SIGNS
WONDERS
&
RATTLESNAKESSCRIPTURAL PROOF that it is very wrong and un-
christian to handle snakes or look
for supernatural signs.BY FORREST L. KEENER (CB)
"Master, we would see a sign from thee." Matt. 12:38. Do
these sound like the words of the followers of Jesus? Some
have hastily answered, "Oh yes, I just love to see the miracu-
lous, the strange, the hard to believe." Well, let me point out
to you that the opening quotation is from Matt. 12:38, and the
words were spoken by people who in verse 34 Jesus called a
generation of vipers, and in verse 39 "An evil and adulterous
generation[.]" Let us take a Bible look at the spirit of sign hunt-
ing.
The following article appeared in newspapers across the
country some years ago:SNAKE'S BITE KILLS CULTIST East Lynn, W. Va. (UPI) - A 28-year-old religious cult snake
handler died in this Wayne County community Monday of an
untreated snake bite - the same way his father-in-law died two
months ago.
Lonnie Richardson, 28, died at his home. Without medical
attention, less than 24 hours after he was bitten on the upper
right arm by a rattlesnake during a Sunday night religious
service.
Richardson and his father-in-law, Tallmade Adkins were
members of a cult meeting at the Jesus Church. The group
bases its snake handling practice on a verse in the 16th chapter
of Mark.
"And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them."* * * * * * Such accounts as this are not extremely common nor are
they uncommon. This is ridiculous but it isn't funny. We are
bound to think of the terrible pain suffered by the snake bite
victims as well as the heartache of their wives and children, at
the loss of their loved ones. Added to this is the frustration
that must overflow their souls as they try to reconcile this
tragedy with their religious opinion and their interpretation of
the Scripture. The very fact that such a thing takes place in the
name of Christianity and is "based on a Bible verse" (wrong
as the interpretation of that verse may be) compels me to
speak out.SIGN SEEKING IS NOT SCRIPTURAL I believe in miracles. God is a God of miraculous acts, which
He has performed at sundry times according to His plan and
purpose. I thank God for this and have no sympathy for
religious teaching that denies the miraculous. I believe in
signs. God has given us many of them at His appointed times
and according to His purpose, and has revealed in His Word
the meaning and purpose of them. To believe in these is a
simple matter of faith in the Word of God and to doubt them is
to question the integrity of God and the validity of the Bible.
On the other hand Sign hunting comes not from a spirit of a
faith which is deeply satisfied with the mighty acts of God
already performed, but from a spirit of unbelief which
demands a perpetual continuation of those signs, wonders and
miracles. This is the attitude of the skeptic which says,
"Except I see, I will not believe."
Is this spirit to be commended? Let's let the Scripture speak.
In John 20:24 and 25 Thomas was told of the Lord's
resurrection. "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called
Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other
disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But
he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of
the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and
thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." His answer
was simply, "Except I see, I will not believe."
In John 20:26-29 he is given that opportunity to see and he
does believe. "And after eight days again his disciples were
within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors
being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto
you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and
behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into
my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas
answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith
unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have
believed."
Let me first point out that what he now believes was already
told him and that months ago by the Lord Jesus Himself.
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his
disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer
many things of the elders and chief priest and scribes, and be
killed, and be raised again the third day." (Matt. 16:21)
Thomas' demand for a miraculous visible manifestation was in
fact blind unbelief of the Lord's Words. Does Jesus commend
his skepticism? No, He rebukes it, "be not faithless, but
believing." The Lord farther gives a commendation to past
and future faith in God's word without signs. "blessed are
they that have not seen, and yet have believed."NEW TESTAMENT SIGN SEEKERS People who want to constantly see signs or behold the
supernatural are not a new breed. They were common in the
days of Jesus. Moreover their spirit and the Lord's attitude
toward them is most clearly indicated in the Bible. In Matt.
12:38 we see such a request. In verse 39 we read these words.
"But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign;" In Matt. 16:1-4 you see the
same thing. Note Mark 8:11-13. "And the Pharisees came
forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign
from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit
and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I
say unto you. There shall no sign be given unto this
generation. And he left them, and entering into the ship again
departed to the other side." You can see here that the sign
seekers were of an antagonistic spirit tempting Jesus. You can
farther see that He was deeply grieved with them in verse 12
and in verse 13, that He left them. Consider also Luke 11:16,
"And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from
heaven." and Luke 11:29, "And when the people were
gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil
generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given
it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet." In John 6:30 we see
from the people who had just one day ago beheld the feeding
of the 5,000 and who had in fact shared in it, John 6:10, asking
for a sign that they might see and believe. "They said
therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may
see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?" (Jn. 6:30) What
utterly ridiculous unbelief and what an insult to all the past
miracles of the Lord! In I Cor. 14:22 Paul states that signs (in
this particular case the sign of tongues) are not for use to the
edification of believers but to shock and sober the skeptical
unbeliever. It is thus a bad, bad spirit in professed believers
that would drive them to seek signs. In I Cor. 1:22-24 Paul
states a contrast that we should observe carefully. "For the
Jews required a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But
we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block
and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and
the wisdom of God." Paul here places the preaching of the
gospel at opposite poles with sign seeking and the seeking of
human wisdom. He states that neither of these categories, un-
less spiritually converted, will come to Christ, for to one He is
a stumbling block to the other foolishness.
