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Chapter 8: Divine versus Demonic Miracles

A miracle is a supernatural event interposed with ordinary life. The Bible contains divine miracles like Jesus healing the blind (John 9:1–6) and wicked miracles like Satan causing a disease (Job 2:7). There is an old debate among Christian theologians whether miracles—particularly like those seen in the Gospels and Acts—still occur in the modern age. This question rose to prominence during the Protestant Reformation with influential leaders like John Calvin; however, the Reformation did not end with a broad consensus among Protestants, so the debate has continued across the intervening centuries.

Christians who believe divine miracles no longer occur today are known as cessationists. They believe, to varying degrees, that miracles stopped after the apostolic age because they were frequently used to authenticate the validity of the gospel message. Cessationists argue there is no more need for miracles now that the church is established. Other Christians, known as continuationists, take the opposite view. They believe divine miracles still occur today, arguing there is no explicit biblical reason to believe that miracles ever stopped after the church was formed. Some continuationists also argue that while miracles are not as widespread today as they were in the first century, that in itself is not proof that miracles no longer occur. One scholar summarizes the debate like this:

The question of whether or not people living after NT times can expect miraculous healing has often polarized Christianity. At one end of the spectrum many argue that the miracles are unique and not to be repeated following the close of the apostolic age. Others expect them to be common in every age for those filled with the Holy Spirit and sufficient faith. In fact, the data of the NT supports neither of these extremes. Evidence reinforces both the claim that miraculous healings will appear in almost every age of church history and the observation that such healings will still be more the exception than the norm… But Christians of all theological persuasions must scrupulously avoid dictating to God what he must do or what he cannot do. Ultimately, God’s Spirit blows where it wills.1

There are intelligent, godly people on both sides of the conversation. Nevertheless, this book takes a position of cautious continuationism. There can be no practical discussion of demonization without also acknowledging these points:

  1. Demons are real.
  2. Demonization still occurs.
  3. Demons can produce supernatural phenomena.
  4. Supernatural events caused by demons are, by definition, miraculous.
  5. God alone is the ultimate source of any healing a demoniac receives.
  6. Supernatural healing that God provides is, by definition, miraculous.

Scripture has much to say on the topic of miracles. Understanding how both God and Satan use these supernatural events, which appear throughout the Bible, has practical applications for Christian life. Not only are miracles directly related to the topic of exorcism, recognizing the true nature of a miracle plays a meaningful role in remaining steadfast in Christian faith whenever God permits the kingdom of darkness to work its own wonders. Divine miracles can move people closer to God; demonic miracles are intended to lure people away from God. Yet even when we understand the philosophical differences between them, discerning these differences in practice is not always easy. That is why Scripture is our best guide to everything supernatural.

Tracing Miracles to the Source​

Additional Reading
  • See Appendix A for a lengthier discussion concerning the source of paranormal abilities.

We cannot create our own miracles. Angels subvert what we know of the laws of physics and nature all the time by virtue of their supernatural make-up, but that does not mean humans can too, at least not on our own power.2 God created us to be “fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28 NASB). In contrast, God created the angels to be “[m]ighty in strength” and “perform His word” as they listen for His commands and “serve Him, doing His will” (Ps 103:20–21 NASB). They are as fast as the wind and as powerful as a lightning storm (Ps 104:4; cf. Heb 1:7).

We are not equal to angels when it comes to raw power (Heb 2:7; cf. Ps 8:5). They can supernaturally destroy hostile armies in the blink of an eye (2 Kgs 19:35), relay messages directly from God Himself (Dan 10:21), and enact divine judgment throughout the entire world (Rev 8:6–12; 9:1–2, 13–15; 11:15). If our jobs are to be the stewards of the world God has given us while pointing out the way for others to know Him (Matt 28:19), then angels have an altogether different role in the created order. These spiritual beings have a created purpose to serve as both an extension and a representation of God’s mighty power, tasked with enacting God’s sovereign will and caring for the people who will inherit salvation (Heb 1:14). The tasks God has entrusted to each of us are different. Both humans and angels were intended to be fellow servants of the same Creator (Rev 19:10; 22:9), but we have entirely different responsibilities.

Humans do not usually need supernatural power to care for the world or each other. We also do not usually need supernatural power to do the things God asks us to do individually. He both provisions us (Exod 28:3; Eph 2:10) and, when we do need His supernatural help, provides any required miracles on our behalf (Ps 77:14; 106:7–11). Therefore, it would not make sense for God to have created us, like angels, to wield supernatural power as part of our created design. Miracles that naturally originate from a human being rather than from God or an angel are not only unsupported in Scripture but also highly suspect given what we know about the created purpose of God’s different servants. All the miracles in Scripture come directly from God, through a holy angel, or through a fallen angel. Still, human beings are often at the center of these miracles. Sometimes they even initiate them.

