encounter similar to the one described at Pentecost” is in fact founded on fantasies and fabrications. First, even a cursory examination of the three preceding accounts reveals broad ranging discrepancies. . . . Second, John Wimber says he could not find any scriptural basis for what happened Mother’s Day 1979. He determined the devastation to be divine rather than demonic on the basis of a phone call that portended to be a message from God. The

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conditions and content of the call, however, are a matter of serious dispute. The caller, Tom Stipe, says the story that “he had been awakened early, with the impression that God wanted him to give Wimber a three-word message” and that he had “no idea what the message would mean” is patently false. . . . Only after Wimber had told him about the events that had transpired did he offer any encouragement or support. . . . Third, after spending several years studying historical revivals and revivalists, I find it hard to believe that Wimber could have objectively researched and reviewed “at least ten examples of similar phenomena: . . . all between 4:30 and 6:00 A.M. Fourth, Wimber says what happened . . . was “something that I had never seen done in a church gathering.” He claims he was so “aghast” at seeing people fall to the floor and loudly speak in tongues.” In truth, however, he had seen all this and much, much more before. More to the point, he had done it all before. In 1978 for example, the year before “the evangelist” came to his church, he graphically portrays not only being slain in the spirit but slaying others in the spirit as well. . . . Fifth, Wimber says that what happened . . . “could not have been learned behavior.”. . . however . . . both he and his congregation had long before experienced the slain in the spirit phenomenon. . . . His wife in fact wrote that in early April of 1978 "John went around the room praying for us, and an incredible power was released from his hands. He touched the people and they fell over. To John it was as though spiritual power came from his hands like electricity." Sixth, in a 1981 message titled “Spiritual Phenomenon: Slain in the Spirit—Part 3,” Wimber says, “in my life the Holy Spirit has never knocked me down. . . . I’m very open to it, but it’s not something God has done for me or to me.” Yet, as we have seen [in other quotations Hanegraaff provides], he previously claimed to have been knocked down both publicly and privately. 46 And as for the man who came and initiated the whole bizarre affair that night, his name was Lonnie Frisbee, and as Hanegraaff succinctly puts it, he “was a hypnotist struggling with homosexuality. In 1995 he died of AIDS.” 47 Accordingly, before Mr. Frisbee’s supposed Christian “conversion,” he was known to have been a practicing hypnotist who dabbled in the Occult. 48 And as one of Mr. Frisbee’s biographers put it, “Lonnie's homosexuality

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was documented as a bit of an open secret in the church community and he would "party" on Saturday night then preach Sunday morning.” 49 Sadly, Mr. Frisbee was divorced from his wife because his super-supernaturalist pastor had an affair with Mrs. Frisbee. Mr. Wimber was in no way alarmed by Mr. Frisbee’s antics, but began traveling the world with him, both claiming to perform many healings and miracles for people. Accordingly, Mr. “Frisbee was integral to the development of what would become Mr. Wimber’s ‘Signs and Wonders’ theology.” 50 Lonnie Frisbee, the claimed instigator of the “third wave of the Spirit” is just one more example of the unholy root of this movement. If John Wimber truly believed that the “power encounter” of that night “was similar to the one described at Pentecost,” then he was unfortunately deceived. More than that, it would seem he had lied about the foundational event of supposedly the “third wave” of the Holy Spirit, and it was anything but holy. Supernatural, perhaps, but not holy. Let us note here that the men mentioned above are the foremost influencers of super-supernaturalism in the past and today. We have not simply picked out obscure individuals with shady credentials in order to discredit the movement. On the contrary, every one of them is portrayed as a spiritual hero in super-supernatural literature. So then, what is the original and current “genetic code” of modern super-supernaturalism in America? A popular but heretical movement in the second century that was excommunicated from orthodox Christianity, a racist Ku Klux Klan member arrested for homosexual behavior, a revivalist who attracted occultists, the most divisive movement among Christians ever, another homosexual with hypnotic powers, a habitual liar (we’re sorry, there seems to be no other word for it), who believed God caused an earthquake just to communicate to his church that they were God’s chosen leaders of revival, and he was the “endtime Apostle.” Does it surprise us then that for over 1600 years godly people had condemned whatever super-supernaturalism occurred among them? Which says a lot about a Church today who embraces it.

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D) The Modern Approval & Popularity of Supersupernaturalism We have already noted the historical fact that Christians have universally condemned super-supernatural doctrines, practices, and claims as demonic heresies since Montanism in 170 A.D., through the Middle Ages and Protestant Reformation, and into the early 1900’s. Accordingly, the Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, published just before the outbreak of Pentecostal phenomena in America, and considered a premier reference for the Christian scholar for decades, notes under the heading of “Spiritual Gifts”: It is the prevailing view that the charisms, some of them at least, as those of miracles and tongues, belong not essentially and permanently to the Church, but were merely a temporary adventitious efflorescence of the apostolic period. . . and afterwards disappeared from history, giving place to the regular and natural kind of moral and religious activity. 51 Today, however, the very same things are widely considered the foremost evidence of the Holy Spirit’s operation. Such a phenomenal change in popular opinion regarding a doctrinal issue is unparalleled in all the history of Christianity. Super-supernaturalist theologian Max Turner partially illustrates this unprecedented reversal when he writes: In September 1909, some fifty-six leaders of the Gnadau Alliance (the Pietist-Holiness current in German evangelical Protestantism) published the infamous ‘Berlin Declaration,’ which essentially maintained that the Pentecostal Movement was ‘not from on high, but from below,’ and that demons were at work in it. Amongst the reasons for branding it so were the curious manifestations (notably tongues), and the (alleged) propensity for prophecy to replace obedience to the word of God. By 1990, the Pentecostal churches, together with their spiritual children in the Charismatic Renewal movement, and New Church movements, together formed 23.4 percent of the totality of the world’s church-member Christians (and by far the largest group in Protestant Christianity). The Pentecostal denominations are now respected members of broader evangelical alliances, and the Charismatic streams within the traditional denominations are similarly regarded. The earlier demonizing interpretation of the movement would receive little, if any, assent, except in the more bigoted extremes. 52

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Dr. Turner’s snapshot of the history of the debate regarding modern super-supernaturalism is revealing. Although for the most part looked upon with dread and dismay by Evangelicals throughout its first 70 years of existence, in the last 30 years, the movement has gained such popularity that Turner can say that the earlier critiques [and even today’s] were merely “bigoted extremes.” Likewise, Assemblies of God seminary professor Douglas Oss writes: The shift in the evangelical community with regard to miraculous gifts reached dramatic proportions by the late 1980’s. . . . Although there were inklings during the previous two decades, many Pentecostals did not realize just how pervasive a shift it would prove to be. Even with the earlier publication of influential works such as Wayne Grudem’s books on prophecy and D. A. Carson’s Showing the Spirit, or developments such as Jack Deere’s departure from Dallas Theological Seminary because of his own spiritual and theological paradigm shift (detailed in his published testimony, Surprised By the Power of the Spirit), many Pentecostals were surprised at the extent of the change. With historical positions less entrenched, the realization dawned within most sectors of the Pentecostal community that there would now be increased opportunities for dialogue with noncharismatic evangelicals. 53 While in the 1960’s and 70’s one could find a number of scholarly evaluations of super-supernatural doctrines, practices, and phenomena, by the 1990’s such writing was virtually absent from American Christianity. For example, illustrating the mainstream and relatively very recent acceptance of super-supernaturalism, the well known Baptist theologian Millard Erickson, would seem to abandon his usual candor and thoroughness on difficult doctrinal issues when it comes to this one. In his popular Christian Theology he devotes less than eight pages to the whole topic of “Miraculous Gifts” (as opposed to Grudem’s three substantial chapters). And worse than really not saying anything, what Dr. Erickson does say seems contradictory and wholly inaccurate. First he writes: Because the issue has a significant effect on the fashion in which one conducts one’s Christian life, and even on the very style or tone of the Christian life, the question [of whether or not the miraculous gifts have been restored to the Church] cannot be simply ignored. 54 Yet that is essentially what he does in his very brief comments on the issue. In just a few sentences he glosses over centuries of

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biblical studies and historical research with general statements that he fails to substantiate such as: In my judgement it is not possible to determine with any certainty whether the contemporary Charismatic phenomena are indeed gifts of the Holy Spirit. 55 And then, to add insult to injury for those who believe the Bible does have something to say regarding the issue, Dr. Erickson makes what would seem a most unfortunate statement: In fact, it may be downright dangerous, in the light of Jesus’ warnings regarding blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, to attribute specific phenomena to demonic activity. 56 In addition to what would seem a gross misapplication of what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, 57 Dr. Erickson ignores the many warnings we are given in the NT that would compel us to carefully evaluate super-supernaturalist claims and “test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Likewise, the respected Presbyterian theologian Donald Bloesch reflects the prevalent confused acceptance of supersupernaturalism when he writes: While people of faith should be encouraged to embark on charismatic ministries, we must never base our confidence and assurance on ecstatic experiences and gifts. 58 Why not? If indeed “charismatic ministries” are of the Holy Spirit and worthy of being encouraged as Dr. Bloesch claims, then we would be in sin to not base a great deal of confidence in them. God is not in the habit of tricking us as such a statement implies. The doctrinal retreat and defeat that has occurred regarding super-supernaturalism in only the last one tenth of one percent of Church history is illustrated as well when the Evangelical Free turned super-supernaturalist pastor Doug Bannister writes: Nearly every evangelical pastor I know who was taught the doctrine of cessation [historicism] in seminary has since rejected it. These pastors and I have traveled a path similar to one Dr. John Piper described to his congregation in a series of sermons he was preaching on the miraculous gifts. Dr. Piper is the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and a seminary professor at Bethel Seminary. On February 25, 1990, Dr. Piper preached a sermon titled "Are Signs and Wonders for Today?" He began by holding up two stacks of books. One stack represented the cessation [historicist] tradition, the other stack the view that God still

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gives the miraculous gifts today. After reviewing the arguments from both points of view, he concluded by holding up the cessationist books [and saying] “I find in this tradition virtually every teacher that I've loved and benefited from. . . . I love these men. They are my kind of people. But I don't find their arguments compelling.” 59 This would be a sharp departure from Dr. Piper’s self-professed theological mentor Jonathan Edwards. Unfortunately, his inability to find compelling biblical arguments against super-supernaturalism may be due to the fact that scholarly and biblical evaluations of it haven’t been published since the 1970’s. Likewise, we note the doctrinal journey of the eminent Baptist NT scholar Thomas Schreiner who wrote in 1996: I believe that [super-supernaturalist Jack] Deere’s central thesis is correct. Cessationism [historicism] cannot be sustained through a careful study of the Scriptures. The spiritual gifts are still operative today, and we are exhorted to seek them diligently. Like Deere, I was trained in cessationist circles, and I am extremely grateful for the Biblical training I received. Indeed, I believe that the very exegetical method they taught me led me to renounce cessationism. The text should always be reforming our inherited theology. I still have many questions, because I have not often experienced or seen dramatic manifestations of the spiritual gifts. But I have heard too many reputable accounts from people like Deere to think that my experience is the circumference of reality. Ultimately it is his careful exegesis of the Biblical text that convinces me that he is correct in the major thesis of this book. I am not persuaded by every single argument made in the book. For instance, I am not convinced that the gift of Apostleship is still available today, but it would take too much time in this brief review to interact with that issue. In any case, it does not follow from the cessation of the apostolic office that the rest of the spiritual gifts have ceased. In conclusion, Deere seems to be right when he says that it is experience, not the Biblical text, that has led most people to become cessationists. 60 Yet, for all of Dr. Schreiner’s confidence in the supersupernatural teachings of ones like Jack Deere, just two years later he wrote: In my own personal journey I have not settled upon a “position” on spiritual gifts. I was initially convinced upon

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reading Grudem and Deere, but further reflection has raised some doubts. 61 Indeed, throughout this section of KOG we will argue many reasons to have a lot of doubts about the teachings of Wayne Grudem and Jack Deere. The recent rise of long-condemned super-supernaturalism is also reflected in the fact that in the academic realm of Christian theology, super-supernaturalist teachers have become a significant part, if not a dominating force at many of the most influential and traditionally Evangelical seminaries in the world including Fuller, Gordon-Conwell, Regent, Trinity, and Wheaton. Likewise, the Pentecostal NT scholar Gordon Fee was given the editorship of the influential New International Commentary on the New Testament series, and assigned the volume on 1 Corinthians in which he predictably interprets Paul from a Pentecostal perspective. Accordingly, Sinclair Ferguson, former Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster writes: The cessationist [historicist] position, which once prevailed without serious rival as the accepted orthodoxy in the Reformation churches, is today widely regarded as reactionary and, indeed, as potentially quenching the Spirit. Continuationism or restorationism [i. e. supersupernaturalism] now bids well to become normative evangelical orthodoxy. . . . If this is so, misinterpretation [of both Scripture and super-supernaturalists’ experiences] on a large scale seems to have taken place in the twentieth century. 62 One of the few exceptions during this period is respected Bible teacher John MacArthur, reflected in his book, The Charismatics: A Doctrinal Perspective, published in 1978 and then updated and reprinted in 1992 as Charismatic Chaos. In it Dr. MacArthur addresses the topic in his characteristic “swimming against the tide” manner. Although some may not like Dr. MacArthur’s style, and even all of his opinions, one reason for his popularity, at least among laymen, is his willingness to call a spade a spade when it comes to doctrinal issues. Some have probably justifiably accused Dr. MacArthur of using unnecessarily sensational examples of super-supernaturalist practices, and relying as much on negative super-supernaturalist experiences to prove his point, as he does careful biblical and theological arguments in Charismatic Chaos. However, no one has yet provided a biblically based refutation of his general conclusions.

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Jack Deere’s book, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, written in 1993, certainly is not such a refutation. The glowing reviews by noted Christian leaders and the widespread acceptance of Deere’s super-supernaturalist tract in the Christian community, reflect the current state of affairs on this issue. Subsequently, noted Christian apologist J. P. Moreland claims something that would have been considered heretical for over 1600 years of post-apostolic Christian history: For learning to make progress in Kingdom power, you can't do better than Jack Deere's two books with Zondervan entitled Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (1993) and Surprised by the Voice of God (1996). 63 On the contrary, we believe several subsequent chapters of KOG will demonstrate our fear that Mr. Deere has written two of the most deceptive and doctrinally unsound books ever accepted in Christian circles. Not only does the popularity of Mr. Deere’s books reflect the popularity of super-supernatural phenomena in general, its popularity would seem to expose the doctrinal shallowness of contemporary Christians. The real persuasiveness of Deere’s books are not his “biblical” arguments, which apparently for many Christians would not seem necessary anyway. It is his experiences that invite us to follow his folly. Thankfully, Dr. Thomas Edgar’s book, Satisfied by the Promise of the Spirit (1996) has provided a very biblical, thorough, and convincing refutation of Mr. Deere’s essentially experience based, but admittedly persuasive, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. It would seem that super-supernaturalists possibly recognized that even with the popular, although primarily experiential writings of Mr. Wimber and Mr. Deere, the movement still did not have clear biblical warrant. However, the respected exegetical ability of the Pentecostal NT scholar Dr. Gordon Fee in his First Epistle to the Corinthians (1987), the acceptance of much super-supernatural doctrine by the respected NT scholar D. A. Carson in his Showing the Spirit (1987), 64 and the theological expertise of Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology (1994), have served to give the movement a biblical spin that would seem more than sufficient to convince most Christians. With the continued spectacular growth of super-supernatural churches in the 1990’s, its phenomena have become widely accepted as a biblical, positive, and valuable practice in the Body of Christ. Even among those who would not accept the “biblical” part, it is nonetheless tolerated. For sure, because of the apparent success of super-supernaturalism, tongues speaking, for example,

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is no longer that “crazy aunt in the attic” that they were once at least tempted to be embarrassed about. It is now a badge of honor, and when theologians and exegetes the likes of Fee, Carson, and Grudem write about it in such glowing, persuasive, and “biblical” sounding terms, we can be assured that the phenomenon is not only here to stay, but will continue to separate the Church into the spiritual “haves” and “have nots.” So why has the beliefs and practices of super-supernaturalism become increasingly acceptable to the rest of Evangelical Christianity? Has the Bible changed? Were the best and brightest of the Church wrong about their interpretation of the Bible and super-supernatural claims and experiences for over 1600 years? The answer to all these questions is an affirmative “No.” First of all, the Bible has not changed. Secondly, the vast majority of Bible teachers from 300 A.D. to 1980 taught that the practices and beliefs of super-supernaturalism were unscriptural, misleading, dangerous, and possibly demonic. 65 Although the conclusions and biblical arguments of our study in the following chapters might be considered the minority view today, throughout those 1600 years it would have reflected the almost universal view of the most respected Bible teachers. If one desires to deny that twentieth century charismaticism is the most divisive doctrinal delusion in the history of Christianity, then they need to refute the biblical and historical arguments given for the traditional position on the gift of prophecy in Book 9, on miracle working in Book 11, and on the gift of tongues in Book 12. So we are left to ask again, why has the mood of Evangelical Christianity changed so dramatically on this issue over the last one tenth of one percent of Church history? The simple answer is that during those same 30 years, American Christianity has experienced a significant decline in the pursuit and value of doctrinal purity in general, and has increasingly abandoned Authentic Christianity and defined spiritual success as numerical growth, popularity, crowds, buildings, wealth, dynamic speakers, and spiritual experiences. Super-supernaturalism has excelled in the very things that the rest of American Christianity has pursued, and it would seem that it has therefore become increasingly difficult to critique such overwhelming and apparent “spiritual success.” However, as we argue in the next chapter, that “success” has been greatly exaggerated, just like just about everything else in supersupernaturalism.

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Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Our Father in Heaven, we are reminded today that we have a very real and sinister enemy. Unfortunately he is invisible and we are prone to focus on what we can see, hear, and touch. Oh God, may we not be led to think that the real enemy is our supersupernatural brothers and sisters. Help us to obey the Apostle’s instructions to Timothy: "The Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will" (2 Tim 2:24-26). Let us ponder for a moment what the great deceiver has done. He has led, and continues to lead, multitudes of our siblings into serious, damaging, idolatrous, and unbiblical beliefs and practices. And those beliefs and practices have understandably divided us. And yet, it would seem when we try to tear down that dividing wall, when we try to expose the evil one with the Word of Truth, those same brothers and sisters in Christ are merely offended, and the dividing wall goes higher. And there stands the devil, in the middle, laughing at us all, because both his deception and the division become even greater. Gauging Your Grasp 1) What is the significance of the fact that the most godly Christians virtually universally avoided super-supernaturalism like a spiritual plague for over 1600 years? 2) What was the reason the first synod of the early Church met? What was the result? How does this relate to the modern debate regarding super-supernaturalism? 3) How and when is Pentecostalism considered to have begun in America? What are characteristics of its beginning that make it suspicious of claiming to be a movement of the Holy Spirit?

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4) What was the general response of Evangelical Christianity to early Pentecostalism? Why has it changed so dramatically today? 5) Historically, what was the foremost fruit of the “charismatic renewal” of the 1960’s and 70’s? What does this indicate about the “renewals” source? 6) According to the history of the supposed “third wave” of the Spirit in the Vineyard Church, who was instigator of this movement? What characteristics of this man cause doubt that he led a movement of the Holy Spirit? 7) We claim the doctrinal retreat and defeat that has occurred regarding super-supernaturalism in only the last one tenth of one percent of Church history is unparalleled in all the history of Christianity. Do you agree or disagree and why? 8) We claim that while the conclusions and biblical arguments of our study in the following chapters might be considered the minority view today, throughout those 1600 years it would have reflected the almost universal view of the most respected Bible teachers. What is the significance of this? Why do you think the beliefs and perspectives on charismaticism have changed so quickly and radically? Recommended Reading  Satisfied by the Promise of the Spirit by Thomas R. Edgar, (Kregel, 1996). This is a rare and good biblical critique of many aspects of super-supernaturalism.  Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraaff (Word, 1997). A very well researched expose on super-supernaturalism from someone within the Charismatic movement himself.  The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun, Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway, (Monarch Books, 2002). Relates several believable stories concerning miracles that do not violate biblical teaching on this topic.

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Publications & Particulars 1

For the history of miracle working in the Church see chapter 11.7. For tongues see chapter 12.13.

2

John McClintock and James Strong, “Montanism,” Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature CD-ROM (Ages Software, 2000)

3

Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church Electronic Edition STEP Files (Findex.com, 1999), II:110.

4

Ibid.

5

Donald Bloesch, The Holy Spirit: 88.

6

Kenneth S. Latourette, A History of Christianity (Hendricksen, 1975), 129, 132.

7

For further discussion of the early history of claims to miraculous gifts in the Church see applicable sections of chapter 11.7. Particularly regarding the Montanists see section 9.13.D.

8

For further discussion of the history of claims to miraculous gifts and the Church’s response see chapter 11.7.

9

Rick Joyner, “Azusa Street, The Fire That Could Not Die,” Morning Star Journal, 6, 4 (1996) 62.

Works and Gifts (Intervarsity, 2000),

10

Walter J. Hollenwager, Pentecostalism (Hendrickson, 1997)

11

Regarding the bizarre beginning the modern “tongues” movement see section 12.13.F.

12

Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States (Eerdmans, 1971), 111.

13

Ibid., 103.

14

Regarding the biblical nature of the gift of tongues as a real human language see chapter 12.2.

15

Synan, 101.

16

Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Word, 1997), 126.

17

Rick Joyner, “Azusa Street, The Fire That Could Not Die,” Morning Star Journal, 6, 4 (1996) 63.

18

Synan, 109. Parham’s obvious racism exposes the inexcusable bias in the current Wikipedia entry on him which tries to define him as a segregationists rather than a racist. See http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Charles_Fox_Parham.

19

Edith L. Blumhofer, “The Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and the Apostolic Faith: A Study in the 1906 Pentecostal Revival” in Charismatic Experiences in History, Cecil M. Robeck Jr. ed. (Hendrickson, 1985), 145.

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20

Pentecostal historian Walter Hollenwager writes concerning the founder of Pentecostalism: Two controversies dominate Pentecostal historiography. The first is who is at the root of the modern Pentecostal movement? Is it William Joseph Seymour, the black ecumenist and pioneer from Los Angeles, or is it Charles Fox Parham, the "inventor" of the doctrine of tongues as the initial, outward sign of the Baptism of the Spirit? . . . It is not just a historical but also a theological controversy, for it decides what one considers to be the heart of Pentecostalism. The fact that most printed Pentecostal declarations of faith contain the "initial evidence" doctrine speaks for the second answer. On the other hand, the fact that in many Third World Pentecostal churches (and as of late also in many Western Pentecostal churches) speaking in tongues does not seem that prominent, I and that many Pentecostals have never spoken in tongues, speaks for the first answer. (326) However, considering the fact that Seymour was a disciple of Parham, it is obvious who really deserves credit (or blame) for being the founder of Pentecostalism. It is, of course, obvious why Hollenwager and other Pentecostals would like to distance themselves from Parham’s heretical teachings.

21

Dictionary of Christianity in America, ed. Bruce Shelley, (InterVarsity Press, 1990), 865.

22

Synan, 103.

23

Hanegraaff, 143.

24

Rick Joyner, “Azusa Street, The Fire That Could Not Die,” Morning Star Journal, 6, 4 (1996) 69.

25

Ibid., 62.

26

Regarding the lack of Holy-Spirit virtue in super-supernaturalism see section 5.6.B.

27

Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History (Oxford University Press, 2000), 45, 59, 64-5.

28

Jenkins, 160

29

Hanegraaff, 143-44.

30

Richard Quebedeaux, The New Charismatics: The Origins, Development, and Significance of Neo-Pentecostalism (Doubleday, 1976), 163.

31

Paul Heibert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries (Baker, 1999), 157.

32

Erroll Hulse, “The Charismatic Experience”; online at http://www.thehighway.com/charismatic1_Hulse.html

33

Hanegraaff, 144.

34

Wimber’s most popular books include, Power Healing (HarperOne, 1991) and Power Evangelism (Regal, 2009).

368

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35

Erwin Lutzer, Who Are You to Judge? (Moody, 2002), 214.

36

“John Wimber: Friend or Foe?” reprint from The Briefing (St. Matthias Press, 1990), 19.

37

Hanegraaff, 148-49. 38

Regarding the fraud of John Wimber see section 11.8.F.3

39

See section 11.8.F.3.

40

John Wimber, Power Evangelism (Regal, 2009), 24-25.

41

See section 5.6.B.

42

Carol Wimber, “A Hunger for God,” in Kevin Springer, Power Encounters (Harper & Row, 1988), 12.

43

Hanegraaff, 199-200.

44

Regarding potentially demonic charismatic worship practices see chapters 4.10-11.

45

Hanegraaff, 199-200.

46

Ibid., 202-204.

47

Ibid., 205.

48

The Son Worshipers, 30 minute documentary on the Jesus Movement circa 1971. Edited by Bob Cording and Weldon Hardenbrook.

49

Documented in the movie about Lonnie Frisbee: Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher.

50

“Lonnie Frisbie, /wiki/Lonnie_Frisbee.

51

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Ages Software), “Spiritual Gifts”

52

Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (Hendrickson, 1998), 347; underlining added for emphasis.

53

Douglas Oss, Are Miraculous (Zondervan, 1996), 239-40.

54

Millard Erickson, Christian Theology (Baker, 1998), 894.

55

Ibid., 895-6.

56

Ibid., 896.

57

For further discussion of the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit see section 4.13.C.

58

Donald Bloesch, The Holy Spirit (Intervarsity, 2000), 295.

59

Doug Bannister, The Word and Power Church (Zondervan, 1999), 180.

60

Thomas R. Schreiner, JETS 39:1 (March 1996), p. 152.

Wikipedia,

online

Gifts

for

at

http://en.wikipedia.org

Today?,

Wayne

Grudem

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61

Thomas Schriener, JETS 41:4 (December 1998, p. 654.

62

Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Intervarsity, 1996), 223, 237.

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J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007), 201.

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While Dr. Carson is critical of super-supernatural practice in Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? (Moody, 1992), his promotion of super-supernatural doctrine in Showing the Spirit (Baker, 1987) greatly hinders any critique he might make.

