2023 A.D.:  Some Historically Attested Instances of the Multiplication of Food!

 

 

 

 

 

     Jesus famously multiplied bread and fish during His earthly ministry.  Christians readily believe this was a real occurrence.  In fact, He made less than about a dozen loaves and even fewer fish suffice to feed thousands of people, twice, at different times and locations.  But Jesus told His disciples that they would 'do greater things than this' concerning His miracles.  Did it happen?  Were His words true?  Of course!  For instance, there have been instances throughout the Christian centuries of miracles wherein food was miraculously multiplied such that an amount that was insufficient for those wishing to eat was made to be sufficient through the miraculous increase of these foods even as people watched it happen!  Things like this are why it is better to be Christian than to be any other faith!  Our religion has so many proofs of God's great power, and therefore proofs of our religion's legitimacy in claiming that only through Jesus can anyone be saved. 

 

 

From Matthew 14:

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 End Quote

 

 Jesus also fed a crowd of 4,000 in nearly the same way later on, as it says in Matthew 16:

²⁹ Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰ Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. ³¹ The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

³⁴ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸ The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

End Quote

 

 

Consider a few of these following amazing miracles done after Jesus was crucified then ascended, by Christians who believe, or believed during their lifetime, in Jesus as their only possible Savior, their only path to gaining undeserved Heaven for eternity, and avoiding Hell for eternity:   

   

 

Food from Heaven?  To start with, all food is from Heaven from the Holy Father through His Son Jesus.  Which food-providing plant or animal did God not create?  So, food is always a miracle.  But in this article, we're trying to list incidents of food being supplied directly from Heaven outside of the normal channels.  In the Bible we know that in 1 Kings 19 an angel cooked bread for a discouraged and exhausted Elijah as he fled angry Jezebel after killing her 'prophets'.  It powered him for 40 days!  We also know that when the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the Sinai Desert, where very little grew that could be eaten, Manna (sweet crumbles of a bread-like substance) fell from Heaven 6 days a week and the sojourning Israelites could gather it and eat.  But, of course, Manna does not fall in our day, right?  Well...there are actually strange reports that it does fall in at least one location:  In Berrien Springs in a village called Namba in Angola, Africa in the vicinity of a pretty isolated 7th Day Adventist church the claim is made that for decades (since a bad drought/famine the area experienced about 60 years ago) Manna has fallen from the sky and can be gathered and eaten.  There are videos showing it...purportedly showing it.  It looks like they are showing something that could Manna!  They say it falls 2 days a week like clockwork, on Wednesdays and Fridays.  But how did I not hear of it until just recently?  Still, it seems somewhat convincing when you watch the videos.  I would love to go there or speak to someone who has.   Videos a few minutes long can be found of this church and their reported regular Manna fall on YouTube.  Interestingly enough, on one of the videos the church members mentioned that when someone in their congregation is living in sin then the Manna falls with red streaks in it, like blood, and it tastes bitter instead of sweet and good.  They mentioned an instance of their Pastor taking up with a woman  that they should not have, and the Manna became bitter until the bad relationship was ended.  Anyway, the videos are out there.  See what you think!

 

 

 

 

     

 

Found this next one below from the-new-way.org  Decided to share it also!

 

Jackie Womack knows what it is like to have God multiply her food supply. How he does it, she doesn't know. But she remembers a particular week some ten years ago when he answered her prayer with a miracle.

Jackie was home caring for five small children while her salesman husband was away trying to make some money for the family.

Their food supply was scarce. All she had was one loaf of bread, one gallon of milk, a carton of eggs, a box of cereal, and a little bit of hamburger meat.

Every time she cooked a meal, miraculously there seemed to be just enough left for the next meal. And so it went the rest of the week.

But one night the supply dried up. She served dinner, and then her cupboard was bare. She and the children prayed together, thanking God for his coming provision. She was careful not to let the children know the food had finally run out.

After she got the children into bed, Jackie sat down to read her Bible. She paused from her reading and prayed, "Lord, it says here in Psalms that your children will never beg for bread. I am going to believe that you will somehow provide food for our table. I believe we will never have to beg for food. Thank you...."

Before she even finished praying, the phone rang. The friend on the other end said, "As I was praying tonight, I became concerned for your family. I felt I should call and tell you that tomorrow I am giving you $150 for your needs. I couldn't go to bed until I told you what God impressed on my heart."

Not only had Jackie seen the multiplication of the food during the week, but in answer to the prayers of her children and herself, God spoke to someone to provide money to stock her pantry.

Jackie was amazed at the intricate timing of the Lord. Within minutes of the children's prayers, and precisely as she was calling upon the Lord to fulfill his promise, God answered specifically through someone who heard and obeyed the leading of the Spirit. Jackie was overwhelmed by God's goodness and spent the next moments praising and thanking him. In fact, this experience became a marker in Jackie's life, one experience among many that she often looks back upon--reminders of God's faithfulness, reminders that he is a sure and stable foundation on which she and her children can be secure.

