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"Slain in the spirit " - Demonic doctrine?

This has to be one of the most poisonous doctrines within the churches today, especially "charismatic" churches. I have seen people suddenly "pass out" after being shoved on the forehead by a minister and lay on the ground trembling and twitching, while the congregation praises God for the Holy Spirit "slaying" this person "in the spirit".

I have also heard and read of more extreme cases where people being "slain in the spirit" have jerked and twitched to the point of where they hurt themselves and others (one man actually jerked so hard, he broke his neck and died); people have been slammed to the floor or have been thrown up to fifteen feet away, have barked and snapped like dogs, have laughed uncontrollably for hours (now called "holy laughter"), have been stuck to the floor unable to move, etc.

And all of these things are being praised as being works of the Holy Spirit! Really? Passing out in church? Laughing uncontrollably? Jerking and twitching? Barking and snapping like dogs? Is this really the power of the Holy Spirit working within someone? The answer to that question is emphatically NO! Demonic manifestations? YES!

There is nothing anywhere in Scripture to support the doctrine of being "slain in the spirit"!

First of all, being "slain" is to be killed, and our spirits are eternal and therefore cannot be "slain", so therefore the very title of this phenomenon is wrong. Man, being created in Gods image, has an eternal spirit and whether good or bad, our spirits will live eternally after death of the physical body, whether in Heaven or the Lake of Fire.

Jesus never knocked anyone unconscious when He touched or healed them. The disciples were fully conscious when they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and they ran into the streets rejoicing and praising God in other languages. There is no recording of fainting, twitching, snapping, barking or anything else of the sort in Scripture where God or the Holy Spirit were involved.

Did Jesus cause violent reactions in people when He healed them? Did He pass out, twitch uncontrollably, or bark like a dog? If He did, He would have been declared to be demon-possessed and would have been hauled away to the loony bin, and His message and work here would have been lost.

But there are at least two documented cases of demon activity causing similar manifestations to those "slain in the spirit.".

LUKE 4:31-37

31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.

32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice,

34 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.

36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

And;

MARK 9:14-27

14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.

15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.

16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.

18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”

26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

Note some similarities here? The man in the synagogue was thrown to the ground by the demon before it came out. The demonic spirit in the boy "tore at him" and "bruised him", causes him to gnash (snap) his teeth, and throws him about, trying to destroy him. Both behaviors are marked with violence caused by these demon spirits, the same kind of violence that some Christians now claim is the power of the Holy Spirit!

It is noteworthy here also, that the boy described above was possessed by a deaf and dumb spirit. There have been reported cases of being "slain in the spirit" where people were unable to speak for hours at a time.

Note that the demonic spirit tore the child so badly before he came out that he required healing by Jesus!

And note especially in Mark 9:25 that Jesus commanded that the spirit not re-enter the child. Those of you involved in deliverance ministries, please take careful note of this.

These behaviors during the time that people are "slain in the spirit" are definitely not from God! They are the work of demonic spirits, and yet the churches praise God for His work in the lives of these poor deluded people. Satan must be holding his sides laughing at our gullibility.

The work of the Spirit is never violent. As the apostle Paul says;

GALATIANS 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Notice the key words in these two verses. Meekness, gentleness, peace, self-control. No violence of the types reported in the "slain in the spirit" phenomenon in the lives of believers is caused by the Holy Spirit.

Being knocked unconscious or being thrown about is a common occurrence in Occult rituals and demon possession.

So why do we allow it within the church, if there is no Scriptural instruction concerning it? Because members are not vigilant in discerning errors in doctrine within the church!

I will be so bold as to say that we are so anxious to see some display of God's power within the church that we will accept anything that looks legitimate, even if there is no Scriptural basis for it!

I have noted with great interest as have others, that those who are "slain in the Spirit" invariably fall backwards, usually because they are pushed or shoved on the forehead by the person doing the "slaying". And yet Scripture records that those who fall down in worship, fall forward on their faces in reverence to the Lord. Note the following Scriptural references;

Abram (later called Abraham), called the Friend of God, fell on his face whenever God spoke to him directly.

GENESIS 17:3

3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:

GENESIS 17:17-18

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

Balaam fell on his face before the Angel sent to destroy him;

NUMBERS 22:31

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.

