The Duration of Miracles
Writer, Geoffrey Chaucer,
coined the phrase, “All good things must come to an end.” And like ‘all good
things’ miracles had an end to them as well. Not everyone is in agreement with
this but we’ll look at the scriptures for the answer.
How Were the Miracles Given?
There were two ways the
power of the Holy Spirit was given for people to perform miracles: Baptism of
the Holy Spirit and Laying on of the apostle’s hands. We’ll at each of these in
turn.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit—Jesus
promised His disciples would receive power, And He said to them, “Assuredly,
I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till
they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1). He then
reminded them after He was resurrected, And
being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which” He said, “you
have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5)
On the day of Pentecost, just 40 days later, it
finally happened. And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. (Acts 2:2-3)
The Household of Cornelius
also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit to show Peter and the rest of the
Jews that the Gentiles were also accepted under the Law of Christ. While Peter was still speaking
these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those
of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter,
because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. (Acts 10:44-45)
Peter went on to confirm
this to those in Judea as stated in (Acts 11:15-18) “And as I began to speak, the Holy
Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word
of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He
gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could
withstand God?” When they heard these things they became silent; and they
glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to
life.”
These are the only two times
that people were baptized into the Holy Spirit. It hasn’t happened since then.
Laying on of the Apostle’s Hands—The first time we see this occur is in Acts 8. Philip the evangelist was preaching in Samaria and confirming the word with miracles. He even baptized people, including a man known as Simon the Sorcerer (vs. 12-13). However, it wasn’t until Peter and John arrived that anyone received the Holy Spirit, Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-17)
Paul confirms this in his
second letter to Timothy, Therefore
I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on
of my hands. (2
Timothy 1:6).
From these examples, we can
confirm that no one, aside from the apostles could pass on the gifts of
miracles. We’ve seen that Philip wasn’t able to; though he could perform them.
And Timothy wasn’t able to either.
The End of the Miracles
There is some misconception
of “that which is perfect has come” that Paul was talking about. Most want to
say it has to do with the Second Coming of Jesus and that miracles will
continue until that time. If this is true, then why didn’t Paul say, “when He
who is perfect has come” or “when the one who is perfect has come”? Paul said
“that” which suggests a thing. And that thing he is referring to is the
completion of the scriptures.
James states, But he who looks into the perfect
law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of
the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:25) The bible is
the ‘perfect law of liberty’.
In other words, Paul was
stating that when the bible was complete the miracles would cease as there
wouldn’t be a need for them anymore. He confirms this in his second letter to
Timothy, All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2
Timothy 3:16-17) Since the bible has everything we need, then we don’t need any
further instructions or, as some people put it, Latter-Day Revelation.
One Step Further…
If you’re not fully
convinced, let’s look at what Jesus said, “I
still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However,
when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for
He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;
and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:12-13) During His
discourse, after the Last Supper, Jesus told the eleven that there were more
yet to tell them, but it would have to wait. This shows that Jesus didn’t tell
them everything they needed to know; there was still more to learn but they had
to wait for the Holy Spirit.
This should confirm that
with the completion of the bible, everything we need to know is found in the
scriptures and all is now fully revealed. The miracles would have died out as
the apostles, themselves, died out. They were the only ones who could have
passed on the miracles. There are no apostles today, so there are no miracles
either.
Conclusion
Too many people want to see
or experience a miracle. Some will say, “I won’t believe God is real until I
see a miracle take place”. Sadly, they will be disappointed as Jesus states, “A wicked and adulterous
generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign
of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew
16:4) This sign of Jonah was that, like him, the Son of God would be buried and
raised again on the third day.
Finally, Paul states, For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,
for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Romans 1:16) The gospel is
what saves us from our sins, not miracles. Have you been saved?
If you want to become a Christian, read this article on what you must do.
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