"Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month." Joel 2:23
Around March 2, 2025, Holy Spirit showed me how Christian religion/ denominations over the ages have evolved through the church's (believers) levels of faith in God, pushing man towards Him, from glory to glory (more faith to even more faith, the former rain and the latter rain Joel 2:23 above). "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
All glory, honor, praise and thanksgiving to God Most High. Let Your Children hear. In Jesus's Name. Amen.
Gifts Remained When Jesus Ascended
1 Corinthians 1:7-8 states, "So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." This means that believers are fully equipped with spiritual gifts, like faith, wisdom, prophecy, healing, fighting evil, and casting out demons, as Jesus said in Mark 16:17-18: "And these signs shall follow them that believe [everyone, anyone who believes]; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." These scriptures mean that believers lack nothing as they eagerly await Jesus’s return. These gifts sustain and empower, not only them in their faith until that day, but are also for the edification and encouragement of the church, the faithful. Unbelievers, the unfaithful, get only the resurrection as their sign, because their minds are blinded by the God of this world. 2 Corinthians 4:4. See also my blog titled, "The Sign of Jonah," here.
Jesus points to Jonah and the whale as the sign for the unfaithful who taunted Him for more signs, even though they had seen His many miracles. The resurrection is the final sign, a call to believe and have faith unto obedience, not just awe at His sacrifice. John 14:23, "Jesus answered and said unto him, "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." He will keep my words; my Father will love him; and THEN we will come unto him and make our abode with him (Holy Spirit).
1 Corinthians 13:10-12 "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." This refers to the return of Jesus, "that which is perfect." When He comes, partial things, like incomplete knowledge or temporary gifts, will no longer be needed, as His return will bring full revelation and completion. This is reinforced by Philippians 3:20-21: "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body," ["that which is perfect is come"] showing that Jesus’s return not only ends the need for temporary gifts, but also transforms believers, removing their sinful, "vile" nature to make them like Him in perfection. So, the gifts from Holy Spirit in the New Testament have not ceased, but they are signs for the faithful.
In this blog, we will focus primarily, though not exclusively, on Mark 16:17-18: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Let's take a look at how this plays out over the two millennia (2000 years) since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will pinpoint clergy and lay people who performed miracles according to Mark 16:17-18 above, mostly excluding the works of Jesus, because those works are well recorded in the Bible. This is a broader picture of how God's purpose continued to flourish among common people after Jesus's ascension, even though the church often denied miracles, or even limited them to clergy only.
Present Day: Picture a weathered tent glowing beneath a Southern California moon. Evangelist Mario Murillo preaches with the fire of the Holy Spirit, as a man steps forward, declaring his fentanyl addiction shattered in a moment of belief and repentance. He drops his crutches to the dirt, trusting God’s power, and the crowd erupts with shouts of praise. Or, step back to the 1950s, where Oral Roberts fills a grainy TV screen, praying over a blind woman who blinks into sight as families watch from home, breathless. These scenes throb with healing’s pulse, rooted in Mark 16:17-18 above.
For 2,000 years, healing has carved a path through history, driven by faith, met by God’s sovereign Will. He shapes it as the Potter molds the clay, per Isaiah 64:8: “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” God’s Will reigns, searching hearts (for faith). Hebrews 11:6 cuts no corners: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Faith’s the deal. God’s the boss. And the Spirit propels us to greater glory, as 2 Corinthians 3:18 promises: “But we all… are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Let’s look at Faith Healing from the early church to now.
Healing kicked off with Jesus and the apostles in a brutal Roman empire, where people were yearning for freedom from oppression. Mark 16:17-18 laid the promise, and Mark 16:20 proved it: “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” Peter healed a lame man in Acts 3:6: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Around 64 AD, Nero persecuted Christians, blaming them for a fire that gutted Rome as historian Tacitus records. At that time, Paul healed on Malta, when he met Publius’s father, “sick of a fever and of a bloody flux.” Paul “prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him” Acts 28:8. Believers saw these acts, Peter’s lame man walking, Publius’s dad recovering, as proof God had not left them to Rome’s flames. God’s Will is sovereign over the faithful. He knows what is in man. John 2:24-25
Healings did not end with the apostles. Acts 9:10-18 brings Ananias in Damascus. God said to Ananias, “Go thy way: for he [Saul/Paul] is a chosen vessel unto me," and Ananias laid hands on Saul, saying “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus… hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight… And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales."
