​Jerry Lorenzo askes: God bless you guys. Is shaking violently or dancing in the Spirit biblical? I'm a Methodist but my girlfriend is Pentecostal. She invited me to her church as we are trying to decide on which church we will go. I'm not sure that I want to go there again. Those people were going crazy. She tried to explain what was going on, but I'm not sure that she is interpreting the verses she uses correctly. Can you guys please explain this to me?

Hi Jerry,

First off, all true Christians believe that the Bible is full authority on all matters. Therefore, everything we are to believe and practice, needs to be clearly taught in scripture. If we follow things that are not taught in the Bible, we completely violate Paul's very words "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!" (Galatians 1:8). With this being said, it is important to understand that "shaking violently/dancing in the Spirit", is something completely missing from the entire Bible. There are simply no verses or examples that back this phenomena as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Thus, while the Bible teaches that one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is "self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Timothy 1:7), this is directly contradicted by this practice of uncontrollable shakes.

After asking a multitude of Pastors and Leaders to show us where the Bible teaches this phenomena, their defenses where 100% by way of assumptions, reading it into the text, and isolating verses out of context. These are the only 6 defenses that were provided:

1. Wait until it happens to you.

2. Don't question the Holy Spirit.

3. In the presence of God, the earth trembles.

4. Verses that speak of trembling in fear.

5. Christians were said to be drunk in Acts.

6. David danced in the Spirit and David's wife criticized him for it.

The first two defenses don't really need to be explained. "Wait until it happens to you" simply proves our point that this practice is not biblical, and "don't question the Holy Spirit", simply fails scripture in general, as the Bible teaches that we are to test all things through scripture (1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1 John 4:1, Acts 17:11, 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

The 3rd defense "in the presence of God the earth trembles", their point is that humans are made of dirt, thus they "tremble in the presence of God". However, if you take a simple look at these verses, you quickly realize that these verses deal with God's wrath, anger, and judgment. In order to use these verses to defend shaking/dancing in the Spirit, the verses need to be isolated and the context of the chapter ignored. In fact, if we are to force these verses as defense, then the people practicing this would be under God’s wrath rather than God’s blessing (while their defenses speak of trembling, that is not what they are doing. On the contrary, they shake violently).

Nahum 1:5-6 "The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him."

Jeremiah 10:10 "But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation."

The 4th defense is even weaker, as they pull any verse that speaks of people "trembling in fear" (typically non-believers or verses that speak of reverence) in order to explain their practice. A good example of this is Psalm 2:11 "Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling". While reading the entire Psalm gives you the proper context that we are to celebrate the Kings rule, we are also to do it carefully, making sure we don't conspire against God, as verse 5 says "He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath". These "trembling in fear" verses, have nothing to do with the Holy Spirit blessing people by allowing them to feel his presence. Instead, they are about fear, wrath, and anger. In fact, 2 Timothy 1:7 directly contradicts this notion by saying "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (ESV).

The 5th defense that "Christians were said to being drunk" is gathered from Acts chapter 2. However, reading Acts chapter 2, immediately lets you understand that the unbelievers were making fun of their speech rather than their movement. This same thing can be seen in 1 Samuel 1:13 "Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk". The fact is, people who are drunk slur in speech, and while they can stagger, they don't shake violently as practiced in some churches. Using this "drunk" defense to say that the people must have been shaking/dancing in the Spirit is an absolute assumption. The shaking/dancing here, needs to be read into the verse.

The 6th defense that "David danced in the Spirit", is also taken completely out of context. First, David did not dance in the Spirit, nor does it say he was being shaken by the Spirit. The verse says he "danced before the Lord" as they were in "great celebration" while bringing back the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6-14). Secondly, his wife was not criticizing him for dancing. She was criticizing him for exposing himself while dancing to the servant girls. 2 Samuel 6 "When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!” Exposing ourselves in a vulgar matter is not acceptable in churches, therefore, this seems to not fit in well as an example to follow. Lastly, while many people who practice these things claim that this phenomena is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit was not baptizing people in the Old Testament.