Joshua fell on face and worshiped before the Lord who appeared to him just before the battle of Jericho;

JOSHUA 5:13-14

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

The prophet Ezekiel recorded;

EZEKIEL 3:23

23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

When on the mount where Jesus was transfigured, Peter, James and John fell on their faces in fear at His glory and at the voice of the Father when He spoke to them;

MATTHEW 17:1-6

1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;

2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

Jesus Himself, in the Garden of Gethsemane, fell on His face before His Father giving Him reverence;

MATTHEW 26:39

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Now the OTHER side of the coin. Scripture records that falling backward is a sign of unbelief, sin and fear, not reverence!

The Lord speaking of rebellious Judah, stating that they were weary of following the Law spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying;

ISAIAH 28:13

13 But the word of the Lord was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little,” that they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.

When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked them whom they sought. They replied, "Jesus of Nazareth." Scripture records;

JOHN 18:6

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

As Scripture reports, falling forward is a sign of worship and reverence, whereas falling backward is just the opposite!

Invariably, with the "slaying in the spirit" phenomenon, there is no testing of the spirit(s) involved to see if they are from God.

1 JOHN 4:1-3

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

There are documented cases of demon infestation knocking a person unconscious, but nowhere is it recorded in Scripture that the Holy Spirit does such a thing.

If you cannot prove or support a doctrine or practice with solid Scripture, in context, you have no right teaching it.

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for this very thing, saying,

MATTHEW 15:7-9

7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.

9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

The apostle Paul said,

1 THESSALONIANS 5:21-22

21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

22 Abstain from every form of evil.

And if one were to get strictly legal about this, there are only two cases in Scripture of someone being actually "slain by the Spirit" and that was Ananias and Sapphira, who died at the feet of Peter through the exercise of the power of the Holy Spirit as a lesson to others about deceit.

ACTS 5:1-11

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.

2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?

4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.

6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”

9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.

11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

Note that Peter never touched them. They merely fell down and were NOT violently thrown about, or anything else.

Important note!!!

The Lord gave me a dream some years ago. I was standing in a beautiful green field, watching a herd of fat, white sheep feeding. About twenty feet away from me crouched a huge tiger who had killed and devoured at least one sheep already, for he had blood and wool around his mouth, and there was blood and bits of wool on the ground in front of him. He was looking at the other sheep, and snarling, and I could tell he was looking for his next victim. Yet the sheep continued to graze, seemingly totally unconcerned that this tiger was in their midst.

Then the tiger saw me. He raced over and began to spring up and attack. I looked at him and commanded, "In the name of Jesus Christ, get down!" He immediately crouched at my feet, snarling and glaring at me with eyes that literally glowed yellow with hatred. He wanted to tear me apart, but could not.

I awoke after that, and wrote it off as being a weird dream. But it kept nagging at me throughout the day, so I asked the Lord if He was trying to tell me something. He then told me that the sheep were the churches, and the tiger was Satan. Satan was destroying the churches one by one, and not only were the churches unaware of this, but they were totally unconcerned that it was happening. The destruction was of a spiritual nature, rather than physical.

I hadn't thought about the dream in a while, but several years later when I was worshiping at church, I suddenly saw the tiger again in my mind. I guess one could call it a vision. He was pacing at a distance in the parking lot, glaring at the church and snarling in rage and frustration, because the worship and the Spirit of the Lord was so strong that he couldn't come anywhere near it.

Pastors of churches are set up by the Lord to feed and guard His flock. Yet many are falling under the condemnation of Isaiah in which the Lord says,

ISAIAH 9:16

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

God speaking through Hosea, laments;

HOSEA 4:6

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

False doctrines such as "slaying in the spirit" which have no foundation in Scripture are being taught in the church fulfilling Paul's prophecy of,

1 TIMOTHY 4:1

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,

And he sets an even harder line when he told the Galatians,

GALATIANS 1:8-9

8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Note that Paul was so serious about this issue, that he included angels, himself and his companions under the curse! Note also, that curse is still active today. Pastors and elders, please take careful note of this!