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Chapter 10.15

An Evaluation of Supersupernaturalism The Fruit of a Monumental Delusion

Table of Topics A) A Fake Revival A.1) The general world-wide revival A.2) The rise of cults A.3) The King’s warnings about super-supernaturalism (Matt 7:21-23) A.4) Pushing false doctrines with false miracles A.5) Fake revival A.6) Demonic distraction from real revival A.7) A superior immorality, instead of spirituality: Hinn & Haggard B) A Compromise with Pagan Culture Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  “Today 540 million people claim to be either Pentecostal or charismatic Christians. Does anybody really want to argue that the tremendous explosion of the power church in the late twentieth century is not of God?” Yes, we do.  Super-supernaturalism cannot claim a unique outpouring of the Holy Spirit based on a unique or superior rate of real Christian conversions.  “There is no such thing as a successful or enduring cult: we simply start to call it a church”  Super-supernaturalism is just one more of those “Christian” movements that were initially and accurately recognized as outside of historical Christian orthodoxy and later more widely accepted simply because of time and familiarity.  Jesus warned us that “many” of those who “prophesy,” “cast out demons,” and “perform many miracles” in His Name, the very things promoted in super-supernaturalism, are fakes being deceived and deceiving others.  History and Scripture tell us that it is not popularity, numerical growth, or finances that tell us whether or not a movement is empowered by God.  Real revival is defined as repentance, not exorcisms, mayhem, faintings, and other temporary emotional experiences.  A Church that will not defend its borders from such obvious apostates as homosexuals will hardly be a match for the fakes who perform supernatural deeds in the name of Jesus.  The Church simply does not understand the depth, breadth, power, and danger of demonic deception, and this is demonstrated most clearly by the fact that we embrace many, many, more fakes than we excommunicate.  Instead of super-supernaturalism being at the forefront of real spiritual revival as so many claim, it is possible that it has in fact been one of satan’s most effective tools to distract, dilute, and derail the spiritual revival that has actually taken place in the last few decades,  Jonathan Edwards: “It is by the mixture of counterfeit religion with true, not discerned and distinguished, that the devil has had his greatest advantage against the cause and kingdom of Christ.”

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Primary Points continued  It is private and persevering virtue that most clearly separates the fakes from those who are genuinely empowered with the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, super-supernatural Christianity is generally known for its immorality rather than its holiness.  Such overwhelming greed disqualifies Benny Hinn to even be a minister (cf. 1 Tim 3:3; Tit 1:7; 1 Pet 5:2), let alone a Prophet, and brings even his salvation into grave doubt. If ever there was a candidate for one of the “many” who “prophesy,” “cast out demons,” and “perform many miracles” in the name of Jesus, but in the end will be called a damned “evil doer” by the very one they profess to serve, it is Benny Hinn.  If Benny Hinn is the foremost showman of supersupernaturalism, Ted Haggard was its foremost statesman and became contemporary Evangelicalism’s greatest embarrassment. In one man, Mr. Haggard simultaneously demonstrates the heights to which super-supernaturalism has been embraced, and the moral depths to which its most influential leaders have sunk.  “Is it not amazing that a movement that claims to have restored power for service, ability to communicate with God more than others have, ability for self-edification [through tongues], power to heal and perform other miracles, and ability to prophesy and receive direct revelation, has produced no significant advance in spirituality?”  If super-supernaturalism cannot claim a privileged experience of the Holy Spirit as the reason for its popularity, what other factors may be in play? Essentially, we would suggest that cultural factors, rather than spiritual factors, have been behind any unique growth in the movement.  While authentic Christianity requires the denial of the flesh, super-supernaturalism appeals to this very thing.  For all its claims to a unique & superior experience of the Holy Spirit, super-supernatural Christians are not more spiritual than other Christians.  We do not believe it is coincidence that the Corinthian church was the most “charismatic” congregation in the NT and also the most carnal and spiritually immature.

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A) A Fake Revival A.1) The general world-wide revival All agree that the belief and claims to miraculous spiritual gifts in our generation is incredibly popular. What is not agreed upon is the explanation for this. Of course, super-supernaturalism desires to claim super-supernatural reasons. For example, Dr. Paul Hiebert, formerly Distinguished Professor of Mission and Anthropology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School writes: There are a number of reasons for this rapid growth of [supersupernaturalism]. Certainly foremost among them is the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God's people in fresh ways. 1 Such a claim remains to be confirmed in an evaluation of whether or not super-supernatural doctrines and practices are even biblical, for if they are not, then they certainly are not of the Holy Spirit either. However, super-supernaturalism is much more likely to promote or defend its doctrines and practices with their immense popularity rather than with Scripture. Accordingly, Doug Bannister has very little rigorous biblical argument in his apologetic writing for supersupernaturalism, but writes: Today 540 million people claim to be either Pentecostal or charismatic Christians. Does anybody really want to argue that the tremendous explosion of the power church in the late twentieth century is not of God? 2 Yes, Mr. Bannister, we do. First of all, super-supernaturalism is not in a position to claim a unique outpouring of the Holy Spirit confined to them based on a unique or superior rate of real Christian conversions. We are very grateful for the number of people who have truly come into the Kingdom through super-supernaturalist ministries. But the numbers of salvations in their ranks has not been unique, but rather, has been part of a wave of growth that began in the 1960's and that led to the creation and expansion of many Christian ministries and churches. Church historians recognize that throughout the last half of the twentieth century, Evangelical Christianity in general experienced significant growth in numbers, both in America and throughout the world.

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However, precise statistics on real born-again conversions to Christianity are difficult, if not impossible. As we discuss extensively elsewhere, false faith is much more common and much harder to recognize than most in the Church are willing to believe today. 3 The unbiblical willingness to accept mere professors as genuine Christians unfortunately skews any statistics today on the true growth of Christianity. What then do we make of Pastor Bannister’s claim that, “Evangelicals, watching the explosion of the charismatic movement around the world, are taking seriously a movement that is leading fifty-four thousand people a day to Christ.” 4 First of all, there is absolutely no way Pastor Bannister, or anyone else, can confidently know what he claims. This is the case even if he did the necessary work of monitoring the true, virtuous spiritual fruit of these “converts” over a considerable period of time. Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed and the deception and abilities of false faith demonstrate this. 5 This is especially true when, in general, supersupernaturalism requires so little of someone claiming to be a person born again by the Spirit of God. Accordingly, supersupernaturalist conversion statistics are among the most inflated and suspect. For example, in support of the evangelistic effect of supersupernaturalism J. P. Moreland writes: In 1996, while Thai missionary Lun Poobuanak was conducting a Sunday service for a small band of Christians in a predominantly Buddhist village in Kalasin province, he was interrupted by the village leader. The leader shouted to Lun that because the monsoon rains had not come, their crops were almost ruined, and that if he would ask his God for rain that month, if he answered, all 134 families in the village would become Christians. The believers prayed and fasted for three days. On the fourth day, a cloudburst came that solved the problem, and all 134 families became Christians. 6 Really? Even if the rain was truly a miracle and not a coincidence, there is simply no way that Dr. Moreland can claim all 134 families were born again that day. Has anyone returned since to see how many of them are still following Christ? Since when in Evangelical Christianity would we believe one pagan village leader could speak for the sovereign spiritual conversion of others? And are not the motives of these people for becoming “Christians” at least a little suspect? Which, of course, exposes the danger of all super-supernatural evangelism. Jesus Himself had crowds come to be miraculously fed, but how many of them were really disciples? (cf. John 6:24-66)

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Nonetheless, we will use some statistics from Dr. Moreland who claims: Some estimate that in 1970, there were around 71,000,000 born-again Christians with a vision to reach out to the entire world for Christ. By 2000, there were 707,000,000, roughly 11 percent of the earth's population! 7 Again, no doubt, many of these new conversions have occurred in super-supernatural contexts. Therefore, if pleasing God consisted of nothing more than converting people to Christ, no matter what else was happening, then there would be no reason to critique the movement. But God also values the understanding, preservation, and teaching of “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Our main point here, however, is if indeed supersupernaturalism is experiencing a unique and superior out-pouring of the Holy Spirit as it claims, we would expect a significantly unique and superior amount of born again Christian conversions among them, and there is none. Whatever “wave of the Spirit” that has manifested itself in numerical growth among Christians has not at all been unique to any one Evangelical sect. A.2) The rise of cults The second reason that the popularity of super-supernaturalism does not automatically impress us as a sign of the Holy Spirit is that this argument could just as easily be used by a number of cults that have grown up with super-supernaturalism. Accordingly, just because the Occult is one of the fastest growing spiritual phenomena in California, do we automatically attribute it to the Holy Spirit? Likewise, the NT scholar James White comments: Joseph Smith's religion started with six people in 1830, and today there are twelve million. Mohammed started with no one, and now there are a billion Muslims in the world. Contrast that with Jesus, who had five thousand men listening to Him on one day, and by the end of the next only twelve confused men remained, one of whom He said was a devil. Truth is never determined by numbers or popularity. 8 Along the same lines, the secular historian Philip Jenkins writes in the context of the growth of super-supernaturalism: Other winners from this era were the small sects that evangelicals themselves had long denounced as intolerable cults. According to the National Survey of Religious

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Identification the Jehovah's Witnesses claimed 1.4 million members in the United States by the early 1990’s. . . . Figures for the Latter-Day Saints are more controversial, but at least four million American adherents seems a reasonable estimate, making the Mormon church considerably larger than several of the old so-called [Christian] mainline bodies. . . . The growth of the Latter-Day Saints is very striking; the Mormon rate of growth in its first century and-a-half has exceeded that of early Christianity itself. . . . 9 Dr. Jenkins goes on to make some important observations regarding the relationship between the popularity of a cult and its eventual acceptance by society and even the Church: [S]ince the 1960’s, most of the older fringe religions [he includes Pentecostalism and Mormonism] have seen quite startling surges in membership, to the point where they challenge or actually outnumber many of the respectable [Christian] denominations. There comes a stage when even the deadliest enemies of a so-called cult have to grace it with the name of "church" [because of its popularity]. . . . Some fringe religious movements succeed in becoming mainstream churches or denominations, while others diffuse their ideas through the better established churches and sometimes through society at large. In either case, cults should be seen as the laboratories or proving grounds for religious innovation [here the author reveals his secular bias], out of which can come much creativity, in addition to some harm. . . . Some [cultic] religious traditions have grown rapidly in both numbers and social acceptance in very recent times. . . . A century or so can make all the difference between renegade status and orthodoxy. There is no such thing as a successful or enduring cult: we simply start to call it a church. . . . This sect-church cycle has long been familiar to scholars of religion, who note that the achievement of respectability is by no means an unmixed blessing. In 1902, [humanist psychologist] William James noted how a new movement arises in response to a charismatic impulse, a sense of divine inspiration. 10 Accordingly, we would suggest that super-supernaturalism is just one more of those “Christian” movements that were initially and accurately recognized as outside of historical Christian orthodoxy and later more widely accepted simply because of time and familiarity, not because its unbiblical doctrines had changed.

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A.3) The King’s warning about super-supernaturalism While Christians should resist the persuasive battering ram of the mere popularity of anything, especially in a world ruled by the evil one (cf. 1 John 5:19), the recent change in attitude toward super-supernaturalism suggests many have not. It is simply difficult for mainstream theologians, who are under pressure to sell books and to attract and compete for a limited number of prospective students to come to the seminaries where they are paid, to be overly critical of such a popular movement in the Church. Nonetheless, we should know better. The King specifically warned us of popular, miraculous, fake “Christian” movements when he said: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’ (Matt 7:21-23) Christ’s words tell us both how amazing and horrible the deception surrounding miracles can be. It is amazing in the amount and kind of works and words such deception can produce, and how widespread and deep such self-deception can be. It is horrible because the result of such deception is the judgment of Hell. First, we notice the word “many” suggesting that deception regarding the miraculous will be relatively common. However, this does not refer to “many” out of the whole mass of humanity. Rather, Christ drastically narrowed His focus to a very unique and specific group of people. Here He said there will be “many” selfdeceived and deceiving fakes specifically among those people who claim to “prophesy,” “drive out demons,” and “perform many miracles” all while using the name of Jesus! It is “many” of this kind of people whom Christ will expose as being tragically deceived, and “will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’” Does a focus on these ministries of prophecy, exorcism, and miracles sound familiar? This would seem to be an astounding prophecy of where deception regarding the miraculous would be the most abundant in our own day. For 1600 years of post-apostolic Christian history there were only very few within the Church who would even claim these works, and all who did were considered heretics.

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However, in the last one tenth of one percent of Church history, one of the fastest growing segments of the Church has virtually defined itself with its promotion and prioritization of these very things. It is the very ministries that Christ warns us of here that are the basis for super-supernaturalism’s claim to be unique and even superior to the rest of Christianity. And this is so even though the King pointed out that such things as prophesying, exorcisms, and miracle working, are not synonymous with doing, “the will of My Father Who is in Heaven.” Christ specifically distinguished such “ministries” from doing God’s will, and contrary to the false assumptions of supersupernaturalism you can do all the will of the Father and not do what is vital to super-supernaturalism. Is it not rather chilling that the very things Christ warned us of in a sermon almost two thousand years ago, so accurately and uniquely describe a large segment of the Church today? The very kind of people that super-supernaturalism commonly applauds, is the very kind of people Jesus specifically picked out as very likely to be fakes. Worse than fakes, we point out elsewhere the very likely possibility that Christ was warning the Church of demonically empowered miracle workers in its midst, of which we fear is quite common in super-supernaturalism. 11 While super-supernaturalism celebrates prophets, exorcists, and miracle workers as extraordinary Christians, the King indicated that “many” of them should be excommunicated counterfeits. While super-supernaturalism would claim that modern day prophets, exorcists, and miracle workers are doing the most important spiritual work in the world today, Christ said “many” of this particular kind of person is not even doing “the will of [the] Father,” and are actually “evil doers.” Super-supernaturalism would claim that modern day prophets, exorcists, and miracle workers have an especially intimate relationship with Jesus. However, we believe Jesus will tell “many” of them that He didn’t even know them, and that He wants them out of His sight. While super-supernaturalism often boasts about a superior exercise of “faith,” it is in reality a foremost haven of people with false faith. 12 As we said, such deception regarding the miraculous is so amazing because of its depth. This multitude of so-called prophets, exorcists, and miracle workers that Christ speaks of will actually believe with all their heart that they were serving and glorifying Christ with their ministries, and it will not be until they meet Him that they will discover their deception and resulting sentence to Hell. Their sincerity will not be enough to escape the divine charge of “evil doer.”

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Of course, modern super-supernaturalists would want us to quickly point out that certainly this is not a condemnation of all their prophets, exorcists, and miracle workers. However, as we demonstrate elsewhere, the ministries and attributes of their modern prophets and miracle workers do not meet the biblical qualifications for claiming such gifts from God. 13 Real Prophets from God can and will supernaturally foretell specific future events with perfect accuracy (cf. Deut 18:18-22; Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11, 27-32). Modern so-called prophets don’t, and don’t even claim to try. Likewise, all God-sent miracle workers in the Bible without exception were also God-sent messengers of new extra-biblical divine revelation, authoritative for all people, something else that few so-called miracle workers want to claim today. 14 And casting out demons in the name of Jesus is no real sign of Christianity at all, as the unbelieving sons of Sceva made their living doing this very thing (cf. Acts 19:13-14). 15 And that word “many” should make all of our hearts skip a beat or two. Jesus Christ the Lord, the One Who truly knows the hearts of people, warns us that “many” of those who “prophesy,” “cast out demons,” and “perform many miracles” in His Name are fakes being deceived and deceiving others. The modern Church simply ignores our King’s warning in its approach to supersupernaturalism. Nonetheless, history and Scripture tells us that it is not popularity, numerical growth, or finances that tell us whether or not a movement is empowered by God. In the Bible, Solomon was richly blessed throughout his life while all the while grieving God and sowing the seeds of destruction with his pagan idolatry. Likewise, in the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church had all the things that many think is a sure sign of God’s blessing, but for the most part, it was a religion of “whitewashed tombs” (Matt 23:27). As of today, the Mormon Church is growing as fast as any branch of Christendom in the world, yet we certainly wouldn’t say it is because of God’s blessing. And both the Roman Church then, and Mormon Church now, claim to be ministering in the name of Jesus. Therefore, we are not automatically impressed with the tremendous popularity of super-supernaturalism. According to Jesus, numbers and popularity should make us suspicious, not boastful. In fact, when Jesus reveals the true nature of all that was done in His name, it may be that the very movement that is proud of its prophets, exorcists, and faith healers, will be the very one exposed as among the most deceived and deceiving movements in the history of the Church. What seems now to be the most “successful” and dynamic aspect of Christendom, will be exposed

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sooner or later as perhaps the biggest fraud in the whole history of God’s people. And if the most “successful,” widespread, deceptive, and hollow aspect of Christendom in all of history is appearing in our day, it would seem to be just one more sign that the King will be appearing soon as well. A.4) Pushing false doctrines with false miracles The claims of the miraculous happening in supersupernaturalism will be generally exposed as fraudulent elsewhere. 16 Nonetheless, super-supernaturalist authors use the occurrence of these supposed miracles to support their promotion of false doctrines. Accordingly, we are reminded that the Medieval Roman Catholic Church did the same thing in the face of the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin (1509-1564) responded: Perhaps this false hue could have been more dazzling if Scripture had not warned us concerning the legitimate purpose and use of miracles. For Mark teaches that those signs which attended the apostles' preaching were set forth to confirm it [Mark 16:20]. In like manner, Luke relates that our "Lord . . . bore witness to the word of his grace," when these signs and wonders were done by the apostles' hands [Acts 14:31]. Very much like this is that word of the apostle: that the salvation proclaimed by the gospel has been confirmed in the fact that "the Lord has attested it by signs and wonders and various mighty works [Heb. 2:4]. When we hear that these are the seals of the gospel, shall we turn them to the destruction of faith in the gospel? When we hear that they were appointed only to seal the truth, shall we employ them to confirm falsehoods? . . . Magicians and enchanters have always been noted for miracles. Idolatry has been nourished by wonderful miracles, yet these are not sufficient to sanction for us the superstition either of magicians or of idolaters. The Donatists of old overwhelmed the simplicity of the multitude with this battering-ram: that they were mighty in miracles. We, therefore, now answer our adversaries as Augustine then answered the Donatists: the Lord made us wary of these miracle workers when he predicted that false prophets with lying signs and divers wonders would come to draw even the elect (if possible) into error. And Paul warned that the reign of Antichrist would be "with all power and signs and lying wonders."

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But these miracles, they say, are done neither by idols, nor by magicians, nor by false prophets, but by the saints. As if we did not understand that to "disguise himself as an angel of light" is the craft of satan! 17 A.5) Fake revival Many have been concerned about the empty revival that has occurred in particularly super-supernaturalism and the above warning of Christ would seem to give us reason to do so. About 250 years ago, there was another great revival in Britain and America called The Great Awakening. This whole move of God was initiated and led primarily by George Whitefield (1714-1770). In America, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was certainly used as well in the Awakening. It is obvious in their writings that they defined revival as repentance, a supernatural turning from sin replaced by a supernatural love and humility toward others. And it was this kind of repentance that they regarded as the demonstration of the Spirit in revival. Unfortunately, this is not how revival is thought of in supersupernaturalism. Exorcisms, mayhem, faintings, and other temporary emotional experiences are enough for many to claim revival. American Christianity counts “decisions” to track revival, while Whitefield and Edwards point us to evaluating lasting moral transformation. What is worse, is the possibility that the supernatural manifestations that many point to today as evidence for revival are actually satanic delusions to distract us from the real work of God that is the conviction of sin, and lasting conversion from it. Which is why we hope the next spiritual revival will be known for Christ-like character rather than pop-culture charisma. It is not simply historicists who have been concerned with the spiritual deception that is abundant in super-supernaturalism today. Well known NT scholar Michael Green, a long-time leader of supersupernaturalism in Britain, writes in his commentary on Matthew 7:21-23: How evil are the fruits to be found in many professing Christians! . . . . a religion that takes refuge in charismatic jargon about prophecy, or miraculous healings, or the driving out of demons, but may not even really know Jesus, and does not really do the will of the heavenly Father (22-23). . . . I fear that so much that passes as Christianity will shrivel up in the day of judgment and be found to be bogus and worthless. 18

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Of course there has been true spiritual revival in supersupernaturalism, just as there has been in other evangelistic branches of Christendom in the last century. However, because of the doctrinal shallowness and unbiblical discernment of supersupernatural Christianity, we believe it has been a primary breeding ground for false conversions. One piece of evidence for this may be the number of “charismatic Christians” present in churches that do not believe or preach the Gospel. Along these lines, Christian researcher George Barna writes: Many people believe that charismatic Christianity is almost exclusively a Protestant phenomenon. However, the research showed that one-third of all U.S. Catholics (36%) fit the charismatic classification. Framed differently, almost onequarter of all charismatics in the U.S. (22%) are Catholic. 19 In addition, and contrary to the belief of many, the survey noted that people in “non-charismatic churches” give financially significantly more than those in “Pentecostal” churches. Nevertheless, how confident are we that 36% of Roman Catholics in America are regenerated Christians? How many Roman Catholic “charismatics” then are not Christians? And if so many “charismatics” can be false Christians in Roman Catholicism, then why would be doubt it would be widespread elsewhere? Indeed, there has been evangelistic revival in our country over the last 50 years, but historically, the saving faith that occurs in genuine revival, is quickly infiltrated and diluted with false faith. 20 Jonathan Edwards noted this regarding the Great Awakening: His suspicions grew after he left Northampton and reflected back on the revivals and his own interpretations of events as presented in his earlier revival writings. In a letter to Thomas Gillespie, a fellow revivalist on the other side of the Atlantic, dated July 1, 1751, Edwards writes: There was a very glorious work of God wrought in Northampton, and there were numerous instances of saving conversion; though undoubtedly many were deceived, and deceived others; and the number of true converts was not so great as was then imagined. 21 Another expert on revival, D. M. Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) wrote regarding false faith: Everything that appears to be conversion is not conversion. You will often find people responding to a call forward in a time of excitement or in a highly organized campaign with large numbers. If you ask them afterwards, 'Why did you go forward?' they will often say, 'I don't know.' And that is the

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truth-they do not know. It was the power of suggestion; seeing others going forward, they felt an impulse to go and to do the same thing [without thinking]. 22 Accordingly, Dr. Carson writes concerning the fakes described in the parable of the sower and the seed (cf. Matt 13:1-23) that they, “are always numerous in times of revival and were so in Jesus' ministry.” 23 Unfortunately, super-supernaturalism’s frequent focus on spectacular occurrences and claims instead of abiding supernatural virtue has made it even more vulnerable to a perverted revival. Accordingly, Dr. Carson writes: In the entire history of the church, has there ever been another generation with so many nominal Christians and so few real (i.e. obedient) ones? And where nominal Christianity is compounded by spectacular profession, it is especially likely to manufacture its own false assurance. 24 Far too many people today believe they are Christians because of merely a spiritual experience. We read of such people in Hebrews who had “once been enlightened . . . tasted the heavenly gift . . . shared in the Holy Spirit . . . tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age” . . . but who “fall away [parapesontas]” living a life that “produces thorns and thistles.” People producing this kind of “fruit” will “in the end . . . be burned” because even though they experienced many great spiritual things, they did not experience the even “better things . . . things that accompany [real] salvation” (Heb 6:4-9). False faith can experience and enjoy all kinds of stimulating spiritual events, but this is not a sufficient sign of saving faith. Dr. Carson speaks of the deceptive nature of spiritual experiences when he writes: There are several different ways to become self-deluded about spiritual things. For example, it is possible to enjoy some sort of unique spiritual experience and live in its glow at the expense of ongoing spiritual experience and sustained practical obedience. I heard of a man who enjoyed what he took to be a special outpouring of God's blessing upon him. He felt himself transported with Paul to the third heaven. So momentous was the event that he wrote it all up in a paper to which he gave the title, "My Experience." The months slipped past, and he became indifferent to spiritual things. At first he preserved the form, and hauled out

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his manuscript to show various visitors. But as months turned into years, even the form of godliness was abandoned, and his experience lay forgotten in a dusty drawer. Many years later a minister came calling. The man, thinking to impress his visitor, called upstairs to his wife, asking her to bring down "My Experience." She rummaged around until she found the tattered document, and replied, "I'm sorry, dear, but your experience is rather moth-eaten." Just so, the man had lulled himself into irresponsible spiritual apathy by coasting along on the memory of some past experience. . . . Another form of self-delusion, however, is evident in Matthew 7:21-23. It is not so much that the false claimant lulls himself into spiritual apathy, as that he mistakes loud profession and supernatural, almost magical formulations and experiences, for true spirituality and genuine godliness. Obedience is neglected. The pressure of the spectacular has excluded the stability of growing conformity to the Father's will. Because he seems to be getting results, immediate results, spectacular results, he feels he is close to the center of true religion. His success indices are soaring; God must be blessing him. Surely God will understand and sympathize if there is not always enough time for prayer, self-examination, or conscious repentance. The results are the important thing. If the truth gets a trifle bent, it's only because the supporters need to hear certain things. And is it wise to run the risk of driving off such supporters by talking about the narrow way? Just as Nixon's closest aides could talk themselves into believing that their cause was more important than their ethics, so these religious extroverts convince themselves that their success-oriented spectacular victories are more important than the nitty gritty of consistent discipleship. 25 Unfortunately, the lack of discernment, courage, and conviction in Christianity today encourages the spread of deception in supersupernaturalism regarding its “revival” of conversions and miraculous gifts. It is this same lack of virtue in the Church that has led to a growing habit of welcoming practicing and unrepentant homosexuals as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is despite clear and repeated biblical warnings that people with such a lifestyle are “wicked,” that Christians should “not be deceived” by them, and that they are not a part of God’s kingdom today, nor will they be in the future unless they repent (cf. 1 Cor 6:9-10; cf. Rom 1:26-27; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5-6). A Church that will not defend its borders

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from such obvious apostates will hardly be a match for the fakes who perform supernatural deeds in the name of Jesus. When will we wake up and believe Christ that not everything supernatural is holy? Why are we so afraid to misjudge a “backsliding Christian” as an unbeliever, but have no fear of allowing fakes to exist and minister in our midst? When will we heed the Apostle’s warning that there will be: false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Cor 11:13-15) What church do you know that could receive the same praise the Ephesian church received from Christ when He said: “I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be Apostles but are not, and have found them false” (Rev 2:2)? Is it because there are no longer “wicked men,” and “deceitful workmen,” in God’s Church who “masquerade as servants of righteousness”? On the contrary, they are in abundance. It is not servants of satan that the Church lacks today. Rather, what modern Christians are dangerously deficient in is leaders with discernment to hold on to sound doctrine and the courage to enforce it. The Church simply does not understand the depth, breadth, power, and danger of demonic deception, 26 and this is demonstrated most clearly by the fact that we embrace many, many, more fakes than we excommunicate. Besides popularity, what else does super-supernaturalists claim to be proof that God has given them a unique and superior experience of the Holy Spirit over other Christians? Miracles of course. The very thing that Christ said “many. . . evildoers” will perform in the Church. Accordingly, there is good reason to be alarmed by super-supernaturalism’s claims of the miraculous when all of them, without exception, can be observed just as supernaturally among contemporary cults, witch doctors, fortune tellers, Buddhists, and New Agers, as we document elsewhere. 27 Unfortunately, the more supernatural the claims in an unbiblical environment, the more likely that the phenomena cannot be explained in terms of simply a different Christian culture, philosophy of ministry, or fleshly emotionalism. 28 It must be conceded that many experiences within super-supernaturalism are actually supernatural, and because there are only two sources of such