The apostle Peter, using his apostolic authority, commanded a lame man to walk (Acts 3:4–8) and then used the resulting miracle as a sermon to convince the crowd that Jesus was the awaited Messiah (Acts 3:12–14). While Peter was the man at the center of this miraculous display, the supernatural power he used did not come from him. He said, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus” (Acts 3:12–13 NASB) by healing the man who could not walk. The power came from God, and Peter gave Him the glory.

Very different miracles of a completely different type were occurring around the same time in Samaria. Simon was a man living in this region who had “been practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and all the people, from small to great, were paying attention to him… because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic arts” (Acts 8:9–11 NASB). Simon was at the center of his own miraculous display, and like Peter, the supernatural power the Samaritans witnessed did not come from Simon himself. But unlike Peter, Simon desired personal fame and glory. He encouraged the people who witnessed his miracles to stand in awe of his presumed supernatural power. In fact, he seemed to crave their adulation. That alone is a strong signal his miracles did not originate from God. The second indication is that the Lord detests sorcery (Deut 18:9–13). God would never empower activities that He forbids. Miraculous power must originate from either the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness, so this means any supernatural miracles Simon produced must have come from a demonic source.

These two stories illustrate the differences between a divine miracle and a demonic miracle. Divine miracles are ultimately from God and point the way to a deeper relationship with Him. Demonic miracles are from Satan (or one of his demons) and point away from God. One glorifies the Lord, the other glorifies the self. One leads to truth while the other deceives. Demonic miracles occasionally mimic divine miracles, but even when a demonic miracle seems like something God might do, demonic miracles are not nearly as impressive as something God actually does. God so thoroughly outclasses demons that the same miracle produced by God and then copied by Satan is not really the same miracle at all. When a demon does something miraculous, it might be all flash and no substance. But when God does something miraculous, it is powerful, it is substantial, and it is final. The appearance of these two kinds of miracles at work may seem superficially similar at times; however, the source of that power is as different as night and day.

For example, Pharaoh’s court magicians may have successfully imitated certain aspects of the divine plagues God used to free His people, but the actual plagues were so powerful that they were unquestionably from God. The magicians turned some water into blood (Exod 7:21–22); the Lord turned the entire Nile River into blood (Exod 7:17–18). The magicians caused frogs to appear (Exod 8:6–7); the Lord caused frogs to appear throughout the entire country of Egypt (Exod 8:1–4). The satanic versions of these divine miracles were just pale imitations of the real thing. Nevertheless, even a pale imitation of true divine power was enough to ensnare these magicians in their evil practices, and like Simon, they used whatever demonic power they had at their disposal to glorify their own selfish desires—namely to be held in high regard at Pharaoh’s court. Snares, traps, and big problems always result from demonic miracles. God detests the occult, and He remains in complete authority over what He will and will not allow misguided people to accomplish with it, but He never denies that evil supernatural power exists.

It is far too easy to be so fascinated by miracles that we rush headlong into bad situations and destructive beliefs. But there is no person, no process, no mathematical formula, no scientific method, no book, and no Bible verse that shows us how to create miracles by our own power. God or Satan is always the ultimate source behind every miracle that happens. Supernatural displays of power simply do not unfold any other way. Seeking unbiblical sources or hollow philosophies in an attempt to engineer our own miracles will either fail or end in disaster; the pursuit of such things leads many people into spiritual bondage.

The Purpose of Divine Miracles in the New Testament​

Miracles in the Synoptic Gospels frequently announce the arrival of the kingdom of God. This was an expression of God’s power, “so that while the kingdom in its fullness still lies in the future, it had already become a reality in Jesus’ words and works.”3 Jesus and His disciples would frequently perform a miracle in connection to preaching the gospel message. He “went into their synagogues preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons” (Mark 1:39 NASB) while later in His ministry, Jesus “appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons” (Mark 3:14–15 NASB). The result of preaching combined with the authoritative stamp of divine miracles resulted in news about Jesus spreading rapidly throughout the regions where either He or His disciples preached (Mark 1:28). Although Jesus recognized that people needed help from God—and this is certainly one motivation behind these divine miracles—He also said to His disciples after gaining recognition as a miracle worker in Capernaum, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also preach there; for this is why I came” (Mark 1:38 NASB).

