Revelation 13:14 And he deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Modern science, as is taught in our public schools and universities does not make allowance for God, or for the supernatural. The origin of species, as far as secular philosophy teaches, does not include God and is devoid of anything called miraculous.
Therefore, everything that pertains to our planet or to the starry heavens is of necessity reasoned from a strictly scientific perspective, being subjected to proof in a laboratory, with theories and speculations and suppositions of men.
For instance, in the Big Bang theory, which, to this day remains a mere theory, and in the current origin of species philosophy, all intelligent purposes, and planning are deliberately left out, to try and squish the God-factor out of the question.
Thus, the mind of the student is trained to restrict reasoning and conclusions to strictly, logical lines. In other words, when the Psalmist David says that God spoke, and it was done, without the need for any preexisting matter, secular science dismisses that as folly, and not worth the consideration.
Thus, at the onset, the possibility of a supernatural intervention, by any being on any level, is deemed to be anathema to humanistic modes of thought. In fact, persons in our day who dare to believe, are for all intents and purposes, considered by science as being on the fringe.
Whenever, and wherever this is done, as is the case in most public institutions of learning, the minds of the students could become dwarfed, and they could be rendered almost incapable of exercising any faith because faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The book of Genesis introduces God as a given, and it begins with the 1st week of supernatural activities which resulted in the creation of our world. Science stumbles on the how and when, but faith focuses on the bottom line which is that God indeed created all these things.
Again, if science cannot explain the “how” it recoils from accepting the bottom-line facts of creation. It’s worthy of note that this was the same mindset that pervaded the clergy in Christ’s day, as they seemed to be always pressing for answers as to how this, or that miracle was done.
In the case of the blind man who was healed, they pressed him over and over again on the “How” even as they bypassed the bottom line that the man was indeed healed by Christ. But without a detailed, and exhaustive, scientific explanation, they refused to believe. Let’s read:
John 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
10 Therefore said they unto him, how were thine eyes opened?
11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
15 Then again, the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
20 His parents answered them and said, we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.
26 Then said they to him again, what did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
That is exactly where science and the supernatural collide in the secular realm, for without any logical answer as to the “How” philosophers will generally refuse to believe.
And that’s the same problem science encounters with the Genesis account. Like the blind man who was healed, The Bible provides the bottom line facts of creation, but the scientific “How” is missing.
How He did it is plainly stated in the creation record, for it says repeatedly That “God Said”. But science in our day has no way of proving that mere words can be translated into solid matter, especially if there is no preexisting matter to begin with. Thus, from the get go, the creation account is a non-starter, as far as science is concerned. Let’s read:
Psalms 33: 6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
Hebrews 11: 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
True science must always be inclusive of the God-factor for if it does not, it will run into unexplainable phenomena, especially in these last days of earth’s history, when as is clearly stated in our first passage, miracle working power of devils is scheduled to be ramped up significantly.
Thus, when the Genesis account of the supernatural activities of God are rejected in favor of the theory of evolution, the mind is prepared, and groomed to resist evidences of the miraculous, which might defy any scientific explanation.
Another erroneous perspective that is held, even by many Christians, is that all good miracles have to be attributed to God, especially if they’re productive of benefits on some level, especially healing.
In other words, many Christians believe that if any person is miraculously healed from known terminal illnesses without using any of the conventional ways and means science provides, then it has to be God who did it, or, if someone is miraculously protected from death, it has to be God who intervened.
This particular perspective was on display recently across the land, when, as has been widely reported, former president Trump narrowly cheated death, by a simple twist of his face. It was then trumpeted by many professed Christians that it was God who had intervened in his behalf.
While we will not say yea, yea, or nay, nay, on the matter, the tendency to chalk up all good results to God alone, and all bad results to devils, is one of the ways in which miraculous, supernatural phenomena will play a pivotal role, in convincing the masses of people to go with the flow, specifically, to take the mark of the beast.
The habit of attributing good miracles to God alone is what took place when the early Christians in the city of Samaria came face to face with the magician in their town, who had become renowned for doing much good among the people in their city.
At that time two supernatural forces were at work, with Philip working under the auspices of The Holy Ghost, and the renowned magician doing his thing. And since both of them seemed to be doing good, it had become very difficult for the casual observer to tell the difference between the true and the false.