From: Miracles Happen When You Pray by Quin Sherrer, 1997, page. 48, 49, Zondervan Publishing House,  Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

  

 

 

Around 2019, this account:  Protestant Missionary Heidi Baker, a founder of Iris Global, working in Mozambique Africa was speaking in this account, found at Churchpop.com

“Our children like their food, and we love to eat together. We have to have a lot of food to feed everyone. If you knew how much we needed, it might make you nervous!

But I don’t get anxious about it. I feel happy, because I know God always provides for me and my little ones. I get to be a little piece of the big puzzle of how He does it. I see that as a true privilege.

One day we made a big batch of cookies for the kids.

They are not like western cookies; they are harder and smaller, but our kids love them, and they are a rare treat. On this day, word got out quickly that we had made them, and hundreds more children came looking for one.

Juma, one of our little guys, and Dawn, a missionary, were serving the cookies. Before long, they realized they were going to run out.

The kids were taking more than one and stuffing them in their pockets. There would not be enough to go around, especially as hundreds more kids were arriving.

We teach our kids to pray if they need food. That is what happened in the Book, and the Book is what we live by. So we put ourselves into the story of the Book.

Accordingly, little Juma prayed for more cookies to feed the kids.

God has performed food miracles for us many times, but it is normal for Him to make more bread and chicken. This time, He worked on that cookie bag.

There were Juma and Dawn, with hundreds and hundreds of kids, and the bag of cookies did not run out. For weeks and weeks, God filled that bag over and over again!

This was not a “necessary” miracle. They didn’t have to have those cookies. But God loves to bless us and give us good gifts. He also loves it when we trust Him to answer the simplest of prayers: “Help!”

 

 

 

From 2010 A.D.:  An excerpt from an article on the Breaking Christian News website.

 

(Kaliti, Uganda)—Have you ever heard stories of food multiplying? We have read about them in the Bible but few have actually seen it happen. Have you ever wondered if it still happens today? Well, we saw it with our own eyes yesterday in Uganda! (Photo: ShowMercy.org)

We organized a feeding for 50 orphaned and desperately poor children in Kaliti Village, Uganda where our Field of Dreams project is located. Over 200 children showed up hungry! Several of our team members were crying because they knew there was not enough food for all of the kids and some would have to be sent away hungry. We began to pray that God would multiply the food.

EVERY child ate and was full...over 200 were fed an abundant feast!! Not only that, but every adult ate as well. There was so much food left over that they packed it up to take it home with them. We saw it with our own eyes! Please watch our two Youtube videos and forward them to your friends. Our team will also be posting their stories and pictures on our Facebook Fan Page. Click here to join our fan page. 

 

 

 

A good recent account.  Missionary Rick Thomas, Juarez Mexico dump mission, occurred in 1972.  An excerpt from miraclesnevercease.com:

 

On Christmas Day, 1972, the multiplication happened with burritos along with ham and baloney sandwiches. The occasion began as a surprise for the rag pickers who lived in cardboard shacks in the El Paso – Juarez garbage dump. While Fr. Rick had brought enough food for 150 people, 300 showed up. An even larger number drifted in. Fr. Rick apologized for what he expected to be a shortage and the food began to be distributed. Children lined up for the candy and then got back in line for more. But the supply simply didn’t run out. When it was over, enough was left to take to two orphanages on the way home.

The same experience has happened a number of times since. The response of most folks is, “You got to be kidding!” Fr. Rick’s answer would be, “No, you got to be believing.”

 

 

 

In California, USA you will be able to visit the historic 'California Missions" in different towns there.  These were mostly founded by Father Junipero Serra (1713 A.D. - 1784 A.D., a Spanish Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order.  He had great success introducing Catholic teachings to Native residents of California, though as was usual when Christianity came to the Americas the Native tribes received little choice.  But here below is an interesting miracle involving the provision of not only food, but shelter in a home, by hosts that were apparently...not exactly humans! 

“Their apostolic labors having been finished, they were upon their way back, and at the end of a few days’ journey, when the sun was about to set, they knew not where to spend the night, and considered it certain that they must sleep upon the plain. They were thinking about this when they saw near the road a house, whither they went and solicited lodging. They found a venerable man, with his wife and child, who received them with much kindness and attention, and gave them supper. In the morning, the Fathers thanked their hosts, and taking leave, pursued their way. After having gone a little distance they met some muleteers, who asked them where they had passed the night. When the place was described, the muleteers declared that there was no such house or ranche near the road, or within many leagues. The missionaries attributed to Divine Providence the favor of that hospitality, and believed without doubt that these hosts were Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, reflecting not only about the order and cleanness of the house (though poor), and the affectionate kindness with which they had been received, but also about the extraordinary internal consolation which their hearts had felt there.”

