For many African believers, the attraction to miracle healing crusades runs deep. Eyes once blind now seeing, limbs long paralyzed rising with strength, and cancer dissolving like mist, evoke both awe and hope. And few pastors encapsulate this appeal like Benny Hinn, the televangelist whose long‑standing reputation as a “miracle worker” draws tens of thousands to his crusades.
Just recently, in June 2025, Hinn was in Kampala for a two‑day “Miracle Healing Crusade” continuing through a Sunday night leaders’ conference. The event reportedly drew more than 200,000 attendees from 14 countries, including over 60,000 who queued for hours before the evening sessions [1].
This was not Hinn’s first visit to East Africa. In February 2024, he conducted a “Healing the Nation” crusade at Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium [2]. The event saw attendance swell into the tens of thousands, with Kenya’s political class reportedly among those present [3].
The Spectacle Over Scripture
But even setting Benny Hinn aside, what we’re witnessing is not an isolated phenomenon. Rather, it reflects a deeply entrenched pattern within the African church—an almost insatiable obsession with signs, wonders, and miracles.
One need not travel far in any city or village before encountering posters or billboards advertising prophetic encounters, miracle healing services, or breakthrough crusades. These events consistently draw crowds in their thousands, and the “men of God” behind them seem all too eager to feed this hunger for the spectacular.
What’s more concerning is the way any attempt to question the legitimacy of these miraculous claims or to scrutinize the character and doctrine of those who claim to perform them is often met with swift backlash. Dissenters who raise biblical concerns are dismissed with scornful retorts like, “What about you? What miracles have you done?”
Thus, making it apparent that as the African church, we use miraculous displays as a litmus test for spiritual credibility. Doctrine takes a back seat, character is overlooked, and discernment is thrown out the window at the sight of the miraculous.
But how well does this school of thought hold up under biblical scrutiny? Is the presence of the miraculous a mark of divine approval? Or a gift that we should test carefully? Well, in this post, we will weigh this belief in light of Scripture. In doing so, I hope to help us recover a biblical framework for understanding miracles, one that safeguards us from deception while still leaving room for awe at the genuine work of God.
Warnings In the Bible About Miracles
Scripture repeatedly warns that not all miracles come from Him. Some are counterfeit, some are demonic in origin, and some are a test from God as we are going to see in what follows:
1. Deuteronomy 13:1–3
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’… you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer… For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
In this passage, God makes it unmistakably clear that a miracle alone does not prove that someone is a true messenger of God. Even if a person performs a genuine sign or accurately predicts the future, that is not sufficient grounds to call them a servant of Yahweh.
We need to look further and examine what they teach. Does it lead people to greater obedience to God, or draw them away from Him? If their teaching contradicts God’s revealed truth, we should reject it, no matter how impressive their miracles may be. Miracles may catch our attention, but it is God’s Word that must hold our loyalty.
2. Exodus 7:10–12, 22; 8:7
Pharaoh’s magicians imitated Moses’ miracles: they turned staffs into serpents, water into blood, and summoned frogs—just like Moses and Aaron.
We must come to terms with the sobering fact that not everyone who performs signs, wonders, and miracles is operating under the power of the Holy Spirit. Some may, in fact, be tapping into demonic power to lead people astray.
Pharaoh’s magicians were able to replicate several of the miracles that Moses performed. However, while they were real supernatural acts, the source of their power was not God. But occult and demonic forces.
We see a similar example in the New Testament with Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:9–11. The passage tells us that Simon had “amazed the people of Samaria” with his sorcery for a long time. So compelling were his acts that people from the least to the greatest said, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” Yet the power he wielded was not from God. And just like Pharaoh’s magicians, his story serves to show that miraculous signs can deceive, especially when people are drawn more to them without discernment.
3. Matthew 7:21–23
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
This is without question one of the most chilling warnings Jesus gave. He teaches us that it is very possible to do impressive things in His name and still be spiritually lost. Performing miracles, prophesying, or driving out demons is not proof of being known by Christ. What truly matters is having a real relationship with Him, marked by a life of obedience to His will
That’s why, earlier in the same passage, speaking about false prophets, He says: “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). In other words, it’s not the power they display that should impress us—it’s the character they exhibit.
True servants of God bear the fruit of Christlikeness: humility, holiness, integrity, and love for truth. And such fruit can only come from a heart that is truly united to Christ. Therefore, in our excitement over miracles, we must not overlook this.
We should not validate a “man of God” by the signs, wonders, and miracles attached to his name. We should seek to further examine his fruit, which is the product of a real, abiding relationship with Jesus.
Related: Why You Need to Know the Biblical Qualifications for Church Leaders
4. Matthew 24:24
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
In the end times, false prophets and anointed ones will perform “great signs and wonders”. Not mere cheap tricks, but awe-inspiring miracles that will even tempt true believers to follow them. And it’s important to also note that these aren’t harmless displays. Rather, they are carefully orchestrated acts of deception.
This should awaken us to the sobering reality that miracles can be weaponized. False prophets will not merely stumble people into deception, but they will deliberately use supernatural signs to gain credibility and draw people away from the truth.
That’s why we cannot afford to be spiritually naive or overly trusting just because someone operates in the miraculous. To avoid the deception Jesus warned about, we need more than excitement—we need discernment. We must be sober-minded and anchored in the Word of God. Truth must be our compass, not that which is impressive.
5. 2 Thessalonians 2:9–10
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing…”
This passage offers a glimpse into the future rise of the “man of lawlessness” or the Antichrist. Paul’s use of the word “false” doesn’t necessarily mean fake, but rather not originating from God.