Acts 8:6-7 shows Philip in Samaria: “For unclean spirits… came out of many… and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.”
Healing’s arc did not flicker out after Jesus's crucifixion and ascension to heaven. It burned steady from 33 AD onward. The post-apostolic years of 60 to 203 AD saw church fathers and martyrs carrying the flame. Even the stretch from 203 to Rome’s fall 1000 kept healing alive despite patchy records and fading literacy. Faith met God’s sovereign Will in churches, monasteries, and martyr's tales. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” That speck of faith, small but real, sparked God’s power through the ages.
Rome flipped the script in 313 AD, legalizing Christianity via Constantine’s Edict. Healing shifted as bishops took charge. Augustine in North Africa wrote in "City of God" (426 AD) of a blind man at a Milan shrine. A blind man, trusting martyr relics, got prayed over by Augustine and received sight.
Around 432 AD, Patrick hit Ireland. Patrick, later Saint Patrick, was a fifth-century Romano-British missionary and bishop who brought Christianity to Ireland. A druid chieftain, sick with fever, believed Patrick’s God could fix him; Patrick prayed, the fever broke, and clans turned to Christ, per the Annals of Ulster. God’s sovereign Will, stacking faith in the hearts of men.
After centuries of tension, the church split in 1054 when leaders in Rome and Constantinople excommunicated each other over doctrine and control, dividing Christianity into Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) branches. The Middle Ages followed, a rugged span from the 5th to 15th centuries where Europe grappled with war, famine, and disease. Healing held steady through it. Around 1080 in southern France, Bernard of Clairvaux, later a saint, prayed over a boy blind from birth. The boy stood and saw light for the first time, as Herbert of Clairvaux’s 12th-century "Life of Bernard" notes.
In 1224, Francis of Assisi took it further in central Italy. He found a leper outside Assisi, sores raw and reeking, and washed him while praying Psalm 107:20: “He sent his word, and healed them.” Francis’ faith stood firm, and the leper rose healed, skin clear, sores gone, per Thomas of Celano’s 1228 account.
Then, the 1340s hit hard with the Black Death, a plague that killed nearly half Europe’s people, some 25 million, leaving survivors under lords’ thumbs. Pilgrims trekked to Santiago de Compostela, a Spanish shrine tied to St. James. In 1348, church records note a lame man walked home after hands were laid on him.
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a German monk, nailed his 95 Theses to a Wittenberg church door, calling out the Catholic Church for selling indulgences, which was cash for forgiveness, a scam fleecing peasants while priests grew fat. His words spread, and soon folks could read scripture in their own languages, not just the Latin that was locked in by Catholic clergy. Healing took a back seat as Luther and his crew preached salvation by faith alone, not miracles, but Anabaptists, considered radical believers at the time, kept healing alive. In 1525, they hid in Swiss barns, and laid hands on a woman burning with fever. She cooled off, and stood up, per Mennonite histories.
The 1700s saw Europe and America lean into reason. Thinkers sneered at faith, and churches went cold. John Wesley flipped that in 1742, preaching outdoors to coal-stained miners in England. His journal logs a Bristol woman whose tumor shrank after he prayed, a crowd of 200 watching.
Across the ocean, the Second Great Awakening erupted in 1801. At Cane Ridge, Kentucky, 20,000 gathered in a muddy field. Preacher Peter Cartwright prayed over a lame boy who stood, and took steps, as hymns shook the trees, per eyewitness diaries.
From 1906 to 1909, Los Angeles trembled with a spiritual awakening. A revival known as Azusa Street blazed to life at 312 Azusa Street, where William J. Seymour preached in a rundown warehouse, the Revival birthing Pentecostalism in 1906, and ultimately Assemblies of God in 1914. Early Pentecostals saw Azusa as God pouring out His Spirit anew, fulfilling Joel 2:23's "latter rains," representing God's Spirit bringing spiritual renewal and transformation: "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month." From glory to glory through the ages.