The miracles in John’s gospel have a slightly different focus on authenticating Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God. John writes, “So then, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so 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 20:30–31 NASB). Whereas the miracles described in the Synoptic Gospels are often concerned with establishing a new spiritual kingdom and fulfilling Old Testament prophecies connected with the Messiah, the miracles John recorded are often concerned with establishing Jesus as the focal point of this new spiritual kingdom. We might think about it like this:

“Signs” are precisely what the Johannine miracles are, for in very concrete, physical ways they point to the deep and crucial truth about Jesus (and God), namely, that he is the absolutely unique Son of God who descended from heaven to reveal the Father and through whose “lifting up” on the cross, resurrection and return to the Father believers receive the Holy Spirit and thus eternal life.4

Wherever Jesus went, people followed. They were amazed at what He taught and the miracles He performed. Jesus had a limited amount of time on earth during His human life, and performing wonders was an effective way to spread His message far and wide to a large audience. Divine miracles caused people to pay attention to the gospel message within communities who had not yet heard it. That did not change when the disciples later launched their own missionary efforts. Peter, traveling with John, used his apostolic authority to heal a lame man (Acts 3:4–6) then took the opportunity to preach an impromptu sermon (Acts 3:11–3:26). This resulted in “about five thousand” people coming to faith in Jesus as the awaited Messiah (Acts 4:4). The supernatural power on display here, though astonishing and unexpected for the people who encountered it, was not the objective in and of itself. Divine miracles served a greater purpose.

But while announcing the next phase in God’s plan for humanity and identifying Jesus as its key figure were the primary goals for the divine miracles found in the New Testament, that does not diminish everything else these miracles accomplished. God is a master planner who effortlessly works on multiple different levels and interconnected goals all at once. Jesus knew there were people who needed His help. He “felt compassion for them” (Matt 14:14 NASB) and was “[m]oved with compassion” (Matt 20:34 NASB) for them. Exorcism was one of the different miracles Jesus performed, and for every demon He drove out, there was a sad story and a victim who had no other recourse but to depend on God’s mercy. Contemporaneous exorcism stories from antiquity featured intense demonic struggles, extreme violence perpetrated by demons, and exorcists who relied on occult practices.5 None of this held true for Jesus—the demons recognized and submitted to His absolute authority over them (Luke 4:34, 41; 8:28, 31–32; 10:18–20).

There were other people who also claimed to be able to drive out demons. Even the Jews claimed to be able to do that (Matt 12:27; Luke 11:19), but nobody matched Jesus’s authority. Arguably, nobody else was even effective at casting out demons because the people were utterly amazed that Jesus could actually command a demon to leave its victim and it obeyed (Matt 9:33; Mark 5:20; Luke 11:14). There would have been no amazed reactions recorded in Scripture had this been a common occurrence. The supernatural power of God on full display was something new for these first century people, many of whom were well-acquainted with the dramatic struggles associated with demonization. That leads to a secondary purpose for the exorcism miracles Jesus performed: they were meant to heal demoniacs of their demons. It sounds obvious on the face of it; however, this observation is subtly important.

The demonized people Jesus healed had very few, if any, effective alternatives available to them. Where else could they have turned? Using occultism to combat the kingdom of darkness—where occultism originates—would have been futile. Relying on exorcists who merely depended on their own rituals rather than faith in God would have been equally futile. No human being can force a fallen angel to do anything that it does not already want to do. Only Jesus—because He was also God in the flesh—had the personal authority to command demons to leave their victims (cf. Matt 26:53). These people needed the kind of help only God can offer. The Lord could have chosen to drive out the demons from these demoniacs in response to their prayers—and perhaps He did (cf. Matt 8:5–13; 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30; Luke 7:1–10)—but as far as the exorcisms recorded in the Gospels and Acts are concerned, God often chose very public miracles that also achieved His goal of announcing the arrival of His kingdom. God did not have to work in this way, it was simply an efficient way to work because these exorcisms could then accomplish various divine objectives all at once.

And these objectives were largely the same regardless of whether Jesus or His disciples were the ones performing the miracle. As with Jesus, the pattern His disciples-turned-apostles followed generally contained the same three elements: announce the kingdom of heaven, identify Jesus as its king, and work a divine miracle to legitimize the message. There were some exceptions to the format depending on the circumstances, yet “Jesus delegates His power to the apostles to show clearly that He and His kingdom were sovereign over the physical and spiritual realms, the effects of sin, and the efforts of Satan. This display of power was unheard of, never before seen in all redemptive history.”6 The disciples represented Jesus, and the Synoptic Gospels all record that He sent them “out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing” (Luke 9:2 NASB), which included full authority to drive out demons (Matt 10:1; Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1).