The apostle Peter also warns;

2 PETER 2:1-2

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

God gave us His inspired Word to instruct us as to what is required of us, and to help us discern errors that Satan tries to introduce among us. That is why it is so important that we study and understand the Scriptures, and carefully follow what they say. For if God demanded exact, careful attention to detail concerning worship and ordinances in the old Law, is He any less diligent that we follow the same exacting detail to the commandments in the New Testament today?

God considers His Word to be so important that David says,

PSALMS 138:2

2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

God considers His Word to be so important, that He has elevated it above His own name!

This also brings up another point aside from the issue at hand, but one that I feel should be included here.

I have been to churches where as the pastor was preaching, people would jump up and "speak in tongues" or some other such thing.

But as God has elevated His word above His name, He would never, ever, interrupt the preaching of the Word with a display of a spiritual gift!

People that do this are following either their own desire for attention, or are attempting to display "gifts" that they do not have! And if you interrupt the preaching of God's word, will He not have an accounting of you for that? Especially if by your interruption you might be blocking a message that someone desperately needs to hear?

(I'll deal more with this issue in the study on the Gifts of the Spirit)

If you are a pastor of the church, it is your responsibility before God to teach your flock sound doctrine, as you will be held responsible by the Lord for what you teach. James says;

JAMES 3:1

1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

In other words, those called to teach and preach the Word of God, will fall under a harsher judgement, as we are not only required to thoroughly know and understand what we teach and will be judged for our teachings, but we need to live as examples of that teaching. And while the judgement may be harder, the rewards for diligence as a teacher or preacher will be great also!

Paul warned the leaders of the churches of Miletus and Ephesus;

ACTS 20:28-30

28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

Pastors, elders, and teachers, God has given you an awesome responsibility, namely to shepherd His people. You are required to feed them, and shield them from false doctrines by providing sound teaching from the Word, much as a shepherd leads the sheep to pasture for feeding, and protects them from attacks from wolves.

Church leaders are required to exhort good doctrine, expose false teachings, and counter those who teach falsehoods, so that the enemy cannot gain a foothold in the church. And yet it seems that few leaders follow these teachings, fearing to offend those in their congregations who might disagree with them. The Gospel being preached today is, "Let's not offend each other, but just love each other in the Lord".

This may sound good on the surface, but if you REALLY love someone, you will teach them the truth, even if it hurts or offends them. Do you think Jesus will follow the "Let's just love each other" concept at the judgement? What will you say to these people when they receive the sentence of Hell, and in tears they ask you why you didn't tell them the truth?

God told the prophet Ezekiel;

EZEKIEL 3:17-21

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:

18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.

21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”

EZEKIEL 33:1-9

1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,

3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people,

4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.

6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.

7 “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.

8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

Note that God considered warning the wicked so important that He spoke twice to Ezekiel concerning it! How much blood will be on our hands because we allow false teachings within the church to lead people to Hell because we don't want to offend them?

The dream I mentioned previously about the tiger is God's graphic example of what is happening to the churches today. They are being spiritually devoured, and they either are unaware or don't care that spiritual destruction is imminent.

And sadly, these people will be deceived and brought under the sway of the Antichrist, for if they receive false doctrines now, how hard will it be to deceive them when the doctrines are accompanied by false signs and wonders? As Paul warned;

2 THESSALONIANS 2:7-12

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Peter, warning the Jew and Gentile believers said;

2 PETER 2:1-2

2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

Corrupt doctrines are being brought into the church by people distorting and twisting the Gospel to the point of where the Gospel itself is being rejected, and Christians are being held in contempt and derision by the world. Satanists I have spoken with have told me that members of their order are ministers of churches, and considering some of the unscriptural doctrines I hear being preached from the pulpits of some churches I have been to, I believe it. In fact, one church I attended had a demon-possessed pastor preaching in it, and his congregation didn't know it.

Fair warning: When you allow a minister, elder or other church member to lay hands on you, you are not only submitting to the person, but to the spirit within the person! And if that spirit is a demon, you are submitting to the demon as you would to the Lord! This gives the demon legal right to have access to you.

