"So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea unto Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."
The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"
Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"
Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."
So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives," And he himself believed, and his whole household.
This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee."

Message:
The introduction to our story really begins at verse 43 of this chapter. It reads:
"Now after the two days (these were the days He spent in the city of Sychar being invited there by the people so impressed with the change that had taken place in the woman who had visited with Jesus at the well) He departed from there and went to Galilee.
For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast."
The Lord, accompanied by His disciples, left Judea because of the jealousy and enmity of the Pharisees.
In verse 3 of our chapter, it says: He departed again into Galilee. But before He goes there, He must needs go through Samaria (v. 4). We have learned something of

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the importance of that "must needs" in our recent lessons. That "must needs" involved the breaking down of the barriers of religion constructed by the Jews and now the Gospel was made available to "whosoever will." But the need had now been met, the Samaritans were now rejoicing in their new found relationship with Jesus Christ, so the Lord Jesus departed from Samaria and arrives at Galilee. The religious leaders in Jerusalem regarded Galilee with contempt. It was there that the poor of the flock were to be found. The first three Gospels record at length the Galilean-ministry of the Redeemer, but John's gives only a brief notice of it in the passage now before us.
"For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet hath no honor in his own country." The reference is to what is recorded in Luke 4. At Nazareth, "where He had been brought up," He entered the synagogue and read from Isaiah 60, declaring "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Those who heard Him "wondered," and said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" They were totally blind to His Divine glory. The Lord replied by saying, "Ye will surely say unto Me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself; whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And He said, "Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country." Proof of this was furnished immediately after, for when Christ referred to God's sovereign dealings of old in connection with Elijah and Elisha, we are told, "And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led to the brow of the hill whereon the city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong."
Thus was He dishonored and insulted by those among whom His preministerial life had been lived.
He was without honor in "His own country," that is, Galilee; and yet we now find Him returning there. Why, then, should He return thither? The answer to this question is found in Matthew 4: "Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, He departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Napthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esias the prophet, saying, The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphthalim, by the way of

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the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." (Matt. 4:12-16) This furnishes us with another instance of the obedience of the perfect Servant. In the volume of the Book it was written of Him. Prophecy makes known the decrees of God. As, then, Christ had come here to do the will of God, and God's will (revealed in the prophetic word) had declared that the people in Galilee who walked in darkness, should see a great light (Isa. 9:1,2) thus the reason for our Lord's return to Galilee.
"For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet hath no honor in his own country." How this reveals the heart of the Saviour! He was no stoic, passing through these scenes, unmoved by what He encountered: He was not insensible to the treatment He met with, He "endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself (Heb. 12:3). The indifference, the unbelief, the opposition of Israel, told upon Him, and caused His visage to be "marred more than any man" (Isa. 52:14).
Hear Him, as by the spirit of prophecy, He exclaims, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my reward with my God." (Isa. 49:4)
So here, when we hear Him testifying, "A prophet hath no honor in his own country," we can almost catch the sob in His voice. For two days He had experienced the joys of harvest at Sychar. His spirit had been refreshed. The "meat" which had been ministered to His soul consisted not only of the consciousness that He had done the will of the One who had sent Him, but also in the faith and gratitude of the woman who had believed on Him. Two days only did He abide in Sychar...and now, He turns once more to Galilee, and He goes with sad foreboding. For Jesus Himself testified, that a prophet hath no honor in his own country." His use of the word "PROPHET" here is very suggestive. It was the word that the woman had used when her perceptive faculties began to be illumined (v. 19). There, in Samaria, He had been honored. The Samaritans believed His bare word, for no miracles were performed before them. But now in Galilee He meets with a faith of a very inferior order. The Galileans received Him because they had seen "all the

