HEALING

MIRACULOUS HEALING IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY

 

 MIRACULOUS HEALING IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY

Much has been written and discussed about miraculous healing in the dispensation of the mystery. I believe that God can and does heal in this present dispensation. But I believe that He does so directly, that is to say, God does not heal, as He did in the Acts period, through the gift given to men by the Holy Spirit.

There are two things concerning healing that are so obvious as to not require the Scriptural evidence to be quoted here. One, that God can heal in the dispensation of the mystery, and two, there were many events of miraculous healing during the Acts period that were accomplished through the gift given by the Holy Spirit. That is to say, these healings were done by God, the Holy Spirit, through men, to whom He had given the gift of healing. So let us go on from there.  

In this study I will address four questions. 1) Was the gift of healing withdrawn? 2) If it was, when was it withdrawn? 3) Why was it withdrawn? 4) Does God heal today through the gift given to men by the Holy Spirit? 

WAS THE GIFT OF HEALING WITHDRAWN AND IF SO, WHEN WAS IT WITHDRAWN? 

The answer to our first two questions are inter-linked. That is to say, by answering the first question we, at the same time, answer the second. These questions are answered by comparing the gift of healing in the Acts period, with the gift of healing after the end of the Acts period. 

The last miracle of healing we read about in the Acts period is in Acts 28:8-9. This passage tells of the sick father of Paul’s host. We read in verse 8b-9, “Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured”. We learn from this passage that, as late as Acts 28, Paul had and used the gift of healing by the laying on of hands.

The answers to our questions as to if and when the gift of healing was withdrawn is found in the epistles of Paul written after Acts 28. As we shall see as we examine Scripture, Paul no longer had the gift of healing after Acts 28. We read, for example in II Tim. 4:20, “…..and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus”. If Paul had the gift of healing he would certainly not have left his co-worker sick.  

Another passage that tells us that Paul did not have the gift of healing after Acts 28 is Phil. 2:25-30 where we read of Epaphroditus who was sick unto death (verse 30). But Epaphroditus did not die. Was that because Paul had healed him through the gift of healing, as he had done in the passage we read in Acts 28:8-9? I believe not. Paul writes in verse 27b, “But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.” God cured Epaphroditus directly. To say that Paul cured him by the gift given him by the Holy Spirit is to read something into God’s Word that is simply not there. Furthermore, the fact that Trophimus (II Tim. 4:20) was not healed by Paul’s gift, adds strength to the conclusion that neither was Epaphroditus cured through the gift of the holy spirit. 

Let us look also at I Tim. 5:23, where Paul advised Timothy, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses”. In my opinion, this proves that indeed no one had the gift of healing after Acts 28. If they had, Paul would have told Timothy to go to that person. Paul told Timothy to drink some wine.  

II Tim. 1:6. Can lead to confusion in this matter if not taken in context. “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands”. What was this gift? What did Timothy receive from Paul with the laying on of hands? Let us examine the context to answer that question. 

Verse 7 tells us why Timothy received this gift. “for God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love and of a sound mind”. In verse 8 we read of the hoped for consequence of the gift to which Paul referred in verse 6. “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner”. It seems obvious that Timothy, for some reason, was fearful about testifying about the Lord. Paul had laid hands on Timothy to give him a gift that would give him the power and the love and the courage to testify for the Lord.  

This brings to mind Eph. 4:11-12, “And He gave some apostles: and some prophets: some evangelists, and some to be pastors and some to be teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up“. I believe that Timothy was given a gift that would enable him to build up the body of Christ. He did not have the gift of healing, as that gift was no longer in evidence after Acts 28. 

Let us consider another passage which, unless taken in context, can be problematic. I Tim. 4:14, “Do not neglect your gift which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid hands on you”. This was not, evidently, the same gift we read of II Tim. 1:6 because that gift was given by the laying on of Paul’s hands. What was this gift? We are not told specifically, but again I believe that the context will give us a hint. In verse 13 we read, “….devote yourself to public reading, to preaching and to teaching”.  

In verse 13 Paul tells Timothy to be diligent in his preaching and teaching. In the next verse Paul tells Timothy to “not neglect your gift”. Again, I believe this passage makes it plain that it was not the gift of healing that Timothy received, it was the gift of preaching, and teaching. 

I Tim. 5:22 also concerns the gifts spoken of in Eph. 4 also. “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands…”.  

I am suggesting therefore, that some, including Timothy, did have spiritual gifts after the Acts period, but they did not have the same gifts that were so prevalent in the Acts period. That is to say, they had the gifts of evangelism, of teaching etc., but they did not have the gifts of tongues or the gift of healing.

Therefore, the answer to our questions as to if and when the signs of miraculous healing was withdrawn is; that the gift of healing was withdrawn, and it was withdrawn after Acts 28.

WHY WAS THE GIFT OF HEALING WITHDRAWN? 

Our third question is “why was the gift of healing withdrawn”? Most in the Acts 28 community believe that the signs, including the gift of healing, ended because the signs were to prove the truthfulness of the gospel that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. They say that when the gospel of the kingdom was no longer preached after Acts 28, the signs also ended. I agree that one of the reasons for the signs was to prove the truthfulness of the gospel of the kingdom, but I do not agree that the signs disappeared because the message of the kingdom was not preached after Acts 28. The reason I do not agree is because some of the reasons for the signs continue to be valid reasons in the dispensation of the mystery. That means that the signs could have continued. But as we have seen they did not continue. 