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things, it would seem imperative that we discern what the source of these experiences are. A.6) Demonic distraction from real revival In fact, instead of super-supernaturalism being at the forefront of real spiritual revival as so many claim, it is possible that it has in fact been one of satan’s most effective tools to distract, dilute, and derail the spiritual revival that has actually taken place in the last few decades, because they allowed their lack of discernment, puffed up egos, and pandering to pagan cultural values get the best of them. This is precisely what the real history of revivals teaches us. Accordingly, the well known Baptist leader and author Henry Blackaby, someone who has led and observed considerable and genuine spiritual revival himself, writes: Paradoxically, one of the times satan's voice is heard the loudest is during periods of spiritual revival. When revival takes place, large numbers of people are moved to repentance. That's a time to be on guard as much as ever for satan's interference. He cannot fight against the Holy Spirit, so he tries to mislead God's people by producing "counterfeit revival." Throughout history God's obvious opponents have not quenched the Holy Spirit's work as much as his supposed supporters have. During the First Great Awakening, America was blessed with some great Christian leaders. God worked powerfully through men such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield to turn the nation back to Christ. Others rose up as Christian leaders but ultimately promoted questionable doctrines and unbiblical theology. Caught up in the emotional fervor of revival, they and those who followed them failed to ground their teachings in God's Word. One scholar noted: "Without question, the rise of the fanatical element coincided with the decline of the spiritual power of the Awakening. Those who spoke most loudly of being led by the Spirit were the very persons responsible for quenching the Spirit's work." Henry Alline, an itinerant preacher in the Canadian Maritimes, observed during his travels: "But O how common it is in a time of revival, for many to be deceived, and to take up with something short of Christ. . . . But O how apt are young Christians to be led stray, being so fond of everything that appears like the power of God, that they receive almost

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anything that has a zeal, not considering, that when God is at work, that then is the time for the devil to counterfeit. 29 Just as Dr. Blackaby suggests, the lack of courage, sound doctrine, and discernment on the part of too many leaders in the Great Awakening essentially ruined it in the opinion of its foremost founders. No super-supernaturalist today has even come close to being used in spiritual revival to the degree that George Whitefield was, and he warned of the worthlessness of super-supernaturalism when he wrote: Great need have you, my brethren, at this time to take the Apostle’s advice and to try the spirits whether they be of God. For the devil is beginning to mimic God’s work and, because terrors will not do, he is now transforming himself into an angel of light, in order more effectually to gain his point. Brother________, as well as brother _________, I believe, imagines there will be a power given to work miracles. . . . But, alas! what need is there of miracles, such as healing sick bodies and restoring sight to blind eyes, when we see greater miracles done every day by the power of God’s Word? Do not the spiritually blind now see? Are not the spiritually dead now raised and the leprous souls now cleansed, and have not the poor the Gospel preached to them? And if we have the thing already which such miracles were only intended to introduce, why should we tempt God in requiring further signs?” 30 Along the same lines, John Wesley (1703-1791) during this time, wrote a Miss Bolton as follows: George Bell, William Green and others, then full of love, were favoured with extraordinary revelations and manifestations from God. But by this very thing, satan beguiled them from the simplicity of life in Christ. By insensible degrees they were led to value these extraordinary gifts more than the ordinary grace of God: this, my dear friend, makes me fear for you. 31 Likewise, Jonathan Edwards, recognized by all as the foremost authority on the Great Awakening, flat out blamed supersupernaturalism for its demise. Writing in reference to the year 1742 Mr. Edwards wrote: The work continued more pure till we were infected from abroad; our people hearing of, and some of them seeing, the work in other places, where there was a greater visible commotion than here, and the outward appearances were more extraordinary, were ready to think that the work in those

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places far excelled what was amongst us, and their eyes were dazzled with the high profession and great show that some made, who came hither from other places. 32 Likewise, in his monumental treatise on the very topic of discerning divine from demonic revival, Edwards wrote: It is a hard thing to be a hearty zealous friend of what has been good and glorious, in the late extraordinary appearances, and to rejoice much in it; and at the same time to see the evil and pernicious tendency of what has been bad, and earnestly to oppose that. But yet, I am humbly but fully persuaded, we shall never be in the way of truth, nor go on in a way acceptable to God, and tending to the advancement of Christ's kingdom till we do so. There is indeed something very mysterious in it, that so much good, and so much bad, should be mixed together in the church of God. . . . It is by the mixture of counterfeit religion with true, not discerned and distinguished, that the devil has had his greatest advantage against the cause and kingdom of Christ, all along hitherto. It is by this means, principally, that he has prevailed against all revivings of religion, that ever have been since the first founding of the Christian church. . . . So the same cunning serpent, that beguiled Eve through his subtlety, by perverting us from the simplicity that is in Christ, hath suddenly prevailed to deprive us of that fair prospect, we had a little while ago, of a kind of paradisaic state of the church of God in New England. . . . And so it is ever likely to be in the church, whenever religion revives remarkably, till we have learned well to distinguish between true and false religion, between saving affections and experiences, and those manifold fair shows, and glistering appearances, by which they are counterfeited; the consequences of which, when they are not distinguished, are often inexpressibly dreadful. By this means, the devil gratifies himself, by bringing it to pass, that that should be offered to God, by multitudes, under a notion of a pleasing acceptable service to him, that is indeed above all things abominable to him. By this means he deceives great multitudes about the state of their souls; making them think they are something, when they are nothing; and so eternally undoes them; and not only so, but establishes many in a strong confidence of their eminent holiness, who are in God's sight some of the vilest of hypocrites. . . .

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It is by such sort of religion as this, chiefly, that satan transforms himself into an angel of light; and it is that which he has ever most successfully made use of to confound hopeful and happy revivals of religion, from the beginning of the Christian church to this day. When the Spirit of God is poured out, to begin a glorious work, then the old serpent, as fast as possible, and by all means, introduces this bastard religion, and mingles it with the true; which has from time to time soon brought all things into confusion. The pernicious consequence of it is not easily imagined or conceived of, until we see and are amazed with the awful effects of it, and the dismal desolation it has made. If the revival of true religion be very great in its beginning, yet if this bastard comes in, there is danger of its doing as Gideon's bastard Abimelech did, who never left until he had slain all his threescore and ten true-born sons, excepting one, that was forced to fly. Great and strict therefore should be the watch and guard that ministers maintain against such things, especially at a time of great awakening: for men, especially the common people, are easily bewitched with such things; they having such a glaring and glistering show of high religion; and the devil biding his own shape, and appearing as an angel of light, 33 that men may not be afraid of him, but may adore him. Accordingly, the charismatic teacher Hank Hanegraaff writes in his own book, Counterfeit Revival, which exposes the unbiblical, fraudulent, and demonic nature of the ministries of many celebrities in modern super-supernaturalism: In the end the “peculiarities of wild enthusiasts” spelled the demise of the Great Awakening. The powerful expositional preaching of men like Edwards, with its emphasis on esteem for Christ, an eternal perspective, essential Christian doctrine, and ego-effacing love, was replaced by excesses, errors, and extremes. The turning point, in Edward’s estimation, came when enthusiastic endorsers of the revival began to entertain and encourage such lying wonders. . . . As lying signs and wonders took center stage in the Great Awakening, division arose between those who resisted “imprudences and irregularities” and those who promoted them. . . . By 1743 America’s clergy were evenly split over whether the revivals were a work of God or a work of the devil. . . . By the beginning of the American Revolution (1776) . . . Christianity was once again on the decline. The

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emotional excitement and spiritual effects of the Great Awakening had deteriorated into apathy and indifference. . . . While the First Great Awakening had emphasized the rational understanding of essential Christian doctrine, it remained for the Second Awakening [e.g. Charles Finney], the next great wave of American revivalism, to advance almost purely emotional Christianity to a central position in popular American religion. In the First Great Awakening excesses had been the byproduct of revival; in the Second they would be the bottom line. 34 Unfortunately, we would suggest that the American Church has allowed precisely what Edwards warned against. Just as he saw the true spiritual revival in his day be swallowed up with deceptions of the supernatural, so we have experienced the same great tragedy today. To the extent that super-supernaturalism is not of the Spirit, but merely feelings and mistaken emotions, then it is simply a new religion, and not a revival. Accordingly, NT scholar Thomas Edgar has written concerning modern super-supernaturalism: That their numbers are growing, that the followers are enthusiastic, and that there are alleged miracles are not evidence that the phenomena are from the Holy Spirit, since all these occur in other religions. 35 What super-supernaturalism has claimed as a revival of authentic Christianity has actually turned into a great demonic delusion. Accordingly, Mark I. Bubeck, pastor, popular author, and noted counselor of demonized persons shares the following warning in his classic book The Adversary. After sharing some historical information regarding what he feels were demonically influenced phenomena during the Welsh Revivals and commenting on Christ’s warning of demonic counterfeits, he shares his own warning: The tendency in revival or any spiritual movement is to accept all supernatural manifestations as being authored by God. Such a tendency, according to these warnings of our Lord [Mt. 24:24-25], is very dangerous. This is why the Word of God calls upon believers to test the spirits to measure and evaluate with care that which appears to be good. As stated earlier, the Holy Spirit will not be offended by this trying of the spirits. He is the One who told us to do it. This is one of the reasons I am greatly concerned about some segments of the Charismatic movement, with its broad emphasis upon the baptism of the Spirit and the experience of speaking in tongues. A spirit of caution is rarely heard by proponents of Charismatic gifts.

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Luke 11:11-13 and Matthew 7:9-11 are often used to prove that there is no danger of wicked powers deceiving when you are asking for the Holy Spirit and good gifts from God. What is forgotten is that this same Lord is the One who urged us to try the spirits and to believe not every spirit. If I seek some experience which does not have a sound biblical foundation, I am opening my life to some deceiving spirit to come as an angel of light. . . . All experience must be measured and understood in the light of the truth of the Word. Error that is contrary to God’s Word must be repudiated, renounced, and removed from one’s life and practice, or Satan will soon move in advantage against him. I have many friends and loved ones who are ardent advocates of the Charismatic movement and do not see the dangers I seek to bring to view. I do not mean this expressed caution to be a blanket condemnation of the movement or of them. However, I have had to deal with too many oppressed and afflicted people, who have opened their lives to demonic forces while seeking some supernatural experience, not to sound the alarm. 36 A.7) A superior immorality, instead of spirituality: Hinn & Haggard How then can we discern a demonic revival from a divine one? First of all, again, it is not its popularity. Remember, the road to Hell is popular and real Christianity will always be in a minority (cf. Matt 7:13-14). As we have repeated and demonstrated throughout KOG, the only real way to tell the difference between the divine and demonic is supernatural virtue, not popularity or power. 37 It is private and persevering virtue that most clearly separates the fakes from those who are genuinely empowered with the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt 7:15-20; Gal 5:6, 22-25). In other words, the people who know our true spiritual condition the best are those spouses, children, and friends who understand what a real disciple of Christ looks like, and know who we are when the public is not looking. Do we then accept the following testimony supplied by Doug Bannister as proof of a superior and unique work of God the Holy Spirit?: Vicky prayed for [Mark] to receive the baptism of the Spirit. "My whole body heated up. The Spirit was all over me." Two weeks later, Mark received the gift of tongues. As he tells me these things, Mark's six foot-five-inch frame shifts back and forth on the padded chair he's sitting on-clearly, these are

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powerful memories. "After we were married, we started a prayer group. It exploded-twenty, forty, eighty came out. We had it all-tongues, healings, words of knowledge. I felt like I had gone from death to life." "People were coming in off the street, getting saved," Vicky recalls. "But something wasn't right. My understanding of the gospel then was, 'Make Jesus your Savior [how about Lord?], be baptized in the Spirit, experience his gifts.' We were at church all the time, but . . . " "We had an unhealthy relationship," Mark adds, finishing Vicky's sentence. "I was abusive to my wife. I was looking at pornography even while my ministry was exploding. Christianity had become one experience after another. I thought the goal was to get people to receive the Baptism [i.e. speak in tongues]. But I wasn't in the Word. The Word was what we were missing." A series of painful circumstances resulted in their leaving that church and dropping out of church entirely for several years. 38 Are we really to believe that these people experienced a unique and superior blessing of the Holy Spirit when their lives were marked by a lack of love and holiness? Does the “success” of their prayer group lead us to conclude differently? The fact that Pastor Bannister would even present this as a testimony of the unique and superior experience of the Holy Spirit occurring in “power churches” as he puts it, reveals his own deep deception about the real fruits of God the Spirit. Biblically speaking, the Holy Spirit does not manifest itself in physical heat as claimed above, but in practical holiness. Which again, is a reason why we do not believe supersupernaturalism is being blessed with any kind of unique or superior ministry of the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, and unfortunately, super-supernatural Christianity is generally known for its immorality rather than its holiness. In fact, if you named the half dozen or so most influential supersupernaturalists since the 1970’s, you find a very sad history of moral failure. Ones like Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker, Kathryn Kuhlman, Benny Hinn, and Ted Haggard were and are plenty popular, but are not known today by most for their Christian spirituality. They have simultaneously been the most popular and influential super-supernaturalists and the most embarrassing moral failures in all the history of American Evangelicalism. Compare the morality and reputation of those above with the half dozen or so most influential leaders of “non-charismatic” churches and ministries during the same time. Ones like Billy Graham, Luis Palau, D. James Kennedy, Charles Swindoll, John

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MacArthur, Bill Hybels, and Max Lucado are known for their spirituality. It is safe to say, in fact, that the leadership of supersupernaturalism has embarrassed Evangelicalism a great deal more because of immorality than their counterparts in historicism. We do not relish pointing this out, as we have shared in the embarrassment. However, any movement that claims to be experiencing a unique and superior ministry of the Holy Spirit should manifest a unique and superior holiness. Yet, sadly, as we document more fully elsewhere, 39 the foremost founders and leaders of super-supernaturalism have actually exhibited a great deal of lying, greed, spiritual immaturity, and gross immorality. Here, two contemporary examples will suffice to illustrate our point. Again, the question we are asking is are we really to believe that such men are at the forefront of leading the Church into a greater ministry of the Holy Spirit? Perhaps the most successful super-supernaturalist to date is Benny Hinn, who claims all kinds of miraculous gifts including prophecy, tongues, healing, and particularly the ability to “slay” people in the Spirit. He has drawn crowds of hundreds of thousands all over the world. His thirty-minute TV program This Is Your Day, is among the world’s most-watched Christian programs. Nonetheless, elsewhere we document Mr. Hinn’s fraudulent healing 40 claims and false prophecies. Mr. Hinn relates that when he witnessed the popular faith “healer” Kathryn Kuhlman (1907-1976) “slaying people in the Spirit,” he exclaimed, “I’ve got to have this . . . I want what Kathryn Kuhlman’s got. I wanted it with every atom and fiber within me.” 41 Why? There is absolutely no biblical support for such a practice. 42 Nonetheless, the real reason becomes apparent when we note that Mr. Hinn’s “gift” has earned him world wide fame and untold millions of dollars. In addition, the whole thing is a little spooky when Mr. Hinn admits that he frequently visits Ms. Kuhlman’s gravesite to replenish “the anointing” from her bones. 43 Mr. Hinn’s greed is well-documented. One chronicler relates: On the April 2nd TBN [Trinity Broadcasting Network] program, Benny Hinn claimed that God is about to make a major move to anoint the people of God, as soon as Israel signs a treaty with the ailing Hafez Al-Assad of Syria, which will likely be within the next year [This never happened]. This will signal the impending large scale shift of financial wealth from the wicked to those obedient to God. But, in order to benefit from this unprecedented supernatural anointing, you must be obedient to God and sow your financial seed (to TBN) now! . . . . In fact, Benny revealed that God is even now healing those who call in their

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contributions to TBN. But this is not selling healing for money, he says, it is God blessing those who are truly obedient and worthy to receive his coming unusual anointing! Indeed, God will even be saving people you know as you are calling in your pledge to TBN. . . . The implication is that you will be bypassed by God and miss out on the supernatural anointing to come if you are not 44 totally obedient to God and call in your pledge to TBN now! Such swindling is habitual in Mr. Hinn’s ministry. In December of 2002 NBC Dateline aired an investigative report on Mr. Hinn and reported that he had raised millions of dollars for a healing center, then cancelled its construction. Likewise, he raised millions more for an orphanage in Mexico, and claimed on his website that it would be completed in a few months. However, at that time, Mexican officials claimed that Benny Hinn’s ministry hadn’t even applied for a building permit yet. During the Dateline segment they flew over one of Mr. Hinn’s multi-million dollar mansions in Texas. In December 2006, Mr. Hinn sent out a mailing asking for donations towards a new Gulfstream G4SP jet valued at an estimated $36 million and costing over $600,000 per year to operate. Not surprisingly, in March 2005, Ministry Watch, an independent Evangelical organization which reviews Christian ministries for financial transparency and efficiency and advises potential donors accordingly, issued a Donor Alert stating that "the reported exorbitant spending of the Hinn family reveals that Benny Hinn Ministries has far more money than it needs to carry out its ministry" and advising Christians to "prayerfully consider withholding contributions to Benny Hinn" while praying for his restoration and repentance. Even so, Mr. Hinn refuses to be a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Understandably, in 2008 he was chosen by Congressman Charles Grassley for a U. S. Senate 45 investigation into the fraudulent use of charitable contributions. Such overwhelming greed disqualifies him to even be a minister (cf. 1 Tim 3:3; Tit 1:7; 1 Pet 5:2), let alone a Prophet, and brings even his salvation into grave doubt. If ever there was a candidate for one of the “many” who “prophesy,” “cast out demons,” and “perform many miracles” in the name of Jesus, but in the end will be called a damned “evil doer” by the very one they profess to serve, it is Benny Hinn. If Benny Hinn is the foremost showman of supersupernaturalism, Ted Haggard was its foremost statesman and became contemporary Evangelicalism’s greatest embarrassment.

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In one man, Mr. Haggard simultaneously demonstrates the heights to which super-supernaturalism has been embraced, and the moral depths to which its most influential leaders have sunk. As a graduate of Oral Roberts University, Mr. Haggard was indoctrinated in super-supernatural doctrines and practices. Nonetheless, in 2003, Mr. Haggard was appointed as the President of the National Association of Evangelicals. In just a matter of 30 some years super-supernaturalism had gone from being ostracized almost universally by Evangelicals, to being so respected as to choose a super-supernaturalist to lead and represent them. They would soon greatly regret that decision. In 2005 Mr. Haggard was listed by Time magazine as one of the top 25 most influential Evangelicals in America. Around the same time, author Jeff Sharlet reported that Mr. Haggard “talks to . . . [President] Bush or his advisers every Monday” and stated at that time that “no pastor in America holds more sway over the political direction of Evangelicalism.” Unfortunately, at the time that he was apparently having weekly meetings with the White House to represent Evangelical Christianity, he was also having almost monthly meetings with a male prostitute to engage in oral sex. In November 2006, prostitute Mike Jones alleged that Mr. Haggard had paid Jones to engage in sex with him for three years and had also purchased and used methamphetamine. At first, Mr. Haggard claimed he had never met his accuser and in a television interview said “I am steady with my wife. I’m faithful to my wife,” and that he had never engaged in homosexual behavior. However, a few days later, he admitted in a written statement: The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. . . . I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life. Even yet, Mr. Haggard’s repentance is questionable. After initially agreeing to be under the authority of a team of Pastors for accountability, in February of 2008, the new Pastor at New Life Church, former home to Mr. Haggard, issued a press release announcing that Mr. Haggard had requested to leave the team created to “restore” him and that as Mr. Haggard’s restoration is “incomplete,” he was not welcome to return to New Life. Even before this, in August 2007, Mr. Haggard had released a statement asking for money to help support his family while he pursued a degree in counseling. Following this request for money, a member of Mr. Haggard’s restoration team said he should have

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consulted with them before releasing a statement. His restoration team issued a public statement that Mr. Haggard’s request was “inappropriate” and that he was, “a little ahead of himself.” News media pointed to his reported income: in 2006, he received $115,000 and an $85,000 anniversary bonus shortly before the scandal broke. After the scandal broke, the board of trustees of New Life Church agreed to give him a $138,000 severance. Additionally, the Haggard family owned a home in Colorado Springs, Colorado that was valued at more than $700,000 and Mr. Haggard was still receiving royalties from books he had authored. Questions also surfaced about the tax-exempt group Mr. Haggard had asked that donations be sent to, on his behalf. He had promised that 10% of the donations would be given to this organization, but according to the Colorado Secretary of State, the organization had already been dissolved. Surely Mr. Haggard represents both the political and cultural “success” of super-supernaturalism and the very depths of the immorality for which its foremost leaders have been known for, 46 which we have documented here and elsewhere. Let us contrast this for a moment with Brother Yun, a leader of the house church movement in China. He does not ascribe to the doctrines and practices of super-supernaturalism, and yet has seen more real revival and miracles than any super-supernaturalist. And his humility, holiness, and simplicity are in stark contrast as well. Accordingly, Gordon Hickson, Co-ordinator of the Back to Jerusalem Foundation which Brother Yun founded, writes: I have been working closely with Brother Yun and Back to Jerusalem now for several years. During this time I have organized many dozens of meetings for Brother Yun throughout the United Kingdom. . . . The truth is that Brother Yun does not handle a cent of any money that comes in from his meetings anywhere in the world. This has always been the case. He never emphasises donations at all, and has never asked a single person for anything except their prayers. Our experience of Brother Yun in the UK, and other parts of Europe, has been nothing but exemplary. He has personally had a massive impact on the Church in the UK, both through his book and the many meetings he has held with a view to awakening the UK Church to their Missions calling and responsibility. We highly honour his integrity, humility, accountability, and financial transparency. . . . The BTJ Foundation is totally accountable and our finances are audited annually. Our books are open for inspection and anyone is welcome to see them. We are accountable to a

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board of trustees and all our activities and actions are conducted with integrity. Additionally, we have a statement regarding Brother Yun’s ministry from Pastor Waldemar Sardaczuk, Honourable President of Aktionskommitee fur Verfolgte Christen (AVC): Brother Yun and his family have been living with us in Nidda, Germany for many years. We’ve got to know him and his wife very well. They are members of our church and are a great testimony in their walk with God. . . . As with all men of God who are used by the Lord, Brother Yun has been the object of much slander, attack and jealousy. I can shed some light on the daily life of Brother Yun and his family. They live here in our town in very moderate conditions. They live in a comparatively small apartment, which they rent. Neither he nor any of his family members drive or own a car. They are totally focused on ministering for the Lord, and have little concern for material things. His manner of life, his conduct, and his family are in accordance with the bible. 47 If “charismatic” Christians truly wish to make a believable claim that God is giving them a unique and superior experience of the power of the Holy Spirit, then they had better be able to demonstrate a spiritual uniqueness and superiority that would reflect this. And as Jesus clearly taught, it will not and cannot be physical miracles (cf. Matt 7:15-27), as super-supernaturalists constantly claim. As we have repeatedly pointed out, the only possible and biblical evidence of such a privileged experience of the Holy Spirit would be superior holiness, and nobody, including “charismatics” claim or can demonstrate such a thing over other born again Christians. Accordingly, Dr. Edgar has written: All groups and doctrinal persuasions of Christendom have experienced theological and moral problems with both their leaders and laymen. As other Christians have experienced, so a number of charismatic leaders have led lives that are morally or ethically contrary to Scripture. If not more common, this is at least as common as among noncharismatics. Therefore it may be safely concluded that all the alleged miracles and so-called tongues-speaking have not produced any genuine spiritual advance over noncharismatics. It has produced enthusiasm for the miraculous, but this is not to be equated with spirituality. . . .

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Is it not amazing that a movement that claims to have restored power for service, ability to communicate with God more than others have, ability for self-edification [through tongues], power to heal and perform other miracles, and ability to prophesy and receive direct revelation, has produced no significant advance in spirituality? . . . . Other than [emotional] enthusiasm there seems to be no spiritual advantage to this movement and the non-charismatics are not missing out on any genuine spiritual benefit. On the negative side the movement has split churches, and through its televangelists the movement has had one of the most significant negative impacts on the testimony of the church in recent history. These characteristics are evidence that the charismatic phenomena are not the New Testament phenomena, that the genuine gifts are not present. 48 We agree with many super-supernatural teachers that the movement is a sign that the return of Christ is near. But for different reasons. Super-supernaturalists claim that their miracles point to the return of Christ. However, there is no biblical evidence that this is the case. 49 Rather, Christ warned that there would be a rise of false prophets and false miracle workers (cf. Matt 24:11) and Paul warned of increased wickedness among professing believers (cf. 2 Tim 3:1-9), and decreasing doctrinal integrity (cf. 2 Tim 4:34). While the super-supernaturalist run after their “miracles,” let us strive to, “set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Tim 4:12), which are the real proof of a real experience of the real Holy Spirit. Accordingly, we will end here with how Jonathan Edwards ended what is universally considered by Christian scholarship to be the most insightful treatise on discerning true revival. What Edwards concludes should be incredibly convicting regarding how we have accepted the supersupernaturalist “revival.” In the very last words of this monumental treatise Jonathan Edwards wrote: Our discerning, with regard to the hearts of men, is not much to be trusted. We can see but a little way into the nature of the soul, and the depths of man's heart. The ways are so many whereby persons' affections may be moved without any supernatural influence . . . that no philosophy or experience will ever be sufficient to guide us safely through this labyrinth and maze, without our closely following the clue which God has given us in his word. . . . If we do otherwise, no wonder if we are bewildered, confounded, and fatally deluded.

