MIRACLES: DISTRIBUTION IN THE BIBLE

Let's start out with some interesting statistics regarding miracles. If you leave out occasions of God supernaturally communicating to people through dreams and prophetic utterances, and don't count the passages where Jesus or his followers are said to have cured many people in a town, these are the rough numbers you arrive at for specific miracles:

Old Testament – 61 miracles: 30 are negative, 31 are positive.

Gospels and Acts – 65 miracles: all but 5 are positive.

These statistics have convinced some people that the God of the OT is portrayed as much crueler and less loving than the God of the NT.

But look at these verses taken from Psalm 136:

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good

Who struck Egypt through their firstborn,

For his steadfast love endures forever;

Who overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea

For his steadfast love endures forever;

Who struck down great kings,

For his steadfast love endures forever.

Note that God's negative miracles toward his enemies are alternated with a repeated chorus indicating that these same miracles actually demonstrate God's great love for His chosen people. And when God did turn against the Jews themselves, it was to punish overtly sinful behavior that threatened to destroy them from within.

“The fact that Yahweh is pictured more as a smiter than a healer in the OT is due to the historically sinful character of the people, not to any lack of beneficence in the character of the Lord.” (Chan, et. al., Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, III, p. 1170) 

The next interesting fact concerns where miracles are found in the Bible.

“In point of fact, miraculous signs are not uniformly distributed throughout the OT. They are largely grouped in three main periods, each of which was marked by a life-and-death struggle for the people of God and which put Yahweh's saving powers and will to the proof.”

                 (Colin Brown, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 2, p. 627)

Below I have extended the biblical time period into into the last days. Only the time periods in bold are characterized by multiple miraculous events. Sandwiched in between these periods are relatively dry spells, sometimes of hundreds of years, in which God chose not to demonstrate his presence and power in that particular way. So miracles appear to be the exception, not the rule, over the span of time. We should keep this in mind when dealing with the question of why God doesn't act so overtly today as he did in Bible times.

1. Primeval History

2. Patriarchs

3. The Exodus

4. Conquest and Settlement

5. Monarchy

6. Early Divided Kingdom

7. The Babylonian Exile

8. The Return

9. Life of Christ

10. Spread of the Gospel

11. Church Age

12. End Times

Even more interesting, at least to me, is that if you only look at those time periods in history that are characterized by miracles, they appear to be a ordered according to a symmetrical pattern.

    A. Primeval World History

        B. Moses and the Exodus

            C. Conquest and Settlement of Canaan

                D. Divided Kingdom

                    1. Elijah

                    2. Elisha

                D'. The Exile

                    1. Daniel

                    2. Daniel's Three Friends

        B'. Life and Ministry of Christ

            C'. Early Spread of the Gospel

A'. Final World History

A and A' are the only periods in which the miracles affect a large geographical region.

B and B' are times dominated by the major figures of the Old and New Testament, respectively.

C and C' represent the missions of those leaders being continued and expanded by their immediate successors.

D and D' are both difficult times for the nation of Israel in which almost the only miraculous elements are found to be associated with a small group of select individuals: two during the Divided Kingdom period and four in the Exile. And in the case of Elijah and Elisha, they were only active during about 30 of the 300 years of the Divided Kingdom.

Let's look at each pair of miraculous time periods in more detail beginning with two time periods we sometimes ignore in talking about miraculous events:

First (Genesis 1-11) and the Last Days (stretching from Day of Pentacost to the end of time—mainly Revelation)

Creation of Heaven and Earth

    Expulsion from God's Presence (east of Eden)

        Remnant Saved from Destruction (Flood)

            Noahic Covenant

                Mankind Divided (Tower of Babel)

----------------------

                Divisions Erased (Day of Pentacost – not only of language, but also in the fact that the Spirit fell on old and young, men and women, slave and free)

            New Covenant

        Remnant Sealed in Tribulation (either saved from or sealed during)

    God Dwells with Mankind (Rev. 21:3)

New Heaven and New Earth (large number of verbal parallels between Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 21-22)

Now of course a lot depends on your own particular view of the end times, but in broad outline, the events of the last days could be seen as a replaying of the tape of primeval events in reverse order.

Moses and Jesus Parallels:

Miraculous preservation at birth (Exodus 2)                   Miraculous birth (Luke 1-2, etc.)

Magicians' serpents devoured (Exodus 7:12)                  Demons cast out (Matthew 17:14, etc.)

Darkness (Exodus 10:21-23)                                           Darkness at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:45)

Red Sea divided (Exodus 14:21-31)                                Christ walks on water (Matthew 14:25)

Manna provided for the people (Exodus 16:14-35)         Feeding the multitudes (Matthew 15:22, etc.)

