ARE TODAY'S HEALERS FROM GOD?
Can people still be healed by today’s “healers?” You decide. Whether or not spontaneous healing by a healer still exists has been a touchy subject as long as I can remember. I only know what I have gleaned from the Bible. I put no stock in what I see on television.
I'll start with an explanation as to who are the Apostles. They are the ones given the power of healing by Jesus himself. There were originally twelve of them who followed Jesus. Judas committed suicide from the guilt he was left with after Satan’s demons left him. He had served their purpose of betraying Jesus which would result in his beating and death. A man named Matthias took Judas's place as a disciple. Paul was later grafted in when he was specially chosen by Jesus to spread the gospel and start churches. The Apostles were also called Disciples. They were the chosen ones who were students and friends of Jesus who left everything for him. They failed their lessons many times but Jesus never gave up on them and they never gave up on Jesus – except Judas, of course. We true Christians are now called disciples or saints.
When the Apostles were given the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they were also given the gifts of healing, casting out demons, speaking in tongues or foreign languages (in order to spread the gospel to other lands) and so on. They were able to pass the gift of healing on to others, such as Barnabas. Barnabas played a key role in starting churches and spreading the gospel. He was a companion of Paul’s on Paul’s first missionary journey. Silas was another “disciple” who helped start churches and spread the gospel but he was never given the gift of healing. The whole purpose of healing was to prove to others that Jesus was and is who he said he is.
The signs and wonders performed by the Apostles were necessary to start churches. People would have been slow to believe without them. In this new beginning, there was no New Testament, no record of prophecies fulfilled or of Jesus’s life, teachings and miracles. It was up to the Apostles and followers (disciples) to start churches. There is no record of the gift of performing miracles being passed on after the ones given this power through an Apostle.
There is a record of aprons and handkerchiefs which touched Paul being taken to sick and demon-possessed people. (Oral Roberts turned this idea into a money-making scheme.) Some Jews, including seven sons of a Jewish priest (did not believe in Jesus), capitalized on this response by people wanting to be healed. They used the name of Jesus to try to summon his spirit in order to cast out demons. They were false disciples or prophets and they were beaten for their fraudulent actions. The bad was turned to good when many Jews became afraid because of what the man who had the evil spirit did to the seven sons. Those Jews converted to Christianity and the gospel message grew in power. See Acts 19:11-20:
It is possible for false “prophets” to reproduce some miracles through trickery or with Satan’s help. Consider the ten plagues that occurred in Egypt when Moses tried to lead the people out of slavery in that country. But first Pharoah asked Moses to perform a miracle, Moses told his brother, Aaron to throw down his staff and it would become a snake. Here is what followed, found in Exodus 7:"11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power."
"11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs."
The first plague happened when the drinking water of the Nile turned to blood. The second was the plague of frogs everywhere in Egypt. The magicians were able to use their secret arts to reproduce both plagues, but with the third plague, gnats, the magicians could not repeat it. They had to admit to Pharoah, "This is the finger of God."
So, this shows you that miracles can be reproduced through fakery of different sorts. It has happened in the past, it is happening in the present, and it will happen again in the future. See Revelation 13:
"11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666."
See also Revelation 16. Demonic spirits performed signs:
"12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty."
"16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon."
Back a few chapters to Revelation 11. Two witnesses perform miracles demonstrating God’s power:
"3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."
My summation is to judge "healers" and others according to their fruits, be discerning, be wise. Be true to God. Too often people see only the display, the performance, and they hear only the persuasive speech and get caught up in their excitement. One of my now deceased sisters gave a lot of her assets to such a preacher. When I asked if he ever presented members of the church with a financial statement of income and expenses, she said “No.” But he showed videos of where he had traveled on mission trips.
Without any Biblical proof, I would venture to say that the devil sends his most powerful demons to work on preachers, evangelists, and anyone else in a successful ministry, or with a popular talent. This also includes those who live lives dedicated to the Lord. They live the Bible and are messengers and examples to others.
The devil doesn’t have to bother with people outside of the church or even lukewarm Christians. Those in the present day and in the future who don’t know the Bible are in big trouble when it comes to making choices as to who and what to believe. Don't just live for the day. Live as if your eternity depends on it, because it does.
