On another thread in another section on this site, the question and and conversation has been about "Slain in the Spirit". Kevin made the comment that a Biblical study on "falling backwards opposed to forward" would be interesting. I agree hence this thread.
My hope is that it will be informative and Biblically accurate and that the conversation can and will be helpful and done in Christian love.
So.........what is "slain in the Spirit"???
What some believing Christians say it is when the Spirit comes upon you it will overcome you with power, slaying you. Today this has become the common denominator of the Spirits presence with power and is sought after as proof of receiving the anointing.
But is that Biblical?
1 John 2:27..........
"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."
That Scripture tells us that those who have this anointing of the Holy Spirit have no need that any one teach them that fact, for they have the evidence of it, and they do not need the proof of it in some kind of SIGN or manifestation in the flesh because they know in their own hearts and consciousness. These evidences are more apparent to themselves than to any one else.
But with such people as Benny Hinn, Rod Parsley, Richard Roberts and a host of others who have developed the "slain in the spirit" to be a trademark of their meetings. Now, this is not to say that the Holy Spirit can do unusual things, however before we put a stamp of approval on a practice to be a normal thing instead of the unusual, we need to see if it is promoted as such in the Scriptures.
So, when we dig into the Scriptures, what do we find? We do not see any of this practiced or even hinted in the Scripture. When the Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism He came up out of the water; He didn’t collapse and sink down! The Lord Jesus had power to heal even the worst cases of disease, blindness and crippled limbs, and yet no one who Jesus ever touched fell over “slain.” Nor do we find Peter or John touching people and causing them to fall over. They did not ask other disciples to stand behind those they were going to lay hands on, to catch them as they toppled backward by the power. The New Testament has no people lining up waiting for the “anointing” to be passed on from another, not even the Apostles. Remember, There is no Biblical precedent for being “slain in the Spirit” as we see practiced today.
What about the Old Testament??? The Old Testament has many examples of saints who fell to the ground. In Genesis 15:12-18 when Abraham was put to sleep horror and great darkness fell upon him, and it was not pleasant. This was a special event signifying God’s covenant with Abraham as God told about his offspring’s future. This act was not repeated for any of his descendents. Notice the passage indicates that the experience was not enjoyable.
Genesis 17:3 Abraham falls on his face, but this does not describe an involuntary act of being slain in the Spirit as some claim. Abraham fell face forward toward the ground on his own accord, in reverence, in an act of fully conscious worship.
Scriptures used to validate this as Biblical are:
Many fell backwards in Scripture, but it was not a blessing! In 1 Samuel 4:18: Eli fell off his seat backwards on hearing of the death of his sons and the capture of the Ark and he died.
Isaiah 28:13 the prophet speaks of God’s Word sent to refresh, but if not heard it became a judgment “that they may go and stumble backward, and be broken.” In all these examples it is a judgment, not a blessing!
In 1 Samuel 28:20 we read of Saul immediately collapsing “full length” on the ground upon hearing of his impending death from Samuel after consulting the witch of Endor.
2 Chronicles 5, describes God’s glory filling the newly completed Temple. It says, “The priests could not continue ministering ... for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God” (v.14). This cannot be made into a normative occurrence for today’s Church, as many have tried to do. This was a celebration because the temple was completed, the ark was brought in and Solomon had the priests assemble inside the most holy place. Inside the glory manifested physically as cloud in a contained place, the rest of Israel was still standing outside.
In 2 Chronicles 7:2 and I Kings 8:11 the priests could not enter the temple or perform the priestly duties of the LORD because the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.
In Ezekiel 1:28 and 2:1 the prophet is overwhelmed by the vision he saw and falls forward in worship. Those who are holy fall forward in conscious submission to God’s Holy presence. They do not become dazed and confused, as in some spirit services today. IMO it appear that those who are enemies fall backward when confronted with God’s true power.
Philippians 2 says every knee will bow. Those who are conscious of who they serve bow forward, willingly and fully conscious. Those who fall backward overwhelmed, show a lack of submission, and in fact appear to be in rebellion.
Daniel, in 10:4-11 encountered a powerful angel and said, “I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale, and I was helpless... I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.” Daniel fell on his face; he fell forward. This was not without purpose. Daniel, a prophet, was receiving revelation that would become Scripture. Since in the Old Testament those who were affected in this manner were not born again, indwelt permanently by the Holy Spirit, this experience cannot be used as normative for the Church today.
When John saw Jesus glorified in heaven (Revelation 1:17) he describes that, ‘“I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.” John was overcome with fear; he did not recognize Him as the Jesus He knew on earth.
In examples from either the Old Testament or the New, the men affected did not have a permanent indwelling of the Spirit. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, in John 18:4-6 He reveals His power in a unique way. He identified himself to the soldiers who were arresting him and they “drew back and fell to the ground.” Jesus first revealed Himself by saying His divine name, “I Am,” making it clear who it is they came for. When He identified Himself to them, they fell to the ground in judgment. These pagan sinners did fall -- backwards. They did not experience revelation or receive an anointing, or conversion, they got right back up and arrested Jesus. There was no change in them; they were still enemies of Jesus. Also, none of Jesus’ followers fell down during the arrest.
Certainly none of this represents a pattern for the Church. Those who practice the artful ritual of being “slain in the Spirit” today deny or ignore these Biblical facts in order to embrace an experience that is not endorsed in the whole New Testament. Please remember that the worship of God and our salvation IS NOT FOUND IN EXPERIENCES OR FEELINGS. IT IS FOUND ONLY IN THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Why then do we do it???
IMO it is because men seek a sign to be convinced of what they believe. That of course is also not Biblical.
Romans 14:23.....
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin".
Now there is no need to argue or be confrontational about any of these Biblical points made. You can disagree with me and we will still be friends. It would be nice to have a conversation without tension and conflict.