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things that He did at Jerusalem at the feast (v.45). In Galilee, He is not honored for His person's and word's sake in Samaria He was! As prophet He was not honored in Galilee; as a miracle-work He was "received." This principle is frequently exemplified today. There is many a servant of God who is thought more highly of abroad than he is at home. It is a true saying that "familiarity breeds contempt." Oftimes a preacher is more respected and appreciated when visiting a distant field than he is by his own flock.
Verse 46 in our text says: "So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where He made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum" (4:46). Why do we have this emphasis upon the place where Jesus performed the miracle? Why, in fact, is the former miracle of changing water into wine at Cana mentioned? Quite clearly, this is John's way of telling us that we are to put the two miracles--that of changing water into wine and that of healing the nobleman’s son--side by side. In other words, we are to see them in relationship to each other and compare them. What does the comparison show? May I suggest that the significant point in the comparison is not in the similarities but in their once great difference. What is the difference? Certainly that in the first the scene is one of joy, festivity, and happiness. The stage is a wedding. In the second the scene is fraught with sickness, desperation, anxiety and the dreadful shadow of death. One is a picture of joy, the other of sorrow. In comparing the two we are clearly to see that life is as filled with the one as the other and that Jesus, the One who is the answer to all human need, is needed in both circumstances.
One writer has noted: "Jesus is more than equal to either occasion. He has a place in all circumstances. If we invite Him in our times of sorrow, anxiety, or bereavement, He can bring consolation, comfort, and a joy that is not of this world."
Our text says, "And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum." The word "nobleman" signifies a royal officer; probably he belonged to Herod's court; that he was a man of station and means is evident from the fact that he had servants. But neither rank nor riches exempt their possessor from

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the common sorrows of human kind. No doubt this nobleman had tried every remedy which money could produce. But money is not almighty. Many invest it with an imaginary value that it is far from possessing. Money cannot purchase happiness, nor can it ensure health.
The nobleman knew his need and he was desperate...but he also knew someone that could help him and that was Jesus! Most likely, this man had learned through some source, the great miracle that Jesus did in His first visit in Cana...or, at least, he might have been one of those who learned of this miracle-worker when he visited Jerusalem. "When he learned (heard) that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto Him, and besought Him that He would come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of death."
There are two ways of looking at the man’s faith at this point. The first way is to be surprised that he was exercising faith at all. Here was a man who was in the court, where he doubtless exercised great authority, traveling twenty-five miles to request a miracle from a carpenter! The other way of looking at the man’s faith, however, is to look at it in the way Jesus looked at it and to realize that although it was real faith it was nevertheless quite weak. The man apparently believed that Jesus was able to heal his son. But he limited Jesus to the place--he thought it necessary that Jesus should come down to Capernaum--and to the mode of operation. Presumably the nobleman thought that Jesus would have to touch his son to heal him, just as Jarius thought that Jesus would have to touch his daughter to heal her (Mark 5:23). It therefore became Jesus' purpose to teach the nobleman and to help his faith grow. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe" (4:48). This was a rebuke! Not only was the faith of this nobleman weak, but he so far forgot himself as to dictate to the Lord Jesus, and tell Him what to do. The force of Christ's reply seems to be this: 'You are demanding signs of Me before you will fully trust your boy's case into My hands." The nobleman proved himself to be truly noble, for he was not offended at the words of Christ, nor did he seek to justify himself either before Jesus or the others. He simply stood his ground, reiterating his need and humbling himself to receive his answer in whatever way Jesus chose to give it to him.

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Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe." How searching this is!
Is it not a word that many of us need? Is it not at this point we most often fail? We ask God for a certain thing, and we have a measure of faith that it will be given us; but in the interval of waiting the bare word of God is not sufficient for us--we crave a "sign." Or again; we are engaged in some service for the Lord, and we are not without faith that our labors will result in some fruitage for Him, but ere the fruit appears we become impatient, and we long for a "sign." God has declared that His Word shall not return unto Him void" (Isa. 55:11). Is not that sufficient? God has declared that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us (1 John 5:15). Is not His promise enough?
When Jesus spoke of SIGN AND WONDERS he was not referring to two kinds of supernatural works. Rather, the same deed of power is a SIGN when it is viewed in one way, and a WONDER when it is viewed in another way. A SIGN is a miracle viewed as a proof of divine authority and majesty. Hence, it leads the attention of the spectator away from the deed itself to the divine Doer! Often too, the SIGN, a work of power in the physical realm, illustrates a principle that is operative in the spiritual realm; that which takes place in the sphere of creation points away from itself to the sphere of redemption. Thus, the multiplication of the loaves rivets the attention on Christ as the Bread of Life.
A WONDER is something startling. The term views the mighty deed not, like a SIGN, from the point of view of the light which it sheds upon the person and work of the Lord, but from the aspect of the effect which it has upon the spectators. These spectators were always looking for something sensational or exciting! So Jesus says, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will definitely not believe."
Let's take a moment and learn something about the subject of miracles...signs...wonders.
Norman Geisler, in his great work, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS, gives us this definition of a miracle: "A miracle is a special act of God that interrupts the natural course of events. The Christian conception of the miraculous immediately depends on the existence of a theistic God. If the theistic God exists,