Actually there were several reasons for the signs.

Mark 1:41, “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched him, and saith unto him, ‘I will: be thou clean”. It is clear that one of the reasons for miraculous signs was that our Lord was compassionate. Our Lord is still compassionate. There is absolutely no reason to assume otherwise. Therefore, that reason for signs is still a valid one. 

Consider also, Luke 7:13, “And the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her….”. He then raised the woman’s son from the dead (verse 15).  

In Matt. 8:16-17 the reason for the signs was to fulfill prophecy concerning Christ. “…..and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, ‘Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses”.  

In John 2:11 the reason was to “manifest His glory”. “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Gallilee, and manifested forth His glory: and his disciples believed on Him”.  

In Matthew 11:2-5 it was to prove to John the Baptist that Christ was Who He said He was. “Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto Him ‘Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another?’ Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them” 

There are two more passages that have to do with signs and have absolutely nothing to do with the message of “repent……” or the message of the kingdom of Heaven being near. One is Rom. 15:18-19, “To make the Gentiles obedient….through mighty signs and wonders”. Again, one might argue that God still wants Gentiles to be obedient, and therefore, that reason for the gifts are still valid today.  

The other passage worthy of note is I Cor. 12:7, “But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal”. The Companion Bible has “for the profit of others”. This has nothing to do with Israel or repentance or the kingdom message.  

My point is this: Most in the Acts 28 community believes (and so did I, until I did this study) that the signs disappeared because the signs were to prove the truthfulness of the kingdom message. They go on to say that when the kingdom message was no longer the appropriate message, there was no more reason for the signs and so the signs disappeared. If that were true, then we have to prove that that was the only reason for the signs because if not, they could have continued for the other reasons. But as I have showed above, there were other reasons for the signs, so this conclusion is, in my opinion unscriptural.  

Now that we have discussed the prevailing view of the Acts 28 community, let us continue with our question as to why the signs ended.

I believe that the signs ended at Acts 28:28 because a new dispensation was revealed at that point, and God ordained that in this new dispensation, i.e. the dispensation of the mystery, there would be no miraculous signs.

DOES GOD HEAL TODAY THROUGH THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? 

I have tried to show from Scripture that the gift of healing was withdrawn after Acts 28 when Israel was put aside. As I said earlier, I believe that God can and does heal today, but not through the gift givren by the Holy Spirit. He heals today in the same way He accomplishes His will in every aspect of our lives and the events of the world, quietly and in His own hidden way. How then, one might ask, do we account for the supposed miraculous healings of today?

It seems evident that some miraculous healing is taking place. That is to say, it is unlikely that all the healing that is said to be a product of the gift of the holy spirit is fake. Therefore the next question that should be asked is, “if it isn’t the gift from the Holy Spirit that is healing some people, what is it”? Who might have that kind of power, if not God? Let us examine that thought. 

Rev. 13:11-13, “Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast….. And he performed great and miraculous signs….”. The “he” to which this passage refers is, of course, the false beast (see Rev. 19:20) who is working on behalf of Satan himself. I quote this passage only to show that Satan does have the power to perform whatever miracles he deems necessary in order to accomplish his plans. 

Let us consider also II Thess. 2:9, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, sins and wonders…”.  

Note that in Rev. 13 there was an attempt to appear as “a lamb” and in II Thess. we read of “counterfeit miracles”. We know from this that Satan, and those who represent him, will try to appear as if they are from God.  

But why would Satan want to heal people that then go and worship God for their healing? This is one of those questions that is not asked in Scripture and therefore, not answered in Scripture. But we can look at what we do know and draw some conclusions. We know for example, that when Satan has his way during the tribulation, he will perform “counterfeit miracles”. That is, they will look like they are from God. Is he perhaps setting the stage by performing those miracles in the dispensation of the mystery?

 There is also another reason I can think of for Satan healing some. When one who may be weak in faith, asks for healing because he sees others being healed, how is that person’s faith affected when his healing does not take place. Is his faith strengthened, or is it weakened? The answer is obvious. 

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion let us consider what can be proved from Scripture and what can not. What can be proved is that the gift of healing was not in effect after Acts 28. We can, infer from that fact that after Acts 28, it was God’s will that the gift of healing was not to be used in the dispensation of the mystery.  

What can not be proved is that “healers” in the dispensation of the mystery have that gift of healing from God. But if healing by the laying on of hands was not God’s will at the beginning of the dispensation, I don’t believe that it is His will now. 

What can be proved from Scripture is that Satan can and will perform “counterfeit miracles” (i.e. those that seem to be from God) in the future tribulation. What can not be proved is that Satan is using those powers in the dispensation of the mystery. 

In the end, in my opinion, what can be said is that “healers” in the dispensation of the mystery are, at best, working contrary to God’s will for this present dispensation. That is to say, the gift of healing was obviously not in evidence after Acts 28 because, for whatever reason, God determined it so. At worst, these “healers” are doing (unknowingly, I’m sure) the work of Satan.

I would appreciate hearing your thoughts. Please e-mail me at: [email protected]

This paper was written by Joyce Pollard