Slain in the Spirit

Slain: Past participle of slay

Slay: transitive verb 1: to kill violently, wantonly, or in great numbers ; broadly : to strike down: kill

intransitive verb: kill, murder

synonyms see kill

Those who are in rebellion to God seem to fall backward in Scripture as a sign of judgment.

The Holy Spirit does not "slay" a believer; He gives life.

Rom 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

From an article by Tony Warren,

"Shakti Pat or Divine Touch Robert Walker described what takes place in Kundalini yoga: 'Few Christians realise that for thousands of years gurus have operated with gifts of healing, miracles, gifts of knowledge, and intense displays of spiritual consciousness as they stretch out and connect with a cosmic power which, though demonic in origin, is very real. The meetings which mystic Hindu gurus hold are called 'Darshan'. At these meetings devotees go forward to receive spiritual experience from a touch by the open palm of the hand, often to the forehead, by the guru in what is known as the Shakti Pat or divine touch. The raising of the spiritual experience is called raising Kundalini. The practice is quite intricate but is brought on by Shakti Pat in conjunction with the repetition of mantras or religious phrases and by holding physical positions for a long time. After a period when the devotee has reached a certain spiritual elevation they begin to shake, jerk, or hop or squirm uncontrollably, sometimes breaking into uncontrolled animal noises or laughter as they reach an ecstatic high. These manifestations are called 'Kriyas'. Devotees sometimes roar like lions and show all kinds of physical signs during this period. Often devotees move on to higher states of spiritual consciousness and become inert physically and appear to slip into an unconsciousness when they lose sense of what is happening around them. This state is called 'samadhi' and it leads to a deeper spiritual experience.'

This phenomenon is usually declared to be the product of the act of 'laying on of hands,' which is the belief that a person receives the Holy Spirit of anointing when this is done. The subsequent falling down backward is defined as the physical response to the strong power of the Holy Spirit coming upon these people.

These curious events are known by many different names, including, 'falling down backwards, falling out, drunk in the Spirit, sleep in the Spirit, going down, slain in the Spirit, overcome by the Spirit, resting in the Spirit, and the sleep blessing..'

As best we can tell, Maria Beulah Woodworth-Etter, a woman who preached in the holiness movement of the 1880’s, started this practice by falling out in her popular services of the time. She would often go into a trance-like state and fall down during her performances. She died in 1924, but her legacy of falling down backward in Church services has lived on. In modern times, it was brought back to great popularity by people in great numbers falling down in a small church in Toronto Canada. From this resurgence, many have also labled this, The Toronto Blessing,' where it is mixed with what is termed holy laughter."

Two false prophets of their own have this to say on the issue and related issues,

"There's nothing in Scripture that supports these kinds of phenomena that I can see, and I can't think of anything throughout the church age that would,' Wimber writes. 'So I feel no obligation to try to explain it. It's just phenomena. It's just people responding to God.'"

"There is no place in the Bible where people were lined up and Jesus or Paul or anyone else went along and tapped them on the head and watched them go down, one after another, and somebody else ran along behind. Can you picture Peter and James -- "Hold it, hold it, hold it!" -- running along behind trying to catch them? And so the model that we're seeing, either on stage or on television, is totally different from anything that's in Scripture." (John Wimber, "Spiritual Phenomena: Slain In The Spirit -- Part 1," Vineyard Christian Felllowship, Anaheim, CA, 1981, audiotape)

"You have so much today that is pure flesh, yet people have labeled it as the Spirit. It's not the Spirit, because it's not centered on Christ. It's pure emotionalism. Some of what is happening today, some of these manifestations where people are barking, making sounds of animals - I can tell you, that is not the Holy Spirit. It is purely demonic. The Holy Ghost does not bark. Only a devil barks. If somebody barks in my meeting, I'll cast the devil out of that man."

"You watching TBN here. If you're doing such nonsense, get back to the Bible. And don't you dare experiment with what is not Scriptural, checking out if God is in it. My brother, if it's not in the Bible, He's not in it!! If it's not in the Word of God, He is not in it. (Benny Hinn Condemns Toronto Blessing/Pensacola Phenomena Praise The Lord July 4, 1997 videotape transcript)

Noteworthy it is that one fruit of the Spirit is self-control.

Apparently,and from the testimony of those who have experienced this spiritism of sorts,there is no self-control but rather the lack thereof.

1 Timothy 4:1

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"

1 Thessalonians 5:21

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." Amen!

I am in agreement with the Spirit and the Word that such is not the work of the Holy Spirit but another.

Any who are favorable to these teachings/practices ought to be directed to His Word 2 Tim. 3:16:

Every Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for convincing, for correction of error, and for instruction in right doing; (WNT)

All scripture that was written by the Spirit, is profitable for instruction, and for confutation, and for correction, and for erudition in righteousness; (James Murdoch N.T.)