Waters turned to blood (Exodus 7:20-25)                      Water turned to wine (John 2)

Death of the firstborn (Exodus 12:29-30)                      Widow's son raised (Luke 7:11-17)

Miriam given leprosy (Numbers 12:10)                         Lepers cleansed (Luke 5:12; 17:11-19)

Levites killed for approaching God (Numbers 16)        Veil of temple torn (Mark 15:38)

Earthquake swallows up disobedient (Numbers 16:32) Dead saints rise from the earth (Matt. 27:52-53)

Aaron's staff put forth buds (Numbers 17)                     Fig tree blasted (Matthew 21:19)

There are three types of correspondence here: in the first group, miracles associated with Jesus parallel those of Moses and sometimes exceed them; in the second group, Jesus' actions represent a sort of reversal of miracles associated with Moses; and lastly there are physical miracles occurring in the wilderness that point forward to spiritual truths related to Jesus.

Bronze serpent lifted up for healing (Numbers 21:8-9)   Jesus relates incident to himself (John 3:14- 15)

Manna provided (Exodus 16)                                           Jesus as the bread of life (John 6:35)

Water in wilderness from a rock (Exodus 15:23-25)       Jesus as the source of living water (John 4;

                                                                                          17:5-7; I Corinthians 10:4)

Paul in I Corinthians even states that the Jews in the wilderness drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

Joshua-Judges and Acts 1-12 In both these time periods, miracles help God's people conquer territory in His name. This is accomplished offensively in Joshua-Judges and defensively in Acts. “If the Gospels are the 'Torah' of the NT, Acts is its book of Joshua.” F. F. Bruce

Spies in Jericho are let down on a rope from wall of city (Joshua 2:15)

        Paul escapes from wall of city in the same way (Acts 9:25)

Literal and figurative signs from heaven (Joshua 10; Judges 4-5)

        Literal and figurative signs from heaven (Acts 2:2,19)

Spirit of God comes upon the judges (Judges 3:10; 6:24; 11:29; 14:6,19; etc.)

        Day of Pentacost (Acts 2)

Samson escapes by carrying off city gate at night (Judges 16:3).

        Peter escapes through city gate at night (Acts 12:10)

Samson only truly serves God after being blinded (Judges 16:18-31)

        Paul only truly serves God after being blinded (Acts 9:1-18)

Achan and Ananias and Sapphira

And then there is this closest parallel between Joshua and Acts. But since I have already dealt with this 

correspondence in my post "Acts 4-5," I will not rehearse all that I said there.

Elijah-Elisha Parallels

Elijah (I Kings)                                                       Elisha (II Kings)

no rain but God provides (17:1-7)                          no water until God provides (3:9-20)

widow's oil multiplied (17:11-16)                          widow's oil multiplied (4:2-7)

meal multiplied (17:11-16)                                     bread multiplied (4:42-44)

widow's son raised from the dead (17:17-24)        woman's son raised from the dead (4:32-37)

prophets saved (18:3-4)                                          prophets saved (4:38-41)

runs before chariot (18:44-46)                               goes in spirit to man from chariot (5:20-27)

comforting vision from God (19:9-18)                  comforting vision of God's army (6:8-17)

Benhadad defeated (20:1-34)                                 Benhadad's siege lifted (6:24-7:20)

lion kills man as predicted (20:36)                         bears maul young men (2:24)

prophet's eyes bandaged (20:38-41)                       prophet blinds soldiers (6:18-23)

Jordan River parted (II Kings 2:8)                          Jordan River parted (2:14)

So far we have shown a consistency between the miracles God performed in the OT with those in the NT. Here are examples of similar miracles and events associated with two particular prophets; it is almost as if the same man is being referred to in both sets. What is the underlying message here? I think the similarities are meant to point us to the consistent source behind these miracles, God's Spirit. Recall that before Elijah is taken up into heaven, Elisha asks if he can inherit a double portion of his spirit. I always thought that this was rather selfish of him to want twice the spiritual power that Elijah had, but that isn't what Elisha was requesting at all. There was a whole band of prophets following Elijah, and Elisha is just asking to be treated as the oldest son among them, who would usually get twice the inheritance that the other sons received.

 

II SAMUEL 15-17: THE SUPPORTING CAST

I have dealt elsewhere with the reasons David decided to flee Jerusalem when he learned of Absalom and his approaching army. Now I would like to concentrate on the other personages who figure into this story and some parallels today.