Sweaty, multiracial crowds gathered at Azusa Street, shouting praises as the Holy Spirit fell on the crowds with power, bringing tongues, healings, and prophecies. They carried an urgent faith, alive with the promise of 1 Corinthians 12:10: "To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy." They believed they stood in the last days, as Acts 2:17 declares: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." This outpouring of Spirit, the former and latter rains, transforms lives, from glory to glory, as 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 affirms: "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
The "Apostolic Faith," a publication edited by William Seymour during the Azusa Street Revival, widely circulated the healing testimonies from the events, with its circulation reaching up to 50,000, amplifying reports of miracles like restored sight, healed limbs, and even deliverance from chronic illnesses and diseases. It was reported that a crippled woman cast aside her cane and walked after prayer. Blind eyes opened, fevers broke, and tumors vanished before crowds numbering in the hundreds. Frank Bartleman’s book "Azusa Street" also testifies to these daily wonders, a foundation for all who followed. The Revival, which lasted from 1906 to roughly 1909 (with some influence extending to 1915), was marked by intense spiritual experiences and claims of supernatural occurrences. In addition to healings, attendees reported that uneducated individuals spoke in foreign languages they had not learned, languages recognized by immigrants present, like German or Yiddish, as evidence of "speaking in tongues" Acts 2:4. Other accounts describe people being "slain in the Spirit," falling under divine power, and experiencing dramatic transformations, both physical and emotional. Acts 9:1-43; Ezekiel 1:28; John 18:6; Revelation 1:17; Matthew 17:6
The Birth of Pentecostalism
From the root of the Holiness movement, leaders like Charles Parham and Seymour pushed further, seeking the Holy Spirit’s indwelling as a distinct baptism marked by tongues. Acts 2:4 "They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues." Thus, Pentecostalism was born, and stands as the last literal-Bible-following denomination that has evolved in over 100 years. These believers proclaim the gospel that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God John 3:16, died for our sins 1 Corinthians 15:3, rose from the dead on the third day 1 Corinthians 15:4, and is now exalted in heaven at God’s right hand Acts 2:33, a truth received by faith in God alone, with repentance, or turning from sin to God, sealed by the Holy Spirit’s power John 14:26. Taking Mark 16:17-18 at its word, they have faith in Jesus's promise, and expect tongues, healings, and signs, a biblical fidelity unmatched since its 1906 rise, sparking renewals like the Charismatics of the 1960s, yet holding firm as the final bastion of Scripture’s plain following.
Born from the Holiness movement’s emphasis on personal piety and sanctification, Pentecostalism pushed further, insisting on a distinct baptism in the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." This visceral experience broke from the quiet traditions of mainline churches, offering spiritual empowerment to all who sought it. The movement prizes supernatural feats in everyday lives, restoring the church to its apostolic and post-apostolic roots, where the Spirit moves freely among the faithful.
From its Azusa Street spark, Pentecostalism grew into one of Christianity’s fastest-growing streams. By the 21st century, it claims 600 million adherents, per Gordon-Conwell’s 2020 estimate, flourishing in America, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, often, though not exclusively, among the poor and marginalized who find hope in its promise. Luke 4:18-19. This growth reflects an emotional, living faith, that critics sometimes call theatrical, questioning the authenticity of its miracles. Yet Pentecostals stand firm, declaring they live the Bible, not merely read it, preparing the world for the end. The movement’s appeal lies in its raw power. It carries forward the urgent call of Azusa, a beacon of God’s Spirit in these last days, lighting the path for Christ’s return.
Other significant sparks of God's miracles flowed from Azusa Street:
Maria Woodworth-Etter preached across America in the 1910s, her book "Signs and Wonders" chronicling feats. In Indiana, a paralyzed man rose and walked in 1913. In Ohio, deaf ears heard in 1915. A woman’s goiter shrank mid-meeting in 1914, all witnessed by thousands.