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miracles are possible. If there is a God who can act, then there can be acts of God. The only way to show that miracles are impossible is to disprove the existence of God."
A miracle is a divine intervention, a supernatural exception to the regular course of the natural world. Natural laws describe naturally caused regularities; a miracle is a supernaturally caused singularity. A natural law is a general description of the usual orderly way in which the world operates. It follows, then, that a miracle is an unusual, irregular, specific way in which God acts within the world.
Geisler further comments: "Further, if a miracle is an act of God to confirm the word of God through a messenger of God, then it is reasonable that God would want to do miracles. Through miracles, God confirms his prophets Moses (Exodus 4) and Elijah (1 Kings 18). And this is the way he confirmed Jesus (John 3:2 and Acts 2:22).
How better could God confirm to us who were his spokespersons. And it is a priori probably that an intelligent, personal, moral Creator would want to communicate in the most effective way with his creatures."
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MIRACLES, WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH IS DIVIDED ON THIS SUBJECT. Some believe that miracles continue even to our day. Others believe that miracles ceased when the apostles died. Those who believe that miracles continue to this day use the following arguments:(1) God performed miracles in redemptive history. They are recorded from Genesis through Revelations. There seems to be no reason to believe they would cease arbitrarily with the apostles. (2) God has not changed; Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). If the miracle-working God has not changed, then why would miracles cease? (3) Jesus spoke of continuing miracles. He said, "Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). In His commission as recorded in Mark, Jesus said that miracles would accompany the gospel as it went out (16:17-18). (4) Miracles manifest God's greatness (Exodus 7:17) and glory (John 11:40), to deliver God's children in need (Exodus 14:21), and to communicate God's messages to his people (Exod. 4:8; Hebrews 2:3-4. These needs continue today.

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Those who do not believe that miracles continue to this day and ceased with the apostles use the following arguments: (1) Logically there is no connection between past and present miraculous occurrences. Even during thousands of years of Bible history miracles were clustered in three very limited periods; The Mosaic period, The Prophetic period, and the Apostolic period. That miracles occurred at special times for special purposes is no argument that they will exist when these conditions no longer prevail. (2) God never changes, but His program here on earth does. There are different stages of his redemptive plan, and what is true in one stage is untrue in another. (3) Jesus did promise that miracles would continue after He left, but He did not say they would endure until His return. It was specifically to the apostles that He made the statement of John 14:12. The reference to special "signs of an apostle" (2 Cor. 12:12) make no sense if these gifts were possessed by anyone other than the apostles or those on whom Christ and the apostles conferred the gift. (4) When compared with the periods that prompted miracles in Bible times, there is no actual need for sign miracles today. Miracles confirmed new revelation (Exodus 4:6; John 3:2; Acts 2:22). But the Bible is so much more than the New Testament saints possessed, and it is complete and sufficient for faith and practice. (5) Though miracles can manifest God's greatness, glory, and deliverance, He accomplishes these things in other ways. The heavens declare His glory and greatness (Psalm 19: Isaiah 40). Spiritual deliverance is accomplished in the power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16). God works through general and special providence without suspending natural laws.
The view that sign miracles ceased with the apostles does not demand that God has performed no miracles since the first century. It argues that the special gift of doing miraculous feats possessed by the apostles ceased once the divine origin of their message was confirmed.
Where do we stand? Personally, I find the argument against miracles unconvincing and believe that there is sufficient evidence that God, still today, can and does set aside the natural laws and does the supernatural!
I am fully aware that there are false prophets who can do seemingly miraculous things and we are warned of these deceptions as an indication of the end times.

