Bible Questions Answered:
“A couple of my friends say that the
magicians of Moses day could perform miracles, and that someone does
not have to be godly to do such things... how do I answer that?”
Basil/ Croydon, England (United
Kingdom)
Bible Answer:
Bible Text:
I John 3:8 KJV
He that committeth sin is of the
devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose
The Son Of God was manifested, that
He might destroy the works* of the devil.
*Works-Greek: Ergon
(Er-gon): (To work); Toil (As an effort or occupation.) An act:-deed,
labor, work.
The evil one, is
and always has been busy, let this come as no surprise. Christians
may not be, but he is!
The workings of
the devil are manifold:
Tempts individuals
to disobedience and sin.
Genesis 3:4,5
KJV
4 And the serpent said unto the
woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day
ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as
gods, knowing good and evil.
Slanders God's
people.
Job 1:9-11 KJV
9 Then Satan answered The Lord, and
said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?
thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is
increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and
touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Strikes individuals
with disease.
Job 2:7 KJV
So went Satan forth from the
presence of The Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of
his foot unto his crown.
Brings opposition
and hostility against God's people.
Zechariah 3:1
KJV
And he shewed me Joshua the high
priest standing before The Angel Of The Lord, and Satan standing at
his right hand to resist Him.
Steals away the
good seed.
Matthew 13:19
KJV
When any one heareth The Word Of The
Kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and
catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which
received seed by the way side.
Sows tares to choke
out The Word.
Matthew 13:38
KJV
The field is the world; the good
seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children
of the wicked one;
Binds Soul, mind
and, body.
Luke 9:38-42 KJV
38 And, behold, a man of the company
cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he
is mine only child.
39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and
he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and
bruising him hardly departeth from him.
40 And I besought thy disciples to
cast him out; and they could not.
41 And Jesus answering said, O
faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and
suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
42 And as he was yet a coming, the
devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean
spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
Luke 13:16 KJV
And ought not this woman, being a
daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years,
be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
Murderer and Liar.
John 8:44 KJV
Ye are of your father the devil, and
the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in The Truth, because there is no Truth in
him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a
liar, and the father of it.
Causes men to sin.
John 13:2 KJV
And supper being ended, the devil
having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to
betray Him;
Blinds unbelievers
II Corinthians
4:3,4 KJV
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is
hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest The Light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, who is The Image Of God, should shine unto
them.
Deceiver.
II Corinthians
11:13-15 KJV
13 For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of
Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if
his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness;
whose end shall be according to their works.
Performs lying
wonders
II Thessalonians
2:8-12 KJV
8 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:
9 Even him, whose coming is after
the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the
love of The Truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who
believed not The Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Preys upon, hunts
to devour.
I Peter 5:8 KJV
Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour:
In the book of
Exodus, we read of the ten plagues, God put upon Pharaoh and the
Egyptians.
Exodus:
7:14-21 Water into blood.
8:5-6 Frogs
8:16-17 Dust to lice.
8:20-24 Flies
9:3-6 Cattle death by murrain (infectious disease.)
9:8-10 Boils on man and beast.
9:18-26 Hail storm of death, for man and beast.
10:4-15 Locusts, ruined crops, fruit, trees, etc.
10:20-23 Darkness.
12:12,29,30 Death of the 1st born, of men and animals.
Exodus:
7:14-21 Water into blood.
8:5-6 Frogs
8:16-17 Dust to lice.
8:20-24 Flies
9:3-6 Cattle death by murrain (infectious disease.)
9:8-10 Boils on man and beast.
9:18-26 Hail storm of death, for man and beast.
10:4-15 Locusts, ruined crops, fruit, trees, etc.
10:20-23 Darkness.
12:12,29,30 Death of the 1st born, of men and animals.
Pharaoh's magicians
could only perform the first two plagues, water into blood, and
frogs, and then when The Lord cursed them with lice we read.....
Exodus 8:18,19
KJV
18 And the magicians did so with
their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there
were lice upon man, and upon beast.
19 Then the magicians said unto
Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened,
and he hearkened not unto them; as The Lord had said.
Pharaoh's
magicians, were done, they had to quit, they didn't have the power.
Yes the devil has
some demonic power, but he is “not,” God, he and his power is
limited.
He is “not,”
Omnipresent, Omnipotent, nor Omniscient, only God is.
Does Satan have
power to perform miracles, oh yes, but only to subjugate the mind and
souls of unbelieving men and women.
II Thessalonians
2:1-12 NLT
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters,
let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and how we will be gathered to meet Him.
2 Don’t be so easily shaken or
alarmed by those who say that the day of The Lord has already begun.
Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual
vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.
3 Don’t be fooled by what they
say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion
against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who
brings destruction.
4 He will exalt himself and defy
everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will
even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
5 Don’t you remember that I told
you about all this when I was with you?
6 And you know what is holding him
back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.
7 For this lawlessness is already at
work secretly, and it will remain secret until The One who is holding
it back steps out of the way.
8 Then the man of lawlessness will
be revealed, but The Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of His
mouth and destroy him by the splendor of His coming.
9 This man will come to do the work
of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
10 He will use every kind of evil
deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they
refuse to love and accept The Truth that would save them.
11 So God will cause them to be
greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.
12 Then they will be condemned for
enjoying evil rather than believing The Truth.