Paul, knowing what was to come gave this last ministerial charge to young Timothy, and through him, to us;

2 TIMOTHY 4:1-4

1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

You who are pastors or church leaders have an awesome responsibility as a shepherd of your flock, and the spiritual welfare of your congregation is in your hands. And if you allow errors in doctrine or teaching to enter your church, God will hold you responsible for it and for the blood of those whom you teach. And if you cannot square something with God's Word, in context, I would be wary of teaching it. We rather need to be like the Jews of Berea, who listened to the preaching of Paul, but as Scripture records;

ACTS 17:11-12

11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

They indeed listened to Paul with open minds, but examined the Scriptures daily to verify what he preached before they accepted it! How many church leaders and members do that today? Sadly enough, from what I have seen in churches I have attended, not too many. Far too many have become like the Jews that Paul spoke of in Romans, when he says;

ROMANS 10:2

2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

In other words, they wanted to serve God, and were enthusiastic to do so, but were in ignorance of the Scriptures. And just like we say today, ignorance is no excuse especially when we have the Word readily available to us today.

One of the biggest errors of the "slain in the spirit" doctrine is that it glorifies the Holy Spirit more than Jesus. Yet Jesus Himself said,

JOHN 16:13-15

13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Note that Jesus said that the Spirit will glorify Him (Jesus), the Holy Spirit does not glorify Himself. And yet many charismatic churches concentrate on the gifts of the Spirit and give more glory to the Holy Spirit, than they do to the One who sent Him!

Another error is the very reactions of the people who are "slain". If an unbeliever walked into a church where this was going on, he would probably flee in terror. People passing out, twitching, snapping, barking, etc. He would think he'd stumbled into an insane asylum! And yet what does Scripture say?

1 CORINTHIANS 14:33

33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:40

40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

2 TIMOTHY 1:7

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

In virtually all cases of people being "slain in the spirit" that I have seen, there was no order, but complete chaos. Ministers shoving people on the forehead or blowing on people while demanding that God provide more of His Spirit by shouting "More! More!", people falling down, some twitching, others speaking in tongues, etc. Total confusion and chaos in virtually every case. And the use of tongues in each case is in clear violation of the order that Paul says they are to be used in 1 Corinthians 14. (For further information on this subject, please see the study on the Gifts of the Spirit.)

In summary, the doctrine of being "slain in the spirit" has absolutely no foundation in Scripture, but does have foundation in the Occult. The Scriptures also record that demons will react with violence within a person, whereas the Holy Spirit does not.

Scripture records that demon spirits will cause activity similar to that described in some of the "slain in the spirit" sessions, such as snapping of teeth, violent behavior, and slamming people to the ground. No doubt demons also cause people to bark like dogs, become stuck to the floor and other weird behaviors.

Those of you who continue in this blasphemous practice are in danger of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, for you are calling these demonic works the work of the Holy Spirit even though Scripture clearly shows that this is not the case.

Scripture warns us that we are to test the spirits, because not every spiritual manifestation is from God. John says;

1 JOHN 4:1-4

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

It has been my experience that the person you question can say that Jesus is come in the flesh, but if you ask the spirit within the person, if the spirit is a demon, you will get a quite different answer, if they answer you at all.

The very title of being "slain in the spirit" is a clue to the falseness of this doctrine. Our spirits are eternal; but where we spend eternity depends on acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, accepting His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, believing that God raised Him from the dead, and being diligent to follow His commandments. And just as those found worthy to enter the kingdom of God are eternal beings, those who are sentenced to Hell will be tormented for eternity.

All doctrine must be measured against God's Word and doctrines that cannot be supported by God's Word, in context, must be rejected!

I have proven from Scripture that the "slain in the spirit" doctrine cannot be supported by Scripture, and in fact goes against Scripture. Those of you who read this, are now responsible for this information. If you continue to support this doctrine, then I will be free of your blood, for I have done as the Lord has commanded me, and have shown you the truth concerning this blasphemous doctrine.

And if you choose to reject what I have written here without solid Scriptural proof that I am wrong, then you have rejected the One who inspired the very Scriptures I have used for my proof.

May the Lord Jesus Christ open your eyes and grant you the discernment needed to recognize the truth of what I have written here.

Questions? Comments? E-mail: watchmen_777@yahoo.com

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