When seeing isn’t believing

“I’ll believe it when  I see it.”

That’s a phrase that is commonly used when we find something hard to believe. 

Whenever there’s a typhoon warning for Nishinomiya (the city where I live), that’s my usual response. 

Why?  Because typhoons almost never come there.  A typhoon in Nishinomiya generally means a semi-strong breeze (maybe) and a light to heavy rain.

Now if I were living, say, in Wakayama (a place near Osaka) or Okinawa which often get hit by typhoons, I’d be less skeptical. 

But as it is, I can’t figure out why people in my area get so worked up about typhoon warnings.

When it comes to faith, there are people that say, “I’ll believe it’s true if I can have some physical evidence.” 

“Doubting” Thomas was that way.

But there are times when seeing isn’t believing. 

Moses points out an example of this in Deuteronomy 13. 

He said,

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)

I can’t help but wonder if Moses was thinking about the Egyptian magicians as he said this. 

When Moses was trying to convince Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go, he performed miraculous signs from God, but Pharaoh’s magicians were able to imitate some of those signs and wonders.

And so Moses points out here that God is not the only spiritual being with supernatural powers.  Satan and the demons do too. 

Because of this, when we see a miraculous sign or wonder, we are not to just automatically assume it comes from God.  We need to ask ourselves where this miracle came from. 

Did it come from God?  Or did it come from Satan? 

There is no other option available to us. 

We can’t say it’s some kind of “force” or “spiritual principle” that causes the miracle.  It either comes from God, or it comes from Satan.

How are we to tell the difference between the two? 

The key is found in verse 2.  If the person performing the miracle is preaching false gods, then their power is coming from Satan. 

Or if the person performing the miracle is preaching something contrary to the word of God, their power is coming from Satan. 

If they’re preaching something God has forbidden, their power is coming from Satan.

The day is coming when the Antichrist will come.  And great signs and wonders will be performed that will amaze the people.  (Revelation 13:11-14; Matthew 24:24) 

But it will be through Satan’s power that these miracles will happen, not God’s.  And because the people see these miracles, many will believe and be deceived.

So what do we do? 

Don’t just look at the miracle, but ask yourself:

“What are they teaching?  Is what they are teaching coming from God’s word?  Or does it contradict God’s word? 

“Is it based solely on God’s word?  Or is it taking things from other religions too?”

It worries me when I see Christians pointing at the miracles of groups like Soka Gakkai (a Buddhist sect) or yoga, and saying we can use the same “principles” as they do to perform miracles. 

Yes, miracles do happen in these groups or with these practices.  The question is, where is their power coming from? 

Is it really from a “spiritual principle?” 

Or is the principle itself derived from the power of Satan himself?

Seeing isn’t always believing.  So as Paul wrote,

Test everything.  Hold on to the good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)