SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS ON BIBLICAL MIRACLES

SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS ON BIBLICAL MIRACLES

Virgil Warren, PhD

     I.  Types of Occurrences: divine miracle, demonic miracle, answered prayer, psychological,

                                                magic

   II.  Characteristics of Biblical Miracle

         A.  Many: vs. occasional

         B.  Immediate: vs. taking place over a period of hours, days, or months as perhaps in

                                         natural healing

         C.  Always successful: vs. occasional success as perhaps something merely unusual

         D.  Varied: vs. just certain kinds of things that might be more easily faked or misread

               1.  healing all kinds of diseases and deformities: Acts 5:16

               2.  nature miracles: stilling the tempest (Matthew 8:23-27)

               3.  exorcisms of demons

               4.  foreknowledge (across time): Luke 22:7-13

               5.  from a distance (across space): Matthew 8:5-13

               6.  special miracles: by way of objects carried from the person (Acts 19:11)

               7.  not dependent on the faith of the one affected: Malchus (John 18:10-11)

         E.   Permanent: vs. something that “wore off” as perhaps with psychological effects

         F.   Beneficial: not harmful or detrimental to the persons involved

                                  Note, however, cases where miracles were used to curb evil and opposition.

         G.  Positive: not sheer demonstration of supposed supernatural power (levitation, bending

                                    objects, swallowing razor blades, eating fire, etc.)

                               sometimes without contact

         H.  Secondary: vs. the center of the miracle worker’s activity

                                    secondary to proclamation of a message

           I.  Purposeful: vs. entertainment

                                    to prove the claim of the miracle worker;

                                    to increase faith in the one benefitted

          J.  Extreme: obviously not by natural cause

                                blind from birth, lame from birth, resurrection, leprosy

         K.  Simple: merely with a word, not an elaborate process that involved agonizing to create

                                    the effect (as in elaborate exorcisms; Matthew 8:16; Lk. 7:7)

          L.  Altruistic: free vs. done for the benefit of the miracle worker—for money, fame, etc.

                                    Perhaps not even done on Christians: Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20) and

                                    Epaphroditus (Philippians. 2:25-27) (?)

         M. Public: vs. known by rumor

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