Charles Parham, co-founder of Pentecostalism, preached healing alongside Seymour. His early 1900s meetings saw sickness flee, though specific cases remain less documented than Azusa’s flood.
John G. Lake established healing rooms in Spokane during the 1910s. His ministry claimed 100,000 healings over five years, including cancers dissolving and blind eyes seeing, a testament to persistent faith.
The Roaring Years: 1920s-1930s
Aimee Semple McPherson built Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, her ministry peaking in the 1920s and 1930s. Her magazine "Bridal Call" reported a blind woman regaining sight in 1921, a crippled man discarding his cane in 1923, and a deaf mute speaking in 1926. Thousands left crutches behind, their healings archived by her Foursquare Church.
F.F. Bosworth held campaigns nationwide in the 1920s. His book "Christ the Healer" recounts a cancer patient restored in Texas and blind eyes opened in Illinois by 1925, with dozens of letters pouring in from each revival.
Charles S. Price joined the healing wave in the 1920s. In Canada, blind eyes saw and the lame walked, his meetings filling halls with believer testimonies of God’s touch.
Smith Wigglesworth, a British evangelist, shook the 1920s and 1930s. Tumors melted under his hands, and the sick rose healed, his bold faith leaving a trail of miracles across continents.
The Era of Television and Prosperity Believers: 1940s-1950s Revival
The 1940s and 1950s marked a peak, a time when God’s power surged through many hands. William Branham launched his Healing Revival in 1947 at Jonesboro, Arkansas, before 20,000 souls. Deaf ears opened, a man deaf for twenty years hearing anew. Polio-stricken children walked, their legs straightening mid-prayer in 1950. Tumors fell from bodies, a woman’s mass dropping in 1948 before the crowd. In Durban, South Africa, in 1951, 100,000 watched a polio girl toss her crutches, her healing one of fifty or more per meeting.
Oral Roberts filled tents in Tulsa during the 1950s. His magazine Healing Waters detailed arthritis untwisting a woman’s hands in 1955, a boy’s leukemia vanishing by 1952 with clear blood tests from his family, and cancers shrinking under prayer in 1954. Television captured the lame walking, a man casting aside crutches live, with over 1,000 healings per campaign.
Jack Coe preached boldly in Dallas during the 1950s. A paralyzed woman stood unaided in 1952, cancers dissolved in 1954, and blind eyes saw in 1953, each revival yielding hundreds of claims in "Voice of Healing."
A.A. Allen shook tents in the 1950s and 1960s. Tumors dropped from a woman in 1955, per "Miracle Magazine." A blind girl’s eyes cleared in 1958, and deaf ears popped in 1956. Film from the 1960s shows a man tossing crutches, with 500 healings per meeting.
T.L. Osborn took healing abroad in the 1950s. In Thailand, a blind woman saw. In Cuba, a deaf mute spoke. His crusades yielding hundreds of miracles per event, recorded in "Healing the Sick."
Gordon Lindsay coordinated the revival through "Voice of Healing." He documented a boy’s clubfoot straightening in 1948, his work amplifying thousands of healings across this span.
Many from this era were prosperity believers, holding tight to scripture that promises abundance to fulfill more good works. "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" 2 Corinthians 9:8. Anyone who has ever experienced this prosperity or abundance knows that God is able. "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again." Proverbs 19:17. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6:38. Not just words, but the word of the living God. Man will reap what he has sown, good or bad. Amen.
The Broadening: 1960s-1970s
Kathryn Kuhlman filled Pittsburgh halls in the 1960s and 1970s. Her book "I Believe in Miracles" lists a goiter shrinking in 1967, cancers vanishing in the 1970s, and wheelchairs emptying, with thousands of testimonies logged by her foundation.
Benny Hinn began in Florida by the late 1970s. A blind man saw in 1979, arthritis fled, and his 1980s crusades saw the lame walk and cancers depart, hundreds claiming healing per event.
John Wimber founded the Vineyard in the 1980s, his influence stretching into the 1990s. His book "Power Healing" records back pain lifting and deafness ending by 1987, with dozens healed per meeting, including a woman’s migraines ceasing in 1985.
