Are the Miracles Demonic?¶

The objection¶

The argument is older than the modern debate, and it is not stupid. It runs like this:

Satan can work signs and wonders. Scripture says the lawless one comes with "all power and false signs and wonders" (2 Thessalonians 2:9), and that false christs and false prophets "show great signs and wonders" (Matthew 24:24). The magicians of Egypt copied Moses' signs (Exodus 7-8). Simon Magus amazed Samaria with his magic (Acts 8:9-11). If the gifts have ceased, then whatever is happening in these meetings is either fraud or a demonic imitation — and the fruit suggests the latter.

This is a serious argument from a serious concern. It deserves a serious answer, not a dismissal. The answer has four parts: what Scripture actually says about counterfeits, what tests it gives, what Jesus said about the accusation, and what the evidence of the fruit actually is.

What Scripture says about counterfeits¶

The premise is true: counterfeit signs exist. Scripture is candid about it.

The magicians of Egypt reproduced the first signs of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 7:11-12, 22; 8:7), until they could not reproduce the gnats and said, "This is the finger of God" (Exodus 8:19).
Simon Magus had practised magic in Samaria and was called "the great power of God" (Acts 8:9-11). He believed and was baptised, and then tried to buy the gift (Acts 8:13, 18-24).
The slave girl at Philippi had "a spirit of divination" and told the truth about Paul and Silas (Acts 16:16-18).
False prophets and false christs will perform signs (Matthew 24:24).
The lawless one will come with false signs and wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
The beast of Revelation works great signs (Revelation 13:13-14).

So the continuationist cannot say "all supernatural power is God's." That would be unbiblical. The question is not whether counterfeits exist. It is whether every claim is a counterfeit, and by what test we tell.

The four tests Scripture gives¶

Scripture does not leave the church without criteria. It gives at least four.

1. The doctrinal test. "No one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says 'Jesus is accursed!' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3). "Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God" (1 John 4:3). The question is what the spirit says about Christ — his identity, his incarnation, his lordship.

2. The gospel test. "Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). A sign that leads away from the apostolic gospel is false, however impressive.

3. The obedience test. "If a prophet arises among you... and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder comes to pass, and he says, 'Let us go after other gods'... you shall not listen to that prophet" (Deuteronomy 13:1-3). The sign can be real and the prophet false, and the test is where he leads.

4. The fruit test. "You will recognise them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16, 20). Not the size of the crowd or the beauty of the music: the character, the doctrine, the money, the family, the victims.

Notice what is not on the list: "the vessel later fell," "the movement is strange," "the meeting was emotional." Those may be reasons for caution, and they may be evidence of fraud. They are not the biblical test of whether a power is from God.

The Pharisees' error¶

There is a warning in the Gospels that ought to make every Christian cautious about this accusation.

Jesus healed a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute. The crowds were amazed. The Pharisees said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons" (Matthew 12:24). Jesus answered:

"Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste... If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?... But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:25-28, ESV)

And then the warning: "Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven... either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).

The Pharisees were looking at a real healing, performed by the Spirit of God, and calling it demonic. Jesus calls that blasphemy against the Spirit. The warning is not a ban on discernment — Jesus himself tells us to test the spirits. It is a warning about the direction of the accusation. To call the work of God the work of Satan is a more dangerous error than to be wrong about a gift.

This does not mean that every claim is beyond criticism. It means that the accusation "demonic" must be made on the basis of the tests, with evidence, and with fear — not as a shortcut to make the question go away.

A house divided¶

Jesus' own logic applies to the movements under discussion. If the healings, deliverances, and conversions in a meeting are Satan's work, then Satan is casting out Satan, and his kingdom is divided. But what actually happens in these meetings, when they are good?

People confess Jesus as Lord.
People turn from sin, sometimes dramatically.
Marriages are restored; addicts are freed; the poor are cared for.
The Scriptures are read and preached.
The sick are prayed for, and some are healed.

A movement that produces allegiance to Jesus, repentance, holiness, and care for the poor is not obviously a Satanic operation. It may be mixed. It may be manipulative. It may contain fraud. But "a house divided against itself cannot stand" is a real test, and it cuts against the blanket attribution.

The unfalsifiability problem¶

There is also a logical problem. As usually deployed, "it is demonic" explains every possible outcome:

If the healing is real, it is a demonic counterfeit.
If the healing fails, it is a demonic deception exposed.
If the prophet is holy, it is a demonic delusion.
If the prophet falls, it is a demonic fruit.

A hypothesis that explains every outcome equally explains nothing. It cannot be tested, and it cannot be wrong. That is not discernment; it is a way of avoiding discernment.

The biblical tests, by contrast, can be applied and can yield a verdict. A spirit that denies the incarnation fails the doctrinal test. A ministry that fleeces the poor fails the fruit test. A prophecy that fails and is not repented of fails the truth test. Those are real judgments, and they are sometimes negative.

The pastoral stakes¶

There is a human cost to the blanket accusation. Imagine a woman who has been prayed for and whose chronic pain lifts. She is not sophisticated theologically. She knows only that she can work again, hold her children again, sleep again. If the first thing she hears from the church is that her healing was from the devil, what have you done to her? You have taught her that the relief she received is forbidden, and you have put her in the position of the Pharisees' hearers, unable to thank God for what he has done.

The right response is the one Scripture commands: test everything, hold fast what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Some claims will fail the test. Say so, with evidence, and with grief. But do not call the whole harvest weeds before the harvest.

What this does and does not prove¶

It proves: that counterfeit signs are real; that the church must test; that some claims may be demonic; and that the blanket attribution is unbiblical, illogical, and pastorally dangerous.

It does not prove: that every claim is genuine, that demonic activity is rare, or that discernment is unnecessary. It proves that "demonic" is a verdict that must be earned by the tests, not a label applied to a whole movement.