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But if we had got into the way of looking chiefly at those things, which Christ and his apostles and prophets chiefly insisted on, and so in judging of ourselves and others, chiefly regarding practical exercises and effects of grace, not neglecting other things; it would be of manifold happy consequence; it would above all things tend to the conviction of deluded hypocrites, and to prevent the delusion of those whose hearts were never brought to a thorough compliance with the straight and narrow way which leads to life; it would tend to deliver us from innumerable perplexities, arising from the various inconsistent schemes there are about methods and steps of experience; it would greatly tend to prevent professors neglecting strictness of life, and tend to promote their engagedness and earnestness in their Christian walk; and it would become fashionable for men to show their Christianity, more by an amiable distinguished behavior, than by an abundant and excessive declaring their experiences; and we should get into the way of appearing lively in religion, more by being lively in the service of God and our generation, than by the liveliness and forwardness of our tongues, and making a business of proclaiming on the house tops, with our mouths, the holy and eminent acts and exercises of our own hearts; and Christians that are intimate friends, would talk together of their experiences and comforts, in a manner better becoming Christian humility and modesty, and more to each other's profit; their tongues not running before, but rather going behind their hands and feet, after the prudent example of the blessed apostle, 2 Cor. 12:6, and many occasions of spiritual pride would be cut off; and so a great door shut against the devil; and a great many of the main stumbling-blocks against experimental and powerful religion would be removed; and religion would be declared and manifested in such a way that, instead of hardening spectators, and exceedingly promoting infidelity and atheism, would, above all things, tend to convince men that there is a reality in religion, and greatly awaken them, and win them, by convincing their consciences of the importance and excellency of religion. Thus the light of professors would so shine before men, that others, seeing their good works, would glorify their Father which is in heaven. 50

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B) A Compromise with Pagan Culture If super-supernaturalism cannot claim a privileged experience of the Holy Spirit as the reason for its popularity, what other factors may be in play? Essentially, as noted above, we would suggest that cultural factors, rather than spiritual factors, have been behind any unique growth in the movement. Accordingly, in a report from the Barna Research Group on “charismatic Christianity” we read: The movement toward charismatic Christianity coincides with several cultural shifts, according to author George Barna, who directed the research projects. “The charismatic orientation is most popular among the nonwhite population - which is, of course, the sector of the population that is growing most rapidly. Also, the freedom of emotional and spiritual expression typical of charismatic assemblies parallels the cultural trend toward personal expression, accepting diverse emotions and allowing people to interpret their experiences in ways that make sense to them," Barna explained. "It is not surprising that the Pentecostal community in America has been growing - nor do we expect it to stop making headway." 51 Unfortunately, American Christianity has increasingly abandoned Authentic Christianity and defined spiritual success as numerical growth, popularity, crowds, buildings, financial wealth, political power, dynamic speakers, and spiritual experiences. As the insightful critic of mere cultural Christianity, A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) put it, right about at the time that supersupernaturalism was gaining steam, “Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity, and bluster make a man dear to God.” 52 In general, we believe super-supernaturalism has been especially guilty of redefining Authentic Christianity into doctrines and practices more palatable to our pagan culture. Many throughout the years have made the same observation. Richard Quebedeaux, a Church historian sympathetic to the super-supernaturalist movement, has written: It is apparent that with the ever more pervasive rationalization and routinization of life inherent in secularization, the "nonrational," the ecstatic, has again become appealing. In secular society, it is quite understandable that an experiential religious style . . . has become attractive. Charismatic Renewal . . . owes its growth and spread, emergence, and success, in part, to the new enthusiasm for religious experience in Western culture today. . . . The emergence, development, and success of Neo-

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Pentecostalism as a religious movement should not be considered in isolation from the trends in society as a whole that have certainly contributed to the movement's growth. . . . We have already touched upon the attraction of young people and the middle class more generally to Charismatic Renewal, because it offers something to do and experience now. . . . The new enthusiasm for religious experience is one of the more surprising developments of the past decade in the larger society. . . . Some are consciously seeking a personal encounter with God; but for others, the search for experience is less consciously religious-involving the use of drugs, certain kinds of music and dancing, even occult practices. In addition, very little patience is apparent in this quest; results are expected immediately. The enthusiasm for experience, and impatience for that experience ("instantism") are integrally related in modern culture. . . . In Classical Pentecostalism, much time is often spent by a candidate for Spirit baptism waiting for the initial evidence and/or gift of tongues. It is something that "just happens"suddenly, sometimes after years of "seeking." But in Charismatic Renewal, one can expect a much quicker response. Fluency in glossolalia [speaking in tongues], NeoPentecostals admit, comes only with much practice (i.e., it is, obviously, a form of "learned behavior"); but the first "sounds" can be articulated almost at once. Neo-Pentecostalism, more than Classical Pentecostalism, accommodates the current enthusiasm for a "full" religious experience now. . . . [C]ontemporary Western society has also contributed to the emergence and success of Charismatic Renewal. It is easy to understand why, in an age of the resurgence of (1) predictive prophecy, "fore-telling" rather than "forth-telling" (e.g., Jeane Dixon and Edgar Cayce), (2) psychic research (e.g., the late Bishop James Pike), (3) astrology, and (4) interest in the occult. Pentecostal phenomena such as divine healing, glossolalia, prophecy, and exorcism should also be increasingly acceptable and attractive to those who, in past times, would have immediately dismissed such activities as appropriate only for the uninstructed. 53 Likewise, the super-supernaturalist historian Walter Hollenweger makes a convincing case for the fact that Pentecostalism overseas is “a form of Christian syncretism” 54 in which adherents are encouraged to weld practices from their previous religions to their Pentecostalism. Examples include “shamanistic forms of religion in

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Korea” 55 and the fact that African Pentecostalism “often entails acceptance of traditional healing practices [i. e. witch-doctoring] as gifts of the Holy Spirit, rather than their proscription as the work of demons as [it was] under many missionaries in the past.” 56 Hollenweger notes as well that foreign Pentecostals seem less concerned with discerning practices associated with demonism. 57 Along the same lines, Richard Gaffin, Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster has written: The phenomenal growth of this movement has no easy or single explanation, but certainly it cannot be understood, at least in the West, apart from larger cultural and subcultural developments in recent decades. Among these, in particular, are a growing disillusionment with our society as a whole and its apparent direction (or lack thereof), and an awareness that things like industrialization, technology and material affluence, on which such high hopes have been set, tend by themselves to disappoint and depersonalize rather than to satisfy basic human needs and aspirations. Another factor is the “new irrationalism” of the West with its preoccupation with various Eastern religions and other forms of mysticism, in the quest for personal wholeness and experience with genuine emotional depth. 58 Also, Dr. Martyn Percy, Principal of Ripon College, Oxford, notes that one reason for the popularity of super-supernaturalism is: the type of religion offered—tactile and immediate—is particularly suited to a post-modern world, with its emphasis on [self] fulfillment, healing, the individual and celebration. 59 Likewise, Dr. Carson has made the comment: So far as I can see, the vision of spirituality in the Vineyard movement might be dubbed a spirituality of power, whether in ostensible miracle or in frequent and private divine disclosure. To assess this vision fairly would take us too far afield, but the least that must be said is that this focus on power caters to the infatuation with triumphalism so disturbingly endemic to modern Western culture. 60 Finally, Erwin Lutzer of Moody Bible Church warns that supersupernaturalism has perhaps followed modern culture’s idolatry concerning the supernatural: In an age of rampant spirituality we must remember that there are two sides in the spiritual world, and we often confuse the one with the other. We must proclaim with the loudest voice that not everything that is miraculous comes

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from God! Discernment has never been as important as it is today. With our culture's heedless plunge into spirituality and the accompanying proliferation of miracles, we must be wary of our generation's love affair with the supernatural. 61 Several observations can be made at this point. Perhaps the most important is the suggestion that, while authentic Christianity requires the denial of the flesh, super-supernaturalism appeals to this very thing. As we have said, the first reason we would suggest it is not of the Holy Spirit is that for all its claims to a unique and superior experience of the Holy Spirit, super-supernatural Christians are not more spiritual than other Christians, and in fact, their foremost leaders are known for their immorality. Second, however, is the obvious appeal to the flesh that seems promoted in several of its practices and values. The pursuit and immediate attainment of emotional experiences, Eastern religionlike mysticism, spectacular appearing performances, claims to spiritual superiority and power, a concentration of the “health and wealth gospel,” and the general feel that you are someone special and involved in something special all appeal to the flesh and are promoted in super-supernaturalism. The tongues phenomenon may especially illustrate this. Sociologically, it provides inclusion into a privileged class of Christians. Spiritually, it promises a more intimate prayer life and relationship with God than those who do not possess the “gift.” When we note that super-supernaturalism is predominated by a thirst for experiential mysticism, magic, power, wealth, health, and everything unbelievers seek after as well, we are reminded of Isaiah’s description of the idolatrous nation of Israel in his day when he said, “They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans” (Isa 2:6). Along these lines, we have written elsewhere: What Church leaders have allowed in American Christianity in general, and emotionalism [another aspect of supersupernaturalism] especially, reminds us of the failed courage, conviction, and integrity of another spiritual leader many years ago. When the Israelites lost patience in waiting for Moses to bring them the word of God, they enticed Aaron to introduce another religion which involved worshipping something they could make and see (a golden calf), and would accordingly appeal to their physical senses (cf. Exod 32:1). Did this new religion that Aaron allowed promote spiritual virtue? No, rather the Scriptures state they “indulged themselves in pagan revelry 62 [tsachaq]” (Exod 32:6 NLT),

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and exhibited loud “shouting” and “singing,” “dancing,” “running wild,” and being “out of control” and a “laughingstock” all as a “festival to the Lord” (cf. 32:5-6, 18-20, 25. NLT) as Aaron erroneously called it. And he had suggested such a thing “When Aaron saw how excited the people were about” (v. 5 NLT) the new religion. OT scholars point out that the kind of worship being described here reflects the idolatrous worship practices of the Egyptians whom the Israelites had lived with for centuries. 63 The true nature of this worship is revealed when God said He was angry, wanted to destroy the people (v. 10), commanded Moses and the Levites to slaughter 3000 of them (v. 28), and “struck the people with a plague because of what they did” (v. 35). These people were certainly worshipping “in spirit” just not “in truth,” (John 4:23) as God demands. When Moses arrives, he asks Aaron an important question: “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” (v. 21). Answer: appealed to his ego and need to be popular. And in the process, this high priest with the God-given responsibility to shepherd and protect the people, and set an example of the sacrificial obedience, and spiritual self-control required in any claim to real spirituality, led them on the destructive path of pagan emotionalism. We fear that the same cowardice and egotism has infected far too many churches that have been swayed by feeling-oriented crowds rather than faith-oriented Christianity. 64 Not surprisingly, the Apostle Paul intentionally reminded the Corinthians about this episode of fleshly worship in Exodus (cf. 1 Cor 10:7). Accordingly, it could be said that abuses regarding the miraculous gifts are not the only thing that “charismatic” and Corinthian Christians have in common (cf. 1 Cor 12-14). We do not believe it is coincidence that the Corinthian church was the most “charismatic” congregation in the NT and also the most carnal and spiritually immature. It is possible that the feeding of the flesh in supersupernaturalism is also demonstrated by the continual change that has occurred in what supposedly miraculous phenomenon is being promoted. At its beginning, tongues was considered the requirement for entry into the movement, and the most important gift that had been restored to the Church. However, as Dr. Edgar notes: The modern charismatic movement made little impact on the basis of speaking in tongues alone. It was not until “healing”

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was added that the movement began to grow in significant numbers. 65 Tongues, for many of those who observe it, is rather creepy and anything but attractive. But healing? Now you have an attraction! However, it would seem that significant segments of supersupernaturalism have gotten bored with that as well, and now prophecy has come to the fore, empowering anyone who desires it, an opportunity to address God’s people as if they were God themselves. And as the climax of attention on the supposed gift of Prophet has perhaps come, we are seeing a new and growing claim that Apostles are being restored to the Church as well. 66 What will come next when super-supernaturalism tires of this too? When super-supernaturalists habitually insist that practicing the miraculous gifts is the cure for boredom in the Church instead of sacrificial service to the King, we rather shudder to think what they will come up with next after “slaying,” “laughing,” “rolling,” being “drunk” or “glued,” and uttering obscure gibberish all “in the Spirit” have lost their appeal. This would suggest another indication that supersupernaturalism is of the flesh rather than the Spirit. Namely, its practitioners commonly grow tired of it. Accordingly, Dr. Percy of Oxford has studied the current state of super-supernaturalism in Britain, noting its recent decline in popularity and influence. These developments may be important for American supersupernaturalism as the British version has generally tracked several years ahead of its American cousin. One reason that Dr. Percy notes for the decreasing influence of super-supernaturalism is that, although its characteristics drew people because of their apparent freshness and novelty, these now have lost their emotional appeal. This has driven some in Britain back to “mainstream denominational churches.” Dr. Percy writes: As one leading figure within British Charismatic Christianity said to me recently: I sense that people are rather bored with charismatic phenomenon, and a bit nervous of just jumping on to the next bandwagon, in case they get their fingers burned again. They’ve had Signs and Wonders, the Kansas City prophets, power evangelism, power healing, deliverance, the “Toronto Blessing,” and more besides. . . . But where has it taken us? I think that people are just tired. 67 We pray that our super-supernatural brethren may enter the real refreshment of the Holy Spirit that comes by denying ourselves

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and losing our life in sacrificial obedience, rather than seeking merely an emotional experience.

Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Our Father in Heaven, we feel like Nehemiah who surveyed the state of Your city and repented for his people for their idolatry. The amount of doctrinal decay in Your Church is appalling and alarming. Dear God, send us to repair the walls so that the enemy cannot so easily walk in and take advantage of Your people. Help us somehow to have the opportunity to speak the truth in love to rescue some from the false teachings they have fallen into, and to protect others from ever doing so. Oh God, send us with humility and grace, but also with truth! Gauging Your Grasp 1) What are the current estimates of those claiming and practicing super-supernatural beliefs? 2) Given its popularity in the Church, why would we want to question it? 3) We claim super-supernaturalism cannot claim a unique outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What facts do we base this on? Do you agree or disagree and why? 4) In light of the early alarm that super-supernaturalism caused in Evangelical Christianity because of its doctrines and practices, what are several reasons we claim it has become so popular? 5) What sobering warning do we claim Christ gave concerning modern super-supernaturalism? What are several aspects of this warning? Do you agree or disagree that this warning applies to modern super-supernaturalism?

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6) What biblical and historical examples do we offer to support our claim that it is not popularity, numerical growth, or finances that tell us whether or not a movement is empowered by God? 7) How would a real world-wide outpouring and experience of the Holy Spirit manifest itself? Are these things in supersupernaturalism? 8) What do we claim the wide acceptance of super-supernaturalism in the Church says about American Christianity and its leaders? Do you agree or disagree? 9) What historical support do we provide for the claim that supersupernaturalism has been one of satan’s most effective tools to distract, dilute, and derail the spiritual revival that has actually taken place in the last few decades? 10) What are examples of appalling lack of virtue among the foremost leaders of super-supernaturalism? What is your conclusion regarding this? 11) We claim that while authentic Christianity requires the denial of the flesh, super-supernaturalism appeals to this very thing. Why do we claim that? Do you agree or disagree and why? 12) What similarities do you see between modern supersupernaturalism and the concerns the Apostle Paul had about the Corinthian church?

Publications & Particulars 1

Paul Hiebert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries (Baker, 1999), 148.

2

Doug Bannister, The Word and Power Church (Zondervan, 1999, 114.

3

As we discuss extensively elsewhere, false faith is much more common and much harder to recognize than most in the Church are willing to believe today. See chapter 6.6.

4

Bannister, 119.

5

Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed and the deception and abilities of false faith demonstrate this. See section 6.6.B.

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6

J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007), 168.

7

Ibid., 167.

8

James White, Scripture Alone: Exploring The Bible's Accuracy, Authority, And Authenticity, (Bethany House, 2004), 195.

9

Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History (Oxford University Press, 2000), 185-6, 228.

10

Jenkins 69, 227-9.

11

Worse than fakes, we point out elsewhere the very likely possibility that Christ was warning the Church of demonically empowered miracle workers in its midst, of which we fear is quite common in supersupernaturalism. For what we believe was Christ’s warning concerning super-supernaturalism see section 6.6.E.

12

For a detailed discussion of the biblical doctrine of false faith as opposed to saving faith see chapter 6.6.

13

For an introduction to the biblical qualifications for Prophets see section 9.1.B.

14

For further discussion on the biblical qualifications of God-sent miracle workers see chapter 11.1.

15

For further discussion of exorcism see section 11.10.B.

16

The claims of the miraculous happening in super-supernaturalism will be generally exposed as fraudulent elsewhere. See sections 11.7.B.9 and 11.8.E-F.

17

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Prefatory Address; online at www.ccel.org.

18

Michael Green, The Message of Matthew (BST) (Intervarsity, 2000), 109.

19

“Is American Christianity Turning Charismatic?,” Jan. 2008; Barna Group; online at www.barnagroup.org.

20

For further discussion of the nature of saving and false faith see chapters 6.3 and 6.6.

21

Quoted in Stephen J. Nichols, An Absolute Sort of Certainty: The Holy Spirit and the Apologetics of Jonathan Edwards (Presbyterian and Reformed, 2003), 116.

22

D. M. Lloyd-Jones, The Sovereign Spirit: Shaw, 1985), 75.

23

D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. CD-ROM (Zondervan, n.d.), Matt 13:20-21.

24

D. A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount (Baker, 1978), 131.

25

Carson, Sermon, 130-131.

Discerning the Gifts (Harold

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26

The Church simply does not understand the depth, breadth, power, and danger of demonic deception. See section 11.11.A.

27

Accordingly, there is good reason to be alarmed by supersupernaturalism’s claims of the miraculous when all of them, without exception, can be observed just as supernaturally among contemporary cults, witch doctors, fortune tellers, Buddhists, and New Agers, as we document elsewhere. See chapter 11.12.

28

For further discussion of the error of emotionalism particularly in charismaticism see chapters 4.10-11.

29

Henry and Richard Blackaby, Hearing God’s Voice (Broadman & Holman, 2003), 191-2.

30

Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, 2 vols. (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970), 348-9.

31

Hulse.

32

John Gerstner, The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, 3 vols. (Berea, 1991), I.165.

33

Jonathan Edwards, Treatise on Religious Affections, III.4.4; online at www.ccel.org,

34

Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Word, 1997), 115-116.

35

Thomas R. Edgar, “The Cessation of the Sign Gifts,” Bsac, 145 (1988), 372.

36

Mark I. Bubeck, The Adversary (Moody Press, 1975), 129-130.

37

As we have repeated and demonstrated throughout KOG, the only real way to tell the difference between the divine and demonic is supernatural virtue, not popularity or power. See chapter 11.13.

38

Bannister, 40-41.

39

Regarding the fact that the foremost founders and leaders of supersupernaturalism have actually exhibited a great deal of lying, greed, spiritual immaturity, and gross immorality. see esp. section 11.7.B.9.

40

Nonetheless, elsewhere we document Mr. Hinn’s fraudulent healing claims and false prophecies. See sections 9.11.F.3 and 11.8.F.4.

41

Benny Hinn, Good Morning, Holy Spirit (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), 9, 11-12.

42

Regarding the unbiblical nature of “slaying in the spirit” see section 4.11.B.3.

43

Benny Hinn, “Double Portion Annointing,” Part #3, Orlando Christian Center, Orlando, FL, audiotape, aired on TBN, 4-7-91.

44

http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/tbn.htm.

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45

References for these details regarding Benny Hinn can be found at Wikipedia online at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Hinn

46

Surely Mr. Haggard represents both the political and cultural “success” of super-supernaturalism and the very depths of the immorality for which its foremost leaders have been known for, which we have documented here and elsewhere. See esp. section 11.7.B.9.

47

http://www.backtojerusalem.com.

48

Edgar, 385-6

49

For a discussion of the proper interpretation and application of Joel 2 and Acts 2 see section 8.7.B.2.

50

Edwards, Affections, III.12.2.9. (last words in treatise); online at www.ccel.org.

51

“Is American Christianity Turning Charismatic?,” Jan. 2008; Barna Group; online at www.barnagroup.org.

52

A. W. Tozer, “The Speaking highway.com/voice_Tozer.html.

53

Richard Quebedeaux, The New Charismatics: The Origins, Development, and Significance of Neo-Pentecostalism (Doubleday, 1976), 181, 85-89.

54

Walter J. Hollenweger, Pentecostalism (Hendrickson, 1997), 132.

55

Ibid.

56

Ibid., 254.

57

Ibid., 243.

58

Richard B. Gaffin, “The Holy Spirit” WTJ 43 (Fall 1980) p. 58.

59

ref. unavailable.

60

D. A. Carson, in Power Religion: Church? (Moody, 1992), 113.

61

Erwin Lutzer, Seven Convincing Miracles (Moody, 1999), 12.

62

In the context of the Apostle Paul’s own reference to this incident in 1 Corinthians, Dr. Anthony Thiselton writes: Paul cites the LXX wording, the LXX [paizein] was presumably chosen as the nearest equivalent to the Hebrew which it translated [tsachaq]. BDB renders the Qal form to laugh, but the form used in the context of Exod 32:6 is to make sport, allowing for a probably triple meaning: (i) "letting their hair down" in the absence of Moses with nuances of (ii) idolatrous dancing before the golden calf, and (iii) sexual license approaching orgy - all in contrast to the theological and ethical restraint and sober self-control (cf. 9:24-27) demanded of God's covenant people. This demands a more forceful translation than “to play” (NRSV) and a more sinister nuance than “to revel” (REB). [Pentecostal

Voice”

as

http://www.the-

The Selling Out of the Evangelical

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commentator Gordon] Fee criticizes NIV's “to indulge in pagan revelry” as reading pagan into the text, but his criticism overlooks Bertram's exegesis of Exodus 32 in "cultic dancing" or overly harsh in the light of the Hebrew and the context of Exod 32:1-6, where "pagan-like" is implicit. The combination "lifting the lid" of control or restraint, fired by drink, a party mood, and the absence of the patriarchal figure of Moses led to more than mere play. (The First Epistle to the Corinthians [Eerdmans, 2000], 734-5) 63

See for example, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, who specifically relate it to the manner “in which the Egyptians celebrated their feast of Apis (Herod. 2, 60, and 3, 27).” (Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.com, 2000]).

64

Excerpted from section 4.11.D.

65

Edgar, 376.

66

Regarding the growing claim that Apostles are being restored to the Church see section 8.5.B.

67

ref. unavailable.

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Chapter 10.16

The Dangers of Supersupernaturalism The Damage of a Monumental Delusion

Table of Topics A) The Dangers of Super-supernaturalism B) Positives are Not Unique, and All of Its Uniquenesses are Either Unimportant, Damaging, or Demonic C) Ignoring the Sufficiency of Nature D) Disparaging God E) Disparaging Scripture & Exalting Experience F) Redefining Spirituality G) Intimidating & Criticizing Christians H) Emotionally Damaging Christians H.1) Promising healing H.2) Promising wealth H.3) Disparaging suffering H.4) Preying on emotional breakdowns H.5) Disappointing Christians I) A Biblical Response to Super-supernaturalism Extras & Endnotes

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Primary Points  None of the positive things regarding super-supernaturalism are unique to it, and all of its true uniquenesses are either unbiblical or unimportant.  Super-supernaturalism leads to the disparagement of God because it claims miracles are needed to prove His love and compassion.  Super-supernaturalism makes experiences, which are subject to misinterpretation and demonic manipulation, to be as authoritative as Scripture.  Super-supernaturalism has redefined Christian spirituality as experiencing the miraculous gifts of the Spirit instead of His virtues, and subsequently have taken a rather arrogant, slanderous, and intimidating stance toward other Christians.  Through its unbiblical and unfulfilled promises, disparagement of the God-ordained value of suffering, and consistent preying on people’s emotions, super-supernaturalism has caused a great deal of damage in Christianity.  Our response to super-supernaturalism needs to begin with properly interpreting Scripture in order to offer a biblically based critique, confront its false doctrines and subsequent harm to Christians, forgive the true Christians and fake Christians involved in it, pray against this spiritual battle, and live out Authentic Christianity ourselves.

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A) The Dangers of Super-supernaturalism The doctrinal debate surrounding super-supernaturalism is much more than just that. We would claim that very few things have been used by satan to assault the Church more effectively in all of its history. Throughout Knowing Our God we thoroughly discuss many of these very serious dangers and doctrinal errors of supersupernatural teaching and practice. These include: 1)

Biblical and historical support refuting the supersupernaturalist claim that the miraculous sign gifts are still operating. 1

2) A demonstration that current phenomena claimed to be miracle working is far inferior to biblical miracle working in supernatural power, and therefore there should be no such modern claim to such gifts. 2 3) An exceptional amount of fraud in super-supernaturalism.

3

4) A weakening of the divine authentication of the authority of Scripture because of super-supernaturalist claims to the sign gifts of the King, Prophets and Apostles. 4 5) An alarming lack of discernment regarding distinguishing divine from demonic supernatural phenomena, making super-supernaturalists particularly guilty of allowing demonic infiltrations of the Church and setting it up for the End Time deceptions of the antichrist that the real Christ warned us of. 5 6) A misinterpretation of John 14:12 as referring to physical miracles and therefore a general devaluing of the more important spiritual miracle of conversion/regeneration that the King was actually talking about. 6 7) A devaluation of the more important spiritual serving gifts because of an overemphasis on supposed sign gifts. 7 8) A tendency to misinterpret circumstances and events as the miraculous and direct intervention of God for the purpose of communicating something, often resulting in misplaced blame against God. 8 9) The tendency and actual occurrence of lying about God’s supernatural intervention because they do not value discernment and the place of divine authentication enough. 9

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10) Susceptibility and common commitment of the egregious sin of testing God because of expectations of miracles in contexts God does not promise one. 10 11) Its misplaced arrogance in claiming a prayer and singing “gift” (in tongues) that spiritually edifies them in a way not available to other Christians and allows for more intimate communication and worship with the Father, such that His children without the “gift” are excluded from such intimacy. 11 12)

Its misuse of exorcism, potentially hurting people more than helping them. 12

13) A self-centered focus on the physical benefits of healing while ignoring their more important and biblical authenticating function. 13 14)

The propensity to advertise and exaggerate their “miracles” instead of command silence as Christ often did, revealing impure motives. 14

15) The prevalence of pagan worship practices.

15

16) The deceitful, greedy, and sexually immoral character of its most foundational and influential “faith healers.” 16 17) The illegitimate criticizing of Christians for a lack of faith concerning miracles when, in fact, miracle faith is the sovereign gift of God, and the absence of a miracle may be the fault of a lack of such faith on the part of the “healer. 17 18)

Being a primary cause of over-skepticism regarding the miraculous. 18

19) The splitting of more Christian churches than any other issue in Church history. 19 20) Claiming new divine revelation from God through modern “prophets.” 20 Here, we wish to discuss additional problems with supersupernaturalism that are not discussed at length elsewhere.