The Late Century: 1980s-1990s
Morris Cerullo preached globally in the 1980s and 1990s. In Brazil, blind eyes opened in 1985. In the Philippines, cripples walked in the 1990s, his ministry tapes claiming thousands healed.
Rodney Howard-Browne was a Pentecostal evangelist, rooted in the movement’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s power, as seen in his upbringing in a Pentecostal family in South Africa and his ministry’s focus on spiritual gifts like tongues and healing. His launch of "holy laughter" in the 1990s, which he framed as a sign of end-times revival, flowed from this foundation, echoing Acts 2:17 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." After all, laughter is a fulfillment of Luke 6:21 "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh," linking spiritual hunger and weeping to a divine outpouring of joy. Some embraced his views as a fresh move of God, and some dismissed them as unbiblical excess. Yet his Pentecostal convictions amplified the movement’s end-times fervor. In Florida, chronic pain left in 1993, a mute spoke, and dozens testified to healings amid revival joy (laughter).
Kim Clement rose in the 1990s, continuing until 2016. Migraines stopped in the 2000s, a woman’s leg pain eased in 2010, his healings sparse but real to his faithful followers.
The Present: Post-2016 to March 2025
Hank Kunneman ministers in Omaha to this day. Arthritis eased in the 2020s, a woman’s back pain vanished in 2022, with dozens of healings yearly reported by his believing flock.
Robin Bullock preaches in Alabama, ongoing. A deaf man heard in 2019, a tumor shrank in 2023, his miracles documented in videos for the faithful.
Heidi Baker serves in Mozambique, ongoing. Blind eyes opened and a deaf boy heard in 2018, her ministry logging hundreds of healings yearly for believers.
Todd White heals on streets and stages into 2025. Legs lengthened in 2019, a woman’s limp departed in 2020, pain fled in 2021, with dozens per event sworn by the faithful.
Mario Murillo holds tent revivals in California, ongoing. Cripples walked in 2022, chronic illness lifted in 2023, his events claiming hundreds of healings.
Sean Feucht leads worship rallies into 2025. Chronic pain healed in the 2020s, mobility returned in 2022, with dozens of miracles reported by his believing crowds.
The 1940s and 1950s Healing Revival undoubtedly shone brightest, with William Branham, Oral Roberts, Jack Coe, A.A. Allen, T.L. Osborn, and Gordon Lindsay together claiming tens of thousands of healings. Yet, every era, from William J. Seymour in 1906 to Sean Feucht in 2025, bears witness to God’s hand. The flow of miracles never ceased after the apostles, but, again, Matthew 12:39 warns, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." The resurrection of Christ stands as a sign for all, but miracles bless believers, fulfilling Mark 16:18. As the last days draw near, the Spirit pours out, and the faithful see His wonders.
So, faith is the deal, and Hebrews 11:6 slams it home: “without faith it is impossible to please him.” Jesus knows hearts, Matthew 9:4 “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?” A woman in Matthew 9:22 believed, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” Bartimaeus in Mark 10:52 trusted, “Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.” The lame man at Bethesda (John 5:6-9) answered Jesus’s “Wilt thou be made whole?” with action, rising when told. Lazarus rose from the dead in John 11:39-44 “Lazarus, come forth.” Martha, Lazarus's sister's, faith in John 11:22 “I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.”
For more about the importance of faith, see also:
Healing’s arc runs from the early church’s grit to today’s tent revivals, fueled by faith and God’s sovereign Will. God reigns as Potter, us as clay: Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter.” We are changed, 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, from glory to glory. Rough vessels all, the Potter’s sovereign Will crafts faith's arc, pushing us to greater glory, in His image, and toward Him.
Signs Beyond Healing: Mark 16:17-18 Through the Ages
Mark 16:17-18 lays out a bold promise: “In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Beyond healing, believers, often on the fringe, like today’s Pentecostals and Charismatics sparking revivals, live these signs, trusting God’s Will with mustard-seed faith Matthew 17:20. Clergy and lay folk since Jesus’s ascension cast out demons, spoke strange tongues, and tangled with serpents, fueled by belief and God’s sovereign power.
