Usually phenomena that cannot be explained by the operation of the known laws of the natural world; also the providential alteration of circumstances, or of the human attitude and volition, in such a way as to promote good or to restrain evil; from the Latin miraculum, an object or event that impresses those who behold it with wonder and astonishment, that transcends their knowledge, understanding, and experience, and for which, in their finite judgment, the laws of nature or change cannot provide an adequate explanation.
Miracles may be of divine or of satanic origin ( Acts 19:11 ; 2 Thess. 2:9 ; etc.). The latter may be either genuine or counterfeit. Miracles may be classified according to their character or according to their purpose. Divine miracles may be of cosmic significance (for example, Creation, and the virgin birth, resurrection, and second coming of our Lord), or of personal significance (for example, instances of healing and deliverance from danger), or may be used for the advancement of God’s plan for the salvation of the world (for example, the repeated instances of divine intervention on behalf of the people of Israel). A miracle may consist in the nature of the event itself, or in the auspicious timing of a natural event with respect to other events, or in its effect.
As to purpose or result, a miracle may be defined in terms of the Greek words thus translated in the NT : (1) dunamis , “ an act of power,” (2) seµmeion , “a sign” ( Luke 23:8 ; John 2:11 ; etc.). With these Greek terms is often associated the word teras , “wonder” ( Matt. 24:24 ; Acts 2:22 ; etc.). The same miracle would be a wonder by virtue of the awe it inspired in those who witnessed it, an act of power because it was a manifestation of divine power, and a sign in the sense that it was designed to impress truth upon human minds.
The miracles of our Lord called into operation power wholly unknown to man, and produced results that cannot be explained on the basis of human knowledge. His miracles were always practical and salvific, that is, they were designed to supply a genuine need and to lead men to find salvation through Him. He never exercised divine power to satisfy idle curiosity nor to demonstrate His ability to perform miracles, nor to benefit Himself. Upon various occasions Jesus refused to perform miracles because the necessary preconditions had not been met and because the effect produced would not have served a salvific purpose ( Matt. 12:38 , 39 ; cf. Luke 23:8 , 9 ; John 6:30 ). His miracles also illustrated spiritual truth. The man healed of paralysis was first cured of spiritual paralysis ( Mark 2:5–11 ). The blind man healed at Siloam enjoyed the restoration of both natural and spiritual eyesight ( John 9:5–7 , 35–38 ). Again and again He pointed to His mighty works as evidence of His divine authority, Messiahship, and message ( Matt. 11:20–23 ; John 5:36 ; 10:25 , 32 , 37 , 38 ; 14:10–11 ). Men recognized divine power at work in and through Him ( Luke 9:43 ; 24:19 ; John 3:2 ; 6:14 ; 9:16 , 33 ). For a list of the miracles of our Lord and a brief statement about the purpose of each, see SDACom , vol. 5, pp. 210–213. Christ is never recorded as working a miracle except to supply a genuine need. (This method has been called “the law of the economy of miracle.”) He did not resort to what men would call a miracle if the desired result could reasonably be secured in a more natural way. God does not perform miracles to accomplish for men what they themselves, using the intelligence and ability with which He has endowed them, can do for themselves, or to supply men with things to gratify self-centered desire. God expects the recipients of miracles to feel a profound sense of need for something they realize that only God can supply; to believe that God can and will supply their need if such be in harmony with His will; to be willing to accept whatever divine wisdom sees is best; to cooperate with God in working toward the desired objective; to order their lives henceforth in harmony with the principles of the kingdom of heaven; and to bear witness to the love and power of God.
Miracles, especially those reported in Scripture, have been the occasion of considerable debate between science and theology. Natural science is possible only because nature functions in a more or less regular and orderly manner. As a result, it is possible to observe and explain the workings of nature. But miracles, being unique events, defy analysis by the scientific method. For instance, Creation, the Genesis flood, the incarnation and the resurrection of Christ, are not susceptible to explanation by ordinary scientific theories or procedures. Accordingly, those who view the world from an exclusively naturalistic perspective deny all miracles.
In view of the fact that there are counterfeit miracles, it would be as much an act of intellectual folly to accept all purported miracles without critical investigation as it would be to reject all miracles as being, a priori, impossible. With miracles, as with all other phenomena, the Christian will weigh the evidence on the basis of appropriate objective criteria, and arrive at his or her conclusions accordingly.
In a purported miracle of divine healing, for instance, there would have to be competent medical testimony that a certain physical condition actually existed prior to the miracle, which was not present afterward, that the change could not be attributed to any other known cause, and that human knowledge and skill could not have effected the cure. Because of the absence of such data in much of modern faith healing, so-called, and also because the principles and methods on which the popular faith healers operate differ so notably from those reported in Scripture, Seventh-day Adventists do not accept the claims made for these so-called miracles.
If the teachings and life of the human instrumentality do not conform to God’s will as set forth in Scripture, and especially if the methods are sensational, Christians can assume that supernatural power—if indeed such was present—did not come from God. On the other hand, there are relatively rare instances in which all the requirements for a genuine miracle are present, and the facts are certified by competent witnesses.
To the casual reader the Bible may appear to be full of miracles. However, it should be remembered that the Bible narrative covers a great extent of time, and that for the most part such phenomena occurred only at rare intervals. Even so, the Bible reports more miracles than seem to occur today. This is doubtless attributable to the fact that there was more need for miracles in Bible times. For instance, modern medical science enables a skilled physician to effect healing in countless cases for which there was no known remedy in Christ’s time; and God normally does not perform miracles to accomplish what may be achieved by natural means. We might also expect more miracles in less enlightened lands—where the need for them is greater and where a predisposition to accept miracles would facilitate the employment of such phenomena to lead men to a knowledge of God—than in lands where miracles are often held suspect and where they might even, at times, hinder the realization of that objective.
Of the credibility of miracles J. P. Henderson wrote in the Review and Herald for July 5, 1887 (64:418): “A miracle is simply the use of a higher power to arrest the progress of the lower. . . . A greater power may control a less; and He who is the Creator of nature has unquestionable power to control the thing created. . . . To question greater power than we possess is to measure the God of the universe by our own capacities.”
Comparing the extraordinary exercise of divine power manifested in miracles with the ordinary manifestation of the same power day by day in the natural world, Dr. David Paulson declared: “Sometimes a miracle is defined as something that is out of harmony with natural law; but this definition is a result of ignorance rather than of knowledge. . . . When we see something happening that we cannot explain, we call it a miracle, while those miracles that we are accustomed to see daily, we regard as simply commonplace events; but is one not as truly a miracle as the other?” ( ibid. 78:228, Apr. 9, 1901).
In summary, Seventh-day Adventists accept the reality of duly attested miracles. They do not believe that the Creator is necessarily bound by what humans consider natural laws, as this would place a finite limitation on His infinite power as God, if it did not deny His existence altogether. The basic problem with miracles lies in one’s concept of God. A person who believes in an infinite, personal God who created and sustains all things and who is infinitely wise, powerful, and good will find no difficulty in believing also that when necessary He can and will utilize the forces of nature in ways He may see fit, to accomplish that which in infinite wisdom He deems best.