Chapter 2. 22
Slain in the Spirit
Falling or Resting under the Power
Is it Genuine, Ritualistic or Fake?
First Word
Definition; Slain in the Spirit: A temporary
physical response of an earthen vessel to a Spiritual Encounter of the Holy
Spirit; the presence of God. Biblical examples are few and far
between and only in the lives of specific people, but were repeated many times
accompanied by “Spiritual Fruit” in
the way they lived their lives.
This phenomena is divided up into
three categories; Genuine, Ritualistic and Fake.
Voices Against
a) Scripture is
silent on this issue, thus is inappropriate
and a condemnation.
b) Extra-Biblical: This is adding to the Bible; you are just reading this into scripture.
c) Anti-Biblical: It is not in the Bible. Worshipers allow themselves to fall on the
floor because it is a tradition or is ritualistic in their church. It’s called a “Courtesy
Fall” which is not the work of the Holy Spirit.
d) The Holy Spirit
is not transferred by touch. Nobody in the
Book had hands laid on them and was pushed down. It is un-verifiable and ostentatious and could
be nothing more than the overwhelming power of emotions.
e) Nowhere in the Book do the Prophets, Disciples or even Jesus ever lay
hands on someone and knock them over to receive the manifestation Holy Spirit. The only time people fell, is when they were
experiencing some kind of judgment from God.
f) It is emotional,
lacking purpose: The over eagerness of some people
get themselves emotionally “worked up”
into a frenzy and fall out in the spirit especially when someone touches them
who is thought to be special and anointed.
g) It can be
counterfeited: There are people who fake these experiences so
that they will seem more spiritual. Some
fake the fall so others won’t think that they are less spiritual.
h) They fell
forward, not
backward.[1]
They didn’t require “catchers” to keep them from hurting themselves. If the Sovereign Holy Spirit overwhelmed them,
then He can certainly protect them from harm when falling.
i) It brings glory
to man, not to God; some fall out who are emotional
and are just starved for attention. This could very well also be demonic spirits masquerading as the Holy Spirit.
Voices For
a) Scripture is
silent on this issue, no condemnation; thus
an endorsement.
b) The only person
that was under judgment was Paul on the Road
to Damascus; there was no other time they were under direct judgment when they
fell in the spirit.
c) Is it in God’s
nature to manifest His presence? YES. Is
there examples of His manifestation in the Book?
YES, time and time again. Does
God’s presence cause people to physically and emotionally react. YES,
time and time again.
d) Can the Holy
Spirit can be transferred by touch? YES. Command;
Lay hands on the sick.
e) God purposely manifests His Spirit in special events and
is not intended to be something that is considered a normal event for
everyone. Manifestations are not indicators of
spiritually, nor are they a guarantee of growth in the kingdom. Manifestations are given as the Spirit wills.
f) Some who feel
the presence of the Holy Spirit may voluntarily fall, out of
reverence for God. The Book does
not tell us while we are in prayer to bow our head or close our eyes,
but we do so, in reverence for God. We
rise up on our toes while singing as being raptured. Nothing in the
Book labels “falling” as
something demonic or of the flesh.
g) Many verses in the Book do not indicate which way someone fell when they
experience the manifestation of the Holy Spirit; they could easily have fallen
either way; the point is, they could not stand and fell. Other times when the Holy Spirit was
manifested NO ONE FELL. It is God who decides how He
will manifest His presence. It can
literally flow through the Pastor’s hands if God chooses. [2]
Manifestations – Holy Spirit
There are
different ways the Book shows
the manifestation of the Holy Spirit other
than being “Slain
in the Spirit”.
a)
Wind, Earthquake, fire and a still small voice[3]
b)
Fire in a burning bush[4]
c)
Pillar of Fire and a Pillar of Smoke[5]
d)
Paul caught up to heaven[6]
e)
John caught up to heaven[7]
f)
Handkerchief or aprons when they touched the
skin; healing[8]
g)
Garments being touched to receive healing[9]
h)
Touching bones of Elisha; Resurrection[10]
i)
David breaking out in dance before the Ark of the
Covenant[11]
j)
Laying on of the hands to receive the Holy Spirit
and for healing[12]
With all these different manifestations of the Holy Spirit,
why do we reject being “Slain in the Spirit” as one of the manifestation
of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we reject it
because, like the gift of “tongues,” it is so easy to be FAKED.
The
first time we are aware of the Shekinah Glory of God
is when Moses is attracted to a bush on the mountain that is on fire and is not consumed and he turned aside to go see
it. God told him to not come near, that
His “Shekinah”
presence made the ground Holy and Moses HID HIS FACE from God.
The Shekinah Glory
of the cloud as witnessed by Moses and Aaron most likely contained fire.
The Glory of
God is like a devouring FIRE;
the observed cloud only veils His presence.[13] The Shekinah Glory is powerful and when it
presents itself, men cannot stand in its presence unless it is veiled. When I see the guards coming to arrest Jesus
and He spoke the words “I AM He” (God’s name is I AM that I AM.) they fell down
backward; sure sounds like Slain in the Spirit to
me. When the angel of the Lord came down
and rolled away the stone from the tomb of Jesus, the guards could not stand
and became like
dead men. What does that sound
like to you?
John 18:4-6 – The Shekinah Glory of Jesus
knocked them down as dead men
4 Jesus therefore, knowing all
things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, whom seek ye?
5 They answered him, Jesus of
Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I AM
He.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with
them.
