Under the category of ‘extreme’ manifestations of the Spirit I would suggest some of the following have caused much concern:-

 

1. People roaring like lions…or neighing like horses…or swimming in imaginary rivers
2. People falling over in droves as a hand is waved over them
3. People having gold dust …or oil dripping from them…or precious stones
4. People making claims of being teleported….or having items sometimes long-lost reappearing
5. People claiming to have ‘angelic’ visitations…or presences
6. People being in trances for days…or stuck to the wall or floor

  

These will each be addressed fairly briefly but the tests previously described under the heading of ‘slain in the Spirit’ apply…ie is Jesus confessed and glorified…..and is the fruit godly…should be applied equally to each of the above. A third test would be if ‘another gospel’ is being preached…ie Gal 1:8

 

1)People roaring like lions…or neighing like horses

 

The major concern of people is that this is somehow a demonic manifestation. Where I have seen these manifested they most certainly were not….and each person who experienced this had a testimony of having been ministered to by the Spirit of God in a life changing manner.

 

I am not saying that this must always be the case. It is possible that Satan can imitate any behaviour. But let us be honest, this is most unlikely to be the work of Satan when done by people who are passionately worshipping Jesus.

 

God has in the word recorded incidents which are not the ‘norm’. For example He had one prophet prophesy naked for 3 years….another prophet lie 390 days on his side as a message ….and made Saul strip naked and prophesy…

 

Isa 20:3-4

3 Then the LORD said, "Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.  NKJV

God calls this a ‘sign and a wonder’

 

Ezek 4:4-7

4 "Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side ; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.

7 "Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. NKJV

 

Ezek 4:8

8 And surely I will restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege. NKJV

Doesn’t this remind you of ‘being stuck to the floor ..or wall’?…. Perhaps the critics of Maria Woodworth Etter should reconsider?

 

Ezek 4:12

12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight."    NKJV

 

1 Sam 19:23-24

23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"     NKJV

 

Now for those who want things to be ‘decent and in order’ have you considered that perhaps you could be saying ‘We DON’T want the Spirit of God to move in our midst’?

 

God also used an ass to speak to a prophet. Is it beyond the bounds of acceptability that he would make a man roar or neigh to bring a prophetic sign to an assembly?

 

Num 22:30-31

30 So the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?"

And he said, "No."

31 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.   NKJV

  

The roar of a lion IS scripturally prophetic

 

Isa 31:1-5

For thus the LORD has spoken to me:

"As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey

……….

So the LORD of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. 5 Like birds flying about, So will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem.    NKJV

 

Job 4:9-10

9 By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

10 The roaring of the lion,

The voice of the fierce lion,     NKJV

  

The horse is also a prophetic symbol….it speaks of us being ready for battle

 

Prov 21:31

31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle,

But deliverance is of the LORD.    NKJV 

  

When we see a strange sign (ie Moses and the burning bush, etc) we have two choices…one, to dismiss it and perhaps not discover what God is saying….or two, to investigate and ask God if He is speaking ..or wants us to know something through this sign.

 

My preference has been to investigate with care …and to be open to learning ….rather than dismissing it without consideration….and missing out.

 

Ask yourself.....'Is there not a river...which flows from the thone of God?.....Would you not want to enter in? ...Have you never experienced a sense of being swept away by the move of God?

 

 

2)People falling over in droves as a hand is waved over them

 

This is similar to an incident in John 18

 

John 18:6

6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.    NKJV

 

The manifestation of the presence of the ‘I Am’ could result people falling over

 

I think this is a ‘tame’ manifestation which while having seen I have never been part of. I most certainly have been touched powerfully by the presence of God and found myself ‘knocked over’ …and I too have been pushed by man.

 

Imagine instead the following:-

 

Acts 5:15-16

15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.     NKJV

OR

2 Kings 6:16-18

16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.     NKJV

OR

2 Kings 1:10-12

10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.

And he answered and said to him: "Man of God, thus has the king said, 'Come down quickly!'"