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B) Positives are Not Unique, and All of Its Uniquenesses are Either Unimportant, Damaging, or Demonic Because many of those engaged in super-supernaturalism are born again Christians, we would expect many positive things surrounding it. For example, John Armstrong writes: Out of the Vineyard's [a branch of modern supersupernaturalism] stress on not placing limits on God's power and freedom flows an intense desire to worship God in a meaningful and positive way. I have sensed in my dialogue with Vineyard people a real hunger to meet God and to worship Him as the living, powerful God of Scripture. Simple, but sometimes quite moving and scriptural, praise music also is a product of that desire. We use some of these Vineyard songs in my own congregation. Further, there is a positive stress on koinonia, or fellowship. In our highly technocratic age we crave relational ministries, and far too often the church has responded with very impersonal programs. The passion I have noticed among Vineyard people for the lost is also encouraging. Greater zeal for perishing sinners is desperately needed in our evangelical churches. In both personal interaction and in public meetings, I saw a genuine desire to reach out to non-Christians. 21 Likewise, J. I. Packer shares several positive things in supersupernaturalist churches including: Christ-centeredness, Spiritempowered living, prayerfulness, joyfulness, congregation-wide worship, every-member ministry, missionary zeal, small group ministry, openness to changing church organizational structures, and generous financial giving. 22 We can agree with these, and believe if there was not so much potential good in the Christians involved with super-supernaturalism the devil wouldn’t be working so hard to derail and corrupt them with the deceptions of supersupernaturalism. While there are surely good things among those involved in super-supernatural doctrines and practices, we would also claim again that none of those things are unique to super-supernaturalists Christians. No one who knows the state of Christianity in America and abroad would claim by personal experience or statistics that, in general, super-supernatural churches and Christians are more evangelistic, financially generous, or more committed to fellowship. This is because these are things that any Christian will desire to do, and the unique doctrines and practices of super-supernaturalism, or even a possession of miraculous gifts, do not enhance these basic elements of the Christian life. In other words, whatever we could

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praise super-supernaturalist Christians and churches for, we could just as easily praise historicist Christians and churches for. Whatever uniquenesses do exist within super-supernaturalism are either inconsequential, damaging, or demonic. For example, we have written regarding the rather meaningless influence of charismaticism elsewhere: No one can deny that such emotionalist [i.e. “charismatic”] churches are more expressive in their corporate worship. Accordingly, perhaps the single most significant and acceptable influence that emotionalism has had on American Christianity is that we clap more in our worship services. We can find one verse of Scripture that even suggests this is biblical (cf. Ps 47:1). However, at best this is simply a personal preference and has no automatic bearing on how God-pleasing our worship is. Saying that your church has more emotional or expressive worship is like saying your worship music includes a heavier element of the drums or violin. It makes the worship different than elsewhere, but not necessarily better from God’s point of view, which is the only perspective that matters. Unfortunately, emotionalists have illegitimately criticized less expressive and more liturgical worship, assuming that it cannot be as God-pleasing or life changing as their brand of worship. On the contrary, Jesus said, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). Understanding that “in spirit” means much more than emotions, “charismatic” worship has no automatic superiority over other authentic forms of Christian worship and its overly emotional element can actually be selfish and sinful, as demonstrated above. And considering much of the content of the lyrics that has come out of “charismatic” worship, and the mindless nature of much of it, they are clearly inferior when it comes to the Father’s desire that we “worship. . . in truth.” 23 The damaging aspects of the uniquenesses of supersupernaturalism are partially listed above, others discussed below, and still others discussed throughout the following chapters of this section of KOG. We also write a great deal concerning the alarming demonic nature of much of the phenomena in super-supernaturalism. 24 When we note that the historically very unique claims to prophesying, exorcisms, and performing miracles essentially define super-supernaturalism, we are rather amazed to read Christ’s warning that “many” servants of satan will make the same unique claims. (cf. Matt 7:21-23)

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Therefore, when 1) the miraculous phenomena in supersupernaturalism is demonstrated to fall far short of the biblical attributes of such gifts, 25 and 2) clearly demonically-empowered miracle workers in false religions perform even greater miracles than anyone in super-supernaturalism, 26 and 3) Christ warned us that “many” miracle workers and exorcists in the Church would be demonic fakes, then it is not unreasonable to conclude that while super-supernaturalism claims to be an unprecedented work of the Holy Spirit, that it may actually be an unparalleled invasion of demonic deception and power into the Church of God.

C) Ignoring the Sufficiency of Nature While demonic influence is the most alarming danger of supersupernaturalism, perhaps its most fundamental error is an overexpectation of divine intervention because of a devaluation of the God-ordained sufficiency of natural means. 27 While antisupernaturalists think the “ordinary and natural processes” God has ordained are all-sufficient to accomplish God’s will, supersupernaturalists do not value those processes enough. As Dr. Packer has noted: For God to proceed slowly and by natural means is to him [a super-supernaturalist] a disappointment, almost a betrayal. But his undervaluing of the natural, regular, and ordinary shows him to be romantically immature and weak in his grasp of the realities of creation and providence as basic to God's work of grace. 28 Miracles simply are not as necessary as super-supernaturalists claim. Accordingly, we have written elsewhere: Super-supernaturalists insist miracles are needed in abundance for all sorts of reasons. Part of the problem is that they forget that God will not do for us what He has already enabled us to do. This, coupled with the fact that He has enabled us to do everything He has commanded, is a significant reason why miracles are so extremely rare. And more often than super-supernaturalists want to admit, the things we cannot do, simply do not need doing. 29 Several important points are made here. First, when we expect God to do for us what He has already enabled and is expecting us to do, we will be living in sin. For example, many pray for supernatural assistance to forgive or love someone, and they wait for such assistance. However, in reality, God has already given the Christian the ability to love and forgive through the New Nature and there is nothing else for God to do, but we must simply obey. This

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relates to the fact that God has already enabled us to do everything He has commanded us to do in Scripture by indwelling us with Himself. Secondly, our natural abilities are valued by God much more than super-supernaturalism reflects. He does not often instantly transport us somewhere in order to share the Gospel as he did Philip the Evangelist (cf. Acts 8:39). When God gave Noah the monumental task of building the ark, other than giving Noah the plans, we have no indication that God supernaturally intervened in the boat building. That’s why it required a hundred some years to complete. Contrary to super-supernaturalism, God wanted Noah and his sons to take that long and endure cutting trees and shaping planks with their natural abilities and strength in order to accomplish such an important task. Finally, we so often think that the fulfillment of God’s will requires miraculous intervention, when this is not the case. There are, of course, events in which it does, such as spiritual conversion. But because super-supernaturalists devalue the place of the natural processes God has ordained for providing for and guiding our life, and fulfilling His will, they have an unbiblical and potentially hazardous expectation of the supernatural. Having a super-supernatural world-view has all kinds of unfortunate consequences. First, if one believes that God is constantly and directly intervening and manipulating things in our life, then everything becomes a personal message from God instead of an ordinary, natural event in our life or God’s Creation. Therefore, when bad things happen, there is a temptation to automatically assume God is somehow judging us. Accordingly, we read in Scripture: As He [Jesus] went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in His life. (John 9:1-3) Notice here that the disciples seem to give a supernatural explanation to something that happens naturally. In other words, the disciples assumed that the man’s blindness was due to some special intervention by God in order to punish the man for his or his parents’ sin. In our opinion, the fact that Jesus used the man’s natural condition to glorify God does not imply that that condition was the “work of God” but rather the miracle was. In other words, the disciples were claiming that the supernatural reason this man had a physical ailment was because God was supernaturally

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punishing him for spiritual sin. Sound familiar? As we discuss elsewhere, it is all too common in super-supernaturalists circles to claim that the reason someone remains unhealed is because of sin in their life. Their over-expectation of miracles erroneously leads them to equate the absence of such miracles with the presence of sin. Along the same lines we read: Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! (Luke 13:1-5) Once again, we would suggest that an over-expectation of divine miraculous intervention led these people to interpret naturally occurring events as the punishing hand of God. And to do so was to misrepresent God and misinterpret the events. Accordingly, we have spoken elsewhere of the dangers of interpreting natural disasters as the hand of God. 30 Likewise, as mentioned above, super-supernaturalism can lead to paralysis as we wait for God to miraculously do something He has already enabled us to do. Also, in a super-supernatural world, demons are unnecessarily blamed for all kinds of evil. Therefore, the solution to sin is exorcism instead of repentance, a view that the King said had dangerous consequences. 31 Likewise, because so much physical and psychological disease is demonic from a supersupernatural perspective, super-supernatural cures are thought necessary and the natural processes God has created our bodies with, or that doctors have developed, can be unwisely devalued or even discarded.

D) Disparaging God A related error in super-supernatural literature is confusing the gift of healing with God’s compassion. Along these lines, Jack Deere claims: When some people try to tell me that God no longer heals, or that he only heals rarely, I want to ask them, “Where has the Lord’s compassion gone? Does Jesus Christ no longer

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walk among our churches? Does he no longer notice our pain? Does he no longer care for the families who have loved ones in mental hospitals, or whose babies are born with twisted bodies?” I don’t think his compassion has changed at all. I think he is just as willing as he was in the first century to touch both our spirits and our bodies. I think it is the church that has changed, not God. . . . To argue that Jesus has withdrawn his healing ministry from the church today is to argue that he has also withdrawn his compassion from the church. But if we believe in a compassionate Savior, we ought to have confidence in his desire to heal in the church today. ” 32 One might be offended by Mr. Deere’s language. According to him, those who would claim that the miraculous gifts no longer operate today also claim that God has lost His compassion. Such an unnecessary accusation may not be worth a rebuttal, but because of the several deceptive and harmful conclusions that could be drawn from such a statement, the following will be added. First of all, in both the first and last sentences cited above, Mr. Deere copies the familiar mistake of not distinguishing between that fact that God still heals today through direct miracles He does, but not through the delegated miracle working of those with the biblical gifts of healing. 33 Of course God still heals, just not through miracle workers as super-supernaturalism claims. Secondly, Mr. Deere again misses the primary purpose that Jesus healed and highlights secondary effects. Christ’s primary purpose for healing was to prove to the Jews that He was sent from God (cf. John 2:18; 3:2; 5:36; 10:38; 15:24), not to heal the physical ills of the world or those around Him. 34 Thirdly, Mr. Deere would have us assume that God healed a multitude of people in the first century when neither the biblical nor secular historical record gives evidence of such. 35 Fourth, is Mr. Deere really thinking about what he is saying when he claims that because “the church . . . has changed” it has triumphed over and blocked God’s sovereign desire to exercise compassion on His people? 36 Fifth, Mr. Deere would seem to reveal a great deal of spiritual immaturity by equating God’s love to His changing our difficult circumstances. God is much more interested in our character and choice to trust Him in difficult circumstances than in simply waving His wand and removing those circumstances. This is, of course, a popular, but unbiblical mindset in super-supernaturalism and is repeatedly exposed in their frequent “health and wealth” teachings. Considering the number of good Christians who are sick, lame,

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disabled, dying, and dead, experience would tell us differently, as well as the biblical record. Thank God that our difficult circumstances are not a reflection of some lack of compassion that God has for us, which is the conclusion to be drawn from Mr. Deere’s argument. If Mr. Deere’s argument truly applies to divine healing, than our physical health, finances, and every other circumstance in our life becomes a barometer of God’s love for us. A more deceitful and damaging heresy could hardly be suggested. At the bottom of such thinking is the belief that God still needs to prove His love to us through miraculous interventions to keep our life healthy and wealthy. In reality, God’s love has once and for all been demonstrated on the Cross and the purpose of this life is for us to prove our love for God by often enduring difficult circumstances. In super-supernaturalism God exists to serve and impress us, instead of the fact that we exist to serve and please Him. Super-supernaturalists need to be reminded of St. Augustine’s (354-430) warning that: God is tempted in religion itself, when signs and wonders are demanded of him, and are desired not for some wholesome purpose but only for experience of them. 37 Finally, equating divine healing with God’s compassion is a double edged sword for super-supernaturalists. They will admit almost without exception that the abundance of healings through miracle workers decreased significantly after the age of Christ and the Apostles. Are we to conclude that God’s compassion for His people also decreased after that? Are we to conclude that God has more compassion for super-supernaturalists today who claim to be experiencing miraculous healings to a much greater degree than others? It would seem again that super-supernaturalists are not willing to honestly address the full implications of their beliefs.

E) Disparaging Scripture & Exalting Experience It is very easy for humans to live by feelings instead of faith. As we have demonstrated elsewhere, the only reliable basis for any specifically Christian faith is the written words of Scripture, and absolutely nothing else. 38 Experiences can come from all sorts of circumstances, and if allowed to lead us, will inevitably mislead us. 39 Nonetheless, as discussed more thoroughly elsewhere, extrabiblical experiences are worshipped in the American Church and erroneously thought to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. 40

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Dr. Packer speaks of the authority given to mere experiences in pagan culture in general when he writes: We are very self-absorbed; the human-centeredness of our Western culture has made us so. We are interested in experiences, meaning our "feelings" or our "reactions to something," for their own sake, as if experiences are all that matters. We are inclined to jump to the conclusion that the more intense an experience is, the more of God there must be in it. But by biblical standards that is not so at all. 41 As with other pagan cultural trends, super-supernaturalism is at the forefront of promoting experience as a source of spiritual authority, with the inevitable result of reducing the authority of Scripture. This exaltation of experience and its damaging consequences, are reflected when John MacArthur writes: The entire [charismatic] movement has absorbed the erroneous notion that whatever is truly spiritual must transcend or bypass people's rational senses. Spiritual gifts supposedly operate by suspending the faculties of human reason. One might think that the strongest evidence of the Holy Spirit's power is when someone lapses into a stupor. And so the lore of the charismatic movement is filled with outrageous accounts of behavior that resembles trances, seizures, subliminal messaging, hypnosis, suspended animation, frenzy, hysteria, even dementia. These are often cited as proof that God is at work in the movement. . . . I suspect a[n] . . . anxiety reaches right into the ranks of the charismatics themselves. Could it be that some who attend these fellowships are tempted to exaggerate, dramatize, or even fabricate some miracle of special experience because of their need to keep up with the brethren who appear to be more spiritual? . . . . Most charismatics believe progress in the Christian life is having something more, something better, some electrifying experience. An ex-charismatic in my congregation told me why he had grown frustrated in the charismatic movement: "You spend the rest of your life trying to find another experience." The Christian life becomes a pilgrimage from experience to experience, and if each one is not more spectacular than its predecessor, many people begin to wonder if something is wrong. 42 It is this very exaltation of experience in super-supernaturalism that has led us elsewhere in KOG to discuss the unbiblical nature of many of its most valued worship experiences. These include being

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“slain in the Spirit,” being “drunk in the Spirit,” even “glued in the Spirit,” and “holy laughter,” all of which have absolutely no biblical support whatsoever, and intentionally put the mind in an “altered state of consciousness,” but because they are experienced in a church setting, they are believed to be Christian. 43 Nonetheless, experience is at the heart of super-supernaturalism, not the word of God, and therefore, not the Holy Spirit. For example, one of its founding fathers in America, Larry Christenson, wrote: There is a sound biblical theology for the baptism [Pentecostal style] with the Holy Spirit. But the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not a theology to be discussed and analyzed. It is an experience one enters into. 44 Such a statement sounds spiritual, just not biblical, and it exalts human experience as the ultimate source of truth rather than careful biblical exegesis. Likewise, regarding super-supernatural phenomena, a foremost theologian in the movement, J. Rodman Williams, writes: “One has difficulty finding adequate theological [i.e. biblical] language or ways of relating it to various doctrines of the Christian faith.” 45 Dr. Williams argues that we should adapt our interpretation of what is true to what we experience rather than interpreting our experiences through biblical truth. He makes a most revealing statement regarding super-supernaturalism when he writes, “At the critical center there is the knowledge that something has happened!” 46 And that is what is most important in super-supernaturalism. “Something has happened” and because it is in a Christian context and being experienced by Christian people we are to automatically assume that the source is the Holy Spirit even when it contradicts the Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures. Whenever the objective, dependable, divine written Word of God is neglected or devalued, there will always be a subsequent emphasis and exaltation of our subjective, deceitful, human experiences. A common super-supernaturalistic reply to those who would question that the source of their experiences is the Holy Spirit is to say, “Don’t judge it unless you have experienced it.” Obviously there are many things that the Bible teaches us that we can know for certain without experiencing it. Hell would be one. And such a response misses the point of an honest and biblical inquiry. Historicists do not question that super-supernaturalists experiences are real, but when the latter claim that the source of those experiences is the Holy Spirit, then they have stepped on biblical ground and they must interpret those experiences on that ground. It is not right, nor rational, to claim that an event or

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experience is from God, and then dismiss or devalue the use of the Bible to examine it. Unfortunately, as we will note throughout this section of KOG, the tendency in super-supernaturalism is to make Scripture conform to their experience, rather than interpreting their experience through Scripture. Generally, super-supernaturalists are not embarrassed at all about their exaltation of experience as a source of spiritual authority. Accordingly, one of super-supernaturalism’s own historians has written: In Neo-Pentecostalism, then, spiritual authority rests ultimately in the present activity and teaching of the Holy Spirit at least as much in the Bible itself, whose essential truth is made known to individuals only by the power of the Spirit. Thus Charismatic Renewal rejects "bibliolatry." . . . The existential "encounter" with Christ rather than correct doctrine intellectually accepted becomes, in Charismatic Renewal, the only basis for Spirit baptism and the unity it effects. . . . The very unconcern in Neo-Pentecostalism about doctrinal formulations is in contrast to most sects-and in some considerable contrast to traditional Christianity, which has been an intensely "intellectual" (in the sense of being concerned about intellectual distinctions) and doctrinally oriented religion. Charismatic Renewal reflects other currents in our times in being reluctant to create boundaries or to establish firm and objective criteria. There is a powerful subjectivist element in it all. 47 Accordingly, it is emphasized that for theology to be relevant and useful, it must begin with interpreting subjective experiences of people rather than the objective revelation of the Scriptures. Therefore, the super-supernaturalist theologian F. Sontag writes in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society: Thus to be truly charismatic a theology would have to take its cue as much from an experience of the descent of the Holy Spirit as from Scripture or from tradition or from an understanding of the life of Jesus. Although a charismatic theology does not begin with a notion of God as Father or King but instead rises from below, it need not neglect Scripture or tradition or Jesus. To be a charismatic theology only requires that the experience of the presence and the movement of the Holy Spirit form the basis for the constructive theological effort. The experience of the Holy Spirit becomes the key upon which “God” and “Son” and “Church” are interpreted versus, say, taking the NT documents alone as in themselves the

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fundamental norm. A charismatic theology must be inspired by the enthusiasm of the Spirit. Otherwise theology comes at its task doomed to misunderstand God and sterile in its impact. . . . A charismatic theology would, however, have to start with the premise that the Spirit and his movements offer more direct access to God’s nature than rationality as such. 48 The super-supernatural devaluation of Scripture naturally exposes itself in various ways. For example, it has been common in super-supernaturalism to equate non-super-supernaturalists with the Pharisees. Their point is that the Pharisees were very committed to Scripture but lacked a great deal of spirituality. John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard Movement of churches, for example, in a message on healing, “expressed particular concern for the Calvary Chapel movement, well-known for teaching people verse-by-verse through the Scriptures”: Calvaryites [Wimber says] are sometimes a little too heavily oriented to the written Word. I know that sounds a little dangerous [a little?], but frankly they’re very pharisaical in their allegiance to the Bible. They have very little life and growth and spontaneity in their innards. Sometimes they’re very rigid and can’t receive much of the things of the Lord. 49 Likewise, Jack Deere writes: [T]here is something very wrong in our relationship with God when we do not see [visions], hear [voices], and feel [impressions] from him, and yet leave our “time with him” feeling satisfied.. . . This is what happened to the Pharisees who diligently studied the Bible, but “never heard his voice” (John 5:37). Evidently, Jesus thought that the voice of God and the Bible were not the same. 50 Mr. Deere’s false premise is that the reason the Pharisees “never heard His voice” is that they were wrongly seeking it in Scripture, instead of the subjective impulses and feelings that super-supernaturalism advocates. Yet, Christ tells us precisely why the Pharisees missed God in spite of their knowledge of Scripture: And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified concerning Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form, nor does His word dwell in you, for [oti, “because”] you do not believe the One He sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. (John 5:37-40)

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The reason the Pharisees and a myriad of Bible scholars since them have not heard God’s word in spite of their Bible knowledge, is because they are not born again believers in Christ. It is simply inexcusable for super-supernaturalists to disparage any real Christian for their commitment to understanding Scripture by accusing them of being Pharisees. There is no recognition of the fact that: 1) The Pharisees studied the Bible without the Spirit of God. To study the Scriptures with the Spirit is more life changing than any alternative method of interacting with God that Deere and others wish to recommend. 2) When Christ was here, new revelation was being given and the unbelieving Pharisees did not recognize it. New divine revelation is not being given today. The charismatic Evangelical Free pastor Doug Bannister writes in the context of why his church needed more super-supernaturalism: Something was missing. Our church had become too much like a classroom. We came dangerously close to defining spiritual growth as learning more about the Bible. Our Bible knowledge was increasing, but we had a hard time pressing beyond all the facts about God into the actual presence of God. We were getting to know Him propositionally, but were not encountering Him personally.51 Like most super-supernaturalists, Pastor Bannister defines experiencing “the actual presence of God” and “encountering Him personally” as primarily an emotional experience. 52 His concern is not unique as no right thinking Christian is content with mere Bible knowledge. However, Pastor Bannister and other “charismatics” are wrong to suggest that what needs to be added to Bible knowledge is extra biblical revelation. Stale Bible study is not an excuse for super-supernaturalism. It is unfortunate that Pastor Bannister doesn’t mention the life changing effect of obeying the Scriptures instead of seeking impulses and feelings apart from Scripture. Instead of casting a negative slur on Bible study, Christians would be better served by reminding them that it is an essential means to experiencing God. Contrary to Pastor Bannister and others like him, the perspective of orthodox Christianity throughout its history has been that Bible study and teaching combined with application and obedience to Scripture is God’s ordained and all-sufficient means to experiencing Him in a personal way. Along these lines, the respected Christian apologists Alan Richardson wrote: In this life our knowledge of God must remain rational knowledge in this sense; no wordless knowledge of God, or immediate apprehension of Him, is claimed as a result of

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Christian faith. Faith is not a mystical but a rational activity, and to seek "religious experiences" as an evidence for, or as a consequence of Christian faith, is the first false step in our religious life. 53 Accordingly, in contradistinction from super-supernaturalism, all Christians should resonate with James White who writes: Finally, I can honestly say that the deepest, most lasting spiritual experiences I've ever had have always been linked to Scripture. Working through the text of Isaiah 6 and the holiness of God . . . studying the truth of Christ's preeminence, eternality, and deity in Colossians 1 and 2 . . . peering in wonder through the veil of eternity at the relationship of the Father and the Son in Philippians 2:5-11. . . pondering in amazement the Son's self-humiliation in giving Himself for me . . . This is not the kind of spiritual ecstasy that will sell a million books, get you on TV, or launch you as a Christian media darling. But it is the kind of spiritual experience that lasts a lifetime. 54 It is our belief that on that Great Day when the truth is known, it will be revealed that during our lifetime, the promotion and practice of super-supernaturalism in God’s Church did more to devalue the unique authority of Scripture in the minds of God’s people than anything else. And we will regret it. Several Christian leaders have voiced a concern regarding super-supernaturalism’s exaltation of subjective experiences and subsequent degradation of the authority of objective Scripture. For example, in the early 1970’s the insightful Francis Schaeffer (19121984), in his book The New Super-Spirituality, saw parallels between super-supernaturalism and liberal, unorthodox Christianity. A contemporary wrote: Francis Schaeffer, an evangelical culture-critic also puts forward a negative assessment of Neo-Pentecostalism on the basis of what he feels is its weakened doctrinal commitmentits emphasis on "external signs" instead of theological "content"-and its spiritual elitism. Schaeffer thinks that one reason why some theological liberals find Charismatic Renewal attractive is the fact that experience ("feeling") functions as the central "doctrine" of both Pentecostalism and liberalism (with its roots in Schleiermacher and later in existentialism). He declares: One can . . . see a parallel between the new Pentecostals and the liberals. The liberal theologians don't believe in content or religious truth. They are really existentialists

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using theological, Christian terminology. Consequently, not believing in truth, they can enter into fellowship with any other experience-oriented group using religious language. 55 Likewise, the very respected OT scholar, Merrill F. Unger (19091980) wrote around the same time: A third important reason exists why the modern charismatic revival is subject to attack from evil powers. In its commendable zeal for the power and blessing of God, it has not always been fortified by sound doctrinal teaching from the Word of God. It has sometimes forgotten what no revival movement may forget with impunity - that experience and practice, no matter how apparently genuine and plausibly exercised by the Spirit, must be rigidly judged and regulated by the Word of God. 56 More recently, Dr. Packer, in the context of a gentle rebuke to super-supernaturalism on this very point, wisely notes: Charismatic theology . . . looks loose, erratic, and naïve, and the movement’s tolerance of variations, particularly when these are backed by “prophecies” received through prayer, suggests a commitment to given truth in Scripture that is altogether too fragile. . . . Experience is a slippery word, and experiences coming to imperfectly sanctified sinners cannot but have dross mixed with their gold. No experience just by happening can authenticate itself as sent by God to further his work of grace. The mere fact that a Christian has an experience does not make it a Christian experience. 57 Likewise, Dr. Edgar has written: The significance of the experience-centered focus of Charismatics is often missed. Part of the problem that underlies the controversy is that cessationists [historicists] assume that solid scriptural discussion will be the basis for determining the validity of the cessationists or Charismatics viewpoint. . . . [However] the experience of the Charismatic . . . is assumed to be true and has no need to be validated by Scripture. Therefore, Scriptural argument will seldom convince Charismatics that their interpretation of the experience is wrong. . . . Even if cessationism could not be proven with certainty, this would establish none of the other assumptions

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necessary to conclude that an individual’s experience is . . . from God. 58 Accordingly, most of those who have ever attempted a biblical discussion of super-supernaturalism with one who thinks they have experienced it, will testify that the super-supernaturalist is much more interested in talking about the experience, rather than the Scriptures. Unfortunately, examples of the exaltation of experience and the devaluation of Scripture abound in super-supernaturalism. Church historian Ian Murray writes of its rise in Britain: By the 1970s, it was said, the majority of younger evangelicals in the Church of England were charismatic in outlook. The charismatic change was certainly in evidence at Nottingham where there was drama and dance but the public exposition of Scripture was no longer to the fore. 59 This same trend is abundantly observed in the writings of the influential super-supernaturalist author Jack Deere. For example, he has written: A Bible deist [i.e. historicist] has a lot in common with the natural deist. They both worship the wrong thing. The deists of the eighteenth century worshiped human reason. The Bible deists of today worship the Bible. Bible deists have great difficulty separating Christ and the Bible. Unconsciously in their minds the Bible and Christ merge into one entity. Christ cannot speak or be known apart from the Bible. . . . They do not understand how it is possible to preach the Bible without preaching Christ. . . . The Bible deist talks a lot about the sufficiency of Scripturein reality he is proclaiming the sufficiency of his own interpretation of the Scripture. When many people say they have confidence in the Bible, what they really mean is they have confidence in their ability to interpret the Word. . . . The Bible deist is so confident in the sufficiency of his interpretation that it is difficult for him to be corrected by experience. 60 In other words, we are to believe that Mr. Deere’s interpretation of his experiences are more reliable than our interpretation of Scripture. This is nothing less than an all out attack on the authority and clarity of Scripture and the God-ordained place of Spirit-liberated reason in interpreting Scripture. However, it is also an exaltation of the authority of experience, which is so foundational to super-supernaturalism.

