The Purpose of Signs and Wonders
Timothy Raffety August 2008
SIGN, n. [L. signum; Gr. deicnumt.]
1. A token; something by which another thing is shown or represented; any visible thing, any motion, appearance or event which indicates the existence or approach of something else. Thus we speak of signs of fair weather or of a storm, and of external marks which are signs of a good constitution.
2. A motion, action, nod or gesture indicating a wish or command. They made signs to his father, how he would have him called. Luke 1.
3. A wonder; a miracle; a prodigy; a remarkable transaction, event or phenomenon. Through mighty signs and wonders. Rom 15. Luke 11.
4. Some visible transaction, event or appearance intended as proof or evidence of something else; hence; proof; evidence by sight. Gideon in Judges 6.
WONDER, n. [G., Gr., to show; and hence a sight; a panic.]
1. That emotion which is excited by novelty, or the presentation to the sight or mind, of something new, unusual, strange, great, extraordinary, or not well understood; something that arrests the attention by its novelty, grandeur or inexplicableness. Wonder expresses less than astonishment, and much less than amazement. It differs from admiration, in not being necessarily accompanied with love, esteem or approbation, nor directed to persons. But wonder sometimes is nearly allied to astonishment, and the exact extent of the meaning of such words can hardly be graduated.
They were filled with wonder and amazement. Acts 3.
Are they given by God for a testimony of his will and purpose or by the request of men to build faith or knowledge?
We begin to get some insights from the following scriptures where it is prophesied in the Book of Mormon about Jesus’ birth and death:
[Helaman 5:54] And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which can not be written.
[Helaman 5:55] And behold, he said unto them, Behold, I give unto you a sign: for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.
[Helaman 5:56] And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh, there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day;
[Helaman 5:57] Therefore there shall be one day and a night, and a day, as if it were one day, and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun, and also of its setting;
[Helaman 5:58] Therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.
[Helaman 5:59] And behold there shall be a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.
[Helaman 5:60] And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.
Here we also have the signs for-telling the death of Christ also.
[Helaman 5:75] But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death, the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon, and the stars;
[Helaman 5:76] And there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead;
[Helaman 5:77] Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost, there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble, and the rocks which are upon the face of the earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time is solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up;
[Helaman 5:78] Yea they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth; yea, both above the earth and beneath.
[Helaman 5:79] And behold there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places, which are now called valleys, which shall become mountains, whose height thereof is great.
[Helaman 5:80] And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate, and many graves shall be opened and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many.
[Helaman 5:81] And behold thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said unto me, that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours;
[Helaman 5:82] And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted, and the tempest, that these things should be, and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth, for the space of three days.
[Helaman 5:83] And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things than these, to the intent that they might believe that these signs and these wonders should come to pass, upon all the face of this land; to the intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the children of men;
[3 Nephi 4:4-5]
…the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite; Yea, for the time that there should be darkness for the space of three days, over the face of the land. And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the people, notwithstanding so many signs had been given.
In the above scriptures we see that Samuel, the Lamanite prophesied of the signs and wonders to stand as a testimony from God of the birth and death of Jesus Christ. But even with these great signs and wonders the people had great doubts and disputations.
[Sec 63:2c]
And he
that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation.
[Sec 63:3a] Verily, I say unto you, There are those among you who seek
signs,
and there have been such even from the beginning, but, behold, faith
cometh
not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.
[Sec 63:3b] Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men, nor
as they
please, but by the will of God.
[Sec 63:3c] Yea, signs come by faith, unto mighty works, for
without faith
no man pleaseth God: and with whom God is angry he is not well pleased:
wherefore, unto such he showeth no signs, only in wrath unto their
condemnation.
[Sec 63:4a] Wherefore, I, the Lord, am not pleased with those among
you, who
have sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of
men unto
my glory; nevertheless, I gave commandments and many have turned
away from
my commandments and have not kept them.
[2 Thessalonians 2:9] Yea, the Lord, even Jesus, whose coming is
not
until after there cometh a falling away, by the working of Satan
with all
power, and signs and lying wonders,
[2 Thessalonians 2:10] And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in
them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth,
that
they might be saved.
