Slain in the Spirit

In 1 Thessalonians 5:21 the Bible says, "prove all things"

Characteristics of the "slain-in-the-Spirit" experience when it happens

1. Usually happens in gatherings in large amounts of people, sometimes in smaller group. I have not heard or any occurrences when a person is on their own.

2. In large gatherings it is usually after a time of worship in song and a message that includes an invitation to come forward and receive a touch from the Lord, or some similar invitation.

3. At the time, people will have come forward often with others, hands will have been laid on them them and some will be praying for them

4. They fall backwards

5. After that there are various - we've already looked at some of these.

Characteristics of what happens once a person has fallen down.

1. They may say they had vision,

2. Some may not see anything but say God revealed something to them (knowledge of something).

3. Others speak of being healed in some way, often an inner healing.

4. Others still start speaking in tongues,

5. Still others go down and speak of being given words of prophecy,

6. Some say happened at the time they came to faith and were saved. And some say...

7. Nothing happened but God used it to get their attention... God let me know I need to take time out for him.

Compare Characteristics with biblical examples of people falling down - people God came to meet.

1. In the Bible, the person will be alone, not with others

2. In the Bible there is no singing or invitation to receive a touch from the Lord

3. In the Bible no one will be laying hands on them or praying for them

4. In the Bible, instead of falling backwards, they will fall forwards on their face

5. In the Bible, the person ALWAYS sees something BEFORE they fall. WITH EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE.

Here are some things that NEVER happen in the Bible

Not once in Scripture when some one received the Spirit of God, do they fall as result of receiving Spirit

Not once does a person fall down and come up saved - Paul wasn't saved till Ananaias preached to him.

Not once do we see people speak in tongues, not once, never.

Not once is it associated with healing - even when Jesus prayed for people, no one fell down and then got up healed except person who was demon possessed. And the demon threw him down before Jesus did anything.

Not once is it associated with prophecy. Finally,

When a person fell down in the Bible, it was never trivial! They did not just knocked down to get their attention but rather, they received a divine revelation of God that was to be recorded for all time in the Word of God.

Scriptures used to support slain in Spirit - but which do not (if you keep in mind the above comparrison

After the reference, the passage is presented in note form. You can look up the passage if you want to study it in more detail but the notes should be sufficient to show the Scriptural pattern. Numbers in brackets are verses

Rev. 1:10 In the Spirit on the Lord's day and heard . (12) turned to see the voice that spoke with me; when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his hand on me... Heard first, turned and saw, as result of what saw, fell as dead man.

Gen. 17:1 Abraham 90yrs old. the Lord appeared, "I am the almighty God." (3) and Abraham fell on his face and God talked with him. Saw first, then fell on face.

Num 22:26 Baalam. Angel stands in front of donkey and donkey stops. (22) the Lord stood in the way (23) when donkey saw he turned aside and Baalam smote him. (27) when donkey saw angel, the DONKEY fell down under Baalam; Baalam smote donkey. The Lord opened donkeys mouth and donkey spoke to Baalam. Lord opened Baalam's eyes and when Baalam saw the Lord, he too fell down, on his face.

Judges 13:18 Menoah. when angel of Lord ascended to heaven in flames. Menoah and wife fell to ground on faces AFTER they saw this

1 Kings 18:37? Elijah praying. Fire of Lord fell and consumed sacrifice. when all the people SAW it they fell on faces and said, "The Lord, he is God, the Lord he is God"

1 Chron 21:16 When David lifted up eyes and saw the angel of the Lord stand between earth and heaven with a sword in his hand, David and elders of Israel fell on faces and David confessed his sin

Ezek. 1:28 What I saw had the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.. when I saw I fell on my face and I heard a voice of the one who spoke

Ezek 3:22 hand of Lord upon me.. rise and go forth (23) then rose and went forth and saw glory of the Lord; and fell on face and spirit of Lord entered him

Doesn't it make sense that people fall forwards on their faces, when they are exposed to the King of Glory!! Makes sense if OVERCOME by the POWER AND PRESENCE OF THE LORD that they would get down on faces in holy fear.

