Raised from the dead

Can anyone tell us if they have first hand experience of raising someone or seeing someone raised from the dead? I'm taling about an immediate miracle of a truly dead person standing up immediately upon being prayed for or spoken to. No second hand accounts or anecdotal stories please, were you there at the time it happened and did you see it and can you verify that thatt really was a miracle? That you know without doubt they were dead and immediately became alive?

If you want to talk to a Pastor who was raised from the dead his name is Brother Dave Lombardi. I can give you his phone number if you would like. He is senior pastor of Trinity Gospel Temple in Canton Ohio. Just let me know.

D Miller, Thank you but I am disputing that God can raise someone from the dead today and I am not trying to prove that any of the gifts have ceased.

However what I am interested in is if anyone here on SI has first hand experience of this type of miracle as I described above. If, as many on the forum suggest, all the gifts including miracles such as raising the dead are readily available to us today if we just avail ourselves and believe, you would expect that given the combined years of Charismatic involvement from all those on SI there would be at least a handful of these direct experiences.

Were you involved or there at the time this happened? What was the circumstances of him being raised, was it like we read in the gospels or Acts, i.e. immediate dead to life?

Let's see. Maybe someone here can give us a personal experience they were present at. That would be good.

Hey bro Dave,

Quote: " If, as many on the forum suggest, all the gifts including miracles such as raising the dead are readily available to us today if we just avail ourselves and believe"

I think that statement is incorrect and am not sure anyone asserted it exactly like that...?

We know that the gifts and demonstrations of the Holy Spirit are given as He wills in certain circumstances, however this does not negate their reality.
I have been personally present when demons were cast out, where someone was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues (many times) etc.

I'm pretty sure that, if believers were led by the Holy Spirit, for a specific reason, to raise a person from the dead, this could be done in Jesus Name, for a witness, especially in the more remote, dark and unbelieving areas of the world.

Men of God, such as Smith Wigglesworth, had a ministry of healing and testified to raising the dead and we have no reason to doubt him as his ministry was one of integrity and many witnesses could attest to this.

Maybe more dead would be raised if we actually obeyed God and trusted Him for it, who knows?

I am concerned, bro Dave, that on the one hand you affirm that the gifts are for today but on the other keep bringing arguments against them?

I respect your knowledge of scripture and input on the forum so this, to me, is a bit confusing.

Blessings,

Some folks really want to believe and therefore tend toward gullibility; others really want to believe and tend toward skepticism.

The latter would seem to be the wiser position; however Thomas took this position and was chided by the Lord.

I understand Daves concern. We always hear these stories of dramatic healings etc but they always seem to happen far away, or at another time, and there is never any solid medical evidence or video even in today's age of rampant cell phones etc.

Then a couple of years ago the "pet" miracle was leg lengthening "miracles" that were rampant on YouTube etc. This is also the very easiest miracle to fake.

So it seems that skepticism is inconsistent with an attitude of faith, but there has to be some level of skepticism to avoid being taken in by charlatans or exaggerated stories. I remember when I used to run with a more charismatic crowd and they really didn't like it when I expressed skepticism, and I had quite a bit about a lot of charismatic practices.

William,

Definitely it has been stated that ALL the gifts are available to all spirit filled believers and that we just have to believe and operate in them.

Yes I do believe in the continuation of the gifts, but not in the typical Pentecostal interpretation of the Baptism of the Spirit and the emphasis on certain unverifiable gifts. I am arguing against this, not against God the Holy Spirit giving certain gifts in certain instances as He wills for specific purposes.

So far no one has offered personal experience of the type of exceptional miracles that the apostles performed, which tells me they are not very common and certainly not at the disposal of any Christian at any time. It's not like people are not dying in the USA or the West.

Why is it all the emphasis is on gifts like tongues, prophecy, discerning of spirits, etc that can rarely be verified. If anyone speaks in a 'tongue' who can show that it is genuine or not? If I bring a prophecy, unless it is out and out heresy, who can say if God really inspired me to speak it or not? Again I'm not saying there is not genuine tongues or prophecy, but my experience over many years is I suspect the majority is not. This is without getting into the real wacky out and out false prophecies that never get challenged or repented of.

