Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

Some say that since the shadow of Peter also healed the sick, God can do anything and in any way whatsoever, just like He is doing in present day through many "anointed ones" of His. The Bible does not teach us that the shadow of Peter healed the sick or that God healed the sick through the shadow of Peter. The Bible says that people brought forth the sick into the streets because they thought and hoped that Peter's shadow, too, would heal them.

It is important to notice what the Bible actually teaches us. It is a totally different thing to believe that God heals the sick through the shadow of Peter than God would have healed the sick through his shadow, which God did not do. The verse does not indicate in any way whatsoever that the sick were healed through the shadow of Peter, but the verse clearly shows that the people were assuming and hoping for the sick to be healed through the shadow of Peter.

God healed people from the power of the Holy Spirit through Peter and did not use Peter's shadow for the healing process. God doesn't connect His power to material of this world or shadows of men, because otherwise people would worship those materials or shadows instead of God. When God heals people through the power of the Holy Sprit without any worldly material, so the people would worship God and not created things or man made materials.

Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that, when Peter came, his shadow at the least might overshadow any of them and they might be delivered from their infirmities. (Douay-Rheims American edition 1899)

The Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgata. In the Catholic Bible, the segment "and they might be delivered from their infirmities" has been added to the end. The words added are not in the New Testament source texts. The purpose of this deceitful addition of the Catholic Church is to justify its false doctrine of God's anointing in the remains of "saints" (bones, clothing and other objects). The purpose of the Douay-Rheims Bible was to maintain Catholic tradition and to act as counterforce against the Protestant reform.

Catholicism believes and teaches that the shadow of Peter healed the sick. The Catholic Church teaches that the healing through the shadow of Peter were a wonderful example of the power of relics. Catholicism teaches that since the shadow of a saint can heal people, then his bones or objects that belonged to him are even more powerful in healing people. The Catholic Church teaches that all revered saints have the same anointing through which the bones of dead saints and the dead body of saints have the same power and anointing as the shadow of Peter and the apostles. The Catholic Church says that this is why miraculous healing takes place through the bones and relics of saints.

The Catholic Church teaches that it is essential to touch relics so that a miracle or healing can take place. The Church bases this view on that since the sick were healed when the shadow of Peter touched them, that is why Catholic believers must touch the bones of a saint, the dead body of a saint, or the relics (objects) of a saint so that a miracle or healing can take place.

Modern day deceivers' doctrines of grave sucking and anointing that takes place through touching a dead body sound like they have been taken straight from the Catholic doctrine. It is clear that the Bible teaches absolutely nothing about anointing, miracles and healing taking place through the relics of Catholic saints. The Bible teaches us that we should never be in contact with mediums and the dead. God does not anoint anyone through dead bodies or relics. It is crystal clear that the anointing, miracles and healing through the Catholic church and deceivers in the extreme charismatic movement have taken place through the false force of evil spirits, not through the Holy Spirit of the God of the Bible.

Modern day handkerchiefs, etc. are Catholic occultism which invites manifestations of a deceitful spirit. Do not get stuck in that the sick are healed through handkerchiefs, etc., but fully rely on what the Bible teaches and base your faith in the Bible so you will see the actual work of God. Many believers get stuck in their personal experiences and miracles and wonders which are done and take place contrary to what the Bible teaches us. They hold on to the experiences, even though they are contrary to what the Bible teaches us.

Always keep in mind that God has given you His Word and His Holy Spirit so that you would not go astray. You can rest assured that God always does His work so that you can try and test whether the things taking place are of God or not.

Many believers say that the Holy Spirit is enough because He leads us to all truth. Jesus told us that we need the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit so that we would not go astray (err). We must also bear in mind that the Word of God says that the Word of God is the full truth. This means that when the Holy Spirit leads believers to all truth, He teaches and guides believers through the truth in the Word of God.

Let me illustrate this. When one goes orienteering, one needs both a compass and a map so that one can accurately find the right path to the destination. A compass is not enough, but one also needs a map. That is why you or I cannot find the right path in our walk in Christ only in the Holy Spirit without the truth in the Word of God. The Holy Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth, which means that the Holy Spirit works in accordance with the truth in the Word of God.

Many people say that the believers in the Early Church did not have a New Testament in the beginning, which is why they were also capable of believing and taking action without the Word of God, so we can do the same, too. God chose the twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus, and Paul, too, to write the New Testament to future generations. Lord Jesus personally taught the twelve disciples and Paul. This means that God manifested Himself in their lives in an extraordinary way, i.e. in such a way that they knew the will of God and the truth and were also capable of sharing it to others.

Because of the New Testament, they were in a different position than we, modern day believers, because God no longer inspires the writing of the Word of God (New Testament) through us, but it was already given through the believers in the Early Church, which is why the apostles were capable of walking in the Holy Spirit according to the will of God. They also read the Old Testament, which means that they were not without the written word, and the full New Testament had been given in their hearts by the grace of God.

Because we, modern day believers, are in a different position in this regard than the apostles chosen by God, who were assigned to write the entire New Testament, we need the written truth in the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, because the apostles in the Early Church wrote the New Testament for us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That is why Lord Jesus said that we should believe in Him in accordance with the Bible (John 7:38). That is why Lord Jesus, in the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20), said that we should teach new believers in accordance with what Jesus has told us to teach them.

Never assume that it is enough that you have the Holy Spirit and you thus do not need the truth in the Word of God (the Bible). Faith that cuts itself off from the truth in the Word of God is faith empowered by the deceitful force of evil spirits and false wisdom.

The importance of the Bible for believers