These men knew they had the power to heal and perform exorcisms because Jesus explicitly gave them that power (Luke 9:1–2, 6). There was no guessing whether they could do it; there was no wondering whether it was possible. Because working miracles was part of the divine plan, the Lord enabled these men to act as a proxy for Jesus, but the power itself was neither their focus nor the reason for their journey. Rather, it was for a specially defined mission with specially provisioned leaders given explicit instructions from Jesus Himself. If Jesus “had limited himself to preaching, people might have seen his kingdom as spiritual only. On the other hand, if he had healed without preaching, people might not have realized the spiritual importance of his mission.”7 He did both for these reasons, and the same is true for His disciples. God gave these men the ability to perform miraculous displays of supernatural power because they would need it to accomplish the specific work He had set before them (Rev 21:14).

The mission continued in much the same way after Jesus ascended into heaven. No miracle in Acts was superfluous, selfish, or random. Almost every demonstration of divine power was connected with either spreading or strengthening the gospel message. These supernatural acts were very intentional displays of God’s sovereignty, serving a very special divine purpose meant to build up emerging Christian faith in the early church. The Lord proved the apostles’ preaching with the supernatural feats He enabled them to perform at their discretion (Acts 14:3), “God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will” (Heb 2:4 NASB). The Lord used these miracles to add “to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47 NASB). More apostolic miracles happened, more preaching occurred, and “increasingly believers in the Lord, large numbers of men and women, were being added to their number” (Acts 5:14 NASB). This pattern continues throughout Acts among people who had never been exposed to the gospel message. Paul—who also had apostolic authority to work miracles—made it a point to reach new people rather than spend all his evangelism efforts at established churches. The Lord said, “he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15 NASB). Paul’s main focus was on spreading the good news to unreached people throughout the known world (Rom 15:20–21). Miracles followed.

It is important to note that the apostles did not teach believers to either expect miracles to commonly occur in their lives or expect that believers would be able to work the same supernatural wonders as the apostles. Simon, the sorcerer who lived in Samaria, believed he could convince Peter to give him the same authority to work miracles that he witnessed in Peter, John, and Philip. He was completely mistaken. The point of discipleship has always been a relationship with God, not obtaining personal authority to work discretionary miracles. When Simon saw the Holy Spirit come upon new believers on whom the apostles had laid their hands, he said, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:19 NASB). He might as well have been asking for the power to resurrect the dead and miraculously drive out demons, too, because what he actually seemed to desire was supernatural power (cf. Acts 8:9–11, 13). Peter scolded Simon for his mistake and told him that his heart was not right with God. Simon needed to repent of the jealousy and unrighteousness in his life before it consumed him entirely (Acts 8:20–23). Although Simon had his own issues, what we learn is that he directly asked for apostolic power and was explicitly told that gifts from God cannot be purchased (Acts 8:20). Miraculous power is not a commodity that can be traded, purchased, or given by any human. God alone decides who He gifts, how He does it, and what the limitations will be.

The Lord empowers His servants in different ways, but there should never be an expectation of personal, miraculous, wonder-working power. Perhaps God still assigns some of His human servants with tasks that require miracles. This may be especially true in situations mirroring the Gospels; nevertheless, granting the power to work miracles of any kind to believers has always and will always happen at the sole discretion of the Lord. Working miracles is not something that automatically comes with Christian discipleship. Furthermore, the apostles were never the real source of these wonders anyway—the Lord has always been the source of every divine miracle He enabled them to perform. Working miracles at our sole discretion was never an option for Christians, not even for those who are engaged in evangelism, and not even for the original disciples (Matt 17:19–20).

In fact, only a small number of believers performed signs and miracles in the New Testament (and the Old Testament for that matter). There were thousands of believers reported in the early church (Acts 4:4; 21:20), yet only a small handful of these believers are recorded as having done anything miraculous. If miracles were commonly available to believers at their discretion, surely they would have been far more widespread among the fellowship of believers. But as it is, Luke indicates they were restricted to a small number of people that included the remaining eleven apostles, Matthias who replaced Judas Iscariot (Acts 2:43; 5:12), the apostle Paul (Acts 15:12), the first Christian martyr (Acts 6:8), an early Christian missionary (Acts 8:6–7), and Paul’s missionary partner (Acts 15:12). These people were all involved in laying the foundation of the early church through preaching and evangelism. In comparison, the majority of the church was simply learning about Jesus Christ and living in fellowship with other believers (Acts 4:32–37). Discretionary miracles were never widespread, not even two thousand years ago.