II Samuel 15:13 We first encounter an unnamed young man who learns of Absalom's plans and hurries to inform David of it. Others might have simply said, “It's no business of mine” and turned back to their own concerns, but this man took the chance opportunity that God had given him to do something that he knew was the right thing to do. We are no doubt given many opportunities to serve God and His kingdom every day if we only keep our eyes and ears open to His calling.

II Samuel 15:14-15 Note that the officials do not hesitate to follow David's commands even though it was obviously going to mean some personal sacrifices on their part and giving up all chance of getting a plum position in Absalom's new administration. One might be reminded of Zacchaeus the tax-collector or the Pharisee Nicodemus. The first one took a giant step down the economic ladder when he followed Jesus, and the second one went from being a timid believer to a bold one at the very time when even the apostles had deserted Jesus. Look at some politicians today who are instead more than willing to sacrifice their personal integrity in order to hold on to their prized positions in government. And unfortunately, some of them purport to be evangelical Christians.

II Samuel 15:16 The case of David's concubines is a sad one. They are seemingly given the easy chore of staying in the royal harem and taking care of it in David's absence. One might think of those of us who settle in to a comfortable role in church that we enjoy rather than going overseas as a missionary, serving meals and ministering to the homeless, or knocking on doors as part of an evangelistic campaign. But it turns out that even those women will have to suffer being humiliated when Absalom basically rapes them publicly, and they are later banished from David's presence. The lesson is that they were being faithful in following David's orders.

II Samuel 15:19-22 The example of Ittai the Gittite provides a wonderful testimonial to his devotion to David. David urges him to turn back since he has just been uprooted from his country once and has only recently joined David's men. But Ittai steadfastly refuses and states, in words that remind us of Ruth's proclamation to Naomi: “Wherever the king may be, for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” Sometimes it appears that the most recent converts to Christ, whether coming out of another religion or no belief whatsoever, are the ones most on fire for their new faith.

II Samuel 15:24-29 The priests Abiathar and Zadok start following David, bringing the ark with them. Rather than hold on to the ark and take it into battle with him, David tells them to return to Jerusalem and resume their priestly duties there. In addition, he gives them an important role as part of a spy network (see vv. 34-35). Some Christians desire to take on important tasks for God in terms of serving abroad as missionaries or becoming a pastor, but God may have other supporting roles in mind for them instead. We just need to discern His individual will for us as best we can.

II Samuel 15:31 Now we come to the sad story of Ahithophal, David's former adviser. Back in verse 12, we learned that Absalom had approached him. Now we find out why. He has sold out David and agreed to help Absalom instead. In its most drastic form, the best NT parallel to Ahithophal is Judas. Both thought they saw the handwriting on the wall and decided to abandon one leader who appeared to be on his way out in favor of the more likely winner and cash in at the same time. In its milder form today, that behavior might be exhibited by congregants who sense that their congregation is starting to lose members or is in between pastors, and so they switch immediately to a more up-and-coming church rather than help their congregation struggle through the lean times. Or perhaps they are fair weather Christians who just decide that it is a convenient time to abandon church attendance altogether.

II Samuel 15:32-34 In stark contrast to Ahithophal is David's loyal follower, Hushai. Even though he is somewhat aged, he still wants to join David. But there will be a much more important and dangerous role for him to play in David's plan. He is asked to go right back to Jerusalem and try to convince Absalom that he has abandoned David just as Ahithophal had. And then he is to purposely give bad advice to Absalom so that David can have time to regroup his forces.

There are those serving today in areas of the world closed to Christianity where their exposure would result in being jailed or even executed, and they are the closest parallel to Hushai that I can think of. They deserve all the support and prayers we can give them.

II Samuel 16:1-4 The next party that David meets on his way is Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth, the lame grandson of Saul whom David had taken under his wing. Ziba comes bearing gifts (from his master's estate) for David's army. When David asks him where his master is, Ziba lies and says that Mephibosheth has gone over to Absalom's side. David is understandably upset and rewards Ziba by giving him the whole estate. Later, David will find out that Ziba had betrayed his master, but David can't go back on his promise so he divides the land between the two of them.

Ziba is the prototype of the opportunist who uses the church and Christians for his own benefit. In the NT, one example of this behavior is found in Acts 8 where Simon the magician tries to buy the secret to imparting the the Holy Spirit by laying on of hands in order that he might add it to his bag of tricks.

Once when my wife and I were still newlyweds, a church elder made a call on us which I thought was a very good gesture from him. But almost immediately he then tried to sell us an insurance policy. Later, in another city, I found out from a long-time resident that it was not at all uncommon for independent businessmen such as insurance salesman, lawyers, or real estate agents to belong to one congregation until they had exhausted all the possible clients there. And then they switched to another congregation where they could start the process all over.

