Bible history presents a tragic example of how a consistent failure to seek God can eventually result in a desperate attempt to seek hidden mysteries from unseen agencies of a fallen nature. When God seems to be silent, instead of humbling themselves before Him in searching of heart and confession, many desperately turn to forbidden sources of mysteries. Remember the tragic experience of Israel’s first king, Saul. According to prophecy, this was not the last time that the spirits of the devil would communicate with the kings of this earth.

Revelation 16 tells us something of the nature of the last phase of the longstanding conflict between Christ and Satan and their respective followers.

Let us consider the prophetic text in Revelation 16:13, 14: “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world.” This prophecy takes place on earth when the sixth angel would pour out his vial of God’s wrath.

It is not difficult to identify the main characters of this “unholy trinity.” First, we come across the dragon and realize how that image has already appeared in Revelation 12:3 and throughout the remainder of chapter 12 as well as in 13:2. We understand that this power represents not only Satan, but also the forces of paganism in their ancient and modern forms. Second, the beast power mentioned in Revelation 16:13 corresponds with the blasphemous and persecuting “sea beast” of Revelation 13:1-8. The historic Protestant interpretation of Scripture has always maintained that this power has its seat in the city of Rome. Finally, there is the third agent in this unholy trio that is called the “false prophet.” We can readily observe that the description of this third agent in Satan’s triumvirate corresponds with the two-horned-beast of Revelation 13:11-17. Verses 13, 14 described the true nature of that beast as follows: “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.” The main characteristic of false prophets is their deceptive nature and their ability to mislead people. It has been observed that “true religion has no worse enemies, and Satan no better allies” than false prophets. In the second half of the 19^th century, diligent Bible students recognized that this image applies primarily to apostate Protestantism having its center in the United States of America.

These forces array themselves against Christ and His remnant people in preparation for the final battle. The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet could properly be named a satanic trinity. They also appear together as defeated powers that will be visited with God’s severest judgments (see Revelation 19:20 and 20:10).

It should not escape our attention that out of the mouth of these forces proceed three unclean, frog-like spirits, which are the spirits of devils or demons. Unprecedented demonic activity was well documented in the Bible at the time of Christ’s first coming to this earth. Similarly, Christ foretold that, immediately preceding His second coming, demons will work with such intensity that even the people who are called “the very elect” will not be able to escape the enemy’s reach: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).

The three frog-like spirits or demons (evil angels) are Satan’s powerful agents of propaganda who are capable of performing very persuasive deceptions here called miracles or miraculous signs. For centuries and millennia Satan has been preparing for the last, decisive battle. The sole purpose of these deceptive miraculous signs is to persuade the kings (rulers) of the whole inhabited world to gather for the battle of the great day of God the Almighty. At that time Satan sends three demonic angels with the false gospel and miracle-working power to persuade secular and political leaders of the world to marshal their forces against God and His people. The passage that has been under our review from Revelation 16 clearly demonstrates that deceptive powers of spiritualism will play a crucial role in the preparation for the final battle.

The Spirit of Prophecy confirms this end-time scenario: “Fearful sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed in the heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons. The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the whole world, to fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite with Satan in his last struggle against the government of heaven. By these agencies, rulers and subjects will be alike deceived. Persons will arise pretending to be Christ Himself, and claiming the title and worship which belong to the world’s Redeemer. They will perform wonderful miracles of healing and will profess to have revelations from heaven contradicting the testimony of the Scriptures.”1

By definition, a miracle is an event that inspires admiration but appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God. In the original text of the New Testament there are four Greek words, all of which are translated in English by the word “miracle” - miraculous power (dynamis), wonder (teras), sign (semeion), and work (ergon). Considering the context in which these words appear, a miracle could be defined as an extraordinary event arousing wonder, produced by divine power, accomplishing some useful and beneficial work, and confirming a messenger and his message as sent by God.

Even a casual reader of the Bible can observe that miracles occur with greater frequency at some special times in the sacred history. When God intended to raise the remnant church to proclaim the most solemn warning ever committed to mortals - the Three Angels’ Messages - He again chose “the weakest of the weak” and imparted to her the gift of prophecy. We should never overlook prophecy as a unique kind of miracle. Of all spiritual endowments, the gift of prophecy has always been regarded as the highest gift within the church.

