Acts 2:13-16 “Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." (14) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. (15) For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. (16) But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.”
And so, this brings us to the discussion around people becoming drunk from a demonic power. Those that display such behaviour do experience a very real spiritual intoxication, but not from the Holy Spirit. Their behaviour mimics almost exactly, that of people that are intoxicated through the use of drugs or alcohol, in that their behaviour becomes foolish and draws complete attention to themselves. The reason their behaviour becomes blasphemous is because they attribute such behaviour to the work of the Holy Spirit, when it is in fact the work of a demonic spirit. And so, in order to justify their behaviour they rely on the above quoted passage of scripture. But even though this passage does not endorse or encourage drunken behaviour in the church, they twist this passage to say that it does. This passage, they claim proves that Peter and the rest of the disciples were acting drunk on the day of Pentecost, because the unbelievers viewing them supposed them to be drunk.
Michael E.B. Maher
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