Casting Out Devils
Exorcisms flared across centuries, proclaimed by a mix of Roman Catholic priests, Protestant clergy, and everyday believers stepping boldly into the fray with faith in Jesus’s name. Around 313 AD, Ambrose, a Milan bishop, confronted a man raving with a spirit; Ambrose rebuked it with authority, and the man calmed. "Life of Ambrose" records it plainly.
In 1801, at Kentucky’s Cane Ridge Revival, a Methodist lay preacher, meaning a regular believer, not ordained, faced a woman shrieking and thrashing, hallmarks of possession; he prayed for hours, commanding it out in Jesus’s name, and she stood steady, per eyewitness diaries.
By 1975, Father Gabriele Amorth, Rome’s top Catholic exorcist, tackled a teen girl in Italy howling with voices not her own; months of relentless prayer broke the grip, per his accounts.
That same year, Bob Larson, a Protestant radio evangelist, took on a Denver teen growling unnaturally, live on air, and Larson’s faith pressed through till the teen settled, per "Dead Air."
In 2005, Wanda Pratnicka, a Polish laywoman, claimed thousands of exorcisms remotely, like a Chicago man plagued by voices since childhood, who found peace through her prayers, per her records, showing faith meeting God’s will to kick darkness loose across time.
Exorcisms Between 100 and 313 AD: After Jesus’s ascension in 33 AD, exorcisms did not fade. Early Christians kept them alive into the New Testament’s close (~100 AD) and beyond. Around 150 AD, Justin Martyr wrote in "First Apology" (Chapter 6) that Christians, clergy and lay, cast out demons in Jesus’s name, proving Christ’s power over pagan gods; no famous cases, just a steady hum of belief. Irenaeus, around 180 AD in "Against Heresies" (Book II, Chapter 32), noted believers expelled demons with prayer, commonplace, not tied to rank. Tertullian, near 200 AD in "Apology" (Chapter 23), said Christians drove out spirits with Jesus’s name, faith, not magic, fueled it. Origen, around 248 AD in "Against Celsus" (Book VII, Chapter 4), claimed even uneducated Christians, lacking formal learning, cast out demons with prayer and touch.
Famous Clergy Cases Beyond Ambrose: Beyond Ambrose, famous clergy left their mark with exorcisms tied to faith and God’s will. Martin of Tours, around 371 AD, a French bishop, faced a possessed man in a village; he ordered the demon out with a stern word, and the man was freed. Locals spread his fame, per Sulpicius Severus’ "Life of Martin." Benedict of Nursia, around 520 AD, founder of Western monasticism, expelled a demon from a monk raving in his monastery; Benedict prayed and struck with a rod, the monk calmed. "Gregory the Great’s Dialogues" (Book II, Chapter 16) tells it. Columbanus, an Irish missionary around 600 AD, cast a demon from a man in Gaul; he commanded it out, the man stood sane. Jonas of "Bobbio’s Life of Columbanus" (Book I, Chapter 19) notes his European reach. John Wesley, Methodist founder, around the 1740s, prayed over a woman convulsing in Bristol; he rebuked a spirit, she quieted. His Journal (1742) shows clergy faith at work. These were not small feats; faith met God’s will, shaking evil loose.
Serpent-Handling and Poison-Drinking Through Time
In Mark 16:18, Jesus commissions His disciples, declaring, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall... They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them...” This is not a nod to snake-handling or poison-drinking rituals, as 1st-century Judea had no such cults, and the early church did not practice these things. It is a promise of power over danger. For the disciples at the time, it signaled fearless mission work amid real risks, not a call to stunts. Jesus clarified in Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Additional scripture reinforces this with Psalm 91:13, “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." As well as Paul’s encounter in Acts 28:3-6: “And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand… And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.”
These scriptures echo Christ’s triumph in Hebrews 2:14-15, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” They represent authority over Satan, “as a roaring lion” seeking prey 1 Peter 5:8, not a call to grab snakes or down poison, but faith overcoming anything meant to harm us. As Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, what man means for evil, God turns to good.
