Miracles

The scientific worldview seeks to find a natural explanation for all phenomena. There must be an explanation for how an event occurs. This is the prevalent view of education and permeates
every aspect of our world. Every form of secular media: Movies, children’s cartoons, public television, books, etc. tend to follow this view.

As a child I was fascinated by dinosaurs. I see that same interest in my grandchildren. This opens the door for indoctrination in evolutionary thought. Even with materials from groups like Creation Research is not enough to balance the influence from museums, public television, etc. The scientific world view regarding creation is simply that there is a natural explanation. This view entered theology as the Gap Theory.

The Gap Theory (or Ruin-Reconstruction Theory) proposes a vast time gap between Genesis 1:1 (“In the beginning God created…”) and Genesis 1:2 (“Now the earth was formless and void”), suggesting God created an initial world with prehistoric life, which was destroyed by a cataclysm (often linked to Satan’s fall) before God re-created Earth in the six literal days described in Genesis. This theory attempts to reconcile the Bible’s creation account with
scientific evidence for an old Earth by placing the geological ages and fossils within this gap. (AIG, 2025) This is a component of theistic evolution that denies a literal seven-day creation, understanding a day as period of time or epoch. Some form of that view is held by about half of Christians in America and a larger number in European nations. (Wilson, 2010)

In his book, The Miracles Answer Book, Lee Stobel quotes results from Barna Research regarding the belief in miracles. Only half of Americans surveyed believed that the miracles in
the Bible occurred as they are described. That number drops to 40% for millennials. “The biggest reasons turned out to be a lack of belief in the supernatural (44 percent) and the contention that modern science has ruled out the possibility of miracles” (Strobel, 2019)

Thomas Jefferson, a founding father of the United States, was a deist, not a Christian. He
worked for over twenty years creating a book that is often called the Jefferson Bible, though he
never called his work by that name.

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth was completed in 1820 by cutting and pasting, with a
razor and glue, numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of
Jesus. Jefferson’s condensed composition excludes all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural, including sections of the four gospels that contain the Resurrection and most
other miracles, and passages that portray Jesus as divine. (Various, 2025)

If you are reading this and struggle with believing the miracles of the Bible, you are not alone.
The primary goal of this series to help you understand the purpose of miracles in the Bible.
Perhaps through this study you will begin to doubt your doubts.

The word δύναμις is the term usually used for miracles. It indicates a work or deed that is the result of power, ability, or strength – usually of God or granted by God.

Miracles then are a “supernatural intervention” with results that are typically unlikely or even impossible. Unbelievers often attribute the unlikely results as “coincidence”.

After a teacher attempted to explain away a miraculous answer to prayer, a student responded, “All I know is that coincidences happen more often when we pray.”

Unable to explain away the impossible, they are simply denied.

The word teras is used 15 times in the New Testament and always translated “wonders.”  Only once does it appear alone, in Acts 2:19 quoting the prophet Joel.  Every other occurrence is included with signs and/or miracles.  A wonder is an event that cannot be explained by natural causes.

This is another way of saying “a miracle”.

Signs refer to the purpose of the miracle.  The phrase “signs and wonders” appears twenty-nine times in the New Testament and thirty times in the Old Testament.  It is possible that many of these could be understood as a hendiadys (one by two), that is two words used in conjunction to describe a single thing, event, or attribute. (Bullinger, 1979)

Another example of a hendiadys is from Solomon’s building of the Temple, “even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house that I am about to build will be great and wonderful.” 2 Chronicles 2:9   The sense is, “wonderfully great,” or “great, yes — and wonderfully great too.”

This is a common Hebrew idiom also found in the New Testament.  So then, signs and wonders together may be understood as “signs that are also miracles,” or “miraculous signs.”  Whether together or separate, the impact of these words is the same.

The first miracle of Christ was at the wedding at Cana. (John 2:1-12)

This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. (John 2:11 KJV)

The word translated “miracle” here is σημεῖον. The KJV translates it miracle here and thirteen other times. It is translated as “sign” over one hundred times.  The NASB translates it as “sign” in here in John 2:11 in all miracles in John.