12 So Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.     NKJV
 

 

 

3)People having gold dust …or oil dripping from them…and precious stones

 

The silver and gold are linked with the manifestation of God’s glory

 

Hag 2:6-9

6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the LORD of hosts. 8 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the LORD of hosts. 9 'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the LORD of hosts."     NKJV

 

Ex 25:11

"And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And you shall overlay it with pure gold , inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around.    NKJV

 

Ex 25:17-21

17 "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold ; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.    NKJV

 

And the work of grace rather than the works of the flesh

 

1 Cor 3:11-13

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.    NKJV 

 

The oil usually speaks prophetically of ‘anointing’…the presence of the Spirit of God

 

Lev 21:10-13

10 'He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.    NKJV

 

And it prepares us to enter the presence of God (Rom 8:9-11)

 

Precious stones speak of the King …his crown…His reign on earth!

 

I have seen pictures of stones which people claim have miraculously appeared….there is no way this claim can be refuted or proven by scientific testing. It is probably only when it happens to you would you KNOW it is true.

 

The people I know who have experienced the like ARE passionately in love with Jesus....Are you?

 

 

4) People making claims of being teleported….or having items sometimes long-lost re-appearing

 

Jesus… who said ‘the things that I do you shall do also’…did many strange things!

Jesus made a coin appear in a fishes mouth…exactly the tax He and Peter had to pay

 

Matt 17:27

27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."     NKJV

 

Jesus walked through walls

John 20:26-27

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"     NKJV

 

Jesus walked on water…and enabled Peter to do the same….with a word

Matt 14:25-29

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,  "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 

28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water ."

29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.   NKJV

 

Jesus multiplied bread…at least 2 times

 

Jesus disappeared    

Luke 4:28-30

28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.    NKJV

 

Philip also was teleported

Acts 8:39-40

39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus.    NKJV

 

Paul spoke of it

2 Cor 12:2-4

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago — whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows — such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows —  4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.     NKJV

 

So did John

Rev 17:3

3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness.   NKJV

 

Elijah practised it frequently…for protection.

1 Kings 18:11-12

11 And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here’! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know;    NKJV

 

He did many powerful things…even under the Old Covenant

2 Kings 1:12

12 So Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.    NKJV

 

Some claim we are limited to doing what is recorded in the bible as having been ‘done before’. But when Jesus says … ‘and greater things than these SHALL you do for I go to my Father’ this would appear to be incorrect.

 

Perhaps again this is a matter of ‘all things are possible to him who believes’

 

 

5) People claiming to have ‘angelic’ visitations

 

The New Testament is full of references to angelic visitations and interactions

 

The clear indication that this is intended to continue is found in Hebrews

 

Heb 1:14

14 Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (yes this refers to US)     NKJV

 

Heb 13:2

2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.     NKJV

 

So how should these angels minister….again the tests of scripture apply.

 

People like Joseph Smith fail tests 1 and 2…and even #3,

He failed to acknowledge Jesus as God (ie He is no more God than they as Mormons can become)

He failed to demonstrate fruit…he was a liar and a multiple adulterer        

He preached  ‘another gospel’…one of salvation by works not of God’s grace alone

 

 

6) People being in trances for days…or stuck to the wall or floor

 

Ezek 4:8

8 And surely I will restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.   NKJV

 

God is well able to ‘freeze’ people.

I myself have experienced this…..it was as though I moved out of the realm of time into eternity…as he ministered to me.

 

Matt 28:4

4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.      NKJV

 

This sounds pretty ‘frozen’ to me

 

Job 29:10

10 The voice of nobles was hushed,

And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.    NKJV

 

Jonah in the belly of a whale may sound like a fable to some…but Jesus quotes it….and I believe it. He was pretty stuck there!

 

Matt 12:39-41

"An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah .  40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.      NKJV

 

Jesus believed Lots wife was turned into a pillar of salt…literally

 

Gen 19:26

26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.   NKJV

 

Luke 17:32

32 Remember Lot's wife   NKJV

 

Jesus believed in Noahs’ ark

 

Matt 24:38-39

38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah  entered the ark,  39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.    NKJV

 

Jesus believed in the ‘story of creation’

 

Matt 19:4-6

"Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'  5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." 

 

Mark 13:19-20

19 For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.   

 

John 10:35-36

35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),    NKJV

 

Ex 31:17

17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"     NKJV

 

Do you believe that Jesus IS God….and what He says IS God speaking?

Do you believe Jesus ‘got it wrong’? 

Are you a believer...or a doubter?