Why No Spectacular Miracles Today?
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The Bible is full of descriptions of fantastic miracles. Many wonder, why don't we see great public miracles today?
Over the years, working in Personal Correspondence for the Church of God, I have been confronted with many stimulating and thought-provoking questions that deserve an answer. One such question recently came into the United Church of God office here in Australia asking the question: "Why are no miracles being performed today?"The writer went on to ask:
"Why doesn't God speak and interact directly with us today, as He did with the likes of Elijah and Elisha, and others? Why can't we—God's people—make, for example, the head of an axe to float? Why is it that we don't have that power today?
"Nothing spectacular is happening anymore. In the first century, supernatural things were going on all the time. Did the disciples have more of the Holy Spirit than we do or did they just have more faith? Because miracles were taking place on a daily basis.
"I think Jesus expects us to perform miracles; after all that was part of His message and ministry."
Certainly an interesting challenge. Why are there so few miracles, in the sense of spectacular public displays of God's power within His Church and by His people? Does God expect us to perform such miracles today, to somehow prove He is "on our side"?
True, many people do know that God does perform many miracles today. Many of us have witnessed miracles with practical benefits, such as the miracles of healing, protection, solving problems, etc. And then there's the miracle of conversion, which is the greatest miracle of all. However, that was not the type of miracle our writer was questioning. He spoke of the public displays of God's hand in the first and earlier centuries.
How would you have answered?
Perhaps a good place to start is in Hebrews:1:1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,: "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets." Those "various ways" did indeed include unmistakable and public miracles. Witness the life and work of the prophet Elijah and the judge Samson.
However, today He works in another way, as the explanation continues in verse 2. He "has in these last days spoken to us by His Son." Not necessarily through miracles, but through the life, message and teachings of Jesus Christ as recorded for us in the New Testament.
The miracles we read about in the Bible were examples of the power and love of God that are important to our understanding. But now that we have the biblical record, there is not the need to continually repeat all the different types of miracles.
Miracles were used at times to attract large audiences, and this was especially important in the founding of the New Testament Church. Today, we have the benefit of mass media technology.
The Bible shows that God doesn't want to force everyone to see His truth and where He is working during this age, so that He doesn't have to hold them fully accountable and they can be extended more mercy (Matthew:13:10-17 [10] And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
[11] He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
[12] For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
[13] Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
[14] And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
[15] For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
[17] For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.; Romans:11:7-10 [7] What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
[8] (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
[9] And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
[10] Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway., 32). Proving Himself through miracles would make the audience more accountable.
And miracles aren't necessarily good for us. God gave many members of the Corinthian church miraculous spiritual gifts, but they seem to have done more harm than good in that the gifts went to the heads of the members.
Why Miracles?
Now let's consider a major question, What spiritual value are miracles anyway? What value are they in terms of conversion and salvation? Especially the public miracles that draw attention to God's work and people. Consider, as a first example, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16.
When the rich man begged for a miracle (as our writer seems to be doing), a miracle of a resurrection from the dead, notice Abraham's reply in verse 31:
"If they do not hear Moses and the prophets [many of whom did perform miracles], neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead."
Abraham explained that miracles would not necessarily convert the rich man's relatives.
What about the miracles performed by Christ Himself? Did they make any real difference? Would they have converted that rich man's family?
In Matthew:12:10-13 [10] And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
[11] And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
[12] How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
[13] Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. we read the miracle of Christ healing the man with a withered hand—a dramatic and undeniable miracle. What was the reaction of the unconverted and carnal Pharisees? Verse 14 says, "Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him." So much for any positive effect, even when a miracle was performed by Christ Himself!
Again, back in Matthew:9:1-3 [1] And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
[2] And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
[3] And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth., we read of another of Christ's public miracles. This time a paralytic was miraculously healed. The reaction from the scribes? "This Man blasphemes!"
Another equally discouraging example is recorded in Matthew:9:32-34 [32] As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
[33] And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
[34] But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.. "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons," was the pathetic response. The same reaction is recorded in Matthew:12:22-24 [22] Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
[23] And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
[24] But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils..
Apart from the mercy and kindness extended to those He healed, Christ would have saved Himself a great deal of opposition by not performing any miracles at all. But then Christ would have been asked, "Why do you not perform miracles like Elijah? Show yourself to be the Christ by performing a miracle." So would have gone the challenge and criticism.
Incidentally, even being a miracle worker, so-called, does not prove conversion or spirituality. Matthew:7:21-23 [21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. gives us the haunting and sobering warning that even those who have "cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name" will be confronted by Christ Himself with the chilling challenge, "I never knew you." Compare also Matthew:16:1-4 [1] The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
[2] He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
[3] And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
[4] A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed..