[2 Thessalonians 2:11] And for this cause God shall send them
strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie;
[2 Thessalonians 2:12] That they all might be damned who believed
not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
And I said unto him, Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea. And I said unto him, Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ. And this is not all: it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; Wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made, all mankind must be lost. And it came to pass that he said unto me, Shew me a sign by this power of the Holy Ghost, in the which ye know so much. And I said unto him, What am I, that I should tempt God to shew unto thee a sign, in the thing which thou knowest to be true? Yet, thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the devil. Nevertheless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come. And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine. And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the earth. [Jacob 5:16-27]
Korihor asks for a sign. Alma testifies that the scriptures are enough for a testimony and a sign.
And now Korihor said unto Alma, If thou wilt shew me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, shew unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words. But Alma said unto him, Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Shew unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion; Yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form, doth witness that there is a Supreme Creator: and yet do ye go about, leading away the hearts of this people, testifying unto them there is no God? And yet will ye deny against all these witnesses? And he said, Yea, I will deny, except ye shall shew me a sign. And now it came to pass that Alma said unto him, Behold, I am grieved because of the hardness of your heart; yea, that ye will still resist the spirit of the truth, that thy soul may be destroyed. But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost, than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction, by thy lying, and by thy flattering words; Therefore if thou shalt deny again, behold, God shall smite thee, that thou shalt become dumb, that thou shalt never open thy mouth any more, that thou shalt not deceive this people any more. Now Korihor said unto him, I do not deny the existence of a God, but I do not believe that there is a God; and I say also, that ye do not know that there is a God; and except ye shew me a sign, I will not believe. Now Alma said unto him, This will I give unto thee for a sign, that thou shalt be struck dumb, according to my words; and I say, that in the name of God, ye shall be struck dumb, that ye shall no more have utterance. Now when Alma had said these words, Korihor was struck dumb, that he could not have utterance according to the words of Alma. [Alma 16:52-62]
In the above two examples we see the deadly end result of two men who required of God a sign.
Gideon asked the Lord for a sign to confirm what he had already said and was granted his request.
[Judges 6:36]
And Gideon
said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast
said,
[Judges 6:37] Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and
if the
dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth besides,
then shall
I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
[Judges 6:38] And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and
thrust the
fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of
water.
[Judges 6:39] And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot
against me,
and I will speak but this once; let me prove, I pray thee, but this
once with
the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the
ground let
there be dew.
[Judges 6:40] And God did so that night; for it was dry upon the fleece
only;
and there was dew on all the ground.
Gideon was exercising faith because he was granted the signs by the Lord. His faith was also noted in Hebrews 11:32. Also he was not basing his decision on the signs but making sure he understood God. In other words he was looking for, and received, that "second and third witness" to establish God's Word (2 Corinthians 1).
There are many now days that are seeking for signs to direct what they should do or that this idea or another is the truth.
I know of a person who saw a bird flying down the road ahead of them and that confirmed to them that they were to join the Remnant Church.
Those seeking the signs and wonders should consider the following scripture that instructs us where we are to look for instruction – “the scriptures are laid before thee”:
[Alma 16:53-54] …Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Shew unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee…
We are also warned that false Christs and false prophets can give signs and wonders.
[Mat 24:22] And again, after the tribulation of those days which shall come upon Jerusalem if any man shall say unto you Lo! here is Christ, or there; believe him not,
[Mat 24:23] For in those days, there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant.
From the following scripture we see that the Gentiles (us) are to be converted through the preaching (writing) of the House of Israel . In other words all the signs we Gentiles need are in the scriptures.
[3 Ne 7:21] And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching;
[3 Ne 7:22] And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice; that I should not manifest myself unto them, save it were by the Holy Ghost.
[3 Ne 7:28] That these sayings which ye shall write, shall be kept, and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fullness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth, because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer.
Summary
1) God gives signs in order to fulfill prophecy, as we can see in Helaman chapter 5.
2) Signs follow faith, rather than faith following signs.
3) If you ask for a sign you will get one. But many times not a true sign or one you will like.
4) God gives or allows signs to further deceive those who have no love for the truth.
How many have exercised their faith to see if the answers they seek are in the scriptures?
If God has answered what you are seeking in the scriptures then you are exhibiting a lack of faith in seeking signs and wonders to confirm the answer.
If God said it - you can count on it.