II Samuel 16:5-8 In these verses, David is accosted by a relative of Saul named Shimei who cusses him out and throws rocks at him. David shows admirable restraint and refuses to retaliate, but he will later get his revenge by leaving a deathbed request of Solomon not to allow Shimei to die a peaceful death.

Shimei is an example of an ardent enemy of the church who may bide his time and say nothing as long as the church is relatively healthy, but is just waiting to smear Christian beliefs when he thinks that the political and cultural time is more favorable to his cause.

II Samuel 16:9-10 At this point in the story, one of David's followers named Abishai is incensed by Shimei's actions and words and wants to kill him on the spot. Abishai is a precursor to believers such as Peter, who was always ready to take the offensive and charge off ahead of Jesus.

There are such zealous Christians today who unfortunately have totally forgotten Jesus' command to love our enemies and those who persecute us. When I lived in Austin years ago, we had the dubious distinction of having the most notorious atheist of the time, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, living in town. She used to love exhibiting examples of all the hate mail and death threats that she had received from Christians over the years. Even some of the recent violence we are seeing in America is prompted by misguided believers who feel they are somehow following a righteous path through their violent actions.

II Samuel 17:15-22 As a follow-up on the actions of some of those personages above, we are given insight into workings of the intricate and effective spy network that David set in place. Hushai has ensconced himself as Absalom's adviser and convinced him to hold off before pursuing David. Hushai relays this valuable information to the priests Abiathar and Zadok. They, in turn, use a servant girl to give this message to their sons Jonathan and Ahimaaz, who are hidden safely in Bahurim's house until they are able to give the message to David.

This is the sort of chain in which each of the participants must trust the others at the threat of their lives. I think of the underground railway in America or the partisan activities in Europe during World War II. But we must remember that a similar situation exists today in closed countries where small groups of Christians must meet in secrecy and use elaborate ruses to prevent exposure. A less extreme, but still important, situation obtains in every church today where each member has his or her part to play utilizing their God-given talents and gifts for the benefit of the whole in order that the work of Christ might continue unabated, as Paul explains in I Corinthians 12.

 

WHEN DID SATAN FALL?

First let me explain that the Hebrew word satan means “accuser.” That has caused a number of commentators to state that when it occurs in the Bible, especially as “the satan,” it designates not a personal name but an office such as a prosecuting attorney. That may very well be true. However, unless that heavenly position is a rotating one with different angels occupying it for only certain terms of office, it is logical to propose that only one supernatural entity is being referred to, namely Satan.

Secondly, I have dealt partially with the question above in several earlier posts. But I thought it might be convenient to put those thoughts together in one place. With that said, it appears that there are at least seven different proposed occasions during which Satan's fall might have happened or will happen. And actually, one could summarize Satan's whole career as one giant downward progression.

Before the Second Creation

You may well ask at this point: “What second creation?” That is because this is an idea made popular by the Scofield Reference Bible and known as the Gap Theory. It was formulated in an attempt to hold on to a literal seven-day creation while accepting the fossil evidence for a much longer time period in the earth's prehistory. It proposes that millions of years transpired between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 during which time Satan reigned over primitive man and dinosaurs roamed the earth. God decided that Satan had done a poor job of stewardship and so he wiped out that creation, cast Satan out of heaven, and re-made the earth into the creation we know today.

As Todd Beall understates the situation: “There are several major problems with this view.” Besides being rank speculation as to what might have happened between two verses that certainly read as if they are telling a continuous story, this view states quite incorrectly that “formless void” in Genesis 1:2 always refers to a condition occurring after a judgment by God. Also, the proponents of the Gap Theory translate that verse from the Hebrew quite inaccurately as “the earth became void.” Proponents present as ammunition Isaiah 45:18, which states that God did not create a void earth. But as all modern translations correctly render that verse, it merely says that God's purpose was not to stop with the creation of an empty earth, but to fill it with inhabitants.

As further justification of their view, the gap theorists then go even further afield by citing the prophetic taunt songs found in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. I discuss these in more detail in the appropriately titled post “Taunt Songs: Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28: Job 28-29.” The prophets make fun of two different earthly kings of the pagan nations in exaggerated terms and predict their downfall. Although portions of these poetic diatribes may possibly be viewed as dim types of Satan and his fate, they certainly cannot be said to refer directly to him. To do so, as the gap theorists do, is to depart completely from the strictly literal interpretation of the Bible to which they claim to subscribe.

Fortunately, as Beall explains, less and less people are still holding to this tenuous proposition today.

While in Eden

Assuming that the serpent in the Garden was Satan in animal form, one could postulate that the curse on him in Genesis 3 to be condemned to eating the dust of the earth meant that he had just been kicked out of heaven permanently. Others even go further and state that he was at that point condemned to live under the earth although one has to stretch the text quite a bit to make that point.