Some say that they can't wait till the day when they get to see Jesus. And say it will be wonderful. But note that the man who was on face in Rev. 1 was the same man who rested his head on Jesus bosom and was disciple whom Jesus loved. Who could be closer to the Lord than the Apostle John? The only apostle at the foot of the cross. Note that this man, on the day Jesus appeared to him, he was on his face. When we see Jesus first time it will probably not be baptist or presbyterian. Its going to be a Quaker.

Dan. 8:16 heard a mans voice, (17) he came near where Dan stood and Dan was afraid and fell on face.. then the angel spoke to him

Dan 10:7 Daniel alone saw vision but not the others, but a great quaking fell upon them and they ran (8) Daniel left alone, no strength in him, fell into deep sleep on his face on the ground

Matthew 17: (transfiguration) Peter, James and John. (2) Jesus transfigured (3) Moses and Elijah (6) when disciples heard it fell on face and were very much afraid, they were told to arise and be not afraid.

Matthew 26:39 Jesus in Gethsemane with disciples (36) sit here while I pray over there (37) took Peter, James John, "tarry here and watch" (39) fell on face and prayed..

These people were experiencing an incredibly holy moment but in none of these examples was it a trivial moment like "God wanted to get my attention." Not like some powerful vision that was to be examined by the people of God for eons and eons. The Biblical examples were not trivial events.. .

Examples of people receiving Spirit of God.

Acts 2:2 Spirit poured out. Tongues of fire, filled with Spirit, tongues spoken, NONE of them fell on ground

Acts 8: Philip preaching in Samaria, people received Christ, Peter and John pray to receive Spirit lay hands on but not one person falls down when receive Holy Spirit

Acts 10:44 Cornelius.. while Peter speaking, Spirit fell. Heard speaking with tongues, praising God.. baptised

But no one falls down, backwards forwards or sideways

Acts 19:2 OT believers asked if they had received Holy Spirit, not Christians but followers of John the baptist. Gospel preached.. believers baptised in name of Jesus; Paul laid hands on; new Christians spoke in tongues and prophesied; But none fell down.

Matthew 4:23-24 Jesus went about all Gallilee preaching, healing casting out demons, many people being healed of many different things. None fell down.

Matthew 9:18-25 esp. (35) Jesus went everywhere healing; many people healed; not one example of person falling down after he spoke to or touched them

Mark 9:14-17 This is the only time a person falls down and it is when being delivered of a demon. (20) when he saw Jesus he went into convulsions fell in ground BEFORE Jesus did anything. NOTE: it was the demon that caused him to fall to the ground, not Jesus or the Holy Spirit!

John 18:2-5 Jesus asked the soldiers who came to arrest him, "who are you seeking" they said "Jesus of Nazareth" He replied.. "I am he"; as soon as he said "I am he" they went backwards and fell to the ground. They did not fall backwards but they went backwards and THEN fell to the ground. NOTE these people were coming to arrest Jesus.. They were not coming to be healed. Jesus let them know that they have no power over him, rather, he is letting them arrest him. Another gospel says he could have called 12 legions of angels to his rescue but he didn't

Acts 5:2 two people who fell down but did not get up!!

There are not many people who will want to get into that line!

Acts 2:37 after Peter preached, hearts were pricked; what do we do.. repent, be baptised and you will receive Spirit (41) all who believed and were baptised; ABOUT 3000; they were continually in the temple; (47) the Lord added those being saved.. BUT among all these people, no examples of people falling down.

Review: God came to all these people and all these people were alone

Acts 9 Jesus appear to Saul; on way to Damascus Saul sees something and THEN falls to the ground. He didn't get up saved because he still needed Annanias to come to him and explain the gospel.