I frequently hear a professing Christian and yes, I believe
sometimes a genuine child of God say, "I asked God for a
sign." What wickedness! or what ignorance! Such a statement
reveals one of two things: It either shows an ignorance of what
God has said in His Word, or a measure of question as to its
certainty. I NEED NO SIGN. I can honestly say at this moment
that no trial or challenge has yet confronted my life wherein
God's Word has not been sufficient when I have sufficiently
sought it out. I am farther fully persuaded by His Word that
none ever shall.A WRONG INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE It has been stated that the "snake- handlers" base their
deadly practice on Mark 16:17 and 18. "And these signs shall
follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt
them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover." It should be immediately obvious to the perceptive
mind when a snake is handled and a person is bitten and he
dies or even gets sick that one of two things has occured: One,
God has not fulfilled this scriptural promise or two, they have
wrongly interpreted the Scripture. I am fully persuaded that
number one is a total impossibility while number two is an
ever present human weakness.
All the signs of Mark 16:17 and 18 were given to lend visible
evidence to the identity of Jesus Christ who was to be preached
unto all nations. These apostolic gifts were granted for an
interim period of time continuing through the lifetime of the
apostles. They were given, in mercy, to a people who doubted
the Messianic identity of a man of no reputation - Isaiah 53:1-3.
Not one of these promised miracles has failed to occur. Acts
28:1-7 - "And when they were escaped, then they knew that
the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people
shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and
received us every one, because of the present rain, and
because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of
sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the
heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw
the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among
themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though
he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
And he shook of the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen
down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while,
and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and
said that he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions
of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who
received us, and lodged us three days courteously." The
serpent has been taken up. It need not be done again. And so
it is with every other supernatural sign of Mark 16:17 and 18.
Maybe I'm prejudiced but every since I read what happened in
Eden, and come to think of it even before that. I don't like
snakes of any flavor, and I find no commission in the Bible that
invites me to handle them. If I do, I'll do it like Paul did (unin-
tentionally) and I'll also, like Paul, shake him off as rapidly as
possible, and into the fire if possible.THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE The basic problem in the interpretation of this Scripture is
that they have the cart before the horse. Mark 16:17 says,
"these signs shall follow them". These mistaken people
rather try to follow the signs. By this I mean they seek to
produce the signs, to make them happen or to display them-
selves in relationship to the signs. Such an intention is
absolutely foreign to the possessors of the New Testament
gifts. There was a man in the Bible who on his own sought to
participate in a spiritual gift. He was called Simon the
sorcerer. You may read of this in Acts 8:18-23. You see the
Apostles NEVER sought opportunity to exercise their gifts.
They rather preached Christ and exercised their gifts when
and as God laid the responsibility upon them. Both Peter and
Paul raised the dead, but they didn't hunt dead people to
raise, they sought souls to preach to. They healed the sick, but
they never advertised for sick folk to heal. They rather
exercised the responsibility of healing as it confronted them.
They cast out devils, but they never represented themselves as
exorcists, nor did they go devil hunting. Paul handled a deadly
serpent, but he did it involuntarily. He got rid of it as soon as
possible, just like any normal person would do. He never went
snake hunting, invited anyone to handle a snake, or brought
snakes into a "place of Worship" as part of a service.
For people to try to incite the miraculous in order to promote
themselves or their religious group is spiritual prostitution. It
is like the physically beautiful wife who strips herself (partly or
completely) and displays the beauty of her body before the
world which God would have her reserve for her husband.CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY The responsibility of today is very clearly set forth in the
Bible. Among the many Scriptures is Matt. 28:19 and 20, "Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Amen." Note, we are not charged to do anything spectacular,
as far as performing miracles is concerned. We are told to
teach all nations, baptizing them - teaching them to observe all
things, "whatsoever I have commanded you". This does not
include snake fondling or any other type of exhibitionism. We
should be completely gratified by the glorious opportunity of
testifying of the saving grace of Jesus Christ through word of
mouth and manner of life. Preachers should be thrilled to
preach the gospel of Jesus Christ knowing it is the power of
God unto salvation. If God chooses to, at various times, bless
in a miraculous way, fine. If not, has He not already
manifested Himself sufficiently?
To those skeptical hearers who constantly seek a sign, I give
answer in the words of our Saviour Himself, as He quoted
Abraham speaking to the rich man in Hell, in Luke 16:31,
"And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, [God's Word] neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead." You see the person whose
religious persuasion is based on anything except God's Word
is not converted to Christ, but to excitement. His faith is not in
God's Word, but in miracles. Let men stay their hearts on the
promise of Jesus Christ. "He that HEARETH MY WORD, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto
life." John 5:24. May God lead you into all truth. Amen.
[ Christian Helps Ministry (USA) ] [ Christian Home Bible Course ]