A more logical interpretation of the curse in Genesis 3 is that since the serpent had allowed Satan to speak through him, this animal was condemned to slither in the dust of the ground from then on rather than walking on legs as he had up to that time (a fact which interestingly enough has been confirmed by fossil findings in recent years). If that interpretation is correct, then this passage says nothing whatsoever concerning Satan's fate. And actually, if being a prosecuting attorney is Satan's role in God's plan, then it is even possible, though not probable, that he is acting according to orders from God Himself in order to test the first human couple.

Just Prior to the Flood

Another possible occasion for Satan's fall is when the “sons of God” (believed to be angels) left heaven in order to cohabit with women on earth. (Genesis 6) There is speculation that these “fallen angels” (although they voluntarily left rather than having been expelled) must have been led to desert God at the same time that Satan was kicked out. There is little to recommend that particular point of view other than the unsupported attempt to associate it with the fallen angels mentioned in Revelation. Alternative interpretations of this obscure passage are discussed in the post “Genesis 6:1-4.”

At Jesus' Birth

One has to go to the Book of Revelation for this possibility, and it depends somewhat on an amillennial interpretation of that apocalyptic book. Assuming, as many scholars do, that the incidents in Revelation are presented in seven cycles which repeat the same basic time frame over and over again using different imagery each time, then Revelation 12 appears at the start of yet another recap of history from Christ's birth to the Last Judgment.

This explanation makes a lot of sense when one considers the parallels in this chapter with the Gospel accounts of Jesus' birth. Thus, it begins with a vision of a pregnant woman who gives birth to a male child who is to rule as king over all the nations. This child is in danger of being killed until God removes the mother and child to the wilderness where they will stay for a short time. Simultaneous to these events, Satan and his stars (i.e. angels) begin to make war on God in heaven and are thrown down to earth. These two sets of events are described according to the alternating literary pattern shown below:

Satan and angels fall to earth (Rev. 12:3-4a)

    He attempts to kill the child Jesus (Rev. 12:4b)

        God protects the child (Rev. 12:5-6)

Satan and his angels fall to earth (Rev. 12:7-9)

                Hymn of praise (Rev. 12:10-12)

    He attempts to kill the woman (Rev. 12:13)

        God protects her (Rev. 12:14)

    He attempts to kill the woman (Rev. 12:15)

        God protects her (Rev. 12:16)

    He attempts to kill the rest of her children (12:17)

The hymn in the middle marks the change-point in this passage. Before it, Satan's attack is directed against Christ himself. But after that fails, he turns to attack the “woman” (possibly standing for the church in these verses) as well as her children (i.e. believers).

During Jesus' Earthly Ministry

In Luke 10:18, we have the first definite reference to Satan's fall in the Bible. When the apostles return after miraculously curing people and casting out demons, they are totally amazed. Jesus' explanation to them is: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky” That comment makes no sense at all if Christ is referring to some ancient event that he witnessed in his pre-incarnate state or something that will happen in the distant future. It has to refer to something that had recently transpired.

It also is very consistent with Jesus' somewhat cryptic statement recorded in all the Synoptic accounts (Matthew 12:22-32; Mark 3:20-27; Luke 11:14:23), which similarly occurred in the context of Jesus' activities as an exorcist of evil spirits. When Jesus' opponents accuse him of casting our demons using Satan's power, part of his reply is, “How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man?” In other words, Satan is beginning to lose his evil power over those on earth.

Before the Tribulation

I must admit that I wasn't even aware of this belief until very recently. But then, I do not really follow all the complicated details of the dispensational scheme regarding the order of future events. Thus, Walvoord explains, “This same power of Satan is further revealed in the Great Tribulation when he empowers the world ruler (Rev. 13:4). Satan will have been cast out of heaven at the beginning of the Great Tribulation and will then be more active than ever (Rev. 12:9, 13, 15, 17).” The most charitable thing I can say about that idea is nothing at all.

During the Millennium

If one takes the position, as do some premillennialists, that the events in Revelation are all described in chronological order, will occur in the future, and are to be taken as literally as possible (three huge and probably incorrect assumptions), then one can make the case that at least one giant downward step for Satan is when he is locked in a holding pit for 1,000 years before being temporarily let out.

Note that the above figurative explanation of Satan's limitations during this time period is followed by a literal explanation in Revelation 20:3: “so that he would deceive the nations no more.” Amillennialists take this to mean that during the church age, Satan no longer has completely free reign to deceive the world with false idol worship and demon oppression. In that respect, it is exactly the same as Jesus' statement while on earth that the strong man has been bound.