I know it may seems strange that I am questioning these things, but we should not be afraid to question what is being practiced and put out in the churches, or do we just close our minds and go along with it only to find out when it's too late that we have be misled and misled others.

Just on the issue of casting out of demons, I too have had close involvement with this ministry and seen people 'manifest' what can appear to be demonic activity. Again there is much false about this type of ministry. I think only on a rare occasion can I say I saw a genuine demonic manifestation and deliverance, unfortunately most of it is suggestive manipulation by the one doing the ministry and psychological responses/emotions. I've seen people supposedly have dozens and dozens of supposed demons cast out of them over a long period of time, but no fruit comes from it, because it is not demonic at all.

Brother Dave and Todd,

I also have been disillusioned by men that had a great influence over me when I was still a young believer and studying at a "Charismatic" Bible School, men like Benny Hinn who not only preached powerful messages in our church that I remember to this day but also introduced us to another dimension of relationship with God the Holy Spirit.
I experienced that presence of the Holy Spirit in powerful ways and he worked in my life and through my life in unforgettable, undeniable power, resulting in me loving the Lord more than ever and I cannot recall ever doubting that the Spirit I received was from God, as we were gathered in Jesus Name and were worshipping Him in spirit and truth.

Just because he has fallen into the money trap and seems to have gone off the rails concerning the prophetic does this invalidate the early years? does it now mean the Holy Spirit was not working through those men and may be doing so even today, despite their evident errors?

Just a few things that happened in corporate worship in our church:

1. While a psalmist was playing piano and singing a demon left a person without anyone laying hands or praying specifically. How do we know it was a demon? It came out with a shriek and the amazing thins was that the shriek travelled through the air over our heads and left the building! Believe it or not...

2. I was with a friend who is an evangelist and he was ministering in a small rural church in South Africa. As he prayed for people afterwards a lady became stiff as a board because of demonic possession. They carried her out like a log, by the hands and feet, and her body remained as stiff as a board, totally impossible from a natural standpoint.Believe it or not...

3. A recent personal testimony of the Holy Spirit working through me in a home group. As we were worshipping and praying I was inspired to read from the book of Ephesians regarding the headship of Christ over all things, for the church which is His body...It was like prophecy. The power of the Spirit of God was so evident that a brother next to me, without us praying for him or touching him in any way, burst forth in another tongue that surprised us all. Nobody coached him or led him. It was all the Holy Spirit! He has been seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Another spirit? I think not.Believe it or not...

I could tell many more occurrences of the Holy Spirit at work.

We must be careful that disillusionment and scepticism does not quench the God given desires in our hearts for the working of the Holy Spirit in our midst

Blessings,

Thanks William. One thing I have found is that the most profound HS experiences I have had are the simplest.

I used to pray every Saturday morning at 7 am with a core group of believers. This went on for a couple of years and that time was amazing.

One morning as we arrived the lights in the room were dimmed and there was a candle burning on the table. We could see little simple place settings at the table. As we entered, the brother who led the prayer time hugged each of us and said "there is a place prepared for you." That simple statement in that moment shook me to the core and still affects me to this day. There is no doubt in my mind that his statement combined with our taking communion together was a prophetic utterance from the HS.

One thing I have found regarding statements that would seem or claim to be prophetic(in the sense they are directly from the Lord) is that I know them when I hear them, and these are few and far between but precious when they occur.

Thanks Blaine,

Be it unto you according to your faith, brother.

Blessings,

Before I became a Christian I was suicidal and mentally ill. I have been delivered from a handful of demons after my conversion.

These demons left me while throwing me onto the floor with shaking and convulsions. They spoke out of my mouth without my control. One after the other left me with a shriek. Right after this they laid hands on me to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I was just weeks into the faith and had no doctrinal understanding of these things. I just prayed that whatever is from God I desperately want it after I had been demonized for such a long time.

That night the Holy Spirit came in power over me and I spoke in tongues.