The magician, by the name Simon Magus, had been obviously working miracles for many years in that city, and the fact that he had gained the respect of the masses of people, testifies to the veracity of the things he was doing.
In the following passages, when we read the words: from the least to the greatest, we must understand that almost everyone, from senators, Governors and mayors to your everyday John Doe on the street had come to a settled conclusion that God was working amongst them through Simon.
A person never gains renown, confidence or respect if what he is purporting to do is fake news, because the intelligent minds in the city would certainly have exposed his work as a scam years before.
And yet, for all their claims that it was the power of God at work it was actually the devil who was in the background, apparently helping out the citizens of the city, all the while.
Witch doctors do not only cast spells and curses on people, they also do some medicinal work and quite often employ the supernatural power of the devil to heal diseases. In fact, the word translated “Sorcery” in our next passages is taken from the Greek word Pharmakeia, from which we get our modern word “Pharmacy”.
Thus, Simon Magus, the magician was doing some level of good work amongst the people of that city, intermingled with the evil, therefore, it is a grim fact that we will have to be reconciled to, that devils can and often do, some level of good. Let’s read:
Acts 8: 9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which, before-time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, this man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
For the record, satan can work good miracles, which can indeed benefit the human family. In fact, as the pestilences and diseases, predicted in the Bible gain momentum in frequency and intensity on the planet there will arise a dire need, for some supernatural interventions.
Again, as Covid, Monkey pox, Zika, and Oropouche viruses do their dirty work together with their many relatives, and variants that are waiting in the wings, the medical systems can become overwhelmed, as was the case during Covid.
And therefore, if some unknown personage were to arise across our planet, possessing healing powers, most people will succumb to him, because of sheer necessity. And according to the scriptures, devils will be ready and waiting to supply the demand.
Thus, if someone has come to believe that all good miracles could only come from God, the next logical line of reasoning would be to conclude that those miracles spoken of in Revelation 13, have to be the supernatural power of God on display.
Hence the reason why it is necessary for us to study the Biblical teaching on supernatural phenomena so that we can have a good, balanced understanding of what is really at stake. Again, when science reaches a crossroads where it has run out of all explanations for the obviously supernatural, it will cause persons to naturally chalk up miracles to God alone.
So let us begin by being crystal clear on the matter; apart from raising the dead, and giving life to man, or beast, which is God’s domain and His prerogative alone, satan can work good miracles such as healing the sick, and removing maladies, and diseases from persons in many cases.
This he has done on numerous occasions in our day, and persons went away praising God not having any clue as to what transpired. Again, in the episode of the plagues in Egypt, the devils were able to mimic, in large part the miracles wrought by Moses.
Even though in many of those cases, the miracles were not genuine, the counterfeits however were designed to appeal to the five senses of the human agent, to the point where it was virtually impossible to tell the difference, except when Moses’ serpent became hungry and was commanded by God to do lunch. Let’s read:
Exodus 7:10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
Exodus 7: 21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said.
Satan cannot impart life to either man or beast, but he certainly has the ability to make it seem so, for the sole reason that human beings are not able to discern the difference, without the power of God. In other words, he did not create any real fish, frogs or serpents, but, for all intents and purposes they did appear to be real, and genuine to the human eye. Let’s read:
Exodus 8: 6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
In addition to this, very many of the capabilities that holy angels have, devils also have. This may be quite disconcerting to hear but it’s the truth. For instance, holy angels could specifically single out one or more persons in a congregation, and could visibly appear to them while persons around do not see, nor hear anything. Let’s read:
Daniel 10:4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz.
6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
Numbers 22: 21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
Therefore, as it pertains to the title of our study, we must now hunker down into the book of second Thessalonians to discover what we are to expect on our planet, as the time for Christ’s second coming draws near, as it pertains to what the Scriptures say about supernatural phenomena.
Chapter two specifically speaks of a strong delusion that will take the world by storm, and we must now find out what it is, because, it seems to be linked to the diseases, and pestilences that are scheduled to overwhelm our health care systems in the not-too distant future to the point where some supernatural power will become a necessity. Let’s read:
2nd Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
9 Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.
Nothing can touch someone so personally as when he or she is miraculously healed of some disease or virus. For instance, during the onslaught of Covid, persons became desperate for the drugs that were made available, and in some instances were in short supply.