At the Last Judgment

And pretty much all can agree that Satan and all his followers will suffer the ultimate fall when they are condemned to spend eternity tormented in the lake of fire and sulfur. (Revelation 20:10-15)

In closing, there is one major objection to the first three possibilities for the timing of Satan's fall. If it occurred at the latest just before the flood, how does one explain the following incidents happening after that time period?

    Job 1-2: Satan is obviously in heaven at this point, acting in his role of prosecuting attorney. This time he is accusing both Job and God by his words. All indications are that this event took place in the early patriarchal period.

    Jude 8-9: Assuming that one accepts the historical veracity of these verses, they describe Satan and Michael disputing over Moses' body. And even Michael feels that he is not in any position to condemn Satan for his actions.

    I Chronicles 21:1: Next to occur chronologically is the interesting incident in which Satan tempts King David to number the people. We might think that this is just Satan acting on his own until we compare this verse to the parallel account in II Samuel 24:1 in which it states that God was the one doing the tempting. The best way to harmonize these two accounts is to say that it is exactly parallel to the situation described in Job 1-2 where Satan is allowed to do something, but only with God's express permission.

    Zechariah 3:1-2: This last example is by far the most damning to any theory stating that Satan was cast out of heaven in pre-patriarchal times. In this passage, Satan is still up to his old tricks while living up to his official role as a heavenly prosecuting attorney. He accuses the high priest Joshua (not to be confused with the more famous Joshua) before God, and God the Judge rebukes him for making an unfounded accusation. What makes this passage so significant is that it indicates Satan is still in heaven as late as 520 BC.

So in conclusion, the best guess by far as to when Satan was ejected from heaven is some time between Jesus' birth and his early ministry on earth.

 

"NATURAL" MIRACLES IN THE BIBLE

It is probably an appropriate time to point out that some of the events in the Bible that we view as nature miracles, violations of natural laws, are probably better viewed as miracles of timing, miracles of knowledge (discussed in a separate post appropriately titled "Miracles of Knowledge"), or in a very few cases are perhaps not even intended to be viewed as miracles at all. Let me explain myself before you brand me as a total heretic.

“Natural” Miracles?

Luke 4:28-30 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill...so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

We don't need to believe that Jesus put on some sort of cloak of invisibility in this case. As a boy I was very small for my age and wore glasses. So I was several times confronted with a group of bullies who started harassing me. But even I at that age realized that if I didn't show any fear and walked right past them without making any eye contact, they would let me alone. As an aside, I believe that this is the same technique that Jesus used when the group was going to stone the woman caught in adultery. After saying, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” Jesus began to write in the dirt. Scholars have speculated on what he was writing, but I think Jesus was just doodling to purposely avoid making eye contact with any of the accusers so that they could all sneak out without losing face. The following story is similar.

John 8:59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but he hid from them and went out of the temple [going through the midst of them, and so passed by].

The part in brackets is not in the oldest manuscripts.

John 18:6 Then there is John's account of Jesus' arrest. “When Jesus said to them, 'I am he,' the soldiers stepped back and fell to the ground.”

I have seen this passage included in lists of NT miracles, but it certainly doesn't have to be understood as any sort of violation of a natural law. Just imagine the effect on a group of Roman soldiers and Jewish guards who had been told that they were going to arrest the miracle worker Jesus who might just be the promised Messiah. He turns to them and says in the Greek, “I am,” which is the meaning of the name Yahweh, the LORD himself. We don't have to propose that Jesus employed some sort of force field to knock them down, just his words and the force of his personality would do the trick.

Acts 20:9-10 He (Eutychus) fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up (for) dead. But Paul went down, bent over him and holding him gently in his arms, said, “Don't be alarmed; he is still alive.”

The New English Bible and at least four other translations I have seen take the stance that Eutychus was never really dead to start with. Even those translations which imply that he might have been dead, open the door to considering that when Paul hugged him, it had the effect of resuscitating him.

Now, of course, this type of rationalizing explanation can certainly be taken too far. For example, some people see the story in Mark 5 of Jesus bringing Jairus' daughter back from the dead as a similar case since Jesus says that she is just sleeping. But look at context: (a) she had shown no signs of life for some time. This wasn't a case of temporarily getting the wind knocked out of her, (b) the professional mourners, who had certainly seen their share of death, laugh at Jesus' comment, and (c) throughout the whole event Jesus tries to keep what happened as a secret, as he does after performing other genuine miracles. We'll discuss his possible reasons for doing this at another time.