For the whole Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God, and is profitable to teache, to conuince, to correct, and to instruct in righteousnesse, (Geneva Bible)

Any who teach/do such things ought to be rebuked sharply and marked out as false teachers and false brethren.

Truly being slain in the Spirit is very rare. Although what you see on TV is over 99% of the time going on because the person before them in line fell.

What I have seen of people being slain in the Spirit was flesh at best if not demonic. In the last 3 meetings where this phenonomen occured I felt an oppressive spirit hovering over the assembly. I left these meetings to avoid "contamination" and in great anger. I warned those which I met there that I believe it is not of the Spirit. People reacted with bewiderment; one got mad at me. It is strange. You look into the face of a fellow Christian and see yourself in completely opposite camps. It is a delusion for those who do not walk with God and do not normally have close fellowship with Him. God the allows the devil to cater for their fleshly desire for an experience.

I believe that there is a place for it when people are falling forward on their faces in conviction as seen in previous revivals or they are knocked down by God because they are raving against Him like Saul bevore he became Paul. The only other example I can think of is Annanias and Saphira.

There are instances of being slain in the Spirit or falling under the power in the Word of God as well as in revival history. Greg Gordon has an article on Sermon Index on the subject.

Probably, if you are Charismatic you have experienced or witnessed the falling under the power many times, and if you are not from a Charismatic background you might have a less favorable opinion of it.

I have both seen and experienced what I believe to be true manifestations of falling under the power, in which the person was overcome by the power and presence of God, as well as much flesh, and even what I would consider demonic manifestations. So again, discernment is needed. People greatly err that claim that all falling under the power is a work of the Holy Spirit, or the opposite extreme is also true, that it is always the flesh or the devil.

This is a quote from Jonathan Edwards on bodily manifestations:

"A work [of God] is not to be judged of by any effects on the bodies of
men; such as tears, trembling, groans, loud outcries, agonies of body,
or the failing of bodily strength. . . . We cannot conclude that persons
are under the influence of the true Spirit because we see such effects
upon their bodies, because this is not given as a mark of the true
Spirit; nor on the other hand, have we any reason to conclude, from any
such outward appearances, that persons are not under the influence of
the Spirit of God because there is no rule of Scripture given us to
judge of spirits by, that does either expressly or indirectly exclude
such effects on the body, nor does reason exclude them. . . . It is not
at all strange that God should sometimes give his saints such foretastes
of heaven as to diminish their bodily strength. . . . Indeed all such
objections from effects on the body, let them be greater or less, seem
to be exceeding frivolous; they who argue thence, proceed in the dark;
they know not what ground they go upon, nor by what rule they judge."
.

The Scripture Verses

Here are the main verses from Scripture showing people falling to the ground whenever God would manifest His presence to different people. The first verse is from the Original King James Version of the Bible, the rest are from the New King James Version.

"... that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." (2 Chronicles 5:14)

Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Then when He said to them. "I am He," - they drew back and fell to the ground." (John 18:6)

"And when I saw Him, 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." (Revelation 1:17)

"And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid." But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." (Matthew 17:6)

"And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:3-4)

"So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face." (Ezekiel 3:23)

"Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face." (Numbers 22:31)

"And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw - like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face." (Ezekiel 43:2-3)

"Then He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell on my face." (Ezekiel 44:4)

Krispy, I think Edwards was saying there are no particular verses we can look to that expressely forbid "falling down" in the manner that we call "slain in the Spirit."

I agree, it is not of God. The only times anyone fell down as dead -- they died -- or as is assumed because of the Glory of the Lord. However, the latter, in most every case, the one who fell down as dead was strengthened and stood upright.

What I see today in all of this is lack of self-control, drunkeness rather than soberness of mind, emotion rather than devotion, the flesh rather than the Spirit, etc.

No lasting fruit -- no reformation of lives -- no increase of knowledge or wisdom -- no conforming to the image of Christ, etc.

All benefits in the lives of those Christians involved in these things are not because of this stuff but rather besides these things. It is no different than being foolishly entertained for the day but still being diligent to take some time for studies. I guess at the very least you are "emotionally" high on "positive affirmation" when you start your studies ... hey, it's organic!

Interesting references, Krispy. Seems to be more so a "fear" thing.

This seems to me like an unbiblical term, and hence caution is advised.

For the only Biblical account related were Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5
:-o

It seems to me to be a slang and almost irreverent term for the reaction that some have when the power of the Holy Spirit falls.

There are all kinds of views on whether its real or not. Some say its lack of self control but you know, when you hand over yourself to God to with as He wants its His will not yours that will be done. So I'm never surprised at the outcome!

There are those that argue about whether it happened in the Bible or not and those that say if it didn't happen in the Bible (according to our interpretation and translation) that it can't happen!