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Obviously, there are challenges to our interpretation of Scripture which we discuss elsewhere, but correctly interpreting objective Scripture is a lot easier than interpreting our subjective experiences, and God designed it to be so. 61 Nonetheless, supersupernaturalism continually places personal experience on par with Scripture as a source of divine authority, both in its teachings and practices. Unfortunately Mr. Deere ends up slandering those who hold to the superior authority and clarity of Scripture over any experience, and who maintain a unity between Christ and Scripture instead of trying to divide them. Several of Mr. Deere’s “biblical” arguments for his doctrines have been exposed as weak and insufficient elsewhere in KOG. It would seem that the author himself knew that. Accordingly, he masterfully uses the weapon of experience to support his doctrines. Virtually every chapter of his books begins with the retelling of a supernatural experience, not biblical truth. The biblical arguments are merely there to give the book a “Christian” flavor, because the real meat of Mr. Deere’s books is the amazing experiences he can tell. And there is little doubt that he puts these experiences in the face of historicists to say, “Now you explain that!” We have elsewhere, and unfortunately there is considerable evidence that the experiences that Mr. Deere is gloating in are demonic delusions. 62

Nonetheless, Mr. Deere would have us think that his beliefs are biblical convictions. For example, in chapter one of Surprised by the Power of God, when explaining how he became a supersupernaturalist, he writes in italics for emphasis: This shift in my thinking was not the result of an experience with any sort of supernatural phenomena. It was the result of a patient and intense study of the Scriptures. 63 Unfortunately the intensity of one’s study obviously does not necessarily have a direct bearing on its accuracy. Are we to assume that Mr. Deere discovered something in Scripture that the Christian Church throughout 1600 years virtually universally missed? And the fact that Mr. Deere italicizes the above statement makes it apparent that he wants to give the impression that he began his journey into super-supernaturalism because of Bible study. If he says above that the historicist cannot be confident in his interpretation of Scripture, why can Mr. Deere? We would suggest Mr. Deere’s claim that experience had nothing to do with his conversion to super-supernaturalism, and Scripture study had everything to do with it, is another exaggeration at the very least. Likewise, in chapter two Mr. Deere writes:

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As I drove to the airport in April to pick up Dr. White [a foremost leader of super-supernaturalism], I was tense with anticipation. My months of studying Scripture had given me a new openness to God’s power, and I sensed that I was about to embark on a new stage in my Christian life. 64 All of this talk of the importance of Scripture, however, is abandoned in the remainder of the book. By chapter three we are well immersed in the psychic abilities of John Wimber and his “amazing” ability to heal someone’s “backpain.” The next chapter then is entitled: “The Myth of Pure Biblical Objectivity” where Mr. Deere argues essentially that because of our inescapable personal bias, we cannot really claim that there is one true interpretation of Scripture. So much for the value of Scripture. By chapter five Mr. Deere says what he really believes: There is one basic reason why Bible-believing Christians do not believe in the miraculous gifts of the Spirit today. It is simply this: they have not seen them. [And he has?] . . . It is common for charismatics to be accused of building their theology on experience. However, all cessationists ultimately build their theology of the miraculous gifts on their lack of experience. . . . The doctrine of cessationism did not originate from a careful study of the Scriptures. The doctrine of cessationism originated in [a lack of] experience. 65 This is a good example of what we have meant by the fact that super-supernaturalist teachers like Mr. Deere talk out of both sides of their mouth. Above we saw that Mr. Deere claims he became a super-supernaturalist because of his “patient and intense study of the Scriptures,” but then claims here that the reason the rest of us are not super-supernaturalists is because of the lack of our experience. Again, we believe that subsequent chapters of KOG will demonstrate the shallowness of even Mr. Deere’s study of Scripture. Erwin Lutzer, pastor of Moody Bible Church relates one of many instances of the lack of respect for Scripture in supersupernaturalism in one of its most popular events in recent Church history, the so-called “Toronto revival”: Three charismatic authors, who are generally sympathetic to manifestations of the Spirit, have written of their grave misgivings about what was happening in Toronto [at the Vineyard Church]. One of them, Peter Fenwick, wrote, "My greatest fear springs from the fact that the Bible no longer occupies the place which it once did in the evangelical community. Indeed, the whole controversy surrounding the

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Toronto Blessing is in fact a major battle for the Bible." He goes on to say that the Toronto Blessing could not have started were it not for the acceptance of unbiblical practices. When serious Bible students pointed out that the "word of knowledge" in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12:8 KJV) does not refer to clairvoyance, that is, the ability of an evangelist to divine the various diseases of people in his audience, such instruction fell on deaf ears. 66 For the most part, it did not matter what the leaders did or said; it did not matter whether their practices were bizarre or their doctrine new and inconsistent. The leaders responded to criticism by saying, "Who are you to question what God is doing?" When people questioned why some things that were happening were not found in the Bible, the leaders responded with the verse "See, I am doing a new thing!" (Isaiah 43:19). Never mind that in the biblical context this "new thing" is God bringing the Jews back from exile, resettling them in the land, and establishing the coming kingdom. But this verse, wrested from its context, was now used to justify virtually anything and everything. Since now any manifestation of the Spirit could be described as a "new thing," Christians found themselves defenseless against error. 67 In other words, the foundation of what is unique in supersupernatural theology is what a Christian sees, hears, or experiences. Accordingly, several Christian scholars have warned of the danger of unevaluated experiences. For example, the respected Protestant Bible scholar Bernard Ramm (1916-1992) wrote simply. “The difference between a wise man and a fool is not in the degree of experience but in the measure of [biblical] truth extracted from experience.” 68 Likewise, Sinclair Ferguson has written: Unlike other theological differences (e.g. over the relationship between the body of Christ and the bread of the Lord's Supper), these [experiences in super-supernaturalism] are observable and measurable phenomena. . . . Yet this is precisely the heart of the problem: the phenomenon is indeed an experienced reality, but it is not a self-interpreting reality. This applies equally to tongues and prophecy, words of wisdom and knowledge, and to the working of miracles and healing by human hands. An important, but largely unrecognized, element of interpretation is involved in continuationism [super-supernaturalism]. 69

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Experience can never be the test of what is true, and especially of what is biblically true. Rather, biblical truth must always stand in judgment of the source and meaning of our experiences. Accordingly, Frederick Dale Bruner reflects the historical Christian position when he says: The test of anything calling itself Christian is not its significance or its success or its power, though these make the test more imperative. The test is truth. 70 Along the same lines, the influential British theologian Alister McGrath has written: Experience [is] something which requires to be interpreted. . . . According to this approach, Christian theology provides a framework -within which the ambiguities of experience may be interpreted. Theology aims to interpret experience. It is like a net which we can cast over experience, in order to capture its meaning. Experience is seen as something which is to be interpreted, rather than something which is itself capable of interpreting. The classic example of this approach is usually thought to be Martin Luther's "theology of the cross," which is of continuing significance as a critique of the role of experience in theology. Luther's position is that experience is of vital importance to theology; without experience, theology is impoverished and deficient, an empty shell waiting to be filled. Yet experience cannot by itself be regarded as a reliable theological resource; it must be interpreted and corrected by theology. Luther suggests that we attempt to imagine what it was like for the disciples of Jesus on the first Good Friday. They had given up everything to follow Jesus. Their whole reason for living centered on him. He seemed to have the answers to all their questions. Then, in front of their eyes, he was taken from them and publicly executed. God was experienced as being absent. There was no way in which anyone experienced God as being present on that occasion. Even Jesus himself seems to have had a momentary sense of the absence of God - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27: 46). This way of thinking, according to Luther, demonstrates how unreliable experience and feelings can be as guides to the presence of God. Those around the cross did not experience the presence of God - so they concluded that God was absent from the scene. The resurrection overturns that judgment: God was present in a hidden manner, which experience mistook for absence.

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Theology interprets our feelings, even to the point of contradicting them when they are misleading. It stresses the faithfulness of God and the reality of the resurrection hope even where experience seems to suggest otherwise. Theology thus gives us a framework for making sense of the contradictions of experience. God may be experienced as absent from the world - yet theology insists that this experience is provisional and flawed, and cannot be taken at face value. . . . The force of conviction is not an adequate criterion of truth. One can be forcefully, as well as sincerely, wrong. The appeal to subjective experiences of God, to personal visions, to esoteric and unverifiable words of knowledge, and for forceful, but unsubstantiated, convictions is as powerful as it is dangerous. The Charismatic movement de-emphasizes the objective means by which those revelations and visions may be checked against some criterion available to the general public, namely, the Scriptures. The virtual marginalization of Scripture within certain types of evangelicalism today is one of the greatest scandals of our age. 71 Of course, it will require several subsequent chapters in KOG to make a case that super-supernatural phenomena and claims to the miraculous gifts are not biblical and therefore neither Christian or of the Holy Spirit. But there is another test we can mention here, as we have repeatedly. The most important test of anything claiming to be from the Holy Spirit is the presence and growth of the virtuous fruits of the Spirit. And as we have already pointed out, no one would dare claim that for all the doctrines, practices, and experiences of super-supernaturalists, they are significantly more virtuous than historicists. Founding divine authority on human experience is unbiblical and hazardous. The mantra in American Christianity is that human experience is more transforming than the word of God. Admittedly, experiences are more powerful, but never more truthful. Only when our experience occurs in the context of the word of God can we be certain that it is true. Super-supernaturalism’s emphasis on the authority of experience has led large parts of it to believe that prosperity, health, and happiness are the ultimate Christian experiences on Earth, with a widespread neglect of the important place of suffering in Scripture. Because the Bible plays little or no part in supersupernaturalism, suffering plays little or no part in its teaching as well.

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None of this is to unnecessarily disparage the value of experience in the Christian life. Conversion, for example, can be a very memorable experience. Accordingly, theologian Carl Braaten has written: Our point is not to eliminate experience from the Christian life or theological method, only that it cannot properly function as the source and norm of Christian truth. . . . The reduction of theology to experience, both as its primal source and norm, results in the death of dogmatics as a churchly discipline. What takes its place is 'religious reflection' - reflection on one's personal religious experiences. Tom Driver begins his book, Patterns of Grace: Human Experience as Word of God, reflecting on his religious experience sitting in a bathtub. And it gets no better. . . . [W]hen Christian mysticism loses its dogmatic basis, it degenerates into mere feeling, nourished by pagan forms of spirituality. 72 Likewise, Donald Bloesch shares the balance when he writes: Scripture without experience is empty, but experience without Scripture is blind. Scripture is the objective norm by which we can measure the validity of our experience. But to be vital and fruitful, this norm must take root in our lives, which means that we must experience the reality of God presented in Scripture. 73 And while super-supernaturalism would certainly like to claim that it has helped American Christianity attain such a balance, this simply is not true. In fact, because of their many abuses of spiritual experience such as being “slain in the Spirit,” “drunk in the Spirit,” and even hysterical “laughter in the Spirit,” they have actually served to disparage the “Christian experience” into just that, an experience, instead of a life transforming event that leaves one holier and humbler. On the contrary, the experiences of the super-supernaturalists have made them arrogant. Here we are reminded of others who were boasting of experiences, and the disdain that the Apostle Paul had for them when he writes: Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen [or experienced!], and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head [Christ] (Col 2:18-19)

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So much for the unqualified exaltation of amazing experiences. Unfortunately, super-supernaturalism and the Church in general, have paid a great price for their degradation of Scripture and exaltation of experience. First, it is tragic that while the movement is certainly known for its charismatic personalities, there are very few respected Bible scholars or theologians among them. Suffice it to say that super-supernaturalism is not known for its careful or diligent study of Scripture. They would rather be known for their unbiblical or at least extra-biblical experiences. When they meet the King they will discover which one was infinitely more valuable to Him. Secondly, the Scriptures have enough enemies outside the Church, without those inside the Church disparaging its authority as well. Read the quotes and examples above again and ask whether or not super-supernaturalism is guilty of this great sin. Unfortunately, while the concerns of ones like Dr.’s Schaeffer and Unger were the majority view in their day, far fewer are expressing the concerns of Dr.’s Packer and Edgar in our day. We believe the degradation of the authority of Scripture has been immense within super-supernaturalism. Other movements throughout Church history have had the same effect as well, but none greater than this one. Even so, when one compares the amount of Christian literature that has been written to defend the Scriptures against similar attacks on its authority (e.g. liberalism, higher criticism, neoorthodoxy, 74 the errancy/inerrancy debate, and now postmodernism), one is surprised by the paltry defense that has been made against the dangers of super-supernaturalistic theology. This is not because the practical threat to the authority of Scripture is less than these past ones, but that the latter, as noted above, is so popular. Finally, super-supernaturalism’s commitment to experience instead of Scripture has destroyed a great deal of unity in the Church. Contrary to what super-supernaturalists claim, real unity within the Body of Christ will only come with agreement on central issues of Scripture, not shared experiences. A commitment to an unbiblical unity around subjective human experience rather than objective biblical truth is well attested in super-supernaturalism. We have already noted Francis Schaeffer’s concern above: One can . . . see a parallel between the new Pentecostals and the liberals. The liberal theologians don't believe in content or religious truth. They are really existentialists using theological, Christian terminology. Consequently, not believing in truth, they can enter into fellowship with any other experience-oriented group using religious language. 75

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While super-supernaturalism seeks unity through spreading its unique and unbiblical doctrines and practices, the Apostle Paul said nothing about such things when he wrote of unity: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace [a virtue]. 4 There is one body [the Church] and one Spirit [who is God]—just as you were called to one hope [a virtue] when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith [the doctrines of Scripture!], one baptism [a step of obedience]; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:3-6) One will search in vain in the Scriptures for biblical proof that the unique experiences of super-supernaturalism such as speaking in tongues, or being “slain in the Spirit” is what our unity is to be based upon. Biblical unity is based on truth, which is why the Apostle writes in this same passage that it is God’s goal that “we all reach unity in the faith” (Eph 4:13), which is doctrine. 76 Of course, many super-supernaturalists also recognize the unchristian division that exists today between them and historicists. Yet they would blame such division on the lack of acceptance among historicists instead of the lack of sound doctrine among super-supernaturalists. On the contrary, division among Christians is caused when someone veers from the clear teaching of Scripture and it is this abandonment of what the Scriptures teach regarding important doctrines that has created the division that exists today, not a lack of tolerance. Along these lines John MacArthur has written: Harmful division germinates . . . when someone turns away from the Word and lets error creep in to threaten the flock. . . . My principal concern is to call the church to a firm commitment to the purity and authority of the Scriptures, and thereby strengthen the unity of the true church. Perhaps the most serious damage done to the church by the charismatic movement has been precisely in this matter of unity. Who knows how many thousands of churches have split over charismatic teaching. . . . Many charismatics, I'm sure, are keenly aware of that difficulty, but it is compounded by a second tendency . . . this penchant for doctrinal ambiguity . . . [through which] the charismatic movement has unwittingly succeeded in becoming the kind of worldwide ecumenical force many liberals originally envisioned. . . . Charismatic ecumenism is steadily eroding any claim the charismatic movement ever had to biblical orthodoxy. . . . The charismatic movement is entirely unequipped to defend against [heretical] influences. And so while charismatic

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doctrine tends to be divisive among groups that are orthodox, it has had the opposite effect among groups that are not. 77 Accordingly, Dr. Gaffin has written: Consider this disconcerting situation: Especially in recent decades the work of the one Spirit, given to unify the church (e.g., 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:3), has become the occasion (notice I did not say, the source!) of disunity and even divisions in the church. What is the way out of this impasse of claim and counterclaim about experiences of the Spirit’s working? Certainly the answer does not lie, at least ultimately, in those experiences themselves. Slogans like “theology divides; tongues unite,” . . . have a neat ring but are not really helpful. ... Surely . . . for believers in Jesus Christ, all experience, including those attributed to the Spirit, must be assessed by his inscripturated Word to see whether they are genuine. . . . Where there is a readiness to maintain that standard without compromise, we have every reason to be hopeful and to expect that the Spirit will honor that commitment and grant greater unity to the church, not only in understanding his work but also in experiencing it. 78 An accurate understanding and agreement of what the Scriptures teach regarding this debate is the only hope for real, God-pleasing unity in the world-wide Church of God. When it comes to obtaining a God-like, biblical level of unity, no amount of acceptance will make up for a lack of agreement on what God’s word teaches (cf. 1 Cor 1:10; John 17:11, 22-23; Rom 15:5-6; Phil 2:2; 2 Cor 13:11).

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F) Redefining Spirituality Throughout Knowing Our God, we have reflected on several parallels between the errors in the Corinthian Church and those in the modern “charismatic” movement. We believe these churches need to hear what the Apostle wrote to them when he said: But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. ( Cor 11:3-4) We have repeatedly pointed out the biblical truth that true Christian spirituality is defined, experienced, and recognized as supernatural virtue such as love and holiness. 79 We have also repeatedly pointed out the error in super-supernaturalism of redefining Christian spirituality as speaking in unintelligible gibberish (i.e. tongues), falling down and shaking “in the Spirit,” emotional worship, and being healed of physical ailments. Perhaps the most offensive and arrogant error of super-supernaturalism is claiming that because other Christians today, and throughout 1600 years of Church history, have not experienced these unbiblical or extra biblical phenomena, that they are neglecting the work of the Holy Spirit, are less spiritual than super-supernaturalists, and essentially living in sin. Accordingly, super-supernaturalists continually claim there is something wrong with other Christians because they supposedly are not experiencing as many miracles as the super-supernaturalists. For example, the title to Doug Bannister’s tract for supersupernaturalism reads: “The Word and Power Church: What Happens When a Church Experiences All God Has to Offer?” The implication is clear. A church of Spirit-filled Christians living in obedience to the commands of Scripture is not a “power church” because they lack the miraculous gifts Pastor Bannister claims are operating in his church. And evidently historicist churches today and for the last 1600 years are not experiencing all that God has to offer, even though many of them have certainly experienced just as much grace, truth, love, holiness, conversions, and Christian fruit as Pastor Bannister’s church. Later in the book he writes, “I am writing this book for . . . evangelicals who want more of the Spirit” 80 and he is not talking about love and holiness, but super-supernaturalism.

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Pastor Bannister’s perspective on spirituality is revealed as well when he shares: On my first visit to the counselor's office I chatted cordially with the receptionist and cracked a joke with my counselor, whom I knew professionally. "Come in, Doug, have a seat," he said, closing the door. "How are you?" I wept for most of the next hour. I didn't know why. . . . What were my tears telling me? They were whispering to me the secret of who I was, a thirty-five-year-old spiritually bankrupt pastor who lacked the inner resources to press into his future. My tears also whispered the secret of who I had been. I had been a man of the Book. And that was good. But it was not enough. And so my tears summoned me to where I should go next. They beckoned me to become a man of the Spirit, too. 81 Which did not mean becoming more loving or holy, but essentially learning the gift of tongues. And we confess it seems odd, and certainly not historical Evangelicalism for Pastor Bannister to claim to be “a man of the Book” when his spiritual life was so bankrupt. It is believing the promises and obeying the commands of Scripture through the New Nature that has enabled centuries of Christians to serve Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, not receiving or experiencing the gift of tongues. Along the same lines, the super-supernaturalist J. P. Moreland writes: As you enter more and more deeply into progress in the way of Jesus, the Kingdom Triangle [which includes experiencing an abundance of physical miracles] must be at the core of your life and (your church's) strategy. 82 Evidently then, because so many Christians throughout history have not had the occurrence of physical miracles “at the core” of their life, they have not made much “progress in the way of Jesus.” Men at least as spiritual as Dr. Moreland, including Chrysostom, Luther, Whitefield, Edwards, and Spurgeon would rebuke him for his lack of spirituality to even suggest such a thing. Dr. Moreland writes elsewhere: A few years ago Dallas Willard gave an admonition to the Vineyard movement that I believe applies to the entire Evangelical church: “You must ensure that Vineyard churches maintain the visible signs of the Holy Spirit [i.e. physical miracles] and the kingdom of God, or else Vineyard churches will never maintain the faith for discipleship or evangelism or anything else. 83

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On the contrary, scores of churches throughout history and today have done precisely what Dr. Willard recommends, without claiming or possessing the miraculous gifts of the Apostles. Likewise, the Pentecostal NT scholar Gordon Fee equates physical miracles and gifts with experiencing more of the Holy Spirit when he writes: In recapturing the dynamic life of the Spirit there will also be the renewal of the charismata, not for the sake of being charismatic, but for the building up of the people of God for their life together and in the world. . . . I also believe that that perspective . . . must become our own, if we are going to make any difference at all in the so-called post-Christian, post-modern era. 84 And yet, while super-supernaturalist churches have supposedly possessed, practiced, and experienced what Dr. Fee prescribes, they have not produced more converts or better disciples for advancing the Great Commission than historicist churches. So much for the renewal of the miraculous gifts being a “must.” In summary, super-supernaturalists claim that a lack of physical miracles in a church or Christian’s life should cause alarm, but they have no biblical justification for saying so. Bernie Gillespie, a Pentecostal himself, admits: Growing up as a Pentecostal I learned to think that the more miracles, dreams, healings, visions I had, the more it showed I was spiritual. I felt good whenever I could manifest the supernatural. . . . For some, the absence of the "supernatural" is their evidence that . . . God's presence is absent. The Scriptures declare that we are right with God by faith in Jesus Christ. For some, as it was for me, this truth has been either muted or replaced by a "faith in the miraculous." 85 Accordingly, Erwin Lutzer writes: The strength of the church is not dependent on the number of miracles within our midst. If anything, the church is weak today, not because of a lack of miracles, but a lack of confidence in the message of the gospel. 86 Likewise, Dr. Lutzer writes elsewhere: Interestingly, no church in the New Testament is judged for not doing more signs and wonders. But Paul rebuked churches for an unclear gospel (Galatians) and an overemphasis on gifts along with a worldly spirit (Corinth) and the dangers of accepting a Gnostic view of Christ (Colossians).

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Christ's rebukes to the seven churches were either doctrinal, moral, or both. Never once did He hint that they needed more signs and wonders. 87 Along these lines, we have written elsewhere of what real spirituality and even the greatest miracles are today, according to Scripture: There is again here a lesson particularly for supersupernaturalists. Their teachings and practice often result in dividing believers into two groups: 1) “super Christians” who are supposedly performing or experiencing a multitude of merely physical miracles, and 2) the second rate Christians who cannot perform or experience such miracles because of a lack of gift or even faith on their part. Not so. The greatest miracles from God’s perspective can be performed by any obedient loving Christian. And while supersupernaturalist Christians certainly claim a superiority in physical miracles, hopefully not even the most arrogant of them would claim a superiority in the most supernatural thing, which is unconditional love. Contrary to super-supernaturalists, supernatural virtue was intended by God to replace the miraculous authentication provided by the sign gifts. Unfortunately, we fear that some super-supernaturalists are trying to take a spiritual shortcut and cover up for spiritual immaturity and a lack of supernatural virtue by claiming an abundance of physical miracles. 88 Don’t miss the points made here, because supersupernaturalists often do. As noted above, no Christian or church will ever be evaluated by God based on the number of physical miracles occurring through or to them. It is the spiritual miracles of conversions and love discussed elsewhere that God is concerned about and super-supernaturalist churches are certainly not, in general, more loving, nor seeing more people saved, than other churches. 89 Accordingly, we would ask then, why do they claim to be more supernatural if love and conversions is the most supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit operating today? Along these lines, Dr. Edgar writes: Paul provides an instructive perspective on the continuing activity of the Spirit in the church in the one passage in the New Testament where believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). The verses that immediately follow (vs. 19–21 ) are dependent syntactically on this command and so indicate what is characteristic of the Spirit’s filling work.

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Paul then goes on to elaborate at some length on the element of mutual subjection [not miracles], in particular, by spelling out its implications for marriage, the family, and work (5:22–6:9 ). From this it is plain that the filling or fullness of the Spirit is not, at least primarily, a matter of unusual or enrapturing experiences, but is the reality of the Spirit’s working in the basic relationships and responsibilities of everyday living. 90 Or, as the eminent Reformed theologian John Gerstner (19141996) paraphrased Jonathan Edwards: The fruits of the Spirit are far greater than the gifts. A man may have extraordinary gifts and “yet be abominable to God, and go straight to hell.” As there are no supernatural gifts in heaven, the church is most like heaven when it emphasises the fruits of the Spirit. 91

G) Intimidating & Criticizing Christians Because super-supernaturalists have redefined Christian spirituality as experiencing supposed miracles instead of virtues, they end up habitually and illegitimately criticizing and intimidating the children of God. More specifically, inherent in supersupernaturalism is the claim that they are somehow spiritually superior to others because they are uniquely exercising the faith necessary to experience more physical miracles from God in their churches. While we address the Scriptures used for this erroneous idea elsewhere, 92 here we will describe its damaging effects. Inherent in super-supernaturalism is the claim that there is something wrong with Christians and churches that are not experiencing miracles like they supposedly are. There is at least the indirect but clear implication that super-supernaturalists are somehow spiritually superior to others because they are uniquely exercising the faith and virtue necessary to experience more miracles from God in their churches. Along these lines, the popular super-supernaturalist author Jack Deere writes: Apostasy, legalism, and lukewarm faith are serious problems in the church today. These things significantly hinder God’s miraculous ministry among contemporary believers. However, I believe that there is another factor that is a greater hindrance than all three of these put together. I am referring to the present unbelief that is rampant in the church. . . . The surprising thing to me today is not how little God heals among the conservative [i.e. non-super-supernaturalist] evangelical

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church, but that he heals at all. So much of the church is so filled with unbelief that I am truly amazed that anyone ever gets healed. The obvious implication is that wherever more miracles are supposedly happening (i.e. the super-supernatural churches), the people there possess more faith and suffer less from, “Apostasy, legalism, and lukewarm faith” and “unbelief” in God. One might be tempted to be offended by such an arrogant statement, particularly when it is absolutely untrue. And in terms of “apostasy” one may conclude from subsequent chapters of KOG that Mr. Deere is pointing his finger in the wrong direction. Nonetheless, this tenet of super-supernaturalism is clear: the reason miraculous healing is not occurring in the churches to the degree it could is because of something lacking in the Church. The unavoidable conclusion of this is that the reason miraculous gifts have been restored only to super-supernaturalist churches after over 1600 years of absence, is that these churches are superior in Christian virtues to not only churches throughout that long history, but the historicist churches today. 93 This exposes the foundational doctrinal error in supersupernaturalism that the occurrence of miracles depends on a faith we are responsible for. This error is corrected by understanding the biblical concept of miracle faith. The relationship between faith and miracles is a topic too involved to discuss in detail here and is taken up elsewhere. 94 However, let us say here that neither Christ nor the Apostles ever criticized a believer for a lack of faith to either produce or receive a miracle. 95 The criticisms concerning faith for miracles were always directed toward unbelievers, and many of the miracles in the Bible had nothing to do with anybody’s faith, and often occurred in spite of doubt. In addition, we note that ones like Brother Yun in China have witnessed and experienced a number of remarkable miracles. But he does not claim miraculous spiritual gifts or ascribe to supersupernaturalism. Instead, as we discuss at length elsewhere, Brother Yun and others ministering in countries hardened to the Gospel, are in environments where we would expect more miracles to occur, which is a better explanation of any real upsurge in miraculous activity than many of the reasons super-supernaturalism offers. 96 The reason that more miracles are occurring in China than in America is not because the Christians in America have less faith or more reason as super-supernaturalists suggest, but rather, China and America constitute two completely different spiritual

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environments and miracles are simply much more necessary in the former for accomplishing God’s will. The greatest cause of super-supernaturalism’s habit of slandering Christians and exalting themselves is their need to explain why the miraculous gifts of the Apostolic Age have supposedly returned only to them after more than 1600 years of absence. For example, super-supernaturalist Michael Green claims: Where churches have regained dependence on God's Spirit, where they have believed that God is active among his people today, where they have prayerfully asked him to give them not only qualities of character but spiritual power, then those same gifts which we see in the New Testament have appeared today. 97 Evidently, then, historicists churches have been deficient in all of these things since the Apostolic Age, and super-supernaturalists are now superior in them? In reality, we will point out in subsequent chapters that the modern versions of the “gifts” claimed by supersupernaturalists today do not match the attributes of their biblical and apostolic counterparts, but rather, have often been observed in pagan and even demonic environments. This is why historicists reject super-supernaturalism. Nonetheless, Dr. Green shares his own perspective as to why super-supernaturalist claims and doctrines are not accepted: Christians in the main line of both Catholic and Protestant traditions have for a long time been very scared of allowing that these gifts of the Spirit of which we read in the New Testament might be expected to occur today. They are supposed to have died out in the apostolic era. It is much more comfortable to suppose that this is the case, and to look for the contemporary manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the peace and order of the Church of today rather than in the violent irruptions of earlier days. Both Catholic and Protestant camps have been heavily infected by the rationalism of the Enlightenment, and our Christianity has been unduly cerebral. 98

