http://www.testingthespirits.com
Edited for Web Site by Bernie Koerselman
Ted Brooks is known for his insight into Charismatic circles for he himself was formerly a Charismatic/Word of Faith pastor who openly approved of and promoted Toronto Blessing and Pensacola Revival type manifestations in his church and ministry.

Table of Contents

Why are we laughing so hard that we can’t stand up?


As we look at this subject we must also remember that there is a common assumption that spontaneous laughing, Spirit-induced impairment of physical and mental faculties and uncontrollable falling, are all part and parcel of today’s mindset of what is supposed to happen when the power of God touches people.

Speaking From Personal Experience


Why Do People Fall Down When Prayed For?


These Issues are Hot Among North American Pentecostals


He cited when Jesus was approached by the temple guards in the garden and when He identified Himself, they fell backwards.
He mentioned Saul on the road to Damascus and said, “he and ALL his company were struck to the ground.” It would be good for us to clarify that the company of men who were with Saul did not have the same experience as Saul, for Acts 9:7 says, “And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless…” If they were standing what led the Brownsville supporter to say that they were “struck to the ground.” This is a common problem among ministers. In fact, this was my downfall in years past. I preached what I heard from leaders I looked up to, rather than what I personally studied in Scripture. This is probably true for this
Brownsville supporter as well. It is obvious that he has not studied the Scriptures to form his defence for being slain in the Spirit.
We could take this list and add the soldiers at the tomb and then ask the question, what do all of these situations have in common? What must be noted here is the guards, the soldiers, and Saul were considered non-supporters of Jesus. They were not coming to Jesus for any ministry. Could we conclude then that there is a pattern in the Bible for people falling down and the majority of them were unfriendly toward God? Interesting, isn’t it?

Fear of Missing Out


I can tell you by experience that it wasn’t the fear of God I was struggling with. It was the fear of not looking as spiritual as some

of the others. Fear causes us to go with the flow even if it doesn’t make sense.

I Was Pretending


There were ushers standing behind those receiving prayer to catch them as they fell backwards to the floor. The preacher laid his hands upon me and I immediately “yielded” and fell backwards according to my traditions. In the middle of my descent to the cold hard concrete floor, I realized there wasn’t a “catcher” behind me and in midair I heard the entire congregation “gasp” in unison. I’m sure the building lost air pressure for a second. My tall frame hit the concrete with a thud. I lay there in astonishment and wondered what I should do. I was so used to playing the game by that time that I just lay there and pretended that God was doing a work in my life. I did not do this to deceive people. It was my Charismatic theology which led me to believe that pretending was the same as faith.
For many years as a pastor, I watched people fall to the floor and do other strange things when I laid hands on them. We the preachers and we the people were well trained in this and we all knew what was expected of each other. We had quickly caught on to the traditions of the Charismatic Church.

Did Jesus do it?


Jesus was anointed in greater capacity than any man of God today. Jesus had the the Spirit of God without measure and yet if Jesus was to compete with today’s super preachers, He would fail according to today’s standards of acceptable signs & wonders.
No preacher can boast that they are doing or teaching anything different than Christ and still be right in their doctrine. If they are
constantly seeing different miracles and manifestations in their ministry than the ones seen in Jesus’, they had better start asking

some questions.

Slain In The Spirit


In the Pentecostal and Charismatic Church movements I have belonged to, two of the most popular Scriptures used to herald
this doctrine are quoted from:
    2 Chronicles 5:14 (KJV) 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.
    1 Kings 8:11 (KJV) 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.
The theory is that the priests “fell down” because of the “glory cloud.” But this doctrine is based on an assumption which is easily
exposed by the context which also states:
    1 Kings 8:10 “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,”
    2 Chronicles 5:11 “And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place…”
How could the priests be “slain” by the “glory cloud” that filled the temple if they were no longer in the temple? A more accurate
interpretation suggests that the priests could not “stand” or return to their place of appointed ministry simply because the glory of God had filled the place where they were to stand. It does not mean that they were flat on their backs unable to move. It simply means that the priests had to stand outside the temple with the rest of the people who were awed by the spectacle.
A Scripture which paints a better picture of what really happened here is found in 2 Chronicles chapter seven.
    2 Chronicles 7:1-2 “When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.” 