As followers of Christ, we must humbly realize that only God in His infinite wisdom can determine whether at any particular point in time His representatives on earth need miracle-working power and, secondly, to what extent that power should be granted to them.

From time to time miraculous events have occurred, and some of them are recorded in the Bible. However, the persons who performed those miracles were not the servants of God. The earliest examples include the “magicians of Egypt” (Exodus 7:11, 22), and in the New Testament period we find Simon the sorcerer of Samaria and Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 8:9, 11; 13:6, 8). Those people the Word of God clearly identifies as the representatives of Satan - a mighty, but fallen angel.

The miracles performed by Satan and his mediums can be divided into two categories:

1. Actual miracles. We are told that the symbolic two-horned beast “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do.”

Says the Spirit of Prophecy: “Before the close of time [Satan] will work still greater wonders. So far as his power extends, he will perform actual miracles. Says the Scripture: ‘He . . . deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do,’ not merely those which he pretends to do. Something more than mere impostures is brought to view in this scripture.”2

2. Counterfeit miracles. Those miracles that he cannot perform, Satan will counterfeit. The archenemy is called a deceiver for a reason. When he could not duplicate the miracles that God performed through Moses, Satan counterfeited them through the priests and magicians. For the casual observers, they produced the same results as the true miracles that Moses displayed. “To human sight the rods were changed to serpents. Such they were believed to be by Pharaoh and his court. There was nothing in their appearance to distinguish them from the serpent produced by Moses.”3

“But there is a limit beyond which Satan cannot go, and here he calls deception to his aid and counterfeits the work which he has not power actually to perform.”4

In another reading in this Week of Prayer magazine are addressed some of the main ways by which satanic miracles will be performed. But for now, let us look again into Revelation 16 in connection with chapters 12, 13, and 14 of the same book. We have already identified the major forces in the enemy’s camp. They are the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

a.The Dragon. “Dragon” is a figurative name for Satan and also for paganism in its various forms. Modern forms of paganism are found in the Eastern religions and in their Western counterpart - the New Age movement. The essence of their teachings can be found exactly in the suggestion that the serpent offered to Eve in the first great lie - “Ye shall not surely die . . . and ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:4, 5). According to this view, human beings are actually divine - they only need to develop a higher level of consciousness. This philosophy teaches that all religions come from the same source - so any doctrines, dogmas, and beliefs which divide the followers of various religions should be dismissed in favor of the true source of spirituality which is in mysticism, in esoteric knowledge, and original mysteries. This source is thought to be God or Christ who dwells within a person. But the Christ of the New Age is not the Christ of the Scripture. He is considered to be just one of the many influential religious leaders such as Buddha or Mohammed. The notion is that by recognizing this single source of all religions and obtaining “the global consciousness,” human beings will enter into a New Age, the Age of Aquarius, the Age of God and the Holy Spirit.

As we can see, it is a synthesis - a mixing of truth and error that lies at the heart of the New Age philosophy. The other prominent feature of this movement is a very strong ecumenical pull. All religions in the world - of both East and West - can come together only if they discover the mysterious, essential wisdom.

We have been warned in advance against such evil sources of darkness: “There is danger in having the least connection with Theosophy, or Spiritualism. It is Spiritualism in essence and will always lead in the same path as Spiritualism. These are the doctrines that seduce the people whom Christ has purchased with His own blood.”5

Some experts on cults estimate that worldwide today around 30 to 50 million people are involved in some form of cultic organization. About 60 million people have experience in some New Age practice or occultist thinking.

b. The Beast. The second major force in the unholy trio of the book of Revelation is the beast power. This power has a long history as a teacher and enforcer of erroneous doctrines and practices. The apostle Paul detected the emergence of that deceptive power in his days: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. . . . And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-11).

We should not fail to observe that this power succeeded pagan Rome by adopting many of its beliefs and practices, including spiritualism and Sunday sacredness. It would take many pages to disclose all manifested forms of spiritualism within this religious system. Here we will only refer to two well-known forms, Marian apparitions and charismatic activities.

It is interesting to note that Marian apparitions began to appear with great intensity just as the three angels’ messages began to sound. Beginning with the French apparitions of La Salette in 1846, Lourdes in 1858, and Pontmain in 1871, continuing in the twentieth century with Fatima (Portugal) in 1917, Banneux and Beauraing (1932-33), Garabandal (Spain) (1962-63), and Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) ongoing from 1981.

