Falling in the Spirit / Slain in the Spirit

I have been in Pentecostal and Full Gospel churches since I became a born again Christian. I have observed that when people fall in the Spirit, they seem to float downwards and meet the floor softly. I have also noticed that many people, possibly the majority, want to fall or be slain in the Spirit. Perhaps they assume that falling is good for them, or falling is a sign of holiness, or whatever a religious spirit tells them that “being slain” is. These people, I’ve noticed, fall differently. They are eager to fall, and many throw themselves back. Since it is the flesh working and not the Spirit, they fall hard. Hence the need for “catchers” to stand behind in churches.

I searched the Bible and saw that when the Glory of God enters a place of congregation, people cannot stand and fall to the ground. Such was the case when Solomon’s temple was completed, and they did not have “catchers” there—at least the Bible does not mention any. When Jesus said “I Am He” to those who came to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane, they fell down but apparently were not hurt. The one who was hurt was the soldier from whom Peter cut off the ear.

And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. (1 Kings 8:10-11)

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. (John 18:4-6)

Observe that falling under the power of the Spirit of God happens to both those who are for God (the priests) and those who are against God (Judas and the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus).

I believe that if people are really falling in the Spirit, catchers are not needed.

Certainly there are ministers who push. They believe that people must fall when they pray or touch them. I have been pushed more than once. I don’t fall and I am not going to throw myself back just to please the minister. What is the point of “falling if the Spirit” if God is not at work?

Another dimension of “falling”

Not many people know that there is a demon that pushes people back and makes them fall violently. As spirit-filled Christians, we have been given a gift of discernment of spirits, and I have that gift. And since I have also been in the deliverance ministry since 1980, I know what I am talking about.

I had been attending a church for several years when the Holy Spirit warned me that a certain woman would be joining the church. I knew the woman. She was a “charismatic witch”, a Christian who prays ungodly prayers about people who do not want to submit to her will or who do not agree with her.

I warned the pastor and the wife. However, when the woman arrived, she came with recommendations from other people and was received with open arms. During the service, the pastor would give her the microphone for “words”. Then he would turn to take the mic elsewhere and would not see that the woman had been violently thrown back, with the people sitting behind her holding onto her chair so it (and the woman) would not fall on them.

Somebody finally told the pastor, and one Sunday the pastor called her to the stage, placing catchers behind her. Again she fell back after her “word” and was caught. The following Sunday he stood her at floor level, in front of the stage, with catchers behind her. This time, when she finished the word, she was thrown violently forward instead of backwards, hitting a chair in the first row, right next to the pastor’s wife. The catchers could not do a thing. The pastor stopped giving her the mic, and in fact, he stopped giving anyone the mic.

But that is not the end of the story.

Not long after that, in the prayer line, a woman was thrown violently back and hit her head. I knew the lady, so I called her. She told me she could not go to work that afternoon (Sunday), and next day both her husband and daughter left for work thinking she was all right, but she could not get up from bed and could not eat for a few days. The pastor’s wife later told me that the church had to compensate her–there was a settlement of some kind.

Then I witnessed this myself when I was praying for a woman in the prayer line. There were two catchers, one behind the person on each side of the one for whom I was praying. I know when someone is going to fall, and I am sure the catchers know, too. There are signals that let you know – the person gets wobbly and weak looking. This lady did not give signals at all. All of a sudden, she was thrown violently away from me, fell backwards and hit the floor with her head. It was as if somebody had pushed her with both hands! It was completely unexpected. The catchers could not react on time.

I told the pastor what happened. His answer was that I had to wait for the catchers to be behind the person in order to pray.

I decided not to minister in that prayer line any longer. I had been in that church many years, and that had not happened before. It started happening after the charismatic witchcraft woman came in.

In spite of this, I believe churches should not have catchers. If God does the falling, the people will not get hurt. The ones who throw themselves to the floor will be discouraged from doing so. They should never do it in the first place. And if there is a demon throwing people back violently in a church, then it is time for repentance, change, and serious spiritual warfare.