On the contrary, Dr. Green, historicists are not “scared” of authentic miraculous works of the Holy Spirit. We would like to see people healed just as much as you do. But we do not need people to be healed as much as you do. And we are not looking for mere comfort as you accuse us of, but rather biblical integrity as we pursue sacrificially serving the King. We’re not sure what “violent irruptions” of the Holy Spirit in apostolic times is being referred to except the persecutions which occurred among unbelievers from the

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preaching of the Gospel (cf. Acts 8:2; 13:49-50; 17:5), and no working of miracles is recorded. If Dr. Green is referring to the Corinthian worship services, we would remind him that they brought the Apostle Paul’s rebuke and reminder that “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor 14:33). And as we have discussed elsewhere, the unbiblical, harmful, and mindless emotionalism habitually bound up with super-supernaturalism needs to be evaluated with a great deal more emphasis on our God-given reason, not disparaging it. 99 Nonetheless, supporting super-supernaturalism by slandering Christians is the norm. Accordingly, Dr. Fee writes what is typical in this regard: Westerners are instinctively nervous about spirit activity, be it the Spirit of God or other spirits; it tends not to compute rationally and is therefore suspect. Hence our difficulties with regard to any genuine "restoration" of the experience and life of the early church. 100 Likewise, John Wimber had written: It is the Holy Spirit, the “go-between God,” who holds the key to power encounters. Our openness and availability to its direction and enabling, anointing, and power is the catalyst for fulfilling the great commission. Clearly the early Christians had an openness to the power of the Spirit, which resulted in signs and wonders and church growth. If we want to be like the early church, we too need to be open to the Holy Spirit’s power. 101 Again, what Mr. Wimber claimed to be a lack of openness, we would suggest is a superior discernment. And as we demonstrate biblically elsewhere, God’s miraculous activity is not dependent on humans, but He is sovereign over when and where they occur. 102 Others have pointed out additional slanderous accusations made by Mr. Wimber as one writer remarks: More serious than this apparent blind spot, however, is Wimber’s misuse of biblical passages. For instance he applies Matthew 13:11–16 to those who oppose his position. Jesus explained to His disciples that He was speaking to the people in parables, “because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (v. 13 ). Jesus then related this to Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa 6:9–10). Wimber applies Jesus’ comments and Isaiah’s prophecy to fellow evangelicals who do not accept the validity of presentday signs and wonders. He correctly points out that the central problem with those who do not see or hear is a

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hardened heart. But then in summarizing he states, “A hard heart may incline us toward a worldview that excludes the supernatural or it may prevent us from altering a faulty worldview to include the supernatural.” By “supernatural” he means the current manifestation of miraculous gifts. Therefore an evangelical who believes in a supernatural realm of reality and the supernatural intervention of God in history [or even today!], but does not acknowledge the divine origin of contemporary signs and wonders would be classified by Wimber as having a hardened heart. . . . In short, there is a world of difference between the rejection of the Messiah by first-century Jewish leaders and the rejection of present-day signs and wonders by certain 20th-century evangelicals! 103 An obvious problem with such accusations of disbelief and sin in the context of miracles is that everyone knows that there is a particular movement of churches that is claiming to be experiencing far more miracles than other movements of churches. The claim itself is arrogant and unfounded, but the reasons that the modern “miracle” movement gives for this supposed discrepancy is that the “non-miraculous” churches are less spiritual, holy, and faith-filled than they are. Again, it should not be missed what super-supernaturalism is claiming: it is uniquely experiencing an outpouring and ministry of the Holy Spirit that other Christians for over 1600 years and today have not. Such an exclusive view is corrected by the late D. M. Lloyd-Jones, who actually supported a good deal of supersupernatural doctrine, 104 but nonetheless writes the obvious: [S]uch a [world-wide] movement of the Spirit is going to affect the whole church. It moves the whole church forward and does not merely gather together people who are interested in experiences and sensations and who are always turning round in a little circle. That is the cause of division. This [a real world-wide movement of the Holy Spirit] is more general in its operation. 105 In short, no real, widespread activity of the Holy Spirit is going to bypass millions of Christians who are at least as faithful to their Lord as super-supernaturalists. Nonetheless, supersupernaturalists are rather forced to explain the supposed lack of ministry by the Holy Spirit as a lack of spirituality on the part of historicists, not only today, but apparently throughout Church history. Again, not only is there no biblical foundation for such an accusation, there is no reality to it either. In fact, many observers

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of American Christianity suggest that the people in the “miracle” churches actually tend to be more immature and shallow in their walk with God. Even if this would be denied, no one in their right mind could claim that “miracle” churches are generally superior to “non-miracle” churches in any valuable way except in their claims to supposed “miracles.” While super-supernaturalists are accusing Christians of a lack of faith and “openness,” the fact of the matter is that other Christians are exercising more biblical discernment than they are. Notice again the unfounded accusations by Mr. Deere when he writes: Having been to one meeting where the gifts of the Spirit were abused or faked, I concluded that all meetings where the gifts of the Spirit were practiced were just like that one. It is not surprising that God did not let me see the genuine thing. When you go with a closed mind [does he mean a biblically discerning mind?], it is rare for God to violate your prejudices. In those days I was not a sincere seeker. I should not have been surprised, therefore, if God chose not to throw his pearls to the swine. 106 It is difficult to interpret Mr. Deere in any other way than the following: 1) If we have witnessed phenomena that were unconvincing as a miracle, we should keep trying until we find some that is convincing. 2) If you are not a super-supernaturalist you have a closed mind and God is going to exclude you from the wonderful works of the Spirit that He is doing for those that are more “sincere” in their seeking of miraculous manifestations, and 3) If you are not experiencing what the super-supernaturalists are experiencing you are one of those proverbial “swine” that tramples on the Word and work of God. Apparently, super-supernaturalists would apply such a condemnation to such a respected Bible teacher as Charles Swindoll, Chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary who writes: Not that God no longer does miracles. He does. But miracles, by their very definition, are extremely rare. In my lifetime, I probably could name three I've been aware of, and they were so obviously miracles of God that no other explanation would work. 107 Does Dr. Swindoll have such a “dismal” record of recognizing and experiencing physical miracles in his decades of ministry because he is somehow less spiritual than super-supernaturalists? What the super-supernaturalist is forced to claim is that they have more faith, holiness, or spirituality than the likes of Martin Luther, George Whitefield, John Wesley, or Jonathan Edwards, who,

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not only did not experience what super-supernaturalists claim they have, but all of whom condemned much of what is occurring in super-supernaturalism today as the devil's deceptions. 108 And the obvious fact that there are a multitude of Christians who are advancing the Kingdom of God at least as effectively as any supersupernaturalist puts Mr. Deere and others in no reasonable position to make the kinds of slanderous accusations they are making. Super-supernaturalists consistently accuse others of not valuing or recognizing authentic God ordained miracles to the degree that they do, or that others believe in a God that is less powerful than the super-supernaturalists’ God. This is a complete distortion of the facts. More discerning Christians value truly God-wrought miracles just as much as any Christian. Nonetheless, super-supernaturalists essentially accuse other Christians of being anti-supernaturalists. Most typically, however, Scripture portrays this as an attribute of unbelievers, not believers. Anti-supernaturalism is illustrated in Scripture by the response of the unregenerated Egyptians to the miracle working of Moses and the unregenerated Pharisees to the miracles of Christ. Christians, on the other hand, have a great aptitude for recognizing divine miracles. This is essentially because in regeneration we have personally experienced the greatest miracle happening today. Accordingly, perhaps the first principle to properly recognizing miracles is to get saved, as we discuss at length elsewhere. 109 Therefore, particularly super-supernaturalists need to be careful of accusing Christians of being anti-supernaturalists because such a view normally exposes one who does not know God at all. When a born again Christian is skeptical of a claim to the miraculous, such skepticism should not be immediately scorned, but respected. A desire to be discerning and exercise integrity regarding claims to miracles should not be interpreted as anti-supernaturalism or “Pharisaism.” So while the possibility of some unbiblical antisupernaturalism can exist among Christians, 110 its adherence is most likely an indication of a child of the devil, rather than a child of God. Because super-supernaturalism has attempted to redefine Christian spirituality to match the uniquenesses they want to claim, those claims can be rather intimidating. When someone tells us that in their church a faith healer cured someone’s cancer, and the miraculous and exciting in general is more abundant, how will your personal and church experience match that? Are the rest of us really missing out on something? Why wouldn’t we think so? Super-supernaturalists claims cause even the most mature believers to question their own spirituality and even what the

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nature of true Christian spirituality is in general. And when we consider the vast number of well-meaning Christians who adhere to super-supernaturalist beliefs and practices, claiming them to be superior to our beliefs and practices, the whole thing becomes even more intimidating. Dr. MacArthur reflects this concern well when he says: “It seems that the Charismatic movement has separated the Christian community into the spiritual “haves” and “have-nots.” He then goes on to freely admit that: Although I have devoted my life to preaching sound biblical doctrine that centers on the work of the Holy Spirit in every believer’s life, I must confess that by the Charismatics’ definition, I am among the “have-nots”. And I admit to having asked myself, Are all those people who are supposedly having all those amazing experiences for real? Could it be that I’m missing out on what God is doing? Are my Charismatic brothers and sisters reaching a higher level in their walk with Christ? 111 In more ways than one, twenty-first century supersupernaturalism smells like first century Montanism and Gnosticism. We have already described the universal excommunication of the first super-supernaturalists, the Montanists, and their practice of calling themselves spiritual and the orthodox Church carnal. Regarding a similar tendency in another ancient heresy, Dr. Bloesch writes: Like most enthusiasts the Gnostics were incorrigible elitists. Valentinus, a second-century Gnostic, divided humankind into three categories: first the "pneumatics," who are destined to return to the realm of pure spirit out of which they emerged; second the "psychics," who have life but not spirit and are therefore barred from entering the higher spiritual domain. . . . Many Gnostics divided believers into "psychics" and "gnostics"-the carnal Christians and the truly spiritual. 112 Sound familiar? Accordingly, super-supernaturalism prompts a concern regarding intimidation. This issue becomes particularly important with the obvious effort on the part of supersupernaturalists to win people to their beliefs and practices. Understandably it certainly is not a neutral issue for them, as it is for many in the historicist camp. The latter may be content to let their super-supernaturalist counterparts believe what they want, but not so for the super-supernaturalists. There is little doubt that most of them sincerely feel that many historicist are missing out, and many of them believe that God’s will is that all Christians would

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share their experience, and they diligently pray for and work toward that very thing. This is clearly communicated in the suggestion that they uniquely possess “the full gospel” or experience the “Spiritfilled life.” It would seem at times that they are at least as interested in winning Christians to the super-supernaturalist cause as they are unbelievers to the Christian cause. This has inevitably resulted at times in attempts to proselytize particularly, it would seem, young or discouraged Christians to join their experience. How many Christians have had a supersupernaturalist attempt to persuade them that the real answer to their spiritual problems or the highway to intimacy with God is some “second blessing” of the Spirit or to speak in tongues? Unfortunately, such intimidation has caused many brothers and sisters in Christ to seriously question their spirituality. If even mature Christians are intimidated and enticed by supersupernaturalist claims, what of the average Christian in our churches, or imagine particularly a young believer? He or she is just beginning their new life in Christ and are encountering many new experiences. Soon, they encounter super-supernaturalists at work or in their neighborhood who at least imply that there are a lot more miracles happening in their church than yours. In addition, their experiences with being “slain in the spirit”, healings, prophecies, and speaking in tongues convince the young Christian that there must be more to the authentic Christian life than what they are experiencing in your church. This attitude of superiority in super-supernaturalism is especially evident in the belief and practice of speaking in tongues. As discussed elsewhere, there is no doubt that super-supernaturalists believe that their gift of tongues provides them with a superior way of communing with and experiencing God. 113 Indeed, as Dr. MacArthur has said, they have succeeded in dividing God’s people into the spiritual “haves” and “have nots”. Any spiritual superiority that super-supernaturalists might claim over historicist is simply self-delusion. Along these lines, Jonathan Edwards wrote during the Great Awakening that: It is particularly observable, that in times of great pouring out of the Spirit to revive religion in the world, a number of those who for awhile seemed to partake in it, have fallen off into whimsical and extravagant errors, and gross enthusiasm, boasting of high degrees of spirituality and perfection, censuring and condemning others as carnal. 114 This would seem an apt description of some in supersupernaturalism. We have already noted that the rise of supersupernaturalism has occurred during a period of general revival in

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the Church, and has benefited from it. In addition, Jonathan Edwards rightly warned us in the days of the Great Awakening not to dismiss God’s working because of fake or even demonic phenomena that may surround it. However, we are commanded to not only be aware of the devil’s schemes, but to resist them. On both accounts, it would seem super-supernaturalism is failing. Regarding the claims to spiritual superiority in supersupernaturalism, Dr. Packer touches on a truth that exposes the arrogance in such claims: An important question to ask at this point is: How far are the distinctives of charismatic experience confined to professed charismatics? I suspect that something of an optical illusion takes place here; from the strangeness to them of charismatics’ outward gestures, other Christians infer that the charismatics’ inward experiences must be very different from their own. But I doubt whether this is so. 115 For example, Dr. Packer points out that the common Christian experience of being visited in a special way by the Holy Spirit is labeled (erroneously) by super-supernaturalists as “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Dr. Packer concludes: I suggest that, in reality, charismatic and non-charismatic spiritualities differ more in vocabulary, self-image, groups associated with, and books and journals read, than in the actual ingredients of their communion with the Father and the Son through the Spirit. Charismatic experience is less distinctive than is sometimes made out. 116 For example, NT scholar D. A. Carson writes: Although some people in the [super-supernaturalist] Vineyard movement justify their emphasis on healing by saying that at least the movement prays for the sick, whereas mainstream evangelicalism fails to do so, that has not by and large been my experience. Doubtless there are some evangelicals who never ask for healing, and, if they pray for the sick at all, pray exclusively for perseverance and stamina and the like. But far more, at least in North America, focus a large percentage of their public praying on the sick. I have been to countless prayer meetings where 70 or 80 per cent of the prayers have canvassed the illnesses of sundry friends and relatives, in each case petitioning the Almighty for healing. The distinction of the Vineyard movement does not lie in its prayers for the sick but in its insistence that signs and wonders must be part of normal Christianity. That means

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frequent claims of healing must be present, or the movement loses its raison d’être [unique reason for existence]. In my observation, that has badly skewed the objectivity of the reporting. Remarkable healings may take place both within and outside the Vineyard (and other related) movements. I suspect they take place more frequently in mainstream evangelicalism than some think, and considerably less frequently within the Vineyard than some think. 117

H) Emotionally Damaging Christians H.1) Promising healing In another important critique of super-supernaturalism, Dr. Packer refers to “eudaemonism” and writes: I use this word for the belief that God means us to spend our time in this fallen world feeling well and in a state of euphoria based on that fact. Charismatics might deprecate so stark a statement, but the regular and expected projection of euphoria from their platforms and pulpits, plus their standard theology of healing, show that the assumption is there, reflecting and intensifying the "now I am happy all the day, and you can be so too" ethos of so much evangelical evangelism since D. L. Moody. Charismatics, picking up the healing emphasis of original restorationist Pentecostalism--an emphasis already strong in "holiness" circles in North America before Pentecostalism arrived-regularly assume that physical disorder and discomfort are not ordinarily God's beneficent will for his children. On this basis, with paradigmatic appeal to the healings of Jesus and the apostles, plus the claim, founded on Isaiah 53:3-6, 10 as interpreted in Matthew 8:16, 17 and I Peter 2:24, that there is healing in the atonement, plus reference to Paul's phrase "charismata of healings" ("gifts of healings," AV; "healers, /I RSV) in 1 Corinthians 12:28, they make supernatural divine healing (which includes, according to testimony, lengthening of legs, straightening of spines and, in South America, filling of teeth) a matter of constant expectation and look for healing gifts in their leaders almost as a matter of course. But the texts quoted will not bear the weight put upon them, and the New Testament references to unhealed sickness among Christian leaders make it plain that good health at all

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times is not God's will for all believers. Also, the charismatic supposition loses sight of the good that can come in the form of wisdom, patience, and acceptance of reality without bitterness when Christians are exposed to the discipline of pain and of remaining unhealed. Moreover, the charismatic supposition creates appalling possibilities of distress when on the basis of it a person seeks healing, fails to find it, and then perhaps is told that the reason lies not in God's unwillingness or inability to heal, but in his own lack of faith. 118 We argue elsewhere in support of Dr. Packer’s contention that Scripture does not defend the super-supernaturalist’s expectation of healing. 119 Do we see how vulnerable we become when we become fixated on our physical well-being as is promoted in supersupernaturalism? When our comfort or healing becomes our god? When we desire anything other than intimacy with Christ, including His sufferings (cf. Phil 3:10), we have been sucked into idolatry, and this is precisely what much of super-supernaturalism is guilty of. A related super-supernatural heresy is that disease in a Christian’s life is a result of a particular sin in their life. B. B. Warfield (1851–1921) was more honest, and biblical, when he wrote: Though the redeemed of the Lord are no longer under the dominion of sin, the results of sin remain with us: inwardly we are corrupt, outwardly we are the prey of weakness and disease and death. We shall not escape from either in this life. . . . Our Lord never permitted it for a moment to be imagined that the salvation He brought was fundamentally for this life. His was emphatically an other-world religion. He constantly pointed to the beyond, and bade men to find their true home, to set their hopes, and to place their aspirations, there. 120 Likewise, Robert Saucy comments: A theology of healing must recognize that bodily health is nowhere promised as a provision of salvation for this age. The body is presently doomed to death because of sin (Rom. 8:10). In contrast to our being “inwardly” renewed through the grace of salvation, “outwardly we are wasting away” (2 Cor. 4:16). The body must still be redeemed [at the resurrection], leaving the believer in a state of groaning with the rest of creation (Rom. 8:23), no doubt, partially because of physical pains. 121

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Super-supernatural theologian Max Turner admits the dangers of this theology regarding healing: Pentecostalism has set for itself an ideal that it has not been able to live up to, where it has maintained that God certainly wills to heal all. . . . [Some super-supernaturalist teach that] it is not merely the right, but the duty, of Christians to acquire their healing. Faith is the divinely appointed means, and active confession (‘I am already healed in Christ’) is the power, which by immutable law draws the spiritual healing into the earthly body. . . . According to this view, then, if people are not healed it is entirely their own fault. . . . And of course this theological diagnosis can lead to disastrous pastoral consequences. Larry Parker took [super-supernatural] teaching to its logical conclusion when he [continued] to [pronounce] his baby son’s healing, and refused to believe the ‘Satanic symptoms,’ until little Wesley died in an insulin coma. He believed this too was a Satanic counterfeit, and that God would raise him, so he and his wife would not permit the child’s burial, and held a resurrection service instead. But Wesley was not raised. Tragically, they persisted in their ‘faith’ that the death was just a counterfeit, and that God would raise up their son, for over a year! . . . When they came to terms with what happened, Larry wrote up their story as the book, We Let Our Son Die. 122 Super-supernatural teachers cannot avoid all responsibility for such things. They cannot teach what they teach regarding healing and then not expect such tragic consequences. We’ll say it again: heresy hurts people. And false teaching regarding healing is no exception. The intimidation and false expectations in super-supernaturalism are encouraged by the vast amount of exaggeration and fraud occurring among them. In reality, investigations show that not nearly as many people are really experiencing miraculous divine cures as is being claimed. 123 But super-supernaturalism often cares little about the consequences of this lying. Along these lines, one critic writes: Those who profess to depend on prayer alone carry a particular responsibility to eradicate any air of arrogance relating to their intimacy with God-that God uniquely answers their prayers while bypassing the mother with the dead baby in her arms. They must be brutally honest, not only about their own unanswered prayers but also about the colossal collective unanswered prayers that only seem to mock the untold numbers of suffering people around the world. 124

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This issue is not simply a cold, doctrinal one, but there is a very human and heartbreaking side to it also. One might ask why so many people continue to attend faith-healing services in spite of their dismal record? The answer: desperation! You will not find a more desperate person than a mother with a severely sick child. A husband will try anything to bring healing to his terminally ill wife. Could it be that it is not so much a supernatural, God-given faith that draws these people, but rather a very natural, certainly understandable, but might we add enslaving, human desperation? And even though the pain of such circumstances is not to be diminished, we need to be reminded that the child of God is not to be controlled by such desperation, regardless of his or her circumstances. Is it possible that God would have many more of our ailing brothers and sisters come to the point where they simply accept their circumstances and get on with the life God has given them? Does it really help people to string them along with a false expectation that they will surely be healed “next time” if they only have enough faith? And this brings up the most painful consequence of all regarding this charade: Guilt. Spiritual diseases are at least as painful as physical ones. The pain in a physically diseased person’s life is exponentially intensified when they are taught that the reason God will not heal them is because of some deficiency in their life. What other conclusion will the victim come to when it is pounded from the super-supernaturalist pulpit that God should heal you? How many modern so-called faith healers have not only sent people away failing to heal their physical ailment, but have also infected them with the spiritual diseases of guilt, self-condemnation, and alienation from the God who really does love them even though He doesn’t heal them? This exposes another unfortunate consequence of supersupernatural error. While the Scriptures teach that miraculous gifts always operated to authenticate messengers of extra-biblical divine revelation, super-supernaturalists, in order to support their claim that such gifts are needed today, insist that these gifts are important evidences of God’s love for us. The idea is that the more God loves you, the more miracles He will do in your life. On the contrary, if the demonstration of love on the cross and the spiritual miracle of our salvation and regeneration are not enough, nothing else will be. Accordingly, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down His life for His friends” (John 15:13). There is no greater demonstration of God’s love than the one given us in the cross. The apostle Paul put it this way:

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Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possible dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:6-8) Let us not wait for the kinds of miracles super-supernaturalists worship in order to know God loves us. Dr. MacArthur describes our general concern well when he says: There is much confusion, guilt, and heartache among Charismatics and non-Charismatics because of what they have been told about healing. The agony of disease and illness is only intensified when people feel they are not healed because of their sin, their lack of faith, or God’s indifference to them. They reason that if healing is available and they do not get it [while others supposedly are], it is either their fault or God’s. Thus faith healers have left untold wreckage in their wake. 125 If there is even one son or daughter of God who has been victimized in this way it has been one too many. The spiritual wreckage resulting from super-supernatural practices reveals that much of its theology is not only unbiblical, but irresponsible. And all of this done supposedly in the name of Christ! Super-supernaturalists may claim to share our concern, but it would appear that they do little to correct, and much to promote the environment in which such abuse is occurring. Obviously no super-supernatural teacher would say that they intended such results from their teachings, but such a disclaimer in no way excuses them from their accountability before God for such spiritual damage. This is why we have asked if super-supernatural theologians really think about the practical ramifications of what they teach? Would they admit that their cavalier and misguided approach to Scripture has resulted in the spiritual harm of untold numbers of God’s people? Super-supernatural teachers cannot stick their heads in the sand and pretend that these issues are merely an intellectual dialogue between scholars. Real people believe this stuff, their writing promotes it, and God’s people are hurt by it. One shudders to think of the account that some will give before the Father, and we are reminded of the Apostle’s words to the Galatians: You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the One who calls you . .

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. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. (Gal. 5:7-10) Any true Christian should be especially fearful of causing or allowing the deception, discouragement, and harassment of a child of the Almighty God, which is precisely what is frequently happening at the hands of super-supernaturalists. H.2) Promising wealth In his discussion of “eudaemonism” Dr. Packer goes on to write: The same must be said of the crass insistence by some charismatics (and others, too, be it said) that if you honor God, he will prosper your business, and you will make money and enjoy comfort. In practice it often does not work so. A long line of bankrupt believers proclaims this, and while some may have brought trouble on themselves by supposing that because they were Christians they were somehow exempt from the rigors of proper business management and coping with economic change, that is not the case with them all. In Scripture Christians are given no general promises of wealth, only of testing and tribulation. Directions are certainly given for handling wealth if in God's providence it comes your way, but it is evident that universal wealth is not expected. In theology, what is being affirmed here is another form of the eudaemonist error: God (so it is being implied) does not mean his children ever to suffer the pains of poverty. The claim may sound plausible when made by a wealthy speaker in a luxurious hotel ballroom, but one has only to imagine it being voiced to Christian villagers in India or Bangladesh or some drought-ridden part of Africa to see how empty it is. God does indeed sometimes bless the business life of his children in a striking way (first, however, by giving them commercial wisdom, which they use to good effect), but when folk are told that he will do this for all his children, eudaemonism is once more taking over and false hopes are being raised, which could bring on total breakdown of faith when events dash them down. And even if they are not dashed, but fulfilled, their very presence in a man's heart will have encouraged him in unreality and kept him from maturity. 126

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H.3) Disparaging suffering All of the above, obviously leads to the very prominent error in super-supernaturalism of disparaging the place of suffering in the Christian life. While the Apostle Paul said, “I want to know Christ and . . . the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings (Phil 3:10), super-supernaturalist seek Heaven now on Earth. While the Apostle said he would “boast” and “delight” in the fact that God did not heal him (cf. 2 Cor 12:9-10), the same Apostle would have been rebuked by super-supernaturalists for not being more expectant of a miracle. Accordingly, Dr. Packer shares: There are many of us for whom the role model is [the paraplegic] Joni Eareckson rather than [the supersupernaturalist] John Wimber. We see the powers of the kingdom operating, but mainly in regeneration, sanctification, the Spirit as a comforter, the transformation of the inner life, rather than in physical miracles which just by happening prevent much of that other kingdom activity whereby people learn to live with their difficulties and glorify God. 127 While super-supernaturalists habitually claim that physical suffering is the discipline or curse of God on rebellious children, Scripture teaches God allows it for the most spiritual Christians. Super-supernaturalists don’t really know what to do with a man like Job. Accordingly, NT scholar R. K. Harrison points out the obvious that: [T]he book of Job disproves the idea of a necessary connection between sin and disease. What it does demonstrate, however, is that a positive response to suffering results in [actually, even more so reflects] emotional and spiritual maturity. 128 Generally, super-supernaturalists place no value on the fact that God can be greatly glorified by our virtue in the midst of great difficulty. However, biblically speaking, real “power evangelism” is not performing physical miracles to remove suffering, but rather, the power to live a virtuous life in the midst of suffering. Nor do super-supernaturalists recognize the value of suffering for growing our character. All of which might explain some of the reason why many are concerned about the general lack of spiritual immaturity among them.