If you disagree with what is posted here......fine with me.
My hope is that it will be informative and Biblically accurate and that the conversation can and will be helpful and done in Christian love.
So.........what is "slain in the Spirit"???
What some believing Christians say it is when the Spirit comes upon you it will overcome you with power, slaying you. Today this has become the common denominator of the Spirits presence with power and is sought after as proof of receiving the anointing.
But is that Biblical?
1 John 2:27..........
"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."
That Scripture tells us that those who have this anointing of the Holy Spirit have no need that any one teach them that fact, for they have the evidence of it, and they do not need the proof of it in some kind of SIGN or manifestation in the flesh because they know in their own hearts and consciousness. These evidences are more apparent to themselves than to any one else.
But with such people as Benny Hinn, Rod Parsley, Richard Roberts and a host of others who have developed the "slain in the spirit" to be a trademark of their meetings. Now, this is not to say that the Holy Spirit can do unusual things, however before we put a stamp of approval on a practice to be a normal thing instead of the unusual, we need to see if it is promoted as such in the Scriptures.
So, when we dig into the Scriptures, what do we find? We do not see any of this practiced or even hinted in the Scripture. When the Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism He came up out of the water; He didn’t collapse and sink down! The Lord Jesus had power to heal even the worst cases of disease, blindness and crippled limbs, and yet no one who Jesus ever touched fell over “slain.” Nor do we find Peter or John touching people and causing them to fall over. They did not ask other disciples to stand behind those they were going to lay hands on, to catch them as they toppled backward by the power. The New Testament has no people lining up waiting for the “anointing” to be passed on from another, not even the Apostles. Remember, There is no Biblical precedent for being “slain in the Spirit” as we see practiced today.
What about the Old Testament??? The Old Testament has many examples of saints who fell to the ground. In Genesis 15:12-18 when Abraham was put to sleep horror and great darkness fell upon him, and it was not pleasant. This was a special event signifying God’s covenant with Abraham as God told about his offspring’s future. This act was not repeated for any of his descendents. Notice the passage indicates that the experience was not enjoyable.
Genesis 17:3 Abraham falls on his face, but this does not describe an involuntary act of being slain in the Spirit as some claim. Abraham fell face forward toward the ground on his own accord, in reverence, in an act of fully conscious worship.
Scriptures used to validate this as Biblical are:
Many fell backwards in Scripture, but it was not a blessing! In 1 Samuel 4:18: Eli fell off his seat backwards on hearing of the death of his sons and the capture of the Ark and he died.
Isaiah 28:13 the prophet speaks of God’s Word sent to refresh, but if not heard it became a judgment “that they may go and stumble backward, and be broken.” In all these examples it is a judgment, not a blessing!
In 1 Samuel 28:20 we read of Saul immediately collapsing “full length” on the ground upon hearing of his impending death from Samuel after consulting the witch of Endor.
2 Chronicles 5, describes God’s glory filling the newly completed Temple. It says, “The priests could not continue ministering ... for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God” (v.14). This cannot be made into a normative occurrence for today’s Church, as many have tried to do. This was a celebration because the temple was completed, the ark was brought in and Solomon had the priests assemble inside the most holy place. Inside the glory manifested physically as cloud in a contained place, the rest of Israel was still standing outside.
In 2 Chronicles 7:2 and I Kings 8:11 the priests could not enter the temple or perform the priestly duties of the LORD because the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.
In Ezekiel 1:28 and 2:1 the prophet is overwhelmed by the vision he saw and falls forward in worship. Those who are holy fall forward in conscious submission to God’s Holy presence. They do not become dazed and confused, as in some spirit services today. IMO it appear that those who are enemies fall backward when confronted with God’s true power.
Philippians 2 says every knee will bow. Those who are conscious of who they serve bow forward, willingly and fully conscious. Those who fall backward overwhelmed, show a lack of submission, and in fact appear to be in rebellion.
Daniel, in 10:4-11 encountered a powerful angel and said, “I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale, and I was helpless... I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.” Daniel fell on his face; he fell forward. This was not without purpose. Daniel, a prophet, was receiving revelation that would become Scripture. Since in the Old Testament those who were affected in this manner were not born again, indwelt permanently by the Holy Spirit, this experience cannot be used as normative for the Church today.
When John saw Jesus glorified in heaven (Revelation 1:17) he describes that, ‘“I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.” John was overcome with fear; he did not recognize Him as the Jesus He knew on earth.
In examples from either the Old Testament or the New, the men affected did not have a permanent indwelling of the Spirit. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, in John 18:4-6 He reveals His power in a unique way. He identified himself to the soldiers who were arresting him and they “drew back and fell to the ground.” Jesus first revealed Himself by saying His divine name, “I Am,” making it clear who it is they came for. When He identified Himself to them, they fell to the ground in judgment. These pagan sinners did fall -- backwards. They did not experience revelation or receive an anointing, or conversion, they got right back up and arrested Jesus. There was no change in them; they were still enemies of Jesus. Also, none of Jesus’ followers fell down during the arrest.
Certainly none of this represents a pattern for the Church. Those who practice the artful ritual of being “slain in the Spirit” today deny or ignore these Biblical facts in order to embrace an experience that is not endorsed in the whole New Testament. Please remember that the worship of God and our salvation IS NOT FOUND IN EXPERIENCES OR FEELINGS. IT IS FOUND ONLY IN THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Why then do we do it???
IMO it is because men seek a sign to be convinced of what they believe. That of course is also not Biblical.
Romans 14:23.....
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin".
Now there is no need to argue or be confrontational about any of these Biblical points made. You can disagree with me and we will still be friends. It would be nice to have a conversation without tension and conflict.
If you disagree with what is posted here......fine with me.