And there was the added pressure to quickly ramp up production, as hospitals and the medical facilities overflowed with patients. We all remember those scenes too well. Thus, even though there will be other supernatural interventions, as spoken of in Revelation 13, such as lightening falling from heaven, the one that will hit home the most is when persons are miraculously healed of some disease or virus.
There won’t be any denying this one, for it will be a very personal experience. Therefore, we must look back at sacred history to better understand what is being said. When Jesus walked on this earth, there were two things that endeared Him to the people.
[1] His love, manifested in healing their diseases.
[2] His love, manifested through His teachings.
But by far, the issue of healing takes the cake, since it was of the most personal nature, and in fact, was the catalyst in very many instances, in causing them to believe on Him. Let’s read:
Matthew 4: 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sicknesses, and all manner of diseases among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Matthew 12: 14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.
Luke 4: 37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her.
39 And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
We could only imagine, if during the onslaught of Covid, someone who had this ability was to show up, billions of suffering persons around the world would certainly believe on him, and no doubt, that person would have become quite famous.
Sadly, many of the famous faith healers of our day were no where to be found. At that time, above all others America could have really used their services but for some unknown reason, they just seemed to vanish into thin air.
But the link must now be made from the Scriptures between the healing of the body, and the decision to believe, because there is a very close symbiosis between the two.
Think about it for a moment brethren! A woman is in a medical institution, suffering with a malignant tumor, of which her doctors have declared it to be terminal, because it has metastasized throughout the entire body, and every organ has been affected.
And then, out of the blue, someone shows up, and, without using any radiation, or any chemotherapy, he stretches forth his hand and he touches her, and immediately the cancer disappears without a trace.
It would be very difficult for a person to deny what took place, for the intervention was very personal. In other words, people will generally tend to believe when they have experienced supernatural healing in their own bodies, because at that point it becomes quite personal. Let’s read:
John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
John 2: 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
John 11: 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
John 12: 9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;
11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.
Question: Could it be that the strong delusion that we read of earlier in 2nd Thessalonians will be linked to an international upsurge in supernatural healing done by devils?
Question: And if so, could it be that we can expect belief and worship by millions of people, to follow close on its heels, just as it was with Jesus Christ in the days of yore? Let’s read:
Matthew 20: 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them take heed that no man deceives you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Luke 21: 11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most- High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
3 Surely, he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that waste at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
It then becomes unmistakenly obvious, that closely associated with the mark of the beast, during the last days of earth’s history, there will be a significant uptick in diseases and viruses, which will then pave the way for some personage to walk this earth as a mighty healer. Let’s read:
Revelation 16: 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
[The Great Controversy pp 624] As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air., “Christ has come! Christ has come!”
He heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed.
This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion. Like the Samaritans who were deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes, from the least to the greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying, this is “the great power of God.”
Individuals who have the opportunity to know, and practice the truth, in preparation for what is coming in the future, should be prepared spiritually, as well as physically as much as possible. Spiritually, in the sense that the prophecies given in Revelation are to be studied and thoroughly understood.
Physically, in the sense that the light of truth shining upon our pathway, pertaining to truth, including the laws of health, are to be implemented as much as is possible, so as to avoid being compromised into the unfortunate position where the supernatural power of devils, mentioned in the prophecies would have curb appeal.
It is true that all who will stand untainted by error in that day will need the presence, and power of God to be victorious, but The Lord bids us do all we can, whilst we can, to live in harmony with His revealed will.
Living by faith involves living by every word of God, even when our 5 senses might be bombarded with sights and sounds of a supernatural character.
What is spoken of in Revelation chapter 13, will not only be restricted to healings, and false worship. It will also include manifestations and appearances of supposedly departed relatives and friends which we would not be able to distinguish, via our five senses alone, but also by the word of God and by His Spirit.
Therefore, as we seek clearer understanding of the issue pertaining to the supernatural and miraculous let us bear in mind, that for every good thing God has given us there is a counterfeit, and as such the onus is on us to study carefully that which is written so that we may be able to stand unshaken.
We’ll end our discourse with a passage of Scripture that will encourage us to cooperate with The Lord in the sealing work, which is a settling into the truth, both intellectually and in practice, so that we won’t be moved. Let’s read:
Ephesians 6: 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness.
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
God Bless!