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H.4) Preying on emotional breakdowns It is commonly understood that those who are under severe emotional stress are much more susceptible to spiritual deception. In our study of the super-supernatural phenomenon, we have noticed a trend in which many become adherents to it on the heels of great emotional instability and spiritual bankruptcy. Along these lines, a historian of the rise of Mormonism writes the following about the conversion of a Baptist preacher: [John Barr writes]: “In 1830 I was deputy sheriff, and being at Willoughby on official business determined to go to Mayfield . . . and hear [the Baptist preacher] Rigdon on the revelations of Mormonism. Varnam J. Card, the lawyer, and myself started early Sunday morning on horseback. We found the woods crowded with people going in the same direction. Services in the church were opened by Cowdery, with prayer and singing, in which he thanked God fervently for the new revelation. He related the manner of finding the golden plates of Nephi. He was followed by Rigdon, a famous Baptist preacher well known throughout the eastern part of the Western Reserve, and also in Western Pennsylvania. . . . He said he had not been satisfied in his religious yearnings until now. At night he had often been unable to sleep, walking and praying for more light and comfort in his religion. While in the midst of this agony, he heard of the revelation of Joe Smith. . . . Under this his soul suddenly found peace. It filled all his aspirations. . . . he inquired whether any one desired to come forward and be immersed” [as a member of Mormonism]. 129 This Baptist preacher, who by all appearances was a Christian man looking for a new experience, found it in super-supernaturalist Mormonism. Such a story warns us of the dangers of coming to spiritual convictions “in the midst of [emotional, spiritual] agony,” as this influential Baptist preacher did when he converted to Mormonism. Those in Christian ministry as well know the instability of false “conversions” even to Christ under emotional duress. Such a person “hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time” (Matt 13:20). It is our concern that super-supernaturalism has taken unfair advantage of people who are emotionally and spiritually unstable. For example, Doug Bannister describes his own journey into supersupernaturalism when he writes:

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During the spring of 1997 God led me through a season of deep pain and discouragement as I wrestled with these questions. The answers he gave me, and the way he gave them, are a major reason why I am writing this book. . . . That was a frightening spring. Life blossomed around me, but my inner world was colorless. I couldn't read and couldn't pray. One night after a meeting, I sat in my car for a long time. I couldn't go home because I couldn't remember how to start the car. . . . On my first visit to the counselor's office I . . . wept for most of the next hour. I didn't know why. . . . What were my tears telling me? They were whispering to me the secret of who I was, a thirty-five-year-old spiritually bankrupt pastor who lacked the inner resources to press into his future. 130 Pastor Bannister would seem to have been having an emotional breakdown, and it was just at this time that speaking in tongues and the doctrines of super-supernaturalism came into his life and “rescued” him. Our concern is that such a mental and emotional state makes us all the more susceptible to deceptive experiences. Accordingly, it does not surprise us that Drs. John Kildahl and Paul Qualben, clinical psychologists, have concluded from an extensive ten year study of the tongues phenomenon, “that a personal crisis of some kind preceded the initial experience of speaking in tongues in 87 per cent of the cases examined.” 131 The emotional abuse occurring in super-supernaturalism is perhaps illustrated further when Drs. Kildahl and Qualben report: [S]peakers in tongues develop deeply trusting and submissive relationships to the authority figures who introduced them to the experience. . . . [G]lossalalists have a strong need for external guidance from some trusted authority-someone "more powerful" then themselves who gives them security and direction, even peace and relaxation in their lives. Kildahl also found that speakers in tongues tend to "overinvest" their feelings in their leaders to the point of "idealizing them as nearly perfect parents." 132 We would suggest again that super-supernaturalism is guilty of habitually taking advantage of people when they are experiencing emotional trauma and spiritual discouragement. This is most definitely true of those who have been desperate for healing among them, have not received it, and have concluded from supersupernatural doctrine that there is something wrong with their relationship with God. That is emotional abuse pure and simply.

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Accordingly, many super-supernaturalists remind us of those wicked men who, “are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women” (2 Tim 3:6), which is the devil’s work, not God’s. H.5) Disappointing Christians It is hardly surprising that the fake nature of much in supersupernaturalism leads to the disappointment and disillusionment of believers. Untold numbers of people have been turned away from the Church because of bad experiences specifically with supersupernatural doctrines and practices. Accordingly, Hank Hanegraaff writes concerning super-supernaturalism: Followers who at first crowded through the front doors of their churches often become disillusioned and fall out the back door, some even into the kingdom of the cults. They no longer know what to believe and secretly fear that the untrustworthiness of those who claim to be God’s representatives may indicate the untrustworthiness of God Himself. 133 Likewise, we have already quoted Dr. Percy above who writes: As one leading figure within British Charismatic Christianity said to me recently: I sense that people are rather bored with charismatic phenomenon, and a bit nervous of just jumping on to the next bandwagon, in case they get their fingers burned again. They’ve had Signs and Wonders, the Kansas City prophets, power evangelism, power healing, deliverance, the “Toronto Blessing,” and more besides. . . . But where has it taken us? I think that people are just tired. 134 Likewise, in Reformation Today magazine, a former supersupernaturalists, Ken Haarhof, writes: I spent over 20 years in the Pentecostal atmosphere of the Apostolic Faith Mission, Full Gospel Church and Assemblies of God, of which four years were in full-time ministry. I attended every major campaign in South Africa from the 1950s onward, including those of Branham, Oral Roberts, Lorne Fox and many others of local fame. I acted as usher in healing lines and as a counselor in enquiry rooms. I lived through climax and anticlimax. I climbed the mountain peaks of expectation. I waded through the valleys of disappointment. I laid hands on

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the sick. I rebuked death. I prophesied. I spoke in tongues. I interpreted. I would now say, in all sincerity, that I saw and experienced nothing which would lead me to believe that Pentecostalism offers anything along the lines of the New Testament Churches’ experience. I am often asked to explain my attitude in retrospect to my Pentecostal experiences, particularly that of tongues. Pentecostals feel that if it is not of God it must necessarily be of Satan, but I have found a more charitable view among their non-Pentecostal Christian fellows. I would say that my experience can be explained in terms of a combination of the following factors. 1. A sincere desire for a deeper experience. 2. A faulty doctrinal basis. 3. Manipulative indoctrination. 4. Enthusiasm. 5. A charged atmosphere. 6. A demonstration or example of how it is done. 135 Along the same lines, George Gardiner, a pastor and former tongues-speaker who left the super-supernaturalist movement, relates the possibly tragic emotional and psychological consequences of opening oneself to unbiblical experiences: Such experiences not only give Satan an opening he is quick to exploit, they can be psychologically damaging. . . . Charismatic writers are constantly warning tongues-speakers that they will suffer a letdown. This is ascribed to the devil and the reader is urged to get refilled as soon as possible. . . . So the seeker for experiences goes back through the ritual again and again, but begins to discover something; ecstatic experience, like drug-addiction, requires larger and larger doses to satisfy. Sometimes the bizarre is introduced. . . . Eventually there is a crisis and a decision is made; he will sit in the back seats and be a spectator, “fake it,” or go on in the hope that everything will eventually be as it was. The most tragic decision is to quit and in the quitting abandon all things spiritual as fraudulent. The spectators are frustrated, the fakers suffer guilt, the hoping are pitiable, and the quitters are a tragedy. No, such movements are not harmless! 136

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I) A Biblical Response to Super-supernaturalism As we noted above, we believe the Bible clearly describes the purposes and attributes of the miraculous gifts of miracle working and tongues. Accordingly, we can compare this to the teaching of super-supernaturalism and find it unbiblical. This is where we must start, a study of Scripture, and this is what we intend to do throughout Book II: The Revelation of God. If indeed super-supernaturalism is unbiblical, then it must be confronted. It is neither loving nor God-honoring to allow doctrines and behavior that are contrary to God’s word and desires to persist among His people. Heresy always hurts God’s people. The need for Pastors to gain a biblical understanding of supersupernaturalism is great. Not only to protect their own flocks, but we believe there will be a great number of hurting and disillusioned Christians coming out of super-supernaturalism in the coming years, and perhaps more than anything, they will need the biblical truth regarding their error to set them free. Accordingly, it is vital that we train the next generation of Pastors about the failures of the past generation to exercise sound doctrine and discernment, because if super-supernaturalism has worked so well to deceive so many, it will continue to do so. And if indeed super-supernaturalism has been unbiblical then it has automatically deceived and damaged Christians. And for this we must forgive them. It is our responsibility to correct them, but not to condemn them. Whether a super-supernaturalist be a true believer or a fake one, they will all stand before Christ to give an account of their teaching and practices just like all of us. We must let Him be their Judge, while we continue our God-given responsibility to protect the sheep from the doctrines of men and demons. And we must remember that our struggle is with demons, not humans (cf. Eph 6:12). Therefore, while doctrinal arguments are important in such a spiritual battle (cf. 2 Cor 10:3-5; Eph 6:14, 17), we must also “pray in the Spirit [not in tongues] on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Eph 6:18). If some of our conclusions regarding popular beliefs and practices within super-supernaturalism are correct, then God would surely have us praying for them. Not in an attitude of superiority, but rather as Christ told us to pray, “Our Father . . . lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” (Matt 6:9, 13). Whatever practical concerns we may have about supersupernaturalism, some of them are no doubt true in someway in our own lives.

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And we must pray in a manner that reflects the fact that supersupernaturalism is not just some heretical sect outside of the Church, but a substantial part of it is a substantial part of the Body of Christ of which the Apostle said, “if one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor 12:26). Indeed Father, deliver us from sin and evil because we are in this together. 137 Finally, we must live Authentic Christianity ourselves. Along these lines, Dr. MacArthur comments: Probably the key reason tongues [and other supersupernatural phenomenon] have exploded on the scene with such force is the need for an alternative to the cold, lifeless Christianity that permeates so many churches. People who join the charismatic movement often are those who are looking for action, excitement, warmth, and love. They want to believe that God is really at work in their lives-right here and now. Dead orthodoxy can never satisfy, and that is why many people look for satisfaction in the charismatic movement. 138 Real satisfaction in the Christian life comes from an all out radical commitment to follow Jesus Christ to the ends of the Earth. Typical American Christianity, with its “one hour a week” mentality will not satisfy like the 24/7 lifestyle of Authentic Christianity. We need to be genuine in our worship, radical in our faith, consistent in our evangelism, grounded in the truth, and supernatural in our love and acceptance. It is these things that anyone with the Holy Spirit inside of them seeks and if we have them, we might be surprised how many of our super-supernatural brothers and sisters abandon some of the excesses that concern us, and instead, join us. Let us at least make sure that the devil cannot offer them a more exciting, awesome, supernatural way of life than we can. Along these lines, Dr. Packer points out that super-supernatural Christians have successfully overcome many of the problems that plague many churches such as dead worship, a lack of laity involvement in ministry, missionary apathy, ineffective and even non-existent small group ministries, formal and inflexible Structures, and scrooge-like financial giving. He reminds us that we must ask the difficult questions as to how we are going to accomplish the same in our churches. He penetratingly asks: If the charismatic handling of all these problems fails to grab you, what is your alternative? Any who venture to criticize charismatic practices without facing these questions merit D. L. Moody's retort, a century ago, to a doctrinaire critic of his evangelistic methods- “Frankly sir, I prefer the way I do it to the way you don't do it.” 139

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A cold, lifeless church is not better than an over-heated and emotional one. Which is why we must all strive for Authentic Biblical Christianity!

Extras & Endnotes A Devotion to Dad Oh Father, "Send forth your light and your truth" (Ps. 43:3), and "In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies" (Ps. 45:4-5). This is a battle that we are not able to win ourselves, yet it is no less a very real fight that the devil has brought into Your Church. Help us to see supernatural victory in our own churches and communities, and stem the tide of the demonic deception and division that is sweeping through Your Bride. King Jesus, please continue to expose the frauds, fakes, and deceptions in the modern miracle movement, and thwart its potential to consume worldwide spirituality and become a tool of the antichrist. Deliver us from the temptation to simply quietly surrender by allowing ourselves to think these truths are not worth defending, and that our super-supernatural brothers and sisters are really not hurting themselves and others. Make us wiser than our enemies, certain of the truth, mastered by love, and the most humble men and women on earth. Amen. Gauging Your Grasp 1) Why do we suggest super-supernaturalism leads disparagement of God? Do you agree or disagree?

to

the

2) Why must we deem Scripture to be more authoritative than our own experiences? 3) In what way do we claim super-supernaturalism has redefined Christian spirituality? What is the consequence of this?

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4) How do elements of super-supernaturalism prey on people’s emotions? 5) What are some of the harm we believe super-supernaturalism has brought to Christianity? Do you agree or disagree? 6) What are some suggested responses to super-supernaturalism. What would be your suggestions? Recommended Reading 

Satisfied by the Promise of the Spirit by Thomas R. Edgar, (Kregel Resources, 1996). This is a rare and good biblical critique of many aspects of super-supernaturalism.



Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraaff (Word, 1997). A very well researched expose on super-supernaturalism from someone within the Charismatic movement himself.



The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun, Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway, (Monarch Books, 2002). Relates several believable stories concerning miracles that do not violate biblical teaching on this topic. Publications & Particulars

1

For historical and biblical support for the cessation of Apostles see chapters 8.5-7. Regarding Prophets see chapters 9.1 and 9.13. Regarding miracle workers see chapters 11.1 and 11.5. Regarding tongues see chapters 12.2-5 and 12.13.

2

Regarding the fact that the current phenomena claimed to be miracle working is far inferior to biblical miracle working in supernatural power, and therefore should not be a claim to such gifts section 11.1.D.

3

Regarding the fraud in super-supernaturalism see esp. sections 11.7.B.9 and 11.8.E-F.

4

For further discussion of super-supernaturalism’s undermining of Scripture’s authority by claiming miracle working abilities see section 11.3.B.

5

Regarding the lack of discernment in super-supernaturalism regarding demonic infiltration see esp. chapter 11.11.

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6

Regarding the real meaning of John 14:12 (“greater miracles”) see section 10.5.B.2.

7

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s devaluation of the more important spiritual serving gifts because of an overemphasis on supposed sign gifts see section 10.5.B.4.

8

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s tendency to misinterpret circumstances and events as the miraculous and direct intervention of God for the purpose of communicating something, often resulting in misplaced blame against God see section 10.3.D.

9

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s tendency and actual occurrence of lying about God’s supernatural intervention because they do not value discernment and the place of divine authentication enough see section 10.3.D.

10

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s susceptibility and common commitment of the egregious sin of testing God because of expectations of miracles in contexts God does not promise one, see section 10.3.A.3.

11

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s misplaced arrogance in claiming a prayer and singing “gift” (in tongues) that spiritually edifies them in a way not available to other Christians and allows for more intimate communication and worship with the Father, such that His children without the “gift” are excluded from such intimacy, see chapter 2.6.1.

12

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s misuse of exorcism, potentially hurting people more than helping them, see section 10.5.A.4.

13

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s self-centered focus on the physical benefits of healing while ignoring their more important and biblical authenticating function see section 11.2.C.

14

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s propensity to advertise and exaggerate their “miracles” instead of command silence as Christ often did, revealing impure motives see sections 11.7.B.9; and chapter 11.8.

15

Regarding the prevalence of pagan worship practices in supersupernaturalism see chapters 4.9-11.

16

Regarding the deceitful, greedy, and sexually immoral character of most of foundational and influential “faith healers” in super-supernaturalism see sections 10.15.A.7; 9.11.F.3; 9.12.D; 11.7.B.9; and chapter 11.8.

17

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s illegitimate criticizing of Christians for a lack of faith concerning miracles when, in fact, miracle faith is the sovereign gift of God, and the absence of a miracle may be the fault of a lack of such faith on the part of the “healer”, see chapter 11.5.

18

Regarding super-supernaturalism being a primary cause of overskepticism regarding the miraculous, see section 10.3.A.1.

19

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s tendency to split churches see section 10.13.C.

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20

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s claim of new divine revelation from God through modern “prophets” see chapter 9.3.

21

John H. Armstrong, “In Search of Spiritual Power,” in Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? (Moody, 1992), 84.

22

J. I. Packer, Keep in Step With the Spirit (Revell, 1984), 185-91.

23

Excerpted from section 4.8.B.

24

We also write a great deal concerning the alarming demonic nature of much of the phenomena in super-supernaturalism. See chapters 11.1113.

25

Regarding the fact that the miraculous phenomena in supersupernaturalism falls far short of the biblical attributes of such gifts see chapters 11.1 and 12.2-4.

26

Regarding the fact that clearly demonically-empowered miracle workers in false religions perform even greater miracles than anyone in supersupernaturalism, see chapter 11.12.

27

For more explanation concerning the importance of natural processes and the proper expectation of miracles see chapter 10.3.

28

Packer, 193-4.

29

Excerpt from section 10.3.B.1.

30

Accordingly, we have spoken elsewhere of the dangers of interpreting natural disasters as the hand of God. See chapter 10.3.D.

31

For the dangers of exorcism ignored generally in super-supernaturalism see section 10.5.A.4.

32

Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan, 1993), 119.

33

First of all, in both the first and last sentences cited above, Mr. Deere copies the familiar mistake of not distinguishing between that fact that God still heals today through direct miracles He does, but not through the delegated miracle working of those with the biblical gifts of healing. Regarding this important distinction see sections 10.4.A.1 and 10.5.A.1.

34

Mr. Deere again misses the primary purpose that Jesus healed and highlights secondary effects. Christ’s primary purpose for healing was to prove to the Jews that He was sent from God (cf. John 2:18; 3:2; 5:36; 10:38; 15:24), not to heal the physical ills of the world or those around Him. Regarding this see section 11.2.C.

35

Thirdly, Mr. Deere would have us assume that God healed a multitude of people in the first century when neither the biblical nor secular historical record gives evidence of such. See section 10.2.B.1.

36

Fourth, is Mr. Deere really thinking about what he is saying when he claims that because “the church . . . has changed” it has triumphed over and blocked God’s sovereign desire to exercise compassion on His

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people? Regarding this ridiculous explanation for the fourth century cessation of these gifts see section 11.7.C 37

Augustine, Confessions, 10.35; online at www.ccel.org.

38

For further discussion of biblical faith in relation to Scripture see chapters 6.10-11.

39

For further discussion on the place of feelings in decision making see section 4.6.C.

40

Specifically on the place of experience and emotion in Christian worship see chapter 4.8.

41

J. I. Packer, Knowing Christianity (Harold Shaw, 1995), 5-6.

42

John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos (Zondervan, 1992), 185, 206.

43

For further discussion of these fleshly and even demonic worship phenomena commonly encouraged in super-supernaturalism see section 4.11.B.

44

Larry Christenson, Speaking in Tongues (Dimension Books, 1968), 40.

45

J. Rodman Williams, The Era of the Spirit, 55.

46

Ibid. (italics added for emphasis).

47

Richard Quebedeaux, The New Charismatics: The Origins, Development, and Significance of Neo-Pentecostalism (Doubleday, 1976), 111, 124, 154.

48

F. Sontag, “Should Theology Today be Charismatic?” JETS (30), 199, 200.

49

Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Word, 1997), 109.

50

Jack Deere, Surprised by the Voice of God (Zondervan, 1996), 291-2.

51

Doug Bannister, The Word and Power Church (Zondervan, 1999), 15

52

See further discussion of Charismatic worship perspectives in chapters 4.8-11.

53

Alan Richardson, Christian Apologetics (Harper, 1948), 244.

54

James White, Scripture Alone: Exploring The Bible's Accuracy, Authority, And Authenticity, (Bethany House, 2004), 94

55

Quebedeaux, 171-2.

56

Merrill, F. Unger, NT Teaching on Tongues (Kregel, 1971), 3.

57

Packer, Spirit, 173, 201.

58

Thomas R. Edgar, Satisfied by the Promise of the Spirit (Kregel Resources, 1996), 25.

59

Iain Murray, Evangelicalism Divided (Banner of Truth Trust, 2000, 2001), 135.

473

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60

Deere, Voice, 251-3.

61

For further discussion regarding the challenges of interpreting Scripture see chapter 3.3.

62

For legitimate and alarming explanations for phenomena in supersupernaturalism see sections 4.11.B and chapters 11.8-12.

63

Deere, Power, 23. (Italics in the original).

64

Deere, Power, 25.

65

Ibid., 55,56. 99

66

For further discussion of the biblical meaning of the gift of knowledge see chapter 8.2.

67

Erwin Lutzer, Who Are You To Judge? (Moody, 2002), 65-6.

68

Bernard L. Ramm, The Pattern of Authority (Eerdmans, 1957), 45.

69

Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Intervarsity, 1996), 235.

70

Frederick Dale Bruner, A Theology of the Holy Spirit, (Eerdmans, 1970), 33.

71

Alister McGrath, in Power Religion: Church? (Moody, 1992), 227-8, 304

72

Carl E. Braaten, “The Role of Dogma in Church and Theology” in The Task of Theology Today: Doctrines and Dogmas (Eerdmans, 1999), 267, 32.

73

Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Vols. 1 & 2 (Harper & Row, 1978), 189.

74

Neo-orthodoxy is a relatively complex theological perspective best known as the position Karl Barth (1886-1968) promoted. R. V. Schnucker relates in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (EDT): Neo-orthodoxy . . . does not have the popularity it enjoyed earlier in the [20th] century. Certain inherent elements have precluded its continuing influence. For example . . . its view of Scripture, “The Bible is God’s Word so far as God lets it be his Word” (Barth, Church Dogmatics, I/2, 123), has been seen as a rejection of the infallible sola Scriptura of conservative Protestantism. . . . Perhaps the greatest weakness within the movement has been its pessimism concerning the reliability and validity of human [even Christian] reason. [Its critics claim] If human reason cannot be trusted, then it follows that since neo-orthodoxy relied on human reason, it could not be trusted. (“Neo-orthodoxy,” [Baker, 1994], 756) Which is the same inevitable result of any philosophy or theology that degrades the God-given place of especially Spirit-liberated reason.

75

Quebedeaux, 171-2.

The Selling Out of the Evangelical

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76

See 1.?

77

MacArthur, Chaos, 358

78

Robert B. Gaffin in Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Wayne Grudem ed. (Zondervan, 1996), 334-5.

79

We have repeatedly pointed out the biblical truth that true Christian spirituality is defined, experienced, and recognized as supernatural virtue such as love and holiness. For further see section 5.6.B.; 10.15.A.7; and 9.12.D.

80

Bannister, 24

81

Ibid., 36-37

82

J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007), 199.

83

Ibid., 187.

84

Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Hendrickson, 1994), 902.

85

Donald Bloesch, The Holy Spirit (InterVarsity, 2000), 208.

86

Erwin Lutzer, Seven Convincing Miracles (Moody, 1999), 57.

87

Lutzer, Judge, 120.

88

Excerpt from section 10.5.B.3.

89

For the claim that the “revival” in charismaticism has been more fake than real see section 10.15.A.

90

Thomas R. Edgar, ”The Cessation of the Sign Gifts” Bsac 145 (1988), 371.

91

Jonathan Edwards, Treatise on Religious Affections, II:274; online at www.ccel.org.

92

For further discussion concerning the relationship between faith and miracles see chapters 11.4-5.

93

Regarding super-supernaturalism’s claim that Scripture and sign gifts ceased because of a lack of virtue in the early Church see section 11.7.C.

94

Regarding the relationship between faith and miracles see chapter 11.45.

95

Regarding the fact that neither Christ nor the Apostles ever criticized a believer for a lack of faith to either produce or receive a miracle see section 11.5.D.

96

Instead, as we discuss at length elsewhere, Brother Yun and others ministering in countries hardened to the Gospel, are in environments where we would expect more miracles to occur, which is a better explanation of any real upsurge in miraculous activity than many of the reasons super-supernaturalism offers. See section 10.3.C.

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97

Michael Green, Evangelism and the Early Church, 26-7, 249.

98

Ibid., 249.

99

For disparagements of reasoning particularly in super-supernaturalism see section 2.4.A.2 and chapter 4.11.

100

Fee, Presence, 800.

101

Wimber, Power Evangelism, 31.

102

Regarding the fact that God’s miraculous activity is not dependent on humans, but He is sovereign over when and where they occur, see section 11.5.F.

103

K. L. Sarles, “An Appraisal of the Signs and Wonders Movement,” Bsac (145), 70-1.

104

One biographer shares the rather radical shift D. M. Lloyd-Jones apparently experienced in the matter of super-supernaturalism: In [super-supernatural] circles, the name of Lloyd-Jones was anathema, for example, the Church's Council of Healing, where one leader told me only Dr. Lloyd-Jones prevented the healing movement from sweeping the church. That leader died long before Dr. LloydJones changed his position and viewpoint, from his early agreement with Professor B. B. Warfield's views on healing to an acceptance of healing gifts. He was later seen by many charismatic leaders as lending support to the 'gifts of healings' which were so much part of the renewal movement. But all those later developments were some decades away from his early ministry in London. (Davies, 356)

105

Lloyd-Jones, Spirit, 130-1.

106

Ibid., 78.

107

Charles Swindoll, The Mystery of God’s Will (Word, 1999), 31.

108

For the Church’s historical condemnation of super-supernaturalist phenomena see chapter 4.10; section 11.7.B; and chapter 12.13.

109

For further discussion regarding how unregenerate and regenerate people relate to miracles see section 4.13.B.

110

For elements of unbiblical anti-supernaturalism among Christians, see section 10.12.A.3.

111

MacArthur, Chaos, 21-22, italics in original.

112

Bloesch, Holy Spirit, 87.

113

Regarding the super-supernaturalist’s belief that their gift of tongues provides them with a superior way of communing with and experiencing God see chapter 12.1.

114

Ref. unavailable.

115

Packer, Spirit, 199.

476

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116

Ibid.

117

Carson, Power Religion, 111-12.

118

Packer, Spirit, 194-5.

119

We argue elsewhere in support of Dr. Packer’s contention that Scripture does not defend the super-supernaturalist’s expectation of healing. See section 10.13.A.1.

120

B. B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (Banner of Truth Trust, 1972), 177.

121

Robert Saucy, Miraculous Gifts, 130.

122

Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (Hendrickson, 1998), 342.

123

Regarding the fraud in super-supernaturalism’s claims to healing see sections 11.7.B.9 and 11.8.E-F.

124

Ruth Tucker, God Talk: (Intervarsity, 2005).

125

MacArthur, Chaos, 256.

126

Packer, Spirit, 195-6.

Cautions For Those Who Hear God’s Voice

127

J. I. Packer cited in Stafford, “Testing the Wine from John Wimber’s Vineyard,” 22.

128

R. K. Harrison, “Healing” in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), Geoffrey W. Bromiley, , ed., 4 vols., (Eerdmans, 1988), 2:644.

129

Leslie D. Weatherhead, Psychology, Religion, and Healing (Abingdon, 1952), 214.

130

Bannister, 35-6.

131

Quebedeaux, 114.

132

Quebedeaux 75-6.

133

Ibid.

134

Ref. unavailable.

135

Reformation Today, issue 16.

136

George E. Gardiner, The Corinthian Catastrophe (Kregel, 1974), 55.

137

See the prayer below under Extras & Endnotes.

138

MacArthur, Chaos.

139

Packer, Spirit, 171.

477

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