The pastor who prayed for me with a group of believers knew this business. If that pastor had not known about casting out demons and baptism of the Spirit, I would probably had been overcome by these demons again and not be sitting here writing these lines but rotting in a grave.

I will be ever grateful for that. For me it was a matter of life and death. I later found scriptural support for everything that happened to me.

I understand that this is not a normative experience for most of you, but I testify this here to the glory of God.

If anyone wants to contest this, I refer to Mary Magdalene who was frowned upon by the Pharisees and Jesus put them to shame.

Praise the Lord Narrowpath!

For me there are few things more wonderful than a person being set free from demonic oppression or possession.

It is as if a great light suddenly shines upon their faces and all darkness is dispelled!

Glory to God!

That specific manifestation I have not yet personally seen but the others I can speak to out in life, like deaf ears being opened, open sores being instantly healed an new flesh in that spot, things like that, not sure if that's what you are looking for.? Normally speaking the times when I do not see these things happen is because I personally neglect obedience to do what the Holy Spirit is prompting me to do or say, at times because I do not what to be bothered, just keeping it real brother, I wrestle big time with "self", and I never talk about those things except here because I do not my heart and head lifted up in pride. I will say this, just as Jesus was in this life , we are, or at the very least we can be. Just simply ask and you will receive than just trust and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Testify, dear brother! We know Whom we serve and we give Him all the glory!

Amen. Beautiful example Todd!

While there are some wonderful testimonies here, we are avoiding the question. Sheri, of course being made spiritually alive is the greatest miracle, no believer doubts that.
BUT who has experienced working of miracles such as raising the dead and physical completely blind eyes being opened??
No one on here so far. The issue is being honest and real.

As for Benny Hinn, he has not only in recent times go off the rails, he has always been off. I remember seeing him in 1988 in the UK. He was in error then and had a cultic following way back then. You can hear the testimony of Costi Hinn, Benny's nephew who was brought up in that clan and worked along side 'Uncle Benny' for a year. He testifies he never saw anyone genuinely healed in all the meetings he was part of in that year and all the other years in his father's church. He believes Benny knows what he is doing in deceiving folk.

I know it is difficult when you have been set on your spiritual path by such things to even consider they were not right, but it's a journey many of us have had to make if we want to be honest.

Chuck Smith, who I believe was trustworthy, said in the early days of his ministry he saw a finger regrown and a new eyeball form. Of course I didn't see it.

I'm sure a few here remember my heart attack back in Feb. 2015, I was doa at the hospital, so someone somehow brought me back to life. Was it the paramedic in the back with me that was praying for me? or was it the Doctors and nurses at the hospital? or was it just God, and God alone? There's no doubt God had a part in it, and he's the one I'm personally giving the credit to. For folks here that really want to know what death was like for me, no I didn't see Jesus, or bright lights or Heaven, nor did I see or hear anything. The thing I remember most, is just the peace I encountered when I went out, and the peace I had when I woke up in icu.

I'm not sure if my post, really contributes to the original question, but I can say, I've been raised up from the dead, but there were so many involved, do I give the credit to any man or God? I just choose to give God the credit, because he worked through man to bring me back. I guess he wasn't finished with me yet, he knew the world needed more humor. I've always been a humorous person, some here I've seen appreciate my humor, and some probably don't, it just the way God made me, and I've never felt the spirit tell me to stop, matter fact we live in such an angry would, I'm hoping God sends me in a lot of backup soon. :-)

Mr Bill, Absolutely give God all the credit and glory!
I also can say, many times God has healed and preserved me and also in a similar situation.

So this is not about what God does or does not do, this is about what people claim they have the authority to do and can do!

I think I have made my point and those who just want to keep right on with the mantra despite the evidence won't be persuaded I guess.

Dave, why do you worry so much about this fake stuff?
The counterfeit was always there and always will be until Christ returns.

We all know it will rather get worse than better.

Jesus warned us about this but also gave us indications how to detect it. He never asked us to stay clear of anything to do with the supernatural but to be watchful. Did Moses stop performing miracles just because they were replicated by magicians?