Divine Miracles Have Always Been Regulated​

Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38 NASB). Likewise, God empowered His first apostles in extraordinary ways. As mentioned, their unique ability to perform discretionary miracles included the miraculous authority to immediately drive out demons from the afflicted (Acts 5:12, 16; 16:18). “The people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together as well, bringing people who were sick or tormented with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed” (Acts 5:16 NASB). It is significant that these first exorcisms in Acts are associated with the apostles, people who had been with Jesus during His earthly ministry (Acts 1:21–26). This demonstrated the validity of their message and provided a divine endorsement for their continued work after Jesus was no longer physically among them.

But while God allowed these men to use His divine power in their Christian service and missionary efforts, He also restricted the power and authority He granted them. They did not have unlimited access to do what they wanted. It was also not nearly as simple for them as wanting to use God’s power and then succeeding in doing so (Matt 17:19–20). Paul is a clear example of these limitations. Jesus directly commissioned Paul as an apostle (Acts 9:15; Gal 1:11–12), and later, Paul used his apostolic authority to supernaturally heal a man who could not walk (Acts 14:8–10), performed amazing miracles that included healing the sick (Acts 19:11–12), and brought a dead man back to life (Acts 20:9–12). The Lord also took Paul into heaven and revealed certain things to him that he was not permitted to tell others (2 Cor 12:2–4). Despite all this, Paul suffered from a demonic “thorn in the flesh” that Paul could not remove using his apostolic authority, nor was God willing to remove it for him (2 Cor 12:7–10). The thorn was there to keep Paul from becoming proud over special revelations God had bestowed upon him. To remove the discomfort would be to risk a serious moral failing in a highly visible missionary leader who was active throughout the known world. Paul gracefully accepted this divine response to his prayers (2 Cor 12:9).

What was his thorn? This has been debated throughout the majority of church history. “Suggestions about the ‘thorn’ have included physical ailments (poor eyesight or ill health); psychological or spiritual ailments (depression, demonic oppression, or an ongoing temptation from a bodily desire); and opposition to his ministry (enemies both inside and outside the churches).”8 But regardless of what the exact nature of his thorn actually was, Paul clearly identified Satan as the ultimate cause of the pain and suffering he experienced from it. Moreover, it was Paul’s God-given task to bear up under the struggle and depend on Jesus to sustain him (2 Cor 12:9–10). Paul wanted to remove his thorn but could not do it himself. So although God empowered His apostles to perform miraculous signs and wonders, He also limited what He enabled them to achieve using His divine power.

If Paul had unrestricted access to the power of God, he likely would not have chosen to spend uncomfortable nights in jail, suffer brutal beatings, or become a martyr under the Roman emperor Nero. He would certainly not have chosen to suffer from a satanic “thorn in the flesh.” Satan is still active, people can still become demonized, and we should not expect unrestricted discretionary power from the Lord to be available to us so that we can immediately handle our problems on our own terms and in our own timing.9 That was not true for Paul, and it is not true for us. We have no reason to expect the situation has changed over the last two thousand years. The Lord may choose to give discretionary power to conduct instantly successful exorcisms to certain people today just as He did during the days of the early church, but there are no guarantees of that in Scripture.

We should not place our hope in supernatural wonders or discretionary miracles for the simple reason that all Christians have direct access to God through prayer. This is explicitly guaranteed in Scripture (Eph 6:18; Heb 4:16). The same God who lent His power to instantaneous exorcism miracles in the New Testament is the same God who answers prayers today. There is absolutely nothing preventing God from immediately answering a prayer to drive out a demon should He choose to respond in that way. There are times, however, when His answer will be no or not yet. Every situation is unique. If this is God’s reply, there is always a reason for it because God always has specific intentions for the people involved. The same was true for Paul just as it was for Jesus’s original disciples (2 Cor 12:8–9; Matt 17:19–20). It is up to God whether to bestow a miracle when requested, and since divine miraculous power ultimately originates from God alone,10 that decision will always be His.11

Demonic Miracles Deceive and Ensnare​

Relying on God alone for a miracle is not always popular. There are people who are so determined to receive a supernatural boon that they do not care where it comes from. When God does not grant their request, they seek alternative avenues. Other people are ignorant of what the Bible teaches when it comes to the miraculous and open themselves up to whatever supernaturalism the world has to offer. Still others do not believe in the Christian God at all—or view Him as irrelevant—so feel no restrictions when it comes to seeking supernatural power. These attitudes all lead directly into the kingdom of darkness. Indeed, there are strange miracles to be found in the world, but these come from demonic angels rather than the Lord. Just as divine miracles in the New Testament announced the kingdom of God, demonic miracles are intended to push people away from the kingdom of God.

