AROME OSAYI AND THE ALLURE OF ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY (PART II)

“Strange Fire and Counterfeit Revival: Testing Spiritual Manifestations by Scripture”

By Akin Ojumu

What do the Azusa Street Revival of 1906–1915, the Toronto Blessing of 1994, and the Brownsville Revival—also known as the Pensacola Outpouring—of 1995–2000 have in common?

Each movement was marked by highly charged religious excitement: rapturous singing, ecstatic dancing, unintelligible utterances presented as speaking in tongues, and large numbers of people shaking, jerking, writhing, collapsing, or lying motionless on the floor. All these manifestations were attributed to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

For many Pentecostals and Charismatics, these events represent some of the greatest outpourings of the Spirit in modern Christian history. The unusual manifestations are regarded as evidence that God visited His people in extraordinary power.

But unusual behavior is not, by itself, proof of divine activity.

Similar manifestations can be found in non-Christian religious traditions. Ecstatic speech, involuntary bodily movements, trembling, falling, convulsing, and altered states of consciousness have long appeared in mystical and pagan practices. Hindu traditions associated with Shaktipat and the so-called awakening of Kundalini energy, for example, sometimes involve shaking, jerking, spontaneous vocalizations, uncontrolled laughter, and bodily collapse. 

The existence of outward similarities does not automatically prove that every Christian manifestation has the same spiritual origin. It does, however, demonstrate that such experiences cannot authenticate themselves. Falling, trembling, laughing, crying, or speaking unintelligibly does not prove that the Holy Spirit is present. Experiences must be tested by Scripture, not Scripture interpreted through experiences.

The decisive question is not, “Did something supernatural appear to happen?”

The decisive question is, “Was what happened consistent with the character, truth, purpose, and revealed work of the Holy Spirit?”

Many defenders of Azusa Street, Toronto, and Brownsville rarely ask that question. They assume that intensity proves authenticity, that excitement proves anointing, and that inexplicable behavior proves the presence of God. The more unusual the manifestation, the more spiritual it is considered to be.

But emotional intensity is not the same as spiritual power. A crowd may be overwhelmed without being regenerated. People may fall to the floor without ever bowing their hearts before Christ. They may speak in ecstatic utterances while remaining ignorant of the Gospel. They may tremble physically while showing no reverence for the written Word of God.

A genuine work of the Holy Spirit must be evaluated by the truth it proclaims, the Christ it exalts, the holiness it produces, and the obedience it creates.

Unfortunately, many movements arising from these supposed revivals have produced generations of Churches characterized by doctrinal confusion, unbiblical practices, exaggerated claims of supernatural power, and an unhealthy fascination with signs, wonders, visions, prophecies, impartations, and mystical experiences.

When a movement is founded upon a defective understanding of the Holy Spirit, that error rarely remains isolated. It enters the bloodstream of the movement and is transmitted to succeeding generations. False doctrine becomes institutionalized. Unbiblical practices become traditions. Emotional excess becomes liturgy. What began as an extraordinary manifestation eventually becomes an expected performance.

The result is an entire religious culture in which spiritual authenticity is measured by visible excitement rather than biblical fidelity.

These Churches are often recognizable by their disproportionate emphasis on the Holy Spirit while neglecting the person, work, and preeminence of Jesus Christ. Ironically, the “Holy Spirit” presented in such environments frequently bears little resemblance to the Third Person of the Trinity revealed in Scripture.

The Holy Spirit of the Bible does not draw attention away from Christ. He glorifies Christ.

Jesus said:

John 16:13–14

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

He also declared:

John 15:26

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.”

The true Holy Spirit is relentlessly Christ-centered. He illuminates the glory of Christ, bears witness to the truth of Christ, applies the saving work of Christ, conforms believers to the image of Christ, and empowers the Church to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

Where Christ is diminished, the Holy Spirit is not being honored. Where the Gospel is corrupted, the Holy Spirit is not at work. Where Scripture is depreciated, the Spirit of truth is being resisted.

Where attention is continually directed toward manifestations, personalities, mystical encounters, and spiritual sensations rather than toward the glory of the Son of God, something has gone seriously wrong.

The Holy Spirit never competes with Christ for attention. He does not arrive to promote Himself as an alternative object of fascination. He does not obscure the Son under a cloud of spiritual theatrics. His ministry is to reveal Christ, glorify Christ, and form Christ in His people.

Any person who is wrong about Christ, diminishes Christ, pollutes His Gospel, or distracts people from His supremacy cannot credibly claim to be operating under the power of the Holy Spirit.

A genuine work of the Spirit will also produce the fruit of the Spirit. Scripture identifies that fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Self-control is not the enemy of the Spirit. It is one of His fruits.

The Apostle Paul teaches that “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets,” because “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:32–33). He concludes his instructions concerning spiritual gifts by commanding that “all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

The biblical Holy Spirit does not transform Christian worship into uncontrollable chaos. He does not suspend moral responsibility, erase rational consciousness, or reduce human beings to helpless instruments of involuntary behavior. He enlightens the mind, sanctifies the affections, strengthens the will, and produces ordered obedience to God.

When people seek the Holy Spirit primarily as an experience, they may end up rejecting the very work He came to perform. Christ becomes obscured, Scripture becomes secondary, doctrine is treated as lifeless, and emotional manifestations become the measure of spirituality.

Soon, people are no longer satisfied with the ordinary means of grace. The preaching of Scripture is considered insufficient. Prayer must be accompanied by strange sensations. Worship must produce visible manifestations. A Church service must generate excitement to be regarded as powerful. Ministers must claim visions, encounters, angelic visitations, supernatural impartations, and fresh revelations to maintain spiritual credibility.

This is not spiritual maturity. It is spiritual addiction.

A truly Spirit-filled person is not necessarily the person who talks most frequently about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit-filled person is the one whose heart and mind are captivated by Jesus Christ—who never tires of learning about Him, loving Him, worshiping Him, obeying Him, and becoming more like Him.

The Spirit-filled believer treasures Scripture because the Spirit inspired it. He loves holiness because the Spirit produces it. He loves the Church because the Spirit formed it. He loves the Gospel because the Spirit applies it. Above all, he loves Christ because the Spirit has opened his eyes to behold the glory of the Son.

Much of the sentimental emotionalism, bizarre behavior, mystical fantasy, and esoteric performance attributed to the Holy Spirit within contemporary Pentecostal and Charismatic circles has little resemblance to the Spirit’s ministry revealed in Scripture.

Calling something a “move of God” does not make it one. Calling a bodily convulsion an “anointing” does not sanctify it. Calling confusion a “manifestation” does not transform disorder into divine power.

Every claimed revival must be tested. Every manifestation must be examined. Every spirit must be tried. Every doctrine must be brought beneath the judgment of Scripture.

Anything offered to God that He has neither commanded nor authorized should remind us of the strange fire presented by Nadab and Abihu before the LORD. Religious enthusiasm is no substitute for obedience. Sincerity cannot sanctify error. Spiritual excitement cannot excuse doctrinal corruption.

The Holy Spirit is holy. He is the Spirit of truth. He glorifies Christ. He produces self-control. He leads God’s people into conformity with Scripture.

Any revival that contradicts these realities is not a revival the Church should celebrate.

It is a counterfeit from which the Church must repent.

To be continued.