Leviticus 24:10-15 “Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. (11) And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) (12) Then they put him in custody that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them. (13) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (14) “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. (15) "Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.”
In this section, we will discuss the third evidence that helps us identify supernatural manifestations that are not the work of the Holy Spirit: indiscriminate anointing through the laying on of hands. Mainly due to ignorance, the laying on of hands has not been taught or practiced correctly in the church, and the devil has used that ignorance to his advantage. Sadly, it is through the unscriptural use of the laying on of hands that he has managed to infect the church with numerous unclean spirits. We will discuss in this section how Satan has been able to negatively impact the church through the unscriptural use of the laying on of hands.
One of the main reasons why it is unscriptural to arbitrarily lay hands on people in the church is because of the contamination effects of sin. Events occurred in the Old Testament as examples for us to examine and were recorded for our admonition. In the above recorded incident, we see God's judgment being pronounced on this individual for the sin he committed. But there is something else we see in this incident, which is a picture of contamination. Sin is like a virus, and if not dealt with, a virus can spread. This individual had sinned by blaspheming. His blasphemy had been heard by others, which had the effect of contaminating them with the same sin. To cleanse Israel from the sin that had manifested among them, the person or carrier of the sin virus, if you will, had to be destroyed. But at the same time, the Lord had to decontaminate those who had been infected by that sin. The Lord did this by having them lay their hands on the person who had committed the sin, thus transferring the sin virus back to its originator.
1 Timothy 5:19-24 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. (20) Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. (21) I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. (22) Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure. … (24) Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.”
Thus, we see the same principles under the New Covenant: sin can be treated as a virus and transferred through the laying on of hands. Under the New Covenant, we no longer destroy the carrier of the virus but rather quarantine them from the rest of the body so the infection cannot spread. In the passage quoted above, the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, warns believers not to be hasty in laying hands on others. This warning seems to contradict what the Bible teaches about laying on of hands, for our Lord taught us to lay hands on the sick so they could be healed (Mark 16:18). In that passage, however, our Lord was speaking primarily about believers laying hands on unbelievers so they could see the sign of healing and thus believe the message of the gospel. The context of the above quoted passage, where the Holy Spirit warns us not to act hastily in laying hands on others, refers to believers laying hands on fellow believers, not unbelievers. He specifically speaks about sin in believers affecting the person laying hands on them, for Paul warns Timothy not to share in other people's sins but to keep himself pure.
All unbelievers are full of sin, for scripture refers to them as sinners, and yet we are instructed to lay hands on the unsaved. What's the difference? Sin in unbelievers cannot affect believers who lay their hands on them because we have been translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, the believer has power over the kingdom of darkness, so when we lay hands on unbelievers, the only flow of anointing that takes place is from our hands into their bodies to destroy the works of the devil. There is no transference of sin from the unbeliever to the believer. Thus, the Holy Spirit is not warning us about sin in unbelievers affecting the one laying hands; He is referring to sin in believers affecting fellow believers.
How does that work? In most instances, the person doing the praying is meant to bless the person being prayed for. A problem can arise, however, if the person trying to bless the other through laying on of hands is going against God's will. Let's take healing as an example. The person being prayed for may have been judged by the Lord with that sickness because of unrepentant sin in their lives (1 Corinthians 11:30-32); For a believer to lay hands on that person to bless them would bring that believer into direct opposition to the Lord, and the Lord may hold them accountable for that sin. This is one reason why James admonishes church elders, when they pray for congregation members to be healed through laying on of hands and anointing with oil, to first deal with any unrepentant sin in the individual (James 5:14-16).
There is also the other side: if the person doing the laying on of hands is living in unrepentant sin themselves, and may even have a demon influencing their sinful lifestyle, they could contaminate the one being prayed for with their sin if they were to lay hands on a fellow believer.
Michael E.B. Maher
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