Miracles of Timing

First, we have several Old Testament accounts of the Jews crossing bodies of water supernaturally. Considering first that the translation “Red Sea” is probably not as accurate as “Sea of Reeds” (a more shallow body of water), and secondly that the dry crossing was said to have been possible due to God using a natural event, an east wind blowing all night long, we should probably wipe out the picture from our mind of Charlton Heston holding his hands out and instantly being is surrounded by high walls of water. And concerning the various crossings of the Jordan River, even in historical times the flow in this river has been blocked temporarily by rock slides due to earthquakes. This happened in 1267 AD and again in 1927. Again, the miraculous element of these events lies in their precise timing.

Then there are the Plagues of Egypt. The first thing to point out is that there is a spiritual rationale for these plagues since each one targets a deity worshiped by the Egyptians. God turns each of these deities against the Egyptians. (See the Appendix below) Also, many commentators have pointed out that all of the first nine plagues are known to occur in the land of Egypt at one time or another naturally and they even form a logical progression in which each disaster leads naturally to the next. High rainfall in the Nile headlands brings down masses of fine-grained red clay and and toxic algae which kills the fish; this drives frogs infected by dead fish on to the shore where they infect the vegetation; the receding flood leaves behind pools of water which breed mosquitoes and flies which spread disease; the cattle contract anthrax ingested from infected pastures while the boils on people and beasts come from infectious bites from the flies. Then in spring, massive hail ruins the early crops followed by locust that strip the later crops. By March, in dryer weather, strong dust-laden winds start blowing, which darken the skies.

Now, of course, all of the details of the account in Exodus can't be explained that way, but for the most part these can be looked at as natural events common in Egypt where the most supernatural element is in their precise timing and location – generally not affecting the part of Egypt where the Jews lived. The last plague of the first-born dying, of course, can't be explained by merely naturalistic means, although some scholars have actually attempted it.

However, even this Tenth Plague can be seen as part of a consistent pattern of God's actions starting with God killing an animal to use its skin to clothe Adam and Eve after they sinned; God providing a sheep for Abraham to slaughter in place of his son Isaac; the need for the first-born of the Egyptians to die in order to free the Jews; the necessity of the Jews to sacrifice a lamb so that their firstborn wouldn't be affected; the first-born of Israel being ransomed by animal sacrifices; the various animal sacrifices required in Leviticus; and finally the necessity of God's own first-born, Jesus – the lamb of the world – to die in our place in order to ransom us from the penalty of death.

    1. And the LORD God made garments of skins for Adam and Eve, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

    2. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Genesis 22:13b)

    3. Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. (Exodus 11:5a)

    When I see the blood, I will pass over you. (Exodus 12:13b)

    4. Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine. (Exodus 13:1)

    5. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem. (Exodus 13:13; 34:20)

    6. Animal sacrifices prescribed in the Book of Leviticus.

    7. For God so loved the world that he have his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)

In the Indroduction to Miracles, we started out considering the various ways God can act in the world. Here is another popular way of categorizing these different modes of action:

Providence: “the biblical picture of God's care and guidance of His creation and of individual creatures.” (Dictionary of Christianity and Science, p. 530) God cares for all by providing everyday blessings naturally. And in a more direct way he superintends the details of His people's lives. In the Bible, perhaps the best examples are the books of Ruth and Esther. In the first one, God causes a “coincidence” in which Ruth happens to glean in the fields belonging to Boaz, who happens to be a close relative of Naomi. From this supposed coincidence comes a line of descendants including King David and Jesus himself. In the case of Esther, it is a sleepless night by the king in which he happens to open a book that describes how Mordecai had saved his life. From that point on, the Jewish people are saved instead of being wiped out. And in our own lives we can all look back and recognize the various supposedly random occurrences that all came together to bring us where we are today.

Special Providence: This includes those occasions when we couldn't really prove to someone else that a violation of any natural law had occurred in our life, but the odds against a certain event happening exactly in a particular desired way or at the exact time it was needed are very, very slim. We have talked about biblical examples of these in the categories of miraculous knowledge or timing.

Miracles: Lastly are those events that most everyone would recognize as truly miraculous in every sense of the word. While I can't honestly say that I can recount God performing any of these in my own life, twice at churches I attended where someone in the congregation was sick beyond healing according to the medical experts, they were both completely cured after a concerted prayer vigil was held. This is the category of God's actions that we will concentrate on in subsequent blogposts.