In conclusion, while this phenomena is defended by using misquoted "trembling in fear" verses, the Bible directly contradicts this by clearly teaching us that "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7). Also, as Christians, it is our responsibility to make sure we stick to the boundaries of scripture. If we don't, then we have absolutely no way to separate things that should and should not be allowed in church. While this is a secondary issue that should not cause division (unless it's extreme), this is also the reason why we have so many different denominations and religions like Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and the alike. These denominations and religions arose due to allowing beliefs that are not founded in scripture. Thus, Paul urges that we should not follow things that are not found in scripture, as doing so, is to follow "a gospel that is no gospel at all" (Galatians 1:8). Lastly, we know Christians cannot be demon possessed, and we know that what is being practiced in these circles, are not demon possessions. However, if we are to test all things thru scripture, we find that involuntary shaking or convolutions are attributed to demon manifestations and not the Holy Spirit.

Mark 1:26 "The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek."

Mark 9:26 "The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”

Comments:

Jerry Lorenzo: Thanks for you answer. That's exactly what I believe. Now, you stated that it is a secondary issue. So do you think we should keep away from this church?

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Glad we can help Lorenzo. Our stance on this matter is that it is a secondary issue. As long as things don't become extreme or dangerous, it should not cause division. While Pentecostals tend to become emotional and practice these things, they typically teach the proper essentials and thus are true Christians.

Jerry Lorenzo: Thanks Brother. I pray you continue to help people.

Vickie Barron: In our Pentecostal Apostolic church, when the power of the Holy Spirit is poured, sometimes we shake, fall on the floor, shake on the floor, or faint falling back. So you are saying that this is not the power of the Holy Spirit? Don't demons copy the Spirit?

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Hi Vickie, the Bible does not contain any verses that support such things as being of the Spirit. Mark 1:29 and Mark 9:26, actually support these things as a manifestation of being possessed. These possessed people were "thrown down into violent convolutions" (shaking on the ground/spasms, and then laid as if dead). Since these are the only verses in the Bible that state such things, the demons aren't copying actions of the Holy Spirit, since the Holy Spirit never did such things in the Bible. This doesn't only fail the Bible. It also fails historical accounts. In the 1700's, Jonathan Edwards (Theologian), wrote that in his times, “It was a very frequent thing to see a house full of outcries, faintings, and convulsions", and that he believed that "some of those faintings, and convulsions, were encounters with God". Without using any verses, he pinned these convulsions and faintings as being of the Holy Spirit, while scripture only pins it to demon possessions (Jonathan Edwards, “The Distinguishing Marks of the Work of the Spirit of God,” Jonathan Edwards on Revival (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1984). Again, we do not believe that the people practicing these things are demon possessed, but rather, they become emotional and follow what they see other people doing.

Vickie Barron: that's a hard pill to swallow, but you are correct in the fact that there are no verses supporting this. Thanks for the reply.

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: No problem Vickie. God bless you.

Eric Jean: I think that these shakes are involuntary. I understand that the Bible might not speak on it, but it doesn't talk against it either.

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Hi Eric. These shakes fall in the same category as purgatory. The Pentecostal theology does not accept this view due to the fact that it is not taught in scripture. These shakes need to be held in the same standard. You cannot use the defense that something is not biblical only on the issues you don't like. Things are either biblical or not.

Eric Jean: I guess I didn't see it that way. Thanks.

Jeff Sanz: You all are correct. Keep exposing the truth. I love your ministry. We, as Christians need to stick to the teachings of the Bible. According to the defenses they provided, if even the non-believers trembled, then so should Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, and the alike. I was told that only those who want to feel the Spirit will feel it. But that's not what happened in those verses. None of those defenses apply to a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Hi Jeff, we agree. Thanks for those kind words.

​Brianna Moore: Ok, so I can obviously see that there are no verses to support this. So can you tell me what the Holy Spirit does then?

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Hi Brianna, sure. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:7-8). He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows gifts which allow men to serve God through His church (Galatians 5:22-25, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11). He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ (Philippians 1:6).

​Jared Grant: You guys aren't afraid that you might be speaking against the Holy Spirit? not saying you are. Just wondering?

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Absolutley not. Simply watch some videos like this one (https://youtu.be/gT9Pn90v6kw?si=xwzmCajWn11i8sCV), about half way in, you will see a man "under the anointing" fall down in convultions, then he lays in a trance, as if he were dead. Then send me a verse in the Bible that explains that. We know for a fact, that this very thing is described in Mark 1:26 and Mark 9:26.

Jared Grant: Good point. Plus the trembling verses used as defense don't really match what is happening. people aren't trembling, they are violently shaking.

2 Timothy 1:7

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.