Apparitions of Mary have created apparition sites that have become the centers for pilgrimage and prayer with reports of miraculous healings and other extraordinary events. The impact of these modern pilgrimage sites on both lay members and clergy in all parts of the world cannot be underestimated. It is noteworthy that those who most often receive supposed messages from Mary are children of both genders, as we are told.

The messages generally call the world to conversion and prayer and warn that the world would suffer if it does not heed those admonitions. Sometimes the messages may contain prophecies that have profound worldwide significance.

The second form of spiritualism pervaded the Roman Church in the wake of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (1963-1965). Pope John XXIII prayed for the new Pentecost, and this Vatican II encouraged charismatic gifts. Within two years after Vatican II, speaking in tongues broke out in Catholicism and withing only 10 years the phenomenon had spread to Catholics in almost 100 countries.

c. The False Prophet. It is a truly sad fact that the churches whose roots go back to a mighty religious movement, known as the Protestant Reformation and which claim to be established on the Bible only, have embraced unscriptural teachings such as the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness. Today, these denominations, with very rare exceptions, have witnessed the Pentecostal and charismatic gift of tongues of which we spoke earlier. This modern “speaking in tongues” has nothing to do with the biblical gift of tongues.

The charismatic movement is a mighty force within Christianity today, and not without reason it is called “the third force in Christendom.” When considering its importance, some have compared this mighty movement with the Protestant Reformation and the launching of the apostolic church.

Although Pentecostalism emerged only at the beginning of the twentieth century, by the year 2000 it was estimated to be 300 million strong. Charismatic gifts (speaking in tongues and faith healing) did not appear in mainline Protestant churches until the early 1960s.

Having observed these outstanding spiritualistic phenomena taking place in our lifetime, we may draw two conclusions which have support in the prophetic word. One is that these spurious charismatic gifts promote the union of churches. When churches abandon a biblical platform and experience religious declension they tend to unite on common points of doctrine. Spiritualism, Catholicism, and apostate Protestantism are now gradually joining together because spiritualism performs miracles that have convincing power.

The other conclusion points to the purpose which Satan intends to accomplish when he employs spiritual forces in the end-time. Most of the people who claim to have received these modern spiritual gifts believe that they have experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain, just prior to the second coming of Christ.

Here is the inspired statement penned many decades ago: “Notwithstanding the widespread declension of faith and piety, there are true followers of Christ in these [popular] churches. Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord’s second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God’s special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world.”6

How appropriate, how timely are the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12 calling people out of spiritual Babylon, out of the great confusion that exists among the professing Christians of our days.

Seventh-day Adventists have very early in their history encountered the spiritual manifestations which did not bear the stamp of Heaven. Every time we come across the term “fanaticism” in the writings of Ellen White, we may know that the “power from beneath” was at work.

The first incidence of speaking in tongues and of similar spiritual manifestations was reported already in 1848. Even as late as 1908 Ellen White met with a young couple who came to her residence to inquire whether the spiritual gifts the young lady claimed to have experienced had their source in the Holy Spirit. Ellen White did not provide a definite answer at the time of the interview with that couple. However, she later received a vision regarding that matter, and this is what she wrote at that time to Brother and Sister Mackin: “Your wife, in speech, in song, and in strange exhibitions that are not in accordance with the genuine work of the Holy Spirit, is helping to bring in a phase of fanaticism that would do great injury to the cause of God, if allowed any place in our churches.

“My brother and sister, I have a message for you: you are starting on a false supposition. There is much of self woven into your exhibitions. Satan will come in with bewitching power through these exhibitions. It is high time that you call a halt. If God had given you a special message for His people, you would walk and work in all humility - not as if you were on the stage of a theater, but in the meekness of a follower of the lowly Jesus of Nazareth. You would carry an influence altogether different from that which you have been carrying.”7

It appears that the Mackins soon disappeared from denominational history. However, fanaticism that called forth the counsels remains a challenge facing the church of God in these last days. Thankfully, the inspired counsel given hundred years ago has lost nothing of its force with the passage of time: “You will be exposed to the fallacies of satanic agencies. Fearful waves of fanaticism will come. But God will deliver the people who will earnestly seek the Lord and consecrate themselves to His service.”8