Anything associated with a demon serves to deceive and ensnare.12 Supernatural power originating from the kingdom of darkness is no different. Because miracles are so enticing to humanity, Satan and his demons use them, when permitted, to further their destructive goals. Paul warns that when the Antichrist finally appears, he will perform many different miracles with his satanic power to entice people who have rejected God (2 Thess 2:9–10). While Scripture does not specify most of what this will entail, the demonic miracles associated with him will include, at the very least, miraculous healing from wounds that appear fatal (Rev 13:3–4). Miracles associated with his false prophet will be equally astonishing (Rev 13:11–15). What these two men will share is a reliance on satanic power in order to perform their miracles. God originally created Satan as a powerful cherub angel,13 so it is no surprise that Satan would have a full range of supernatural capabilities at his disposal to prop up the man he will choose to be his human proxy. “True signs and miracles point us to Jesus Christ, but miracles alone can be deceptive. That is why we must ask with respect to each miracle we see: Is this consistent with what God says in the Bible?”14

Also during the tribulation period, especially powerful demons associated with Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet will all perform various miracles to convince the leaders of the world to invade Israel (Rev 16:13–14). The supernatural abilities on display will be so enticing that these leaders will all choose to engage in a very costly military campaign. This is not just politics as usual. These will be seasoned political leaders who understand the human and economic cost of fighting a war, yet they will commit their countries to this conflict anyway based on the demonic miracles they observe. Perhaps these miracles will falsely assure them of a victory that will never come, or perhaps they will somehow convince these leaders that the unholy trinity has the necessary power to stop the destruction God will pour out on the earth in judgment for its sins. Either way, demonic miracles will ensnare the various leaders with the false hope of a successful rebellion against God (Rev 13:3–4) and deceive at least some of them into thinking the Antichrist is the real God while the Lord is just a pretender (2 Thess 2:4; Rev 13:7–8, 11–13). Nothing could be further from the truth.

These are powerful and deceptive supernatural events that Satan will use to lead the unbelieving world deeper into rebellion against God. This satanic strategy, however, is not limited to the tribulation period. Satan is active in the world right now, not just at some future date we can safely ignore as a problem meant for some other generation. When permitted, even in today’s world, Satan can evoke supernatural wonders through particularly misguided individuals (Matt 24:24; Mark 13:22; Exod 7:11–12, 21–22; 8:6–7) that are calculated to fool people into ignoring the truth about God (Rom 1:18–23; 2:14–15). Believers—especially those who are ignorant of Scripture—are also at risk for becoming deceived by such miracles. Jesus once lamented, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe” (John 4:48 NASB). This was not a compliment.

There are people who are ready to believe what they can see with their own eyes over what the Bible teaches as timeless truth. People are attracted to the supernatural, and even in the first century they wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle on command (Matt 12:38; Luke 11:29). Similar attitudes exist in this current age. Satan is no less interested in deceiving Christians than he is other people and can use his own brand of miracles to achieve his goals. Those who walk far enough away from the commandments of God may experience one of these demonic miracles. The problem is that no supernatural wonder originating from the kingdom of darkness is ever good for us. Demons deceive and ensnare in hot pursuit of our destruction. That is what they do by nature. When our focus is limited to the supernatural rather than the things of God, it becomes far easier for them to deceive us into believing a miracle from Satan is a blessing rather than a scourge.

Some people who work miracles claim their power is from God—and they might truly believe it—but whether they realize it or not, many such people derive their miraculous power from demonic sources. Here are a few discerning questions we might ask ourselves: Do these miracle workers have saving faith in Jesus? Are they violating any commandments in Scripture? Are they in it for attention? Have they made a personal business out of working supernatural wonders? These all get to the heart of which kingdom actually produced the miracle. Jesus said that on the day when He judges all people, many will say to Him, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” (Matt 7:22 NASB) to which He will reply, “I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt 7:23 NASB). “Note that far from being totally devoid of works of any kind, these people were claiming to have done some remarkable signs and wonders. In fact, their whole confidence was in these works” rather than saving faith in Jesus, which is further proof their miracles were not of a divine origin.15