 

 

 

French Priest Father John Mary Vianney. 1786 - 1859.  Cure d'Arse (Cure is a word for Parish Priest used in France, and Arse was the parish town of around 230 people that his church mainly served.)

 

 Multiplication of Flour

There was once, in La Providence, a case of the limited supply of flour, which the people needed to bake bread. People sent them wheat, but the mill couldn’t grind it. They had an amount of flour that could only bake three loaves of bread. It was not enough to feed all the girls in the school. The people then went to the Curé, who was St. John Vianney. 

When they told the priest their concern, he calmly told them to use what they had. They obliged and took what flour they had.  To their astonishment, the trough was filled and overflowed with the dough when they kneaded it. It was as if they worked with a large sack of flour.

Miracle of the Wine

The Curé, once, came to his people. He reported that their cask full of wine had split, and the contents had spilled onto the ground.  Indeed, the barrel was empty. The people tried to retrieve whatever they could from the sand. They were able to gather two tiny pails of clear wine.  Into the empty barrel, they poured what little wine they collected.  In the days that came, it was by God’s providence that they kept drawing from the cask. Everyone was in awe.

End Quote.  Read more in depth about this priest.  Quite a believer!

 

 

 

Italian mendicant (one relying chiefly on donations/alms to survive) Francis of Paola   1416 - 1507  

 

When Jesus walked the earth, He continually performed miracles, which confirmed His sacred identity in the eyes of His first followers. By the grace of God, Francis of Paola also performed many miracles, read minds, and spoke prophetically. One day Francis was on a journey to Sicily and was hungry. He encountered some poor men looking for work along the way and asked the men for food, but they had none. Francis told them to look in their bags, and there they found freshly baked bread that seemed to multiply as they ate it. On another occasion, a boatman refused to take Francis to Sicily one day because Francis was poor and could not pay him, so Francis simply walked or sailed across the ocean on his cloak. On other occasions, Francis is said to have raised the dead; healed the sick and crippled; averted plagues; expelled demons; spoken prophetically to bishops, popes, and kings; and performed many other miracles.

As a result of Francis’ holy life, coupled with miraculous signs, many people sought him out, despite his vocation of solitude. Popes called on him, and kings sought his counsel. Through it all, Francis continually proclaimed that all he did was done “out of love.” Love, the pure and holy love of charity, was the sole purpose of his life.

 

 

 

The famously devout Spaniard,  Dominic Guzman  1170 - 1221

 

A Quote from afcmmedia.org about Dominic:

   In the life of Saint Dominic, several such incidents have been documented. When Saint Dominic was at the Friary of Saint Sixtus, as was the general custom, he sent two friars to the city to beg alms for the community. Poverty was the general rule with the friars and it often happened that they were forced to do without their meals for days at a time. They had no regular income and lived on alms collected by the friars each day. On that day, the two friars who were sent to beg alms, were returning empty handed to the friary when a pious woman took pity on them and gave them a loaf of bread. However, before they could reach the friary, they met a young man who seemed in greater need and happily gave the bread to him. When they reached the friary, they narrated what had happened to Saint Dominic who was very pleased with their generosity and believed it was a test from God. At supper time, Saint Dominic trusted in the Divine Providence and summoned all the brethren to the refectory. The table was prepared, dishes and cups placed and all the friars sat down. They bowed their heads in prayer. St. Dominic with his hands on the table too bowed his head in prayer. As they were praying, suddenly, two beautiful young men appeared in the midst of the refectory, carrying loaves of bread in two white cloths which hung from their shoulders before and behind. They began to distribute the bread, beginning at the lower rows, placing before each brother one whole loaf of bread. Then, when they came to St. Dominic, they placed an entire loaf of bread, bowed and disappeared. No one knew where they came from and where they went.

  Another miracle also took place. There was a shortage of wine in the cellar. Again by his prayers St. Dominic increased the wine so that the friars ate and drank all they wanted, both for that day, the next and the day after that. The wine was known to have had a celestial flavour too! After the third day he did not allow any of the multiplied bread to remain in the house. They distributed the remaining to the poor. Though it is believed that some of the miraculous bread and wine were preserved as relics for a long time.

In another account, after Saint Dominic had finished some matters with the Holy Pope in Rome, he went to Bologna and lodged with the friars of his Order at Santa Maria Mascharella. There again the miracle of multiplication of bread and wine happened for three days. In total the miracle of multiplication of food is believed to have taken place twice at Bologna and twice at Rome. At Bologna, after one of the miraculous distributions of bread, the two beautiful young men gave each friar a handful of dried figs, of which one brother testified to Pope Gregory IX under oath, “Never had I eaten better figs”.

End Quote

 

 

  Saint Cuthbert of Britain spent around a decade at Lindisfairn Monastery. (634 A.D. to 637 A.D.) He is said to have multiplied bread among other miracles such as healing, but I couldn't find a detailed account.