There are no egs. Of people falling when get prayed for. Every time, it specifically notes that they fell on their face, which you have to admit is hard to do when you are falling backwards. Every time they fall after they heard or saw something. This is not seen today! Instead what we usually see are crowds who are called up to a STAGE and fall backwards and then experience something

Does that mean this phenomena is not of God. Because if it is believed to be of God, then we have a problem, a BIG PROBLEM. What we first need to understand here is that nobody can defend this phenomena Scripturally. You cannot defend the doctrine of a person being "slain in the Spirit" from the Bible.

So does that mean it is not of God? Are we saying God cannot do anything new? Is God limited to operating only in the way he operated in the past? No. But notice something that brings strong caution. We serve a Holy God and we serve a God of purpose. We do not serve a God who acts in trivialities. We do not serve a God who is going to say, "You know what, I needed to get your attention so I thought I would make you fall backwards." If it comes to a time when he really needs to get your attention, then consider how he did it in the Bible. Consider Ananias and Sophira. That was true slaying in the Spirit. It is a far cry from carpet time that we see today. We're not going to see many people getting in that queue.

IS GOD DOING A NEW THING?

So.. how do you explain the phenomena of being "slain in the Spirit" if you don't use the Bible? Is it from God, the devil, delusion, the power of suggestion, learned behaviour? Without the Bible, you cannot; you are left with no objective standard by which to judge this experience. None at all. And God says we are to prove all things. So how can you prove it as being from God if you have not objective and trustworthy standard by which to do this!

But what if God were is doing a new thing? Well, we need to ask, "In a world of false signs and wonders, would God, through the SPIRIT OF TRUTH do a new thing and not give us any way to check it out?" Would he just leave it up to whether it felt good? And how are we going to check out the next new things he does? And the next, and the next? How will you check it out to be sure you are not deceived?

The fact is because God knows the heart is deceitful and the devil is a deceiver, HE COMMANDS to prove all things (1 Thess. 5:21) whether they be doctrine or "spiritual" experiences. The Bible commands, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves" (2 Cor. 13:5). Without the Bible as our guide, we are lost and at the devil's mercy. Even if we used something like the fruit of a certain experience, this is still so uncertain. The Bible speaks of false fruit. Fruit that can be burned up in the judgment. The devil is not beyond allowing some good fruit through if it will help us swallow a lie. It's a good war tactic. Remember, we are at war. A spoonful of sugar doesn't just help the medicine go down, he helps the poison go down too. Besides, feelings are not a reliable guide to truth.

I have a personal belief which is of great concern to me, that God's people will be duped into checking out spiritual phenomena by applying the "God can do whatever he like's" motto to any new thing that happens. I can see this playing beautifully into the hands of Satan. Where does that leave you? It leaves you in a position whereby the only thing you have left to judge your own fallible judgment with, is your own fallible judgment!

The Bible says we should judge spiritual things by spiritual things. If a certain phenomena is not in the Word and especially if the Word shows something quite different than that which is being claimed to be of God, then it probably is not.

Falling backwards a sign of judgment

In the Scriptures falling backwards is actually associated with God's judgment! Not his blessing!!!

Consider for example

Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. [God's people were subborn and would not learn. He had to treat them like children and not mature people who should know the ways of God and honour him - this verse is referred to in Paul's teaching on tongues in 1 Cor. 14 and it is not to commend God's people]

Psa 40:14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

Joh 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am [he], they went backward, and fell to the ground.

See also Genesis 49:17, 1 Sam 4:18, Ps 70:2, Is. 1:4, Is. 44:25, Jer 7:24, Jer 15:6. Not for the faint hearted.

Yes, the Bible does talk of people falling backward, but none of it is good. So you have to ask...

"Why would God use what in the Bible was a sign of his judgment, as a sign of his blessing?"

The answer is, "He would not!"

"Why?" you ask? Because God is not a God of confusion. The answer could not be plainer than if God had said it himself. In fact, he did! In 1 Cor. 14:33 the Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures say, "For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."

Why I no longer speak in Tongues