These unredeemed miracle workers may have accomplished some astounding supernatural deeds that impressed the people around them, but they had no relationship with Jesus even if they sounded religious or claimed they knew Him. Instead, what they had was a serious, spiritual blind spot. They might have fooled themselves along with other people, but they did not fool God. “God does not see as man sees, since man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7 NASB). The false disciples were doing something that produced a supernatural result or else they would not have been deceived into thinking they were performing miracles from God. They must also have done these things in the name of God or else they could not claim these miracles had a righteous intention. Such people become ensnared in the supernatural power they think God has specially gifted them when, in fact, it is a clever obstacle from Satan meant to prevent saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Demons are capable of impressive supernatural feats. These expert deceivers have no problem creating a situation that minimizes the appearance of their involvement while maximizing the impression of remarkable supernatural abilities in the people they are actively destroying. It is no surprise; demons are constantly sharpening their skills against us. Nevertheless, there are only two spiritual kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan (1 John 3:10). There is no neutral ground. Miraculous power can only come from one or the other. It can sometimes be difficult to accurately discern which kingdom a person represents, but as Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?” (Matt 7:16 NASB).

There are many people who are unaccustomed to the supernatural. Outright disbelief denies the truth of Scripture. Unchecked acceptance quickly leads to believing demonic deception. Neither is good. A miraculous, supernatural occurrence that is not overtly evil is not necessarily from God. Evil can be subtle, and Satan is the father of lies and a master of deception, so understanding from which kingdom a miracle originates can be like solving a puzzle. That requires discernment. Discernment requires knowledge of Scripture. And even then it may not be immediately obvious. Therefore, there are times when the safest precaution for those who witness the supernatural is to assume it has a demonic origin unless it is abundantly obvious God is behind it. The Lord has no trouble making Himself clear. Even the ancient Israelites were instructed to treat signs and miracles with great caution (Deut 13:1–4). “Allowing the Bible to guide our faith and practice will keep us from being deceived by false signs, however convincing they appear to be. Any teaching that contradicts God’s Word is false.”16

A Demonic Miracle in Practice​

Satan has been lying and leading people into eternal separation from God throughout human history (John 8:44). His miracles and demonic wonders would not deceive so many people if they were not convincing. Yet they are so convincing that even Christians can be deceived (Matt 24:24). That is the biblical truth. But what does a demonic miracle look like in practice? The schemes of the kingdom of darkness are clever and take many forms. They are unique to the situation so as to better deceive and ensnare the unwary. This fictitious story provides an example intended to transition this concept from theory to practice:

There once was an artist who was diagnosed with aggressive cancer—his doctor told him that he only had a year to live. Most people in this situation would be devastated, and the artist was no different. He visited another doctor to get a second opinion but received the same prognosis. He then flew to a leading cancer treatment center to consult with the best, most specialized doctors in the field. They discussed cutting edge treatments that might work, but these treatments were still many years away from general availability. The cancer specialists could only offer standard chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but they were not optimistic it would change the man’s predicted outcome. No medical professional seemed able to reverse the course of his cancer.

Upon returning home, the artist kept to himself for many weeks. Friends and family were worried about him because he had stopped returning their calls; they assumed he was just working through his grief and gave him space to do so. One day, the artist finally emerged from his seclusion and reconnected with everyone who loved him. He was cured! It seemed as if the cancer would win, but unexpectedly, it was now in remission. The doctors were baffled at his checkup. All their tests showed the cancer was gone. Had there been some mistake? Or was this a miracle? The doctors checked and rechecked the test results. They ran even more tests, but the initial results were accurate. There was no more cancer. Somehow, the artist had made a complete recovery. No scientific explanation could clarify what happened.

So how do we make sense of this? If we take Scripture at face value and believe in the possibility of miracles, this seems to be something miraculous. Doctors see cancer patients all the time, and if multiple different doctors are all stumped for an explanation, then something extraordinary has happened. A man was certain to die from aggressive cancer but suddenly recovered. Assuming this was a healing miracle, was it from the Lord? Not necessarily. That a man was miraculously healed says nothing about the origin of his miracle. Even the Antichrist will miraculously recover from a seemingly fatal wound (Rev 13:3, 12). Consider how each additional piece of information can change how we perceive this healing miracle:

  1. The artist was a professed Christian. Jesus miraculously healed many people in the Gospels (Matt 9:27–31; 11:5; Mark 1:29–31; 3:1–6; 5:24–34; 7:32–37; 8:22–26; Luke 5:12–16; 17:11–19; 22:51; John 4:43–53; 5:1–15), so perhaps Jesus healed the artist. There might even be a biblical precedent. After all, the Lord did the same for the godly king Hezekiah when he was mortally ill (2 Kgs 20:1–6).