The Glory Cloud


In actuality, the glory of God was the manifest presence of God but the cloud was the shield or the veil that separated the glory of God from man. Not only did it protect unholy man from being exposed directly to the manifestation of a holy God, but the true image of God was also hidden within the cloud.
This cloud and the typology it represented was removed when Jesus came to the earth. He revealed the glory of God to us so that we would never have to “look” through cloud cover again. This speaks of the tremendous unhindered clarity of the character of God he brought to us.
Jesus is the manifest presence of God to man. The manifest presence of God, which so many are searching for, is not a sensation in a meeting or a vision of the “glory cloud.” To suggest the need for Old Testament manifestations of the glory cloud of God’s presence contradicts the sufficiency of the revelation of Christ.

Raised Up By The Spirit


This happened to Ezekiel:
    Ezekiel 1:28 – 2:2 “…the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.
Here is another reference:
    Ezekiel 3:23,24 “…the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet…”
It also happened to Daniel:
    Daniel 8:17 “…when he came I was afraid and fell on my face… but he touched me, and stood me upright.”
It also happened to the Apostle Paul.
    Acts 9:4-6 “Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him… So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
A similar thing happened to the Apostle John.
    Revelation 1:17 “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying … Write the things which you have seen…”
Since sharing this understanding with friends, we have had some fun with this idea. We have come to the humorous conclusion that the next time we are in a special anointing meeting, we should make our way to the front, perhaps laying on the floor until the “anointed man of God” lays his hands upon us to raise us up to our feet. That would be something to see! Yes, it sounds funny but let’s remember, it still disagrees with Jesus’ ministry.
My point is this; it is more scriptural to be raised up to obey God than it is to fall down. Instead of falling down as a sign of God’s
anointing, maybe we should simply just grow in the knowledge of Christ until God raises us up to preach the Gospel.
Editor’s Note. Another distinguishing feature is that God-fearing men in Scripture who experienced God (or even an angel) fell on their face. It is never said of God-fearing men that they fell backwards. The enemies of Jesus fell backwards in Gethsemane.
Portions of this article are taken from I Was a Flakey Preacher by Ted Brooks.
http://www.west-teq.net/~tbrooks/flakey.htm

Is the Bible Silent About The New Revival Manifestations?


God’s Word is written in such a way that it requires reading and research to see the examples of what is false and to discover
the patterns for what is true. The Bible is not silent when it comes to revealing the characteristics of true prophecies, false prophecies, true miracles, lying wonders, true doctrine, false doctrine, the true Revelation of Christ and the pseudo image of Christ.
The Word is full of examples, which are spoken to us as warnings given for our protection.
But I have found that few of us meditate on these warnings for we feel they are too negative. In the end, what we innocently view as loving people and accepting fleshly immaturity, ends up revealing our gullible nature as leaders. I think we are tossed by every wind of revival and every new manifestation simply because we do not study the pattern for true doctrine and true miracles.
But I also don’t think this happened overnight. It’s been building since Azuza Street and beyond. Instead of becoming strong discerning leaders who are progressively learning more truth, line upon line, line upon line, we, via our Pentecostal heritage have been preparing the Church for the manifestations of Brownsville, lie upon lie.
And now we are in a very dangerous position but the solution is right in front of us. It’s time to re-emphasise the importance of the Revelation of Christ and re-examine our present doctrinal positions. We must test every manifestation, every miracle, and every doctrine, holding them up to the light and the glory of Christ. When we do, we will find that God is not silent about these new manifestations. God has spoken clearly to us in these last days by His Son and what He said through Jesus is more than enough to get us back on track.

Ted Brooks publishes the Solid Rock Journal, published by Solid Rock Publications, http://www.west-teq.net/~tbrooks/ which can be received by email. Go to his web site to subscribe.