Satans strategy is to get people into extremes. Charismania on the one end and cessationism on the other end. I do not have to choose between the two. That is a lie.

I believe many works of Christ are left undone on earth because of unbelief covered up in "concerned skepticism".

A man who walks in faith will always take some risk.

Why not focus on the good and right and true? Why not stick to God's word even if it upsets convenience, common sense and laws of nature?

by Heydave
So this is not about what God does or does not do, this is about what people claim they have the authority to do and can do!

I think I have made my point and those who just want to keep right on with the mantra despite the evidence won't be persuaded I guess.

It's not about proving what what anyone can do or has done, it's about what YOU believe the word tells you YOU can do. If the Word alone doesn't convince you that these things are possible, then nothing anyone else says will convince you.

God bless,
Lisa

"You haven't made any point, you asking people to post what they've done is asking us to brag what the LORD has done through us and I won't be a part of it."
____________________________________________________________

Sad post Lysa and probably why we have no credibility with people in the world.

I did not ask people to post what they have done and certainly not to brag, but I asked a simple fair question, which about experiencing a dead to life extraordinary miracle.

All I have got in response is a lot of 'other testimonies' and a lot of defensive behaviour, but no experience of what many are claiming. Either the bible is wrong (which I don't believe) or there is a wrong understanding of what it is saying (which I believe is the case).

And it's not about what You believe YOU can do! Sounds a bit like Oprah talk.

Heydave....I asked a simple fair question, which about experiencing a dead to life extraordinary miracle.
All I have got in response is a lot of 'other testimonies'.

I was not personally present, but I know the man who was raised and I know all of the people well who were there. A pastor was preaching at a youth camp. During his sermon he fell over dead. There were medically trained people present who verified that he had no pulse, no respiration, and was dead. The leaders and the youth gathered around him and began to pray. He came back from the dead and from a chair continued his sermon before allowing anyone to take him to the hospital to be checked out. I am not sure how long he was dead.

A couple of months ago, at a prayer meeting, a man who is in construction asked for prayer for his knee. One has been operated on and replaced. The other was bothering him to the point that getting up or down was extremely painful. I felt I should lay my hand on his knee and pray for him. There were no immediate signs or manifestations and no emotion really. 24 hours later at our midweek service he testified that for 24 hours he had absolutely no knee pain and was healed. That was a couple of months ago, and he remains totally pain free and strong in that knee.

I have seen or have had immediate friends or relatives who have seen many such healings and gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation. My grandfather, when a little boy, had his eye blinded by being burned by a lit match that was accidentally shoved into his eye. The eye turned totally white and he could not see out of it at all. While his mother bathed it with a cold, wet towel to ease the pain, a very godly woman who was visiting came into the room and prayed for his eye. When she removed her hand from over his eye, it was clear, all pain was gone, and sight had been totally restored.

Just a few testimonies.

Travis, Thank you. So we at least have one that is close to being a personal experience, if as you say you know the folk that were there.
I have no reason to doubt you and would not want to.

But it still illustrates for us that this is a quite rare occurance, so that we cannot declare we have the authority and gifting to go around raising the dead as Jesus did or as the Apostles in the first century did. But praise God when He does do this.

I know from other posts you accept that there are false manifestations of the gifts as well as genuine. This is what I believe, but I think in the day in which we live there is far more false than true and this ix what I am trying folk to consider and be honest about.

"I bear no malice toward anybody"

Excluding the miracles of Jesus which proved without doubt his Divinity...(and the miracles of the apostles which validated their position as apostles.)

Is this verse true???

"And as it is appointed unto men ONCE to die, but after this the judgment:” Hebrews 9:27

One death... One judgement...

Are we talking about people who may have thought they had died... OR had a "taste" of death?

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the SHADOW of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalms 23:4

Biblical "death" is final...

Biblical "death" leads to Judgement.

Being close to death or "brought back to life" doesn't (in my thinking) qualify as Biblical Death.

I admit, I am guilty of a simple faith... I am not saying that people may have THOUGHT they had died or had the "shadow of death" come over them.