  2. The artist visited an alternative healer during his seclusion. Depending on what this alternative healer believes and practices, this might still be an acceptable avenue for a Christian to pursue. It may be a little unconventional, but that does not automatically rule it out. After all, Jesus was unconventional for what the people expected (Acts 13:27–28).

  3. The healer expressed belief in supernatural healing and prayed for the artist to recover. This is not our typical experience. We pray, and God listens to our requests, but many people have diseases that do not miraculously improve after prayer. On the other hand, this is no different than what the apostles experienced. God can work through all kinds of different people, even when they express beliefs that are not identical to mainstream views (Rom 8:28; Gen 20:1–18). Nevertheless, discerning individuals will rightfully wonder to whom the prayer was directed.

  4. The artist began suffering from intense bouts of depression immediately after his healing miracle occurred. There is no record of anything like that happening in Scripture. Rather, many people were filled with joy after Jesus healed them (Luke 13:13; 17:15–16; 19:37). This is a red flag.

  5. The healer brokered a deal with a demon who offered physical healing for a price. Now it becomes blatantly obvious this healing miracle was not from God. Yes, it was miraculous. It also involved healing. But at what cost? And who is to say God would not have done the same thing? The artist who took this deal may have dealt with his cancer, but his spiritual life was now ruined. While continuing on this path might lead to a longer lifespan, it also leads to eternal condemnation. What a horrible exchange! “For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what could a person give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36–37 NASB).

This is just one possible scenario among many others; real situations can be far more subtle. The reason Jesus warns Christians to be on guard against signs and wonders is not because He never bestows a blessing like miraculous healing upon His people. Rather, supernatural events are not always what they seem. Without cautious discernment, demonic miracles might only be obvious when the person who produces it comes right out and declares allegiance to everything unholy. But that rarely happens! A demonic miracle intended to deceive would not be deceptive if the originating kingdom was clearly identified. Deception is only effective when it goes undetected. Evil is insidious, and quite often what the Lord views as detestable does not come labeled. That is exactly how demonic miracles can deceive Christians. Such wonders might come from unexpected people or places—even from those with a semblance of Christianity—and yet still originate from the same demonic source.

One way a demonic miracle can fly under the radar is to mimic a divine miracle found in Scripture. The miracles God has worked throughout history provide many ideas that demonic forces might try to copy. When the miraculous happens and it seems “close enough” to a half-remembered Bible story, it becomes very easy to be swept along in the spectacle. Another way demonic miracles might come disguised is when they do not overtly contradict Scripture. It might be difficult to discern the true origin of the miraculous without serious prayer, reflection, and study concerning everything that particular miracle implies.

We do well to be skeptical of a supernatural event until we know for sure who is behind it. For example, does the person who is involved with the miracle take personal credit for it? Does the miracle suggest that God ignores wicked behavior? Are there any precedents in the Bible for associating the miracle with God? What does the Holy Spirit indicate? Are there any red flags? While no miracle that Satan can produce will ever match a true miracle from God, his deceptions are powerful enough to deceive anyone who is not on guard against him. As Jesus said, “false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance” (Matt 24:24–25 NASB).

  1. C. L. Blomberg, “Healing,” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 305–6.↩
  2. See Appendix A for a related discussion concerning the source of paranormal abilities.↩
  3. B. L. Blackburn, “Miracles and Miracle Stories,” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 550.↩
  4. Blackburn, “Miracles and Miracle Stories,” 555–56.↩
  5. Blomberg, “Healing,” 300.↩
  6. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 1140.↩
  7. Ronald A. Beers et al., eds., Life Application Study Bible: New International Version (Wheaton, IL; Grand Rapids: Tyndale House; Zondervan, 1997), 1816.↩
  8. E. Ray Clendenen and Jeremy Royal Howard, eds., Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2015), 1264.↩
  9. See Chapter 11 to learn more about misconceptions concerning exorcism.↩
  10. Even holy angels, fully capable of producing phenomena that we would view as miraculous, serve God at His discretion. They do not exist to service our supernatural whims.↩
  11. See Chapter 11 for a rebuttal to the erroneous notion that God is hands-off when it comes to exorcisms and demonization.↩
  12. See Chapter 6 for more on the nature of demons.↩
  13. See Chapter 5 for more about Satan.↩
  14. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 2320.↩
  15. MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary, 1135.↩
  16. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 2320.↩