Appendix: The Plagues Challenge the Egyptian Gods

1. The Nile turned to blood Nile River = the god Hapi

2. Frogs: symbol of the goddess Heqt

3. Gnats/Mosquitoes: Seth, god of the Earth

4. Flies: symbol of the god Uatchit

5. Cattle diseased: Apis bull, a form of the god Ptah

6. Boils on the people: Sunu, goddess who protected against infection

7. Hail and fire: Isis, goddess of fire

Serapis, goddess of water and rains

8. Locust not clear, although the Egyptians worshiped

the symbol of insects, i.e. scarabs, dung beetles

9. Three days of darkness: Re, the sun god and chief deity

10. First-born as predicted by God in Exodus 4:22-23,

    Egyptians considered the first-born as sacred

 

COULD JESUS HAVE SINNED? (HEBREWS 4:15; JAMES 1:13)

Hebrews 4:15b: “...we have one who in all ways has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning.”

This verse and its companion in Hebrews 2:18 (“Because he himself was tempted by what he suffered, he can help others who are being tempted”) are difficult to understand since if Christ was wholly God, how could he be tempted? Isn't this a contradiction with the statement in James 1:13 that God can't be tempted?

To try to answer these questions, let me start out by quoting some of Peter Davids' comments regarding the Hebrew passages:

    “Actually, these verses are difficult because they involve two issues, the nature of temptation and the nature of Christ. The first we have experience with; with the second we as human beings have no experience, and we must rely on the simple statements of Scripture.”

    “One point, however, Hebrews makes crystal clear: whether Jesus could sin or not, the issue in the end is academic. He did not sin.”

    And in terms of the classic credal statement – Christ was wholly God and wholly man – he remarks, “While the creeds are not Scripture, they safeguard what the author of Hebrews has attempted to express.”

Let's first deal with the issue of the word “tempt.” It is well known that the Greek word peirazein can mean tempt or trial, depending on the context in which it appears. Thus, Buchanan explains that it “can mean to put to trial by torturing, to seduce, attempt, or experiment.” So that in Hebrews 4:15 it “probably referred to hardships Jesus faced, including the crucifixion. They were the same kind of tests which later Christians had to face.” Ellingworth concurs with this appraisal and says that the word should be translated in this verse as “tested” rather than “tempted,” in terms of Christ's suffering and death on the cross. This is also the translation utilized in the NEB and NRSV versions. By contrast, the same word is better rendered as “tempted” in James 1:13. (Ward)

In a similar vein, Gibson writing on the secular use of the Greek words at the time says that “this evidence raises the question of whether Gentile readers or hearers of New Testament writings would have understood the use of peirasmos and peirazein...in terms of the notion of enticement to sin...it seems more likely that these readers or hearers would have taken the terms as signifying only tests of faithfulness or integrity.” Thus, the “weaknesses” mentioned in Hebrews 4:15 “are those due to our finite creaturely existence, e.g. weariness, shrinking from pain, etc.” (Stibbs)

As if the difficulty were not enough of deciding whether the root Greek word here is best translated as test or tempt, there is the additional problem that arises from the fact that the particular form of the verb in James 1:13 is found nowhere else in the New Testament. L.T. Johnson explains: “By etymology, the expression apeirastos kakon could equally mean “inexperienced in evils,” or “untested by evil people,” or “incapable of being tempted by evils” or even “ought not to be tested.”

Peter Davids opts for this last meaning and explains that “this translation shows that James is drawing upon an important theme in Jewish theology: people in tight places tend to turn and challenge God, and they ought never to do so (for it is unfaith). This then is summed up in the deuteronomic command, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah' (Dt. 6:16)...” Not coincidentally, you may remember that this is the very verse that Jesus quotes to Satan when he was being tried in the wilderness.

If Johnson and Davids are correct, then as the latter author says, “This...solves the problem of Jesus' testing (or temptation), for he was in fact tested by an evil being, which this translation allows to be possible, even if it is a sinful act.”

If you do not buy either of the two good explanations above, there is even a third option for removing the apparent contradiction between the Hebrews passages and James 1:13.

Hawthorne starts out by stating the problem and admitting, “This question of the possibility of Christ's sinning has been debated for centuries and is not yet resolved to everyone's satisfaction...Nevertheless, assuming that it was impossible for Him to sin because of the nature of His person, yet it is possible to assume that he did not know that was the case.” Copan continues from that point: “To share in our struggle with temptation, Jesus did not engage in playacting but rather gave up having access to the knowledge that sinning for him as God was impossible, just as he gave up other items of knowledge. We can furthermore argue that temptation does not have to involve the possibility of sin.”

In conclusion, there are three good options for resolving the question posed at the start: (1) Jesus was never tempted to sin, just tested, (2) James 1:13 does not say that God can't be tempted, just that He shouldn't be tempted, and (3) Jesus, in his human state in which he no longer possessed total omniscience, did not know at the time that he was incapable of sin.