6 As soon then as he had said unto
them, I AM He,
THEY
WENT BACKWARD, AND FELL TO THE GROUND. (KJV)
Matthew 28:1-4 – The Guards
became as dead men
1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day
of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the
tomb.
2 And behold, there
was a great earthquake; for AN
ANGEL OF THE LORD descended
from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
3 His countenance
was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4 And THE GUARDS shook for fear of him, and BECAME
LIKE DEAD MEN. (NKJV)
The Take
Away
We all come into a debate with a load of BS, our Belief System; our
worldview of what we believe. Our World
view about Counterfeits,
Make Believers and the Dark Side can
prejudice us against the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in those who are “Slain in the
Spirit”. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit brings
glory to God and edifies the body. It encourages
spiritual growth in the believer. It
causes the believer to endeavor to become more and more like Jesus; to operate
in the “fruits”
of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.[14]
The
Holy Spirit
rarely takes center stage, but points us to the other members of the Trinity.
He is like the wind, invisible, powerful, uncontrollable and unpredictable, you
cannot see Him or tell where He comes or goes, but you can hear and feel His
presence; the Spirit’s work will always point to our Lord and Savior Jesus the
Christ. We raise the sails in our boat;
the breath of the Holy Spirit powers our sails and God steers.
The
Holy Spirit
alone is the source of empowerment
that God uses to accomplish His will. Don’t
look at how big the task is, instead look at the opportunity that allows the
spirit to empower you. Raise your sails;
pray often.
While visiting a
Church with my family, I witnessed the “falling of the Holy Spirit” on
the left side of the room and saw it moving toward the right, I felt my young
daughter beside me slip down to the floor. Holding on to her, I could not help but ask; what happened?
She said she did not know, but it felt
so good. I have never experience being “Slain in the
Spirit” although I have been around this phenomenal for many years
while recording Praise and Worship services for Christian Television.
Billy
Graham;
“Many who have experienced being SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT have associated
it with the new birth, the fullness of the Holy Spirit, spiritual, emotional or
physical healing or deliverance. Whatever one may think about the experience of
being “Slain
in the Spirit”, it should not be made an expectation for all
believers or be considered a sign of spiritual maturity. In
addition, discernment needs to be exercised by mature church leadership since
the power of suggestion and mere emotionalism can so easily mimic legitimate
spiritual experience”.
It is natural and proper for Believers to
be “slain in
the spirit” given the sinfulness of our lives compared to the
majestic Holiness of God, but the manifestation should not be made an
expectation nor be considered a sign of
spiritual maturity.
We shouldn’t prejudice our Belief System and reject the manifestation of the Holy
Spirit because of someone who might be a Make-Believer or
someone who is Ritualistic or an outright Fake.
If
someone is NOT slain in the Spirit,
it
is NOT an indicator that
they
didn’t have an encounter with God.
We just: Raise our hands in Praise; Rise up on our toes in Rapture; Bow our head and close our eyes in Reverence
and let OUR daily life point back to God and glorify Him.
The chief end of
man is to glorify God.[15]
It’s in the Book
[1] Daniel 8:17-18 – Daniel; fell with His
face to the ground -- Ezekiel
3:23 – Ezekiel; Fell on his face -- Numbers 22:31 – Balaam;
Fell on his face
[2] 1 Kings 8:10-11 – Priest; Slain in the
Spirit; could not stand -- 2
Chronicles 5:14 – Priest; Slain in the Spirit;
could not stand -- Daniel
8:17-18 – Daniel; Slain in the Spirit; fell on
his face in a deep sleep -- Ezekiel
3:23 – Ezekiel; Slain in the Spirit; fell on his
face -- Ezekiel 43:2-3 – Ezekiel; Slain in the Spirit again; fell on his face
-- Ezekiel 44:4 – Ezekiel; Slain in the Spirit third time; fell on his
face -- Numbers 22:31 – Balaam; Slain in the Spirit; fell on his face
-- John 18:6 – Soldiers;
Slain in the Spirit; fell to the ground. -- Matthew
28:4 – Guards; Slain in the Spirit; became like
dead men -- Acts 26:13-14 – Paul; Slain in the Spirit; fell to the ground
-- Acts 9:2-4 –
Paul; Slain in the Spirit; fell to the ground -- Revelation 1:17 – John;
Slain in the Spirit, fell at his feet -- Matthew 17:6 – Disciples; Slain in the
Spirit, fell on their faces
[3] 1 Kings 19:11-12 – Wind, Earthquake, Fire, Low Whisper
[4] Exodus 3:2 – Fire in a Burning Bush
[5] Exodus 13:21 – Pillar of Fire – Pillar of smoke
[6] 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 – Paul – Caught up to heaven
[7] Revelation 1:10 – John – Caught up to heaven
[8] Acts 19:12 – Manifested by
touching handkerchiefs & Aprons
[9] Mark 5:30 – Manifested by
touching garments
[10] 2 Kings 13:21 - Manifested
by touching bones
[11] 2 Samuel 6:14 - Manifested in David’s dancing
[12] Acts 8:17 – Manifested by
hands touching
[13] Exodus 24:15-17 – Like a devouring Fire -- Exodus 3:2-6 – The Shekinah
Glory appeared as fire -- Leviticus 9:23 – The Glory of the Lord with Fire
[14] Acts 8:18-19 – The
Manifestation of the Spirit is observable -- Galatians 5:22-23 – Manifestation of the Spiritual Fruits are
observable
[15] Romans 15:6 – With one
mind and one voice, glorify God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ
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