General Articles

All Types of Miracles :: By Dale V. Nobbman

Published on: by RR10

There are all kinds of miracles, beginning way back with the creation of all things, which is outlined for us in the Biblical book of Genesis.  Then there are the other many miracles found in the Old Testament of the Bible, followed by the miracles in the New Testament of the Bible, primarily focusing on the miracles performed by Jesus Christ.

Since Biblical times, there have been what I refer to as modern miracles over the centuries right up to the present day.  Finally, there are miracles mentioned in the Bible which are yet to take place.

Do you believe in miracles?  Miracles come in all forms and sizes, and most often occur unexpectedly.  Let’s look at the different types of miracles and some of the best-known big miracles as found in the Bible.

But first, as I have said before, when asking A-I (artificial intelligence) for answers to questions, you must use great discernment in separating correct information from possible incorrect answers.  A-I is easily confused and sometimes jumbles true and untrue facts together in its answers to the questions posed to it.  But when it comes to the definition of miracles, I found A-I gave excellent factual answers.  However, I would remind everyone the only place to find totally 100% truthful and correct information, including how to accept Jesus as your Savior and lead a Christian life, is found only in the Holy Bible, which is the ‘infallible’ inspired Word of God.

Now, let’s look in detail at what A-I has to say about miracles.

In the context of the Bible and theology, miracles are typically grouped into four distinct types based on the subject of the miracle or the authority being demonstrated:

  1. Miracles Over Nature

These demonstrate absolute authority over the physical world and the laws of science.

  • Examples: Calming a storm, walking on water, turning water into wine, or the sun standing still in the Old Testament.
  • Significance: They reveal the performer as the Creator or Master of the physical universe.
  1. Miracles Over Physical Ailments (Healings)

These involve the supernatural restoration of the human body.

  • Examples: Healing leprosy, restoring sight to the blind, making the paralyzed walk, or curing chronic illnesses.
  • Significance: They demonstrate compassion and the power to reverse the physical effects of a fallen world.
  1. Miracles Over the Spirit Realm (Exorcisms)

These involve authority over demonic forces or spiritual entities.

  • Examples: Casting out “Legion” into a herd of pigs or commanding unclean spirits to leave a person.
  • Significance: They represent a “clash of kingdoms,” showing that divine power is superior to evil spiritual forces.
  1. Miracles Over Death (Resurrections)

Often considered the most powerful type, these involve bringing a dead person back to life.

  • Examples: Jesus raising Lazarus (who had been dead four days), the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the Resurrection of Jesus himself.
  • Significance: They prove authority over the “final enemy,” death itself, and provide hope for an afterlife.

Other Common Classifications:

Miracles of Provision: Specifically focused on multiplying resources, like the feeding of the 5,000 or the jar of oil that never ran dry.

Miracles of Judgment: Occurrences where a miracle causes a negative physical result as a sign of divine displeasure, such as the ten plagues of Egypt or the withering of the fig tree.

In theology, philosophy, and linguistics, the definition of a miracle shifts based on whether the focus is on divine power, natural law, or human perception.

  1. The Theological Definition (Divine Origin)

Theologians define a miracle as a supernatural intervention by God into the natural world.

  • Key Concept: It is a “sign” (semeion) intended to reveal God’s character or confirm a divine message.
  • Source: The power comes from outside the physical universe (God), rather than from hidden natural forces.
  1. The Philosophical Definition (Violation of Laws)

Philosophers, most notably David Hume, define a miracle as a violation of the laws of nature.

  • Key Concept: A law of nature is a regular, observable pattern (like gravity). A miracle is an event where that regularity is broken by a supernatural agent.
  • S. Lewis refined this, calling it an “interference” with nature, suggesting that once the miracle happens, nature “absorbs” it and continues following its own laws.
  1. The Scholastic Definition (Aquinas’ Three Degrees)

St. Thomas Aquinas provided a more clinical definition, focusing on the relationship between the event and the capability of nature:

  • Above Nature: Something nature could never do (e.g., the sun moving backward).
  • Against Nature: Something nature can do, but not in that specific order (e.g., a dead body becoming alive).
  • Beyond Nature: Something nature usually does, but occurring without the typical natural process (e.g., a sudden, instantaneous healing from a flu).
  1. The Linguistic/Etymological Definition (Wonder)

Derived from the Latin miracu/um (“a thing to be wondered at”), this definition focuses on the human reaction.

  • Key Concept: Any event that creates a sense of “wonder” or “awe” because of its extraordinary or unexplained nature.
  1. The “Providential” Definition (Timing)

Sometimes called “coincidence miracles,” these are events that don’t technically break any physical laws but are so statistically improbable and perfectly timed that they are viewed as miraculous.

  • Example: A person running out of gas exactly in front of a gas station when they have no money, only to find a five-dollar bill on the ground.
  1. The Modern/lnformal Definition

In everyday speech, the word is used loosely to describe:

  • Highly Unlikely Success: A “miracle” sports comeback.
  • Natural Beauty: The “miracle” of a sunset or childbirth (which are actually natural, repeatable processes).