Herbert Lockyer has written an excellent book entitled: ALL THE MIRACLES OF THE BIBLE. The following information is the result of surveying the book and presenting important aspects from its text on the subject of miracles.
WHAT IS A MIRACLE?
A miracle has been defined as a work wrought by a divine power for a divine purpose by means beyond the reach of man. The general idea is that it is something wonderful or unusual--an event, experience, or discovery so singular and strange as to awaken in one the feeling of awe. Phenomena in nature and events in history are labeled "miracle."
Webster's definition of a MIRACLE is as follows: An event or effect in the physical world deviating from the known laws of nature, or transcending our knowledge of these laws; an extra-ordinary, anomalous, or abnormal event brought about by super-human agency."
William Taylor defines MIRACLES as follows: A work out of the usual sequence of secondary causes and effects which cannot be accounted for by the ordinary operation of those causes, and which is produced by the agency of God through the instrumentality of one who claims to be his representative, and in attestation of the message which he brings."
The biblical conception of a miracle is that of some extraordinary work of deity transcending the ordinary powers of nature and wrought in connection with the ends of revelation.
One of the difficulties voiced by modernism as to the possibility of miracles is that the laws of nature are self-existent and uncaused and that there cannot be any deviation from them. But if these laws were designed by a Supreme Will, surely this Will has the power to introduce or interpose a new agency into them? In Bible miracles, original laws are not suspended, violated, or modified in any way, but a supernatural power outside of nature intervenes with a new effect.
Although God is beyond and above nature, He never violates any of its laws. Neither is nature, as Spinoza expresses it, "the strait jacket from which God cannot escape." If we deny Him the power to perform miracles, then He is no longer a God of freedom, a living God,

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above nature and independent of nature, as Trench reminds.
An important aspect of Bible miracles is the fact that they are proper proofs of a divine revelation. They are not only proofs of a revelation but form a revelation in themselves. Of course, miracles guarantee the authenticity of a revelation. Bible miracles form an integral part of Holy Writ and testify to its divine inspiration and veracity. Apart from these miracles we have no other evidence of the supernatural working on man's behalf in time of crises.
Miracles, as an integral part of the Bible, provide evidence that it is God's divinely inspired Word. Without the miraculous content we could not expect it as a supernatural Book. Miracles are "both the official and authoritative seal of God.
In his excellent summary on MIRACLES in THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA, H. Wace says:
"On the whole, it is perhaps increasingly realized that miracles, so far from being an excrescence on Christian faith, are indissolubly bound up with it, and that there is a complete unity in the manifestation of the divine nature, which is recorded in Scripture."
Bible miracles were designed to symbolize the spiritual blessings that God is able and willing to bestow upon our needy hearts. Miracles are parables of grace, and parables are miracles of power. Miracles, then, have a two-fold value, a physical and a spiritual.
In the Bible, among the most conspicuous terms describing what we call MIRACLES are the following:
WONDERS-TERATA
This word indicates the state of mind produced on the eyewitnesses by the sight of miracles. To beholders, such a display of power was contrary to previous expectations--opposite to any law with which they were acquainted.
Godet, the great Bible scholar, writes:
The miracles of Jesus are not mere prodigies intended to strike the imagination. There is a close relation between these marvelous facts and person of Him who does them. They are visible emblems of what He is, and what He comes to do, images which spring as rays from the abiding miracles of the manifestation of Christ."
SIGNS--(Semeion)
Here we have a word carrying with it a particular re-

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ference to the significance of miracles as being seals by which God authenticated the miracle-worker himself. In SEMEION, the ethical purpose of the miracle is most prominent. A miracle was to be looked upon as a token and indication of the near presence and working of God as a proof of the genuineness of revelation. SIGN designates a proof or evidence furnished by one set of facts to the reality and genuineness of another.
2 Corinthians 12:11-13
"I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing.
Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.
For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me for this wrong!"
POWERS-(dunamis)
Miracles are also "powers" in that they manifest the mighty power of God which was inherent in Christ Himself, "the great power of God" (Acts 8:10). SEMEION refers to the final cause of miracles; DUNAMIS, to their efficient cause.
The three words considered are combined in one verse--
"Jesus the Nazarene, a man set forth by God to you by works of power, and wonders, and signs, which God wrought by Him in your midst." Acts 2:22
Other descriptive words of miracles are "works," as John frequently calls them (5:36; 7:21; 10:25); "great things" (Luke 1:49); "glorious things" (Luke 13:17); "strange things" (Luke 5:26); "wonderful things" (Matthew 21:15); "marvelous things" (Psalm 78:12).
Combining all the terms used in the Old Testament and New Testament to describe the Biblical idea of miracles as manifestations of God's extraordinary work, they indicate powers transcending the ordinary powers of nature, wrought in connection with the ends of revelation.
In classifying the performers of Bible miracles, we find them to be divine, angelic, human and satanic. When we view the miracles of Christ, we find that He never performed miracles simply to display His power,

