Big Healing Book - Hebrews 2:3-4 Puts Signs and Wonders in the Past Tense, Showing

Objection: Hebrews 2:3-4 Puts Signs and Wonders in the Past Tense, Showing That They Had Ceased Before Hebrews Was Written

Hebrews 2:3-4:
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

ALL the healings and miracles in the Bible are recorded in the past tense, by necessity! The various authors wrote about what had already happened. They couldn’t really write in the future tense about specific signs and wonders that hadn’t happened yet, except for general prophecies about the end times.

The four gospels put what Jesus did in the past tense, but gifts of the Spirit are not even mentioned until the Church Age after Jesus had ascended to heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit! Thus, putting signs and wonders in the past tense was no proof that there would be no more of them in the future.

This particular dispenser of dispensationalism contends that only those who heard the Lord were used in signs, wonders, miracles and spiritual gifts, so the passage above refers only to them. Thus, signs and wonders are supposedly not for anyone else flow in. But that can’t be true. Paul wasn’t there to hear Jesus when He walked the earth, yet he did signs and wonders. Someone could counter that he heard Jesus when Jesus appeared to him, but you can’t make that argument about the table waiters Stephen or Philip, who ALSO did signs and wonders even though they had never heard Jesus in person (Acts 6:8, Acts 8:6-7). Though people like them are not mentioned in the passage in Hebrews, the Bible still talks about the signs and wonders they did! If these people who were not the original apostles could do signs and wonders, certainly we who are not the original apostles can do them too!

The objector takes the position that this verse is talking about a burst of supernatural activity that is no longer needed today. In his opinion, the signs had served their purpose and were no longer necessary. The original apostles had been validated and that was enough. But what did Jesus say? He said that the person who believed in him – with no time constraints – would do the works He did and greater (John 14:12). He said that he who believes – with no time constraints – would lay hands on the sick and they would recover (Mark 16:18). Philip and Stephen weren’t apostles but they were “validated” too!

But there’s an even better refutation of this objection! As stated by its author, the verb bearing them witness is a past-tense verb. That was true in the peculiar English translation he quoted. But the actual Greek verb (synepimartyrountos) is a present-tense verb! The author meant that God was still bearing witness in this way! Thus, signs and wonders could not have passed away! The verb disproves the objection and actually proves the opposite.

You get what you preach. If you preach that there are no miracles today, you will see no miracles in your ministry. If you preach that miracles continue today, you will see miracles in your ministry. I am glad to be in that second category.