These signs are designed with the purpose of convincing people that the man of lawlessness is the long-awaited Messiah, thereby drawing people away from Jesus, the true Christ. And those who are deceived are not innocent bystanders either. They are described as people who refused to love the truth (v.10).
Again, this serves as a warning that not all miraculous signs are from God. Satan is actively at work through counterfeit miracles. And if people are dazzled by displays of power but have no appetite for truth, they will become easy prey for deception. Because the devil doesn’t mind working miracles if it means blinding hearts to Christ.
6. Revelation 13:13–14
“[The false prophet] performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth… and by the signs… it deceives those who dwell on earth.”
Similar to 2 Thessalonians 2:9–10, in this passage, the Bible gives yet another glimpse into the deceptive use of false miracles in the last days. It describes a second beast who performs great signs, including the dramatic feat of calling down fire from heaven in full view of the people.
We are told that by employing these signs, the false prophet persuades the world to worship the first beast—the Antichrist. What’s interesting is how the calling of fire from heaven resembles Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. Only that in this case, the spectacle aimed at seducing people into idol worship.
Discernment Is not an Option
The verses we have looked at point to the fact that discernment is not optional where miracles are concerned. It is essential. We cannot afford to be ignorant because miracles can easily become a gateway to deception. Let me bring back Benny Hinn for a moment. It was rather disheartening to witness how quickly people rushed to his defense when concerns were raised about the fact that he is a false teacher.
And sadly, most of those who defended him did so mostly on the grounds that he is God’s miracle worker. According to them, because he works signs and wonders, he must be a true man of God. Thus, we must be careful not to “touch” his anointing.
But Benny Hinn is a well-known prosperity gospel preacher—a movement that has wreaked havoc across the African church. He is notorious for encouraging his followers to “sow seeds” in exchange for financial breakthrough. And through this peddling of God’s Word for profit, he has amassed insurmountable wealth.
The mere fact that he preaches a false gospel disqualifies him as a true servant of God. As Paul emphatically warns in Galatians 1:7–9, “There are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed… If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
According to Scripture, we are to mark and avoid such individuals (Romans 16:17–18). Yet it is saddening to see how willing we are to turn a blind eye to the seriousness of someone’s deviation from the Gospel of our Lord, just because they perform miracles.
As the African church, we have long treated signs and wonders as a stamp of divine approval. And this isn’t just about Benny Hinn but a principle that we apply across the board. But it’s about time that we wake up to the fact that miracles alone do not validate a ministry. We must instead weigh everything against the unchanging truth of God’s Word.
Yes, God Still Works Miracles Today
Before I conclude, I would like to make one thing clear: rejecting the abuse of miracles, signs, and wonders is not the same as denying their reality.
The God of Scripture has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He remains sovereign over nature and continues to work in supernatural ways. He still heals the sick, sets the oppressed free, provides in miraculous ways, and moves in power where and when He wills. Not to mention, the Bible does not teach that God has ceased to perform miracles.
So my concern is not with the existence of miracles, but in the unrestrained craving for them. A craving that often ignores Scripture’s clear warnings and leaves many vulnerable to deception and exploitation.
Far too many people have become victims of spiritual abuse at the hands of false prophets and self-proclaimed men of God who claim to perform miracles. And the damage goes beyond being led astray into false teaching.
Many have been financially exploited, pressured to “sow a seed” in exchange for a healing or breakthrough. Some are asked to empty their bank accounts, sell their land, or take loans in order to unlock a “miracle” that never comes.
Others have been manipulated by staged miracles and testimonies that turn out to be lies, or that unravel in tragedy. For example, we’ve heard heartbreaking stories of people who were declared healed, only to deteriorate and die shortly after, leaving devastated families behind.
Still others have been subjected to degrading and even abusive acts, all in the name of deliverance. I’ve seen people being sprayed with insecticide, forced to eat grass, or being washed by the “man of God”. All because they were looking for a miracle.
These painful realities show why discernment is not optional. As the African church, we must be vigilant. We must test the spirits, weigh every teaching against the Word of God, and evaluate every miracle claim in light of Scripture (1 John 4:1).
Conclusion
In conclusion, allow me to remind us that the greatest miracle that happens today is not a blind eye opened or a paralyzed limb restored. It is the miracle of a dead heart being made alive in Christ.
It is the transformation of a sinner into a new creation, born again by the power of the Holy Spirit and reconciled to God through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
This is the miracle that echoes into eternity. Every physical healing, as glorious as it may be, is still temporary in this fallen world. But salvation, that is eternal. That is the miracle we must never lose sight of.
So let us not be a people who chase after miracles. Let us chase after Christ. Let our deepest longing be not for signs and wonders, but for the One who is the source of all power. Let our faith rest not in miraculous displays, but in the Person of Jesus who died, rose again, and is coming back for His Church.
May we be a discerning people. A people rooted in Scripture. A people who marvel at God’s power, yes—but who worship Him not because of what He can do, but because of who He is.
And if He wills, the miracles will follow. But even if they don’t, He is enough. Always.
Endnotes:
- Rogers Atukunda, Pastor Benny Hinn Returns to Uganda as Thousands Flock to Miracle Healing Crusade, June 28, 2025, https://softpower.ug/pastor-benny-hinn-returns-to-uganda-as-thousands-flock-to-miracle-healing-crusade/
- Benny Hinn Ministries, Kenya Nairobi Crusade 2024 https://www.bennyhinn.org/event/kenya-nairobi-crusade_2024/
- Sharon Mwende, [PHOTOS] Leaders who attended Benny Hinn’s mega crusade, February 25,2024, https://www.the-star.co.ke/sasa/food/2024-02-25-photos-leaders-who-attended-benny-hinns-mega-crusade?
Image from: Benny Hinn Ministries
