Understanding Signs, Wonders and

Miracles
A. Defining our Terms
1. Signs (say-mi'-on): a sign (typically miraculous), given especially to confirm,
corroborate or authenticate it is used dozens of times in the NT for what authenticates the Lord
and His eternal purpose, especially by doing what mere man cannot replicate of take credit for.
[Strong's Greek 4592; 77 Occurrences]

2. Wonders (ter'-as): a miraculous wonder, done to elicit a reaction from onlookers;

an extraordinary event with its supernatural effect left on all witnessing it, i.e. a portent from
heaven to earth. [Strong's Greek 5059; 16 Occurrences]

3. Miracles (doo'-nam-is): (miraculous) power, might, strength. [Strong's Greek

1411; 120 Occurrences]

These terms seem to be used synonymously, and logically that makes sense. A miracle is something that
happens which is contrary to natural law. It is naturally going to communicate wonder, but it may not be a
specific sign of anything other than the fact that we have an omnipotent God who can do anything that He
wants, whenever He wants. However, the term sign is not always used of events that are supernatural. Often
they can be referring to other things as well, like the phylacteries worn by devout Jews. So while signs vary in
their exhibition, wonders and miracles focus specifically on the supernatural. The major contrast is that a
sign has a specific message that God intends for it to communicate, while wonders and miracles are the
workings of God, with or without a specific message. So what makes an event a sign?

B. Common Examples of a Sign

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

How many signs can you identify?

 Are there any signs that you arent sure of their meaning?

How is it that you know the meaning of the sign?

C. The Truth about Signs

1. We understand what a sign means when we come across it because we have been told what it
would mean beforehand. If the sign is distorted, or something is not clear in the message that
it is supposed to convey, or if the one who encounters the sign has never been taught its
meaning, then the sign would seem foolish and without purpose.

2. The message communicated by a sign is more important than the sign itself.

D. Signs from God to All Mankind

In Gods dealing with men, He has occasionally given signs to communicate a message. In every case,
He has explained what the meaning of the sign was beforehand. Most of these signs were foretold by
the prophets in the Old Testament which explains Pauls statement in 1 Corinthians 1:22, For indeed
Jews ask for signs .. Being Gods chosen people and the ones through whom He brought forth His
Word, it is only natural that they be the recipients of the teaching He would have regarding signs.

There are, however, some notable signs that God gave to all mankind. For example,

The Stars in Heaven:

Genesis 1:14 Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to
separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days
and years

2 Kings 20:8-11

Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I
shall go up to the house of the LORD the third day? Isaiah said, This shall be the sign to
you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow
go forward ten steps or go back ten steps? So Hezekiah answered, It is easy for the
shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps. Isaiah the
prophet cried to the LORD, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by
which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
 Matthew 2:1-2, 9

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi
from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the
Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him. After hearing
the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on
before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.

The Rainbow

Genesis 9:12-17 God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between
Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My
bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall
come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will
remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and
never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud,
then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living
creature of all flesh that is on the earth. And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the
covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.

E. Signs to the Jewish Nation

Still, the vast majority of signs in the scripture involved the Jewish nation either as the recipients of
those signs or the ones through whom God delivered His warnings to non-Jewish nations. They
served many purposes and the way in which their message was communicated was diverse. In every
case, however, the message God intended to communicate through them was clearly given ahead of
time for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear.

1. Examples of Signs to Israel in the OT

Genesis 17:11 Circumcision performed as a sign of Gods covenant with Abraham

Exodus 4:1ff Signs performed by Moses to validate his being sent by God

Exodus 31:13 Sabbaths that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

Judges 6:36-40 Gideons fleece that You will deliver Israel through me.

1 Samuel 2:34ff Elis sons die the same day a sign of God raising up a new priest

These are just a few examples. There are many, many more in the Old Testament. Some were
prophecies that were fulfilled by great miracles; others were more of a prescribed practice that served
as a reminder of a message that God did not want His people to forget; and still others were simply a
promise of certain upcoming events. In any case, once the sign and its message were fulfilled, the sign
did not continue to be given except in those situations where God wanted it to be continued. In those
cases (such as the rainbow or circumcision) the sign was not what one would call miraculous.
 2. Examples of Signs to Israel in the NT
The Sign for the Shepherds at Messiahs Birth

Luke 2:12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and
lying in a manger.

Jesus Verification as the Messiah

John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe; the works
that I do in My Fathers name, these testify of Me.

Certain Spiritual gifts were given as sign gifts

1 Corinthians 14:22 So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to
unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe.
(Though these gifts were for a sign, they also served a functional purpose for the early
church in their exercise. Also, even though the gifts of tongues and prophecy are the only
two gifts specifically called sign gifts in the new testament, it is the authors belief that
there were other gifts that served as sign gifts as well. More on this later).

The Signs of a True Apostle

2 Corinthians 12:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with
all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. (There was something unique
about the signs, wonders and miracles practiced by the Apostles that distinguished them
from everyone else. What do you think it was?)

F. The Problem of False Signs

At this point I must say that I am hard-pressed to find an instance in scripture of a miracle that was
not also a sign. I guess that every act of God carries with it some kind of message. In my heart, I want
to leave room for the miracles that are often attested to by credible sources of Gods workings
throughout the world. Yet I want to be very careful not to attribute to Him things that contradict His
Word or betray a shallow understanding of His stated purposes, for it is clear that there have also
been false signs, wonders and miracles. Unfortunately, has been neglected a neglected truth by the
Church in recent years. Many have desired supernatural experiences to bolster their faith and have
mis-interpreted scripture or been mis-led by others to justify their quest for a particular experience.
Good exegesis of God's Word has been set aside and has been replaced by Biblical research based on a
pretext. That is to say that they establish a doctrine first and then go into Gods Word to
find passages that can be used to support their belief, rather than drawing their
beliefs from a study of the Word.
The importance of this truth was not lost on Jesus as He spoke to His disciples: false Christs and
false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the
elect" (Matt. 24:24).

Jesus also told us that, in the judgment day, many would say to Him, "Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many
miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness" (Matt. 7:22-23).

His words seem to echo the admonition given by God in Deuteronomy 13:1-2: If a prophet or a
dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder
comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go after other gods (whom you have not
known) and let us serve them, 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of
dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your
heart and with all your soul.

So then, in lieu of the seriousness of this subject, I would offer the following

FOUR CRITERIA
For Determining True Signs, Wonders and Miracles
from God.
1. It is undeniable in every way that the miracle came from God. It could
not be the result of trickery, deception or human manufacturing.
John 3:2; 9:16; Matt. 11:20-24; Ex. 8:16-19

2. It lines up with the stated purposes in Gods Word. It doesnt try to

take a new twist on the message that God intended a particular sign to
give. Deut. 13:1-2

3. It doesnt contradict sound reasoning. Mark 3:22-26

4. The lifestyle and doctrine of the person through whom the miracle is
given line up with Gods truths.