Mike extends a gracious, direct invitation to Todd White to call Hosanna Christian Fellowship in Bellflower and talk personally — framing the critique as brotherly rather than adversarial.

Closing direct address to Todd White.

Leviticus purification rituals were quarantine protocols, not magic healing spells

Ra claims the Bible teaches that ritual spells can purify and cure illness, when diseases are actually caused by pathogens

The healings attributed to Apollonius are based on his superior insight and knowledge — massage therapy for a dislocated hip, carrying a rabbit around a laboring woman, eating owl eggs to prevent a child from wanting wine. These are presented as natural knowledge, not divine miraculous power. This is not parallel to Jesus commanding 'Lazarus, come forth' or 'stretch out your hand.'

Matthew 9:5-7 — Jesus heals the paralytic as evidence of authority to forgive sins

Mike uses Jesus's healing of the paralytic as another instance of miracles functioning as proof.

Authority over evil spirits and sickness comes from Christ's authority, not the believer's own

Viewer asking about Christians' authority over evil spirits and sickness

Introduction of the names-in-the-Gospels phenomenon as historical evidence

Third major line of evidence: the pattern of named vs. unnamed individuals in the Gospels.

Bauckham's theory: named individuals are living eyewitness sources the author is appealing to

The positive explanation for why some individuals are named in Gospel accounts.

Tim Barnett (Stand to Reason): faith is not an epistemology but a way of trusting; knowledge and trust are distinct categories

Video clip from Tim Barnett responding to Boghossian

Jesus healed the paralytic to provide evidence for his authority to forgive sins — faith is evidence-based

Biblical example of evidence-based faith

Mythicists must composite multiple figures (Dionysus, Horus, Asclepius, Apollonius, Hercules) to approximate Jesus — historians reject this method

Exposing the composite methodology of Jesus-myth parallels

Cessationism defined: miraculous gifts belonged to the apostolic era only, served a unique founding purpose, and ceased before the canon closed.

Winger reads a definition from Theapedia. He contrasts it with continuationism, which holds the gifts are normative and available today.

Winger's own position: open but not normative — he agrees with cessationists on apostleship and a likely reduction of healing gifts, but rejects full cessationism.

Having refuted the cessationist use of 1 Cor 13, Winger clarifies his own nuanced view to avoid being read as a rampant charismatic.

Resource recommendation for documented modern miracles: Craig Keener's two-volume work "Miracles" provides medical/testimonial evidence catalogued by a respected scholar.

Q&A — viewer asks for visible evidence that gifts of healing are active today.

Q&A: Why did God stop doing big signs and miracles (burning bush, parting the sea)?

Question from a listener puzzled by the apparent cessation of large-scale miracles after the Old Testament.

When a Christian falsely promises healing and the person dies, address the false prophet privately in love; be present for the sick person without making promises

Question from Alex M about how to speak to someone dying of cancer whose hope was falsely raised by another Christian claiming God said the cancer would not return.

Strong feeling is not the same as God speaking — this applies to believers and non-believers alike

Closing comment on the false prophecy / healing question.

Isaiah 53:5 interpretation — "by his stripes we are healed" in context

Question from Cindy Johanneson about Word of Faith use of Isaiah 53:5 to support divine health and the claim believers should never be sick.

1 Peter 2:24 quotes Isaiah 53:5 in a spiritual/relational healing context, not physical

Continuing the Isaiah 53:5 / healing-in-the-atonement discussion.

Matthew 8:16-17 applies Isaiah 53 to Jesus's physical healings — physical healing is in the atonement

Continuing Isaiah 53 / healing discussion; a complicating text for those who deny physical healing in the atonement.

Timing argument: blessings purchased at the cross are not all present realities — healing is partially now, fully later

Disagreement with hyper-charismatic "claim healing now" theology, despite agreeing healing is in the atonement.

Should we command healing (like Peter in Acts 3:6) or pray to God for healing? — Pray with faith; commanding is not a universal prescription

Question from Lasik's 97 about whether Christians should speak authoritatively over the sick rather than asking God.

Confidence in prayer for healing vs. fabricating certainty — suffering can be within God's will

Continuation of healing/prayer question; preview of upcoming Kenneth Copeland study.

Mark 16:17-18 — the signs follow believers as a community/historically, not as individual mandates for every Christian

Question from Chretienis about Mark 16:17-18 and helping people escape the prosperity gospel.

If Mark 16:17-18 is original, signs accompanying believers does not mean every believer at all times

Mike gives a conditional interpretation of Mark 16:17-18 assuming its authenticity

Bethel's primary export is false revival — fake gifts, prophecy, healings — mixed with genuine-sounding worship music that ranges from theologically neutral to theologically dangerous.

Mike's own view on Bethel, offered after establishing the meat-in-marketplace frame.

The blind man in Mark who saw "men like trees walking" knew what trees were despite being blind — blind people have extensive non-visual knowledge

Question from Angela about how a man born blind could know what trees look like (Mark 8:24)

False signs and wonders: miracles do not authenticate a religion; Satan has real but limited supernatural power

Question from 'spazzy jazzy' about a Japanese friend who believes a false religion because of a miraculous healing her mother received.

Releasing healing into the atmosphere -- unbiblical charismatic terminology rooted in crowd control rather than Scripture

Question from John Richardson about the biblical basis for Christians releasing healing into the atmosphere.

Kenneth Hagin and Word of Faith: extra-biblical systematizing of healing and glory produces a "cartoon image" of Christianity.

Question from Jordan Filler about Kenneth Hagin's "The Authority of the Believer."

The Messianic Secret in the Gospels: Jesus's commands to silence were temporary, strategic, and progressively lifted as the crucifixion approached.

