END OF TIME PROPHECIES 157

Another beast                                Revelation 13v11-18                                His miracles

"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast."                                                              Revelation 13v13-14


It is not for me to question the integrity of miracle workers, but it must be evident to all that there are real miracles, and there are counterfeit miracles.   Miracles are acts which are greater than natural occurrences.   The existence of miracles does not prove whether a man is speaking of God, or he is speaking of the devil.   Miracles are powers of another world.   This second beast wishes to prove his integrity to the world by means of his miracles.   He sets about to charm the hearts of people by means of signs and wonders.   We must not deny the existence of such through the years.   It appears that miracles happen most in times of great importance in world history.   Jannes & Jambres were able to repeat the miracles of Moses before Pharaoh, to a certain extent (2nd Timothy 3v8-9).    In the days of Elijah & Elisha there was a proliferation of miracles in the dark days of Baal worship.   There were Chaldean  magicians in the time of Daniel.   In the days of the early church God Himself used miracles to authenticate the Christian message (Hebrews 2v4)  "God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will."  

These are powers of supernatural origin, but they can come from two different sources, either God or the devil.  Depending on the witness of miracles alone is sometimes a fallacy because we do not possess the powers of discernment to tell the difference.   Indeed it was said of the man described as  "the greatest of those born of women," that  "John did no miracle but all things he spake of this man was true."  

A confused world however seeks clarity and by means of miracles, in public view, this man will deceive the nations.   It says he does  "great wonders."   One of these wonders is the ability to bring down fire from heaven.   This takes us back to the earliest book of the bible, the book of Job, in chapters 1&2, where we learn the remarkable powers of Satan.  

• Job 1v13-15     -     Satan demonstrated his power to gather together local terrorists (the Sabeans)..
• Job 1v16          -     Satan called the fire of God to fall from heaven on to the earth.
• Job 1v17          -     Satan brought foreign invading forces to destroy the remainder of Job's business.
• Job 1v18-19     -     Satan was able to command a hurricane from the wilderness to destroy his house and his family
• Job 2v4-7         -     Satan was able to take away Job's health by invading his body with severe illness.

These powers are granted to Satan by God, he had them back then, he has them today, and he will have them in the future, and he will give this man such power.   He is only able to use such power by Divine permission, and the extent to which he can use them is limited by Divine power.   This is the mystery of the unseen world, that God has revealed to us and of which we must be aware.    In that coming day he will use these signs and wonders to deceive men and women who have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ.   The summary of it all is in 2nd Thessalonians 2v11-12  "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie: that they all may be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 

  

Amazon bookshelf   George Neilly