End Times’ Signs, Wonders, and the Working of Miracles

In the Old Testament, we see various types of prophets.

One was a preacher of righteousness who warned and exhorted people against wickedness. Jonah fits into this category.

God sent Jonah to Nineveh to cry out against the wickedness of the people. When he finally obeyed, Jonah delivered the word of the Lord that Nineveh would be overthrown in 40 days.

We know, of course, that the people repented, and God spared them, which made Jonah very angry. After what he had prophesied and been through, was he now a false prophet because his prophecy did not come to pass?

This is an example of a conditional prophecy. Basically, it states what will happen if you continue doing what you are doing. The Ninevites repented and changed their ways. God is merciful, so Jonah’s prophecy resulted in their salvation instead of their destruction.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, is also an example of a preacher of righteousness who blazed up in anger and declared the sins of the people. When you study his ministry, you see that he operated in pulling down strongholds. “See, I have this day appointed you to the oversight of the nations and of the kingdoms to root out and pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:10 AMPC).

Jeremiah was told to root out, pull down strongholds, and throw down kingdoms—kingdoms of the devil, the prince of the power of the air, and rulers of demonic strongholds.

 He was also told to “build and to plant.” After removing the evil, something had to be put in its place. There is a seed sowing of righteousness through the prophet’s mouth that builds a reign of righteousness in places where wickedness has previously ruled.

Seers

Another type of prophet is a seer. This prophet looked into the spirit realm and saw what God showed him. He had visions and supernatural revelations. Daniel and Ezekiel were two such men. God revealed to them what would happen in the end times. These future prophetic words contained the gift of the word of wisdom.

The prophet Samuel was a seer who also operated in the area of words. “The Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Sam. 3:19 ESV). He was a spokesman for God, or you could say he was the “mouth” of God. In his day, people were still attuned to God and would listen to words.

 In Jesus’ time, that was not so. The scribes and Pharisees weren’t interested in what Jesus had to say. They asked for signs. But Jesus said, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matt. 12:39). What was the sign Jesus referred to? Jonah’s preaching and exhortation.

Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees He wouldn’t give them any sign. They were the religious people of their day and had no business asking for one. Signs and wonders were for the unbeliever and those who did not know the true God, the God of Israel.

Supernatural Signs

As the generations following Jonah became more wicked, God anointed Elijah and Elisha to perform signs and wonders. In one incident, Elijah gathered together 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal and Elijah both prepared bulls to sacrifice. Elijah told the false prophets to call on Baal to consume their sacrifice with fire. They petitioned Baal for hours, and nothing happened.

Elijah made it hard for himself. He dug a trench around his offering and poured four jars of water on the bull and the wood, filling the trench with water. When Elijah called on the Name of the Lord, fire shot down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice.

Signs and wonders were manifested in miracle after miracle in Elisha and Elijah’s ministry because of the perverseness of their generation.

Prophet of Judgement

Also involved in the prophet’s ministry is judgment. In First Kings 13, a prophet came to town and went to the altar of the Lord as Jeroboam, King of Israel, was about to make an offering. The man of God prophesied to the altar.

“O altar, O altar, this is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’” That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The Lord has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’” (1 Kings 13:2-3)

The king became angry when he heard what the prophet said and wanted to kill the man of God. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him,” his hand withered up. That is a demonstration of God’s judgment.

One time as Elisha was going to Bethel, a group of young men began mocking him, calling him “baldhead.” Elisha called down a curse on them, and two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of them.

 A time will come in our day when true prophets of God will be raised up and begin to operate in the same realm the Old Testament prophets did, including judgment.

Counterfeit Miracles

What’s happening on the earth right now—in this day, this time, and this hour—is that the world system is building up for that horrendous period called the Great Tribulation. During the Tribulation—and even some time before it starts—increased angelic activity will take place in ways we’ve never even heard of. And the earth will experience signs and wonders that people today have never seen.

The beast—the antichrist that will come forth—will manifest a counterfeit gift of the working of miracles because that is the only way people will believe. Words will have lost their power. Nobody will believe anything but signs and wonders.

But before the antichrist can operate in counterfeit gifts, a true manifestation of the Spirit of God must happen. So get ready. Two gifts that will come into prominence are the working of miracles and the gift of faith. We will see great manifestations of the working of miracles and supernatural deliverance by angels through the gift of faith long before the antichrist comes on the scene.

During the Tribulation, God will raise up two prophets who will operate in the gift of working of miracles. They will call fire down from heaven and cause droughts to come. They will stand on the streets of Jerusalem and prophesy by the Spirit of the true God. And for a time, they will be supernaturally protected by the gift of faith.

We are leading up to that time right now.

Signs for Our Nation

 At one time, the United States of America stood on principles based on God’s Word. For many years, this nation has been sensitive to the Spirit of God, but it has become more perverse. We have reached a point where God is going to start showing signs and wonders.

When people are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and follow righteousness, we don’t see much of a display of God’s power in judgment. But as a nation becomes more wicked, we will start seeing a buildup of the power of God in an Elijah-like fashion.

The prophet’s ministry has been coming into prominence in our day. And God will move in the gift of the working of miracles to control the elements and nature and in magnificent manifestations.

 Joel promised it: “And I will show signs and wonders in the heavens, and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke” (Joel 2:30 AMPC). Peter reiterated that in Acts 2:19.

Kings, Prophets, and the Nations

The day is here when kings of the earth and presidents of nations will call upon the prophets. They will say, “Bring me a prophet who can show me how to direct this country.” It may not become public knowledge, but it will happen just as King Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here by whom we may inquire of the Lord?” (2 Kings 3:11 AMPC). And like the prophets of old, today’s prophets will have a precise word from God for the leader.

The following prophecy was given on May 27, 1977, by my father, Charles Capps.

But I say unto you, I will reveal Myself in a manner in those days that men have not known. The nations of the world will stand in awe at that which shall come forth from Me. They will find themselves in dire need. They will come up against problems for which there is no answer in the world system. But from this nation, there shall go forth men anointed as prophets of God, and My Spirit shall dwell in the midst of them. These men shall be called forth by the nations of the world, saying, “Send us a prophet of God that he may reveal unto us the ways of God for the things that have worked in the days past will not work now. And we have seen and know that it works in that land!”