Question from Justin Harcharik about why Jesus told people not to speak about him (Matthew 8:4; 9:30; 12:16).

Q14: Is the authority Jesus gave the 12 and 70 disciples different from spiritual gifts? Mike distinguishes pre-Pentecost authority from post-Pentecost Spirit-enabled gifts

Viewer Silas Bourner asks whether the authority Jesus granted the Twelve and Seventy to heal and cast out demons is different from spiritual gifts.

Question: Synoptic differences — disciples called before/after healing Peter's mother-in-law; Luke heals by rebuking the fever

Viewer Stephen Wilson asks about the differences between Matthew/Mark (disciples called before healing) and Luke (called after; heals by rebuking the fever).

Listening prayer is not condemned in Scripture but formulizing the Holy Spirit's work is dangerous and can produce fabrications.

Question from Susan Krieg about whether the Bible endorses listening prayer.

Son of Man in Mark's Gospel: Jesus clearly uses the title self-referentially

Question from Skeptic Reviews claiming Jesus used "Son of Man" in the third person to refer to someone other than himself.

Praying for healing for a child with a birth defect — contentment vs. miracle prayer

Listener Maria says her unborn baby has a serious birth defect; many friends are praying for a miracle but she isn't sure she can/should.

1 Peter 2:24 ("by his wounds you have been healed") does refer to physical healing in Mike's view, but the TIMING is the issue. Many benefits of the cross aren't received now — we still die, still have corruptible bodies. Full physical healing comes in the resurrection. It's theologically inconsistent to demand healing for the common cold while accepting death from old age. The "healing in the atonement" teaching overreaches on timing, not content.

Healing in the atonement — timing issue

Survey of Mark showing Jesus consistently correcting false messianic expectations: (1) Mark 1:8 — baptize with Holy Spirit, not raise armies. (2) Mark 1:11 — beloved Son (sacrifice imagery from Genesis 22). (3) Mark 1:15 — repent and believe, not take up arms. (4) Jesus's ministry: exorcisms and healings, not political conquest — the enemy is Satan, not Rome; the problem is sin, not occupation. (5) Jesus sends crowds away instead of rallying them for war. The whole Gospel of Mark is about fixing these expectations.

Survey of Mark — correcting messianic expectations

Mark 16:17-18 (signs accompanying believers) — Mike thinks the last 12 verses of Mark are likely not original (earliest manuscripts lack them). Even if original: (1) the signs may apply to SOME believers, not ALL; (2) picking up serpents refers to unintentional encounters (like Paul in Acts 28), not deliberate snake handling; (3) Jesus said "do not put the Lord your God to the test"; (4) if healing applies to all, every Christian should be in hospitals — but nobody does this, revealing inconsistency.

Mark 16:17-18 — signs and snake handling

The Triumphal Entry is better understood as the "Ironic Entry" — the central contrast is between the crowd's expectations of a political liberator and Jesus' actual mission of humble sacrifice.

Introduction to Mark 11:1-11 verse-by-verse study

Faith for miracles is different from saving faith — it's initiated by God (a spiritual gift), not fabricated by the believer. Jesus had a responsive ministry to the Father, not initiatory. You respond to what the Spirit reveals.

Theological framework: miracle-faith as God-initiated response, not self-generated belief

Conclusion: Mark 11 teaches new-covenant prayer through Christ, accessed by faith (not works). Real faith believes both for miracles AND in suffering when God says no. The harder path of faith is trusting God's "no."

Summary of the full teaching on prayer from Mark 11 and 14

What do Miracles/Healing Depend On?: If one were to pray over someone for a miracle or for healing, what would the chances of it working depend on? Jesus said that it depends on faith. Does it also depend on being a relatively righteous person?

Q&A question: What do Miracles/Healing Depend On?

Does James Teach Guaranteed Healing?: Does James 5: 14-15 say that a sick person should ask elders to pray for him and he will be always healed? The text seems to be quite straight forward on this.

Q&A question: Does James Teach Guaranteed Healing?

About Medical Marijuana Use: I have an incurable sleep disorder that my Doctor has authorized the use of Marijuana for as it is one of the few things that helps. Should I pray for healing or keep taking this drug that I hate?

Q&A question: About Medical Marijuana Use

Why is Transgender Surgery Wrong?: If Christian work is restorative: healing the sick, clothing the naked, etc. to create "foretastes" of Heaven, then why is transgender surgery wrong? Isn't that also restorative/fixing disorder?

Q&A question: Why is Transgender Surgery Wrong?

Is “Inner Healing Prayer” Biblical?: Is “inner healing prayer” as a form of trauma relief biblical? This practice involves a prayer leader asking the patient to picture vivid images and hear direct statements from Jesus.

Q&A question: Is “Inner Healing Prayer” Biblical?

Can Satan Heal People?: In view of the magicians in Exodus potentially getting their power from Satan, can Satan and demons heal, and are these potentially healings that don't last?

Q&A question: Can Satan Heal People?

Why Do Two Peoples’ Prayers Yield Different Results?: Why do some people have a gift of healing that works when they pray for people, but I can’t do the same? If we are praying to the same God, why do two peoples’ prayers give different results?

Q&A question: Why Do Two Peoples’ Prayers Yield Different Results?

Raising Dead & Healing for Today?: Raising the Dead: Should we practice Matthew 10:8 today, or has the command to heal, cast out demons, and raise the dead ceased?

Q&A question: Raising Dead & Healing for Today?

Is Every Good Thing an Answered Prayer?: Why are some people so quick to celebrate when God answers “small” prayers, but they overlook the fact that He didn’t answer “bigger” prayers like healing someone of cancer?

Q&A question: Is Every Good Thing an Answered Prayer?