Whatever the truth of these arguments, I do know this. If I pursue a closer walk with God and during that I fall under the power of the Holy Spirit and fall on my face or into a trance as some say, maybe I will have been deceived maybe not. When I have to answer before God for my actions, it is He who has the grace to forgive and overlook the deceipt because He knows.

As for me - I will seek Him rather than blindly follow 'human truth'.

KrispyKrittr wrote:
This has not been discussed in some time, and I was wondering what y'alls take is on the idea of being "slain in the Spirit".

Krispy

I can relate this my own experience; I can see how this can come about. How mine happened:

From time to time satan buffets and taunts me. There was a time when satan was bothering me about the authority of the Bible as the word of God and he challenged me. The buffeting began when he challenged me regarding the Holy Bible when he made a comment about Islam's Qur'an/Koran.

He said what do you have more than the Muslim? You say you have the Truth, but so do they, and how do you know you are right and they are wrong? What right do you have to say that you have the truth more then they do?

This really bothered me, so I went before the Lord. I knew that Islam did not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, and they don't believe that Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins. So this really bothered me. What right did I have to say I had the truth more then the Muslim...it is just a matter of faith after all?

I went out to pray before the Lord, as my faith was brought into question. I needed an answer as to why I had the right to say I had the truth more then they did.

As I considered this in my prayers, I remembered the Holy Spirit, how at times He fell on me and bore me witness that I was a son of God.

Well anyway, I prayed before the Lord:

Lord Jesus, I thank you that your Holy Spirit bears witness to the bible that it is the truth. I must have prayed this intently before the Lord for over a half a hour.

After I finished up my prayer I walked home from my praying. I decided to keep praying as I walked, and I prayed this prayer over again...Lord Jesus, I thank you that Your Holy Spirit bears witness to the Bible that it is the truth...

All at once, Like a mighty bolt of lighting it came...the most powerful witness of the Holy Spirit that I have ever had. The power of God fell upon me in such a way that I was barely able to stand on my feet.

The Shekinah Glory of God fell upon me that night and nearly knocked me off my feet. The Lord allowed me to stand up under it; I was barely able to contain it. Had the witness been any more powerful then it was, I would have been knocked out by it.

The presence of God's Holy Spirit is awesome! I describe His witness as follows: Power, Power, Power, A sweet fragrance like that of sweet spice or flowers, accompanied by joy unspeakable and full of glory, accompanied by great peace that floods my soul, a great calm, a sense of acceptance. I could feel His Love as a presence, like a bright light shining on me.

The experience on my senses that the Holy Spirit brings are incredible...God encountered me that night in prayer, and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced! AWESOME!!

KrispyKrittr wrote:
This has not been discussed in some time, and I was wondering what y'alls take is on the idea of being "slain in the Spirit".

Krispy

There are those who when they go out in a prayer line that fall backwards and fall to the ground.

There are preachers who will push you back as well.

But there are true manifestations of the Holy Spirit where people are knocked down and are slain. I have experienced it myself, the story goes like this.

After preaching the preacher asked is there anyone here not walking a righteous life put up your hand myself and some others put up our hands. He then asked us to stand up so he could pray for us.

I stood up as well as the others and he began to pray, then suddenly I was knocked down. What I felt was a force hitting me square in the chest. It was not painful but it knocked me down onto my seat. The man next to me help me get back up but I was shaking.

The pastor, the preacher and elders where soon around me and praying. It was all a blur from there on, but I do remeember the Pastor saying thats it it's coming out. At that point the taste in my mouth was like a year of morning bad breaths rapped into one brief moment.

I was set free, the violence that once haunted my life was gone.

Well thats my 2pence worth make of it what you will.

KrispyKritter wrote:

So what are we to make of folks who seemingly walk with the Lord, are believers in the Word of God... and yet participate in this?

I have not read the whole thread but I can answer this. As a fairly new Christian born again late in life, I fell right into this. The church I attended brought this in through a travelling ministry. One day in the church, I was zapped with no human hand on me, and fell on the floor in continuous laughter. Other manifestations followed as this spirit took a hold of the church.

The Good News is the Lord brought me out of it.

I was warned against it but did not listen as my life and person was so changed after being born again. If a person's heart is very serious for God, the Holy Spirit will bring them out of it. Pray for those who are caught up in it and be patient. The Holy Spirit can do what man cannot.

The posting earlier on the Kundalini spirit is a very accurate record of what this is all about.

God Bless
Linda

do you know that you can position yourself in Christ to have this constantly day by day. a Tangible power and unction all over you body and flowing throughout all your . you can stir the gift of the Holy Ghost up and be consumed of God , in a tangible way, all the day long being filled with Him to overflowing in reality .. It is the Fathers good pleasure to give you this .. God bless you ," only believe " it is for you . to minister the ministration of the Holy Spirit to a lost and dying world you live in is to know the filling you exsperienced is to be upon you all the time ...Only Believe it and it and the Holy Spirit will lead you to this reality in Christ.