I refuse to cut this verse out of my Bible.

What I have personally witnessed, blind eyes being opened, deaf ears being opened, open ulcers instantly healed with new flesh covering the open /wound area.I have seen a cripple woman walk again, one who was wheel chair bound.Most I witnessed and was present, I have seen both demonic manifestations as well as mental issues both of which had very different ministerings and physical reactions to the Word of God and ministry of the Holy Spirit. As to the various deliverances instant as well as those over time I have seen many. Physical healings of all sorts I have seen many, both instant and over a period time.

The real danger in dissecting everything of this nature is not only losing the real but learning how to walk in fear and doubt rather than faith and truth.

So thankful for each of you sharing your testimonies of what the Lord has done and is doing. He lives! He is the same yesterday, today and forever, even as it is written. Worthy is the Lamb!

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death." Revelation 12:11

Blaine,

I believe you. Living in tornado alley we see our share of tornadoes as well - at least one every year somewhere in our county. The one that hit Tuscaloosa a few years ago went through here, joined with another that went south of us and wrecked a lot in AL after inflicting damage here, as well. The most amazing thing is how few people actually get killed. This I attribute ot the protecting power of God, warning folks that life is fragile and they need to get right with God NOW because they may die anytime soon.

Sandra

I have no doubt about the Holy Spirit's ability to raise the dead but why would a saint want to be raised from the dead? If you believe a saint has gone to be with the LORD, why would a person want to bring back someone else who has to deal with the ugliness that characterizes modern life? Now, if the person is an unbeliever, I would wish to have them raised so they could repent, but then that may not happen either.

Just my thoughts on this issue.

Sandra

As believers we should all know and expect the everyday miracles from God, right? I think just asking the question "raised from the dead" just barely touches on God's abilities. I understand the sincerely of the question, but as Christians, we don't know exactly what God does everyday. There are places on earth, God works his miracles everyday, and no one ever knows, except of course the ones living there. With no internet, TV, radio, etc. Just a simple believer in the middle of nowhere, Christ can work through them, matter fact, I would less of a problem believing someone like that, than a TV pastor or evangelist that has something to gain. Maybe this thread should have been titled different, like "Everyday Miracles You Have Witnessed From God" Why "Raised from the dead" is anything really to hard for God?

I have never witnessed anyone being raised from the dead, but I have read of many accounts of this happening, and the creator of all life can certainly breathe back that life into the dead and cause them to live again. There are many people that have died, been revived, and have witnessed of their experiences.

Jesus said this: "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12).

The greatest miracle is the new birth in which a sinner that is dead in his trespasses and sins receives the life of Jesus and is born again.

"Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment . Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24).

Smith Wigglesworth witnessed the dead raised to life in his own ministry. Here is a testimony of one such event:

"That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. Philippians 3:10
One day I saw a woman with tumors. In the condition she was in, she could not live out that day. I said, "do you want to live?”
She could not speak, but she was able to move her finger. In the name of Jesus, I anointed her with oil. Mr. Fisher, who was with me, said "she’s gone!”
It had been a little blind girl who had led me to this dying mother’s bedside. Compassion broke my heart for that child. I had said to the mother, "lift your finger.” Carrying the mother across the room, I put her against the wardrobe. I held her there, I said "in the name of Jesus, death, come out.”
Like a falling tree, leaf after leaf, her body began moving. Upright instead of lifeless, her feet touched the floor. "In then name of Jesus walk,” I said. She did, back to her bed.
I told the story in the service. It was a doctor there who said "I’ll prove that.” He saw her and confirmed that the story was true. She told the doctor: "it is all true. I was in heaven and I saw countless numbers all like Jesus. He pointed, and I knew I had to go. Then I heard a voice saying, "Walk in the name of Jesus.”
There is power in his resurrection. There is a "righteousness which is from God by faith” Philippians 3:9. Are we able to comprehend it? Can we have it? It is his love. It is his life in us. It is his compassion.
””
We are on probation to slay the enemy and destroy the kingdom of darkness, to move among satanic forces and subdue them in the name of Jesus."

