Apostolic Signs
In Mark 16:17-18 Jesus said to the Apostles, "And these
signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast
out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take
up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt
them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Jesus said these were signs, and I Corinthians 1:22
tells us that signs were for the Jews.
Israel began with signs.
Exodus 4:8-9 Exodus 4:17 Exodus 4:23
Exodus 4:28 Exodus 4:30 Exodus 7:3 Exodus 8:23
Exodus 10:1-2 Exodus 13:9 Exodus 31:13 Exodus 31:17
Deuteronomy 4:34 Deuteronomy 6:22 Romans 4:11
Israel lived by signs.
Deuteronomy 11:18 Joshua 4:6 I Samuel 10:7
II Kings 19:29 Isaiah 7:14 Isaiah 38:7 Isaiah 38:22
Ezekiel 4:3 Ezekiel 20:12 Ezekiel 20:20
And Israel demanded signs from Christ.
Matthew 12:38 Matthew 24:3
There is more Scripture to support the doctrine
of signs being for Israel than there is to support the
Virgin Birth and the Inspiration of Scripture combined!
If you'll take a look at Hebrews 2:3-4 you will see that the signs were
used to confirm the Word of God, and you will also see that the signs are
spoken of in the past tense. Again in II Corinthians 12:12 they are
spoken of in the past tense. That's because Apostolic Signs were only
needed in the early ministry of the Apostles to confirm the truth to Israel.
God can still work miracles and heal anyone He chooses,
and the prayers of God's people can move Him to work miracles,
but answered prayers and apostolic signs are not the same
and should not be confused - there is a vast difference!
Christians should believe in healing, not healers.
Too many people believe that if something is highly abnormal
or miraculous, that it must be of God. The coming anti-Christ
will have a field day with this. He will work such "signs and
lying wonders" that the entire world will follow after him!
II Thessalonians 2:8-12 Revelation 13:13-14
No where in the New Testament did God command anyone to
speak with unknown tongues! We do read about new tongues
in Mark 16:17 other tongues in Acts 2:4 and divers kinds
of tongues in I Corinthians 12:10 but these are all
foreign languages, not senseless gibberish!
The Lord commended the church at Ephesus for trying
out some professing apostles and finding them to be liars.
Revelation 2:2
The Bible warns us to be beware of anyone who professes
to practice these signs today. II Corinthians 11:13-15
Matthew 7:15 Matthew 24:11 I Timothy 4:1-2
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