The work of the Holy Spirit has always been and always will be characterized by complete harmony with the sacred Word of God. Further, that work is always free from unhealthy excitement: “Such [spiritualistic] experiences will come to us from time to time. Let us give no place to strange exercisings, which really take the mind away from the deep movings of the Holy Spirit. God’s work is ever characterized by calmness and dignity. We cannot afford to sanction anything that would bring in confusion and weaken our zeal in regard to the great work that God has given us to do in the world to prepare for the second coming of Christ.”9

When it comes to the ministry of healing, the inspired word provides instruction how that work should be carried out in the last days, and why we should not rely on miracles.

“The way in which Christ worked was to preach the Word and to relieve suffering by miraculous works of healing. But I am instructed that we cannot now work in this way, for Satan will exercise his power by working miracles. God’s servants today could not work by means of miracles, because spurious works of healing, claiming to be divine, will be wrought.

For this reason the Lord has marked out a way in which His people are to carry forward a work of physical healing, combined with the teaching of the Word. Sanitariums are to be established, and with these institutions are to be connected workers who will carry forward genuine medical missionary work. Thus a guarding influence is thrown around those who come to the sanitariums for treatment.

This is the provision the Lord has made whereby gospel medical missionary work is to be done for many souls.”10

This is not to say that in the last stage of the conflict of ages the people of God will not receive miracle-working power. When the Holy Spirit comes upon the saints in the power of the latter rain, they will be able to perform mighty miracles. But this will take place only during the closing scenes of this earth’s history, and that period of time will not last very long.

Miracles have not always accompanied the work of many of the great servants of God. One of them was John the Baptist. John, whose ministry was predicted through the prophecy of the “coming of Elijah” and whose work, in turn, represents the work of God’s people in our days, did not perform any miracles. Yet, speaking of him, Christ said: “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist” (Luke 7:28).

Jesus Himself, although He performed many miracles, did not consider the ability to perform miracles a true sign of discipleship. He even said this: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22, 23). What distinguishes the true followers of Jesus from those who only make pretension is faithfulness to His teachings, in the keeping of God’s commandments: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (verse 21).

True disciples of Jesus in the last days are identified in this way: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).

A nobleman from Galilee had a son who was terminally ill and for whom there was no hope of recovery. The nobleman heard about Jesus, and in his desperation he came to Him hoping that Christ would heal his child. However, this nobleman’s faith struggled: “His faith faltered when he saw only a plainly dressed man, dusty and worn with travel. He doubted that this Person could do what he had come to ask of Him.”11 In his mind, the father made his acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah conditional upon the successful healing of his child. Christ, reading the father’s mind, said: “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (John 4:48). Yes, signs and wonders - the father asked for miracles. However, please note the following thought: “Yet the nobleman had a degree of faith.”12

The words of Jesus pierced through the nobleman’s mind and heart. He realized his own selfishness and the ability of Jesus to read his thoughts. In agony, he pleaded with Christ: “Sir, come down ere my child die” (verse 49). His faith took hold upon Christ. “The Saviour cannot withdraw from the soul that clings to Him, pleading its great need. ‘Go thy way,’ He said; ‘thy son liveth.’ The nobleman left the Saviour’s presence with a peace and joy he had never known before.”13

From this story we can learn valuable lessons. Miracles could awaken faith only in those who already have a degree of faith and disposition to listen to God. No miracle, no matter how great, will generate faith in the heart of those who have not received the love for the truth. The resurrection of Lazarus, recorded in John 11, is a good example in that regard.

In the end-time conflict between the forces of light and the powers of darkness, miracles will be an increasingly deceptive tactic of the enemy of souls.

God admonishes and instructs His people how to maintain their purity and discernment: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15).

That “garment” is identified in Revelation 19:8 as the righteousness of saints.

What the people of God need in order to stand are not miracles but the righteousness of Christ as revealed in His holy Word and mediated through the power of the Holy Spirit. The deceiver’s days are numbered and God’s faithful will be victorious.

May we today be clothed in white linen, never doubting and asking for miracles, but trusting in the One who is the greatest Miracle of all! Amen.