...and Smith Wigglesworth spoke with tongues ( that the unlearned call gibberish) and walked in miraculous dimensions we only hope for...and guess what? No accusation of weirdness or immorality or any other failure against him, as far as I know....

But it still illustrates for us that this is a quite rare occurance, so that we cannot declare we have the authority and gifting to go around raising the dead as Jesus did or as the Apostles in the first century did. But praise God when He does do this.

I know from other posts you accept that there are false manifestations of the gifts as well as genuine. This is what I believe, but I think in the day in which we live there is far more false than true and this ix what I am trying folk to consider and be honest about.

I would say that we in ourselves have no authority to do anything. I cannot heal a gnat, nor can I raise anyone from the dead. However, as a believer, I do not act in my own authority. I act under the authority and headship of God through communion with the Holy Spirit. As a result, I have been given His authority over sickness, disease, and death.

However, like any ambassador, the authority that I have been given is not mine to use as I please, but rather to use as He wills me to use it. If I am listening to Him, I will hear Him instruct me to minister to someone and with obedience to that instruction will come the authority and power to accomplish His will in that situation, whether it be healing, raising the dead, casting out demons, or whatever He calls me to do. When I am obedient to the command found in His written word, I also experience the same delegated authority and power flowing through me.

Of course, as a man living in flesh, I do not always do this perfectly. I am human after all. However, I am growing in this ability to hear, obey, and see His power manifest through me to minister to another person.

dspks: If we take, "It is appointed to man once to die and then the judgment", as an absolute statement that says, "Every man that ever lived will absolutely die, and a man cannot be raised from the dead because he can only die once.", then we must ignore a host of other Biblical scriptures and examples.

Lazarus was raised from the dead. Abraham was shown in a vision by God that Jesus would be raised from the dead and had faith to believe that Isaac could also. Elijah never died. Neither did Enoch.

25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

I think the context of Hebrews here is that Jesus does not have to die many, many times for each and every sin of each and every man. Instead, He only had to die once for all sins. This does not preclude the possibility of being raised from the dead, but excludes the necessity of many, many sacrifices for our sin.

I have no doubt about the Holy Spirit's ability to raise the dead but why would a saint want to be raised from the dead? If you believe a saint has gone to be with the LORD, why would a person want to bring back someone else who has to deal with the ugliness that characterizes modern life? Now, if the person is an unbeliever, I would wish to have them raised so they could repent, but then that may not happen either.

I am with you on that sentiment Sandra. But then I remember Paul saying that he really wanted to get out of here, but because he was still needed, he guessed he could bear with staying a bit longer.

Just a question here. Is it possible that a sinner could be raised from the dead? I mean, are miracles, healings, etc., confined only to believers, or can God use them to move the heart of an unbeliever?

I went to the cemetery
And what did I see
A bunch of dead bones
Staring at me

I walked up to a stone
And looked it in the eye
Didn't know what to say
So I looked up to the sky

I'd like to see these bones live
But I don't have anything to give
How to do this I don't know
So I decided just to go

I stopped on by the hospital
But the mission seemed impossible
So many lay there sick and dying
So finally I just gave up trying

It so saddened me the situation
As I thought about our generation
Saturated in the love of death
So many young ones hooked on meth

I'd like to see the dead be raised
But would the multitudes be phased
Jesus said if this were so
They still would not believe you know

To love God and neighbor too
Is mostly what He asks of you
To preach His Gospel to everyone
Is how His will on earth is done

We were raised from death to life
When He laid His life down for His wife
Because He lives we'll never die
To go to that sweet by and by

The dead come forth by His call
Reversed is the effect of Adams fall
At this the devils don't rejoice
Cause long ago they made their choice

Alive again forever more
Of this truth we can be sure
So come forth one and all
Eternal life is not something small

To raise the dead you go ahead
But by His Spirit I'll be led
When sinners I do see repent
I and angels are content

God may do just as He pleases
All for the glory of His Son Jesus
So do good works while it is day
And in this hour fervently pray