There are few if any recorded tales of snake handling or poison drinking in the early church. Church fathers like Justin Martyr (2nd century) mention healings, not serpents, leaving it quiet until much later.
Fast forward to the 20th century, and in 1909, Ambrose Clark, a Tennessee lay preacher, gripped copperheads at a Grasshopper Valley revival. He trusted Mark’s word and walked off unbitten, locals swore by it, per oral tales.
George Hensley took it further in 1910, grabbing rattlers mid-sermon in Sale Creek. He believed God would shield him, dodging death until a 1955 bite took him, per church lore.
The 20th-century Pentecostal surge tied to Mark 16:18 kicked off with Azusa Street in 1906, and believers latched onto signs like healing and tongues, but Appalachia’s Holiness folks (1910s-1920s), led by Hensley, added serpents as proof of faith over danger.
James Miller, a Kentucky preacher, started in the 1920s, survived a 1945 bite with prayer, and preached till 1970. His faith held firm, per family accounts.
Dolly Pond Church of God with Signs Following, since the 1940s, saw layman John Brown Jr. handle vipers in a 2021 service. He took a bite, prayed it off, and lived, per church talk.
Yet today, it is a tiny fringe of snake handlers, a few hundred in Appalachia like Dolly Pond, banned in Tennessee since 1947, and seen as protection rather than a mandate. Faith drives those few who do, God’s will deciding the outcome.
Tongues Across the Centuries
Tongues did not vanish after the early church; it simmered through time, popping up among believers trusting the Holy Spirit’s move. Irenaeus (130-202 AD) noted it in "Against Heresies," describing believers speaking new languages, while Tertullian (200 AD) saw it in North Africa.
In 1706, Camisard refugees in France spoke tongues amid persecution. These lay Protestants trusted the Spirit’s rush, per their diaries.
In 1906, Azusa Street’s lay crowd, factory workers and maids, spoke new languages as William Seymour preached. Dozens believed the Spirit hit nightly, filling a warehouse with strange speech, per revival logs.
In 1922, Aimee Semple McPherson, a Pentecostal evangelist, led a service in Los Angeles. A mechanic named John Doe spoke fluent Mandarin he had never learned, trusting God took over, per Foursquare Church records.
In 1980, David Wilkerson, an Assemblies of God pastor, prayed over a New York teen who stammered into tongues mid-service. The kid trusted it and kept praising, per Wilkerson’s memoirs.
In 2004, during the Toronto Blessing, laywoman Sarah Jones spoke a Slavic tongue mid-prayer at a packed meeting, untrained. She believed God moved, per church logs.
All of these acts require the smallest of faith to perform, faith the size of a mustard seed.
Changed From Glory to Glory, Through the Ages
Proverbs 9:4-6: "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense, she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.'"
This passage encourages the simple to seek wisdom and understanding, implying a progression from basic to more profound knowledge. Faith to faith, glory to glory.
Isaiah 28:9-10: "Whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those just weaned from the milk? Those just taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."
From glory to glory through two millennia, and Apostle Paul brings it home in 1 Corinthians 3:2: "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."
These verses speak about the gradual and incremental nature of learning and understanding, similar to the idea of moving from milk to solid food, glory to glory.
Jump to 2025, and many are still fed with milk, unable to bear meat. Yet that mustard-seed faith that moved mountains, defied empires, and built glory, God’s sovereign Will shining through history’s edges, can still be seen by his most ardent believers, through faith that can move literal mountains. Remember, in a world crushed by Rome, where taxes bled dry the already oppressed, and soldiers cracked skulls for nonpayment, Jesus was the original fringe. He appeared with hope for the masses of weary seeking relief. His ways were considered unorthodox, or "fringe," to the Jewish elders. He preached love: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself Matthew 22:36-40. Even more difficult to hear or understand, He preached, “Love your enemies” Matthew 5:44, which sounded wild in an age of despair and manmade rituals, where they had been taught to hate their enemies.
And, so we are changed from glory to glory, in His image. 2 Corinthians 3:18. The rain, the former rain, and the latter rain. Joel 2:23
Amen.