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nor to astonish people. He always used His power to aid and relieve the needy. And...we never find Christ working a single miracle on His own behalf. He will turn water into wine, that nothing may mar the gladness of a marriage feast; but He asked the woman at the well to give Him a drink when He was dying He depended upon the bystanders to assuage His thirst. He will provide an ample meal for multitudes as they listened all day long to His soul-inspiring teaching, but would not convert the stones of the wilderness into bread to satisfy His own hunger. Enriching others, He elected to remain impoverished.
In viewing the various miracles of the Bible, there were times when angels performed miracles, or at least, were involved in them, such as recorded in 2 Samuel 24:16; Luke 1:11-13; John 5:2-4; Acts 5:17-24).
Miracles were performed by the servants of God. Human agents could not act directly. They had no reservoir of deity. They could only perform miracles as power was delegated to them by God. Throughout the Bible, persons like Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Sampson, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Peter, Stephen, Philip, Paul, Barnabas, and other apostles and disciples were only channels through whom miraculous power flowed.
Those who performed miracles had to disclaim any inherent power of their own (Acts 3:12) and had to possess faith in God's power to perform what was impossible from the human standpoint (Matthew 17:20; 21:21; John 14:21; Acts 3:16; 6:8).
Further, many miracles occurred at the command, or at the prayer, of the person to whom they are attributed. The whole significance of our Lord's miracles is that they occur at His word and in obedience to Him. "What manner of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey Him) Matthew 8:27).
But here is a very interesting aspect of some of the miracles of the Bible...MIRACLES WERE PERFORMED BY EVIL AGENTS. In some mysterious way the Devil and those under his sway have had, and are to have, power to counterfeit the prerogative of deity, namely, the display of miraculous power.
The Bible speaks of miracles performed through the power of the Devil:
2 Thessalonians 2:9

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"For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thess. 2:7-10)
Revelation 16:12-16
"Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out from the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.
And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, ARMAGEDDON."
WARNING, WARNING, WARNING! One of the signs of the closing days of time just before the return of Jesus Christ for His true Church will be counterfeit signs and wonders! Paul gives this warning to the Corinthian church: (2 Corinthians 11:12-15)
"But what I do, I will also continued to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."

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Matthew 24:15-27
"Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand),
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let him who he is on the house top not go down to take anything out of the house,
and let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
But woe unto those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ! or ‘There! do not believe it.
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
See, I have told you beforehand.
Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert! do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it.
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west so also will the coming of the son of Man be."
WARNING, WARNING, WARNING! In recent days, I heard that one of the TV healers has informed his followers that he believed that very soon...Christ would come and walk through their midst...personally, visibly and in bodily form! BEWARE OF SUCH FALSE PROPHETS!
Revelation 13:11-18
"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

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He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on there foreheads,
and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark of the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."
COUNTERFEIT MIRACLES WERE DESIGNED TO SUPPORT FALSE RELIGIONS.
Deuteronomy 13:1-5
"That there arises among you a prophet were a dreamer of dreams, and he give you a sign or a wonder,
and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, "Let us go after other gods’--which you have not known--and let us serve them.’
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to him.
But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away evil from your midst."

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COUNTERFEIT MIRACLES ARE A MARK OF APOSTASY.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5
"Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things."

Our subject is the subject of MIRACLES.
We have concluded that God is a God of miracles and throughout the Bible, He confirms His power and glory in the working of miracles. Christ's ministry was authenticated by supernatural miracles that were a part of His earthly ministry.
We believe that God has not changed! His power is the same...He still rules the universe!
But when it comes to present day demonstrations that seem to be miraculous in nature...and even when God is given the credit for what has taken place...THERE ARE MANY WARNINGS IN THE BIBLE WHICH WE MUST NOT CLOSE OUR EYES TO!
One of the matters that alarm me most is false theology and heresy that is associated with those of our present day who build their following on supposed miracles!
Ancient Gnosticism is flourishing in present day pulpits and most evangelicals are completely blind to this heresy which the Apostle Paul had to confront in his writing of the Book of Colossians.
ADMONITION!
Let's keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and our faith solidly grounded in the Word of God...not on following the spectacular and the signs and listening to the latest ‘revelations’ that some present day preachers talk about!