The following are some specific examples of Biblical miracles.   I will not go into detail here, but I will list them with the Biblical scripture locations where you can look them up and read in detail.

The creation of all things (Genesis 1:1).  The foundational miracle.

The global flood (Genesis 6-9)

The parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21)

The collapse of Jericho’s walls (Joshua 6)

The sun standing still (Joshua 10:12-14)

Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6)

The Virgin Birth (Luke 1:35) Jesus being born.  God becoming human.

Elijah and the fire on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18)

The feeding of the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:13-21)

Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:25-33)

Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)

Lazarus raised from the dead by Jesus after being dead for four days (John 11)

The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8) Jesus’ divine glory revealed.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:6-7). The cornerstone of the Christian faith.

Many religious leaders consider the miracle of salvation through the spiritual transformation of a person’s heart as the greatest ‘ongoing’ miracle because of its eternal impact.

Other big-time miracles yet to come include the Rapture (I Corinthians 15:51-53), and the New Heaven and the New Earth (Revelation 21:1-22:5).

Until those huge miracles take place, embrace all the day-to-day miracles that come your way.

 

 

 

 

 

Right On Schedule :: By Dennis Huebshman

Published on: by RR10

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, we read, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (ESV). (All emphasis is mine.)

In the very next chapter, we read, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Today, we’re hearing of more and more so-called pastors who are “tweaking” messages that are intended to ensure the audiences leave with a good feeling about their current lifestyles. Never mind that no true Bible backs what they are saying. It came from the persons in the pulpit, so it must be true – right? Just keep the seats and collection plates filled.

Paul’s statement in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 is what we all should strive for. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the Crown of Righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Please understand that there is no one today who is sinless, and this includes even the most “righteous-appearing” people. There has only ever been one sinless human to live on this earth, and He will be the only one all the way to the end of this earth’s existence.

Romans 3:10: “As it is written, none is righteous, no not one.” Going to Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And this is further explained in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”

If we are to boast, then we need to follow Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts, boast in this, that he understands, and knows Me; that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Going to 1 Corinthians 1:31: “so that as it is written, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” This is repeated in 2 Corinthians 10:17-18: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

Our Heavenly Father has provided us His Holy Word through the Holy Spirit-inspired writers. In 2 Peter 1:20-21, we read, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever provided by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

When the Father provides us His inspiring words, they’re all worth taking note of. When He repeats words, we need to take special note of them.

We have a loving, forgiving and merciful Heavenly Father that shows us His patience, as He wants no one to fail. He would love for everyone to receive and accept His Son as their eternal Savior so we are able to reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

God will force no one to receive and accept His Son, Jesus the Christ. It’s a free will choice that every person must make for themselves. Satan and his demons are doing all they can to turn souls away from our Savior. Their eternal destiny is set, as they will be cast into the lake of fire forever, which was created especially for them (Matthew 25:41). They do not have a pathway to forgiveness as humans do.

When our Savior said, “It Is Finished” in John 19:30, He was declaring that the sinless blood offering required by our Heavenly Father was fulfilled once for all sin. His pure blood sacrifice reached back to the beginning of this earth’s creation, and goes all the way forward to the end of this earth’s existence. No longer would the blood of animals be accepted even as a temporary offering for sin.

When He arose that third day, He had conquered sin and death for all who would become a part of His precious flock. As our Savior stated in Matthew 7:13-14, this left only two pathways into eternity: the broad wide path leading to eternal condemnation, and the straight and narrow leading to eternal life.

The steps to be on that straight and narrow path are found in Romans 10:9-13. The hard part that Jesus spoke of is to believe that there is nothing else required for our Salvation. They believe there has to be works or contributions on their part to earn or buy their way into Heaven. They do not realize this is insulting to our Heavenly Father.

Actually, the first step is to admit that we’re all sinners and cannot save ourselves. We must believe that Jesus came to this earth as a human, lived a sinless life, and provided the only sacrifice that could totally cover all our sins. Our Savior was taken back to Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. All who truly call on Him to forgive them and be their eternal Savior will be saved.

Once we have Jesus as our Savior, we will still be subject to sin, and the Father knows this. He has provided a pathway to forgiveness, as found in 1 John 1:8-10: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

We need to strive not to sin, but when, not if, we do, follow the above steps. This does not mean we have a license to just keep on sinning as we did before. Just knowing the pain and agony our Savior went through to give us a pathway to Him should cause us to turn away from habitual sin as much as possible.

The time is approaching when our life on this earth will be over, and either through death or Rapture, we will be with our Savior. We will have new forever immortal bodies, and a mindset like our Jesus, which will not be subject to any sin temptation.

Meanwhile, anyone who has not received and accepted Jesus as their Savior really needs to consider their eternal destination. Once the Rapture takes place, it will become very unpleasant on this earth for any who become a Christian during the Tribulation.

Choosing to become a part of our Savior’s precious flock now would be the most important decision you could ever make. The Father leaves the choice up to you – Choose Wisely!

Shalom!

huebshman46@gmail.com