So miracles don't necessarily have lasting or deep effects on those witnessing them. So, why none today? I guess you could say, Why bother?
Deceptive and Ineffective Miracles
We also need to consider that miracles can be used to deceive. Matthew:24:24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. warns, "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." If we are looking for such signs and wonders as some kind of proof as to where God is working today, then we run the risk of being deceived.
Perhaps one of the soberest warnings and examples of just how ineffective a miracle can be in getting people to change, is seen by considering the people alive just before Christ's return, who witness endless miracles as described throughout the book of Revelation. What will be the ultimate reaction of such a godless generation to the divine intervention of God?
"But the rest of mankind...did not repent...And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts" (Revelation:9:20-21 [20] And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
[21] Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.). Thus Christ has to return in undeniable power and might to convince that generation of unthankful, unholy and stubbornly resistant people. Miracles, of and by themselves, don't convince or convict people. Only the presence of Christ Himself will gain the permanent attention of that end-time generation. And many people will have to die and be resurrected before their minds are receptive to God's revelation.
Also in the book of Revelation, consider the miracles and wonders performed through the power of God by the two witnesses as recorded in Revelation:11:3And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth., 5 and 6. These two individuals will be given power: fire will proceed out of their mouths; they will have power to shut up the heavens and power over the waters of the earth.
Will men repent in the face of such power? We know otherwise. Verses 7 through 10 show war will be made against them and they will be murdered. The earth will rejoice, not over their miracles and power, but over their death! So much, again, for the power of miracles.
A Great Denial
Many of you will have been thinking about one of the greatest denials of miracle-working power ever experienced by mankind—the denial by ancient Israel of the God who miraculously brought them out of bondage in Egypt. As you have the time, you might want to read the entirety of Psalm 78. Verses 12-16 remind us of the "marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers," how He "divided the sea," how He "led them with the cloud" and "brought streams out of the rock."
Their reaction? Entirely predictable by now: "But they sinned even more against Him" (verse 17) to the point God's anger was kindled (verse 21).
We could have expected Pharaoh, even in the face of miracle after miracle, to have continually hardened his heart (which, by the way, was hard from the beginning—he simply became more and more stubborn), but Israel? How many more miracles would it have taken?
If you wonder how many, read the story of Korah in Numbers 16. A mighty miracle was witnessed by the Israelites—the miracle of the ground literally opening up before their stunned eyes and swallowing Korah and his fellow complainers. Surely that would be enough to convince anyone that God was working through Moses and was a God to be reckoned with. Surely the letter writer would be satisfied if a similar miracle took place today?
What was the reaction? One of humble repentance? Hardly. Read verse 41: "On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘You have killed the people of the Lord.'" Absolutely astonishing. How did they think Moses pulled off such a feat—opening the earth and swallowing them up?
In all this, there's not too much evidence that miracles—in the sense of public displays of power—are the answer to the needs of man.
As we draw to an end, please also consider Hebrews:3:7-12 [7] Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
[8] Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
[9] When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
[10] Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
[11] So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
[12] Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God..
Even in the face of undeniable miracles, sin can and does deceitfully harden our hearts. The most important power for softening hard hearts is the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. God's calling and the gift of the Holy Spirit is what all people ultimately need. Sure, miracles—signs and wonders—gain initial attention. But not always, as we have seen, positive or life-changing attention. The answer to the needs of man is found in scriptures such as Hebrews:10:15-16 [15] Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
[16] This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;, which tells of the writing of God's laws in our hearts.
I would like to quote from the answer we sent the letter writer who was looking for miracles to prove God is working in our midst.
"Even when God does speak and interact directly with us as He did with the likes of Elijah and Enoch, man will still not repent. No, miracles are not the answer, at least not the miracles you spoke about in your letter, but rather the miracle of true conversion is what man so desperately needs.
"Were their needs greater than ours, as you posed in your letter? No. All mankind has the same need—the Spirit of the Living God, miraculously dwelling and working in their hearts and minds. Let us be searching for that lasting miracle, not the fleeting, attention-getting miracles that usually lead no one anywhere.
"As much as miracles are great and wonderful, they never have and never will convert the hard, stony heart of man. Only the miracle of the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit will ever perform that miracle. And that is what God is doing today, through the work of His Church and people, as He offers the opportunity for the miracle of a transformed, Spirit-led life to those who are willing to accept that gift—that miracle." UN
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