The Roar of Deception

Revelation 10:1-7 “I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head; his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.  (2)  He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, (3) and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.  (4)  Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them."  (5)  The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven  (6)  and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,  (7)  but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.”

In this section, we will discuss the phenomenon of people mimicking various animal behaviours during certain meetings. There are two manifestations that occur in this area:

·         People mimicking animal behaviour in the flesh.

·         People mimicking animal behaviour under the influence of demonic spirits.

This sort of practice has absolutely nothing to do with the Holy Spirit, which is why it is normally only the false prophets and teachers who endorse and encourage such foolish behaviour in the church. Although it is completely unscriptural for believers to behave in such a manner, there are some passages of scripture that the false prophets like to use to try to justify it. So, we will look at a couple of examples of the scriptures used to show that animal behaviour in church is not sanctioned by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible refers to our Lord Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), and it also refers to our Lord as roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10). So, do these passages mean that Jesus literally takes on the form of a lion and then walks about roaring as a lion? The answer to both those questions is no. Just as Satan does not take on the form of a lion and walk about roaring as he goes through the earth, even though the scripture refers to him as such (1 Peter 5:8). The passages of scripture that refer to both our Lord Jesus and Satan as lions are symbolic in nature and not literal. The above passage of scripture sheds some light on what the Bible means when it states that the Lord roars like a lion. In this passage, John relates to us what it was like when he heard this mighty angel crying out to God in a loud voice. Obviously, the angel's voice was so powerful and loud that John compared it to a lion's roar. We know that the angel didn’t literally roar at God because John recorded for us what the angel said, even though he was prohibited by God from recording what the seven thunders said in reply. Make no mistake; heaven can be quite loud at times, for it is inhabited by some very powerful beings, created by an all-powerful God. And so, when the scripture refers to our Lord Jesus as roaring like a lion, it is emphasizing the power and majesty of His voice, not the fact that He literally roars like an animal.

Isaiah 8:19 “And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?”(ESV)

And so, that brings us to the demonic manifestations in this area. The most common animal behaviours that people try to mimic in Christian meetings are those of lions roaring, dogs barking or howling, and birds chirping. Although there are many others, such as chicken sounds, crawling about on all fours like a dog, pretending to fly like eagles by flapping their arms, and pretending to swim like a fish while lying on the floor. The list is almost endless. There is only one category of people recorded in scripture who mimic the behaviour of animals to operate in the realm of the supernatural: mediums and necromancers. The above passage of scripture describes to us one of the ways that mediums and necromancers gain access to the realm of the supernatural. They do so by mimicking the behaviour of certain animals, for the scripture reveals to us that they "chirp" and "mutter." The word translated as "mutter" can also be translated as "roar" or "growl." Very clearly, the animal behaviours that people mimic in certain Christian gatherings are the same behaviours that are practiced by mediums and necromancers. And so, this sort of behaviour was first introduced into the church by people who have familiar spirits attached to them. These people would then prophesy in the church while manifesting these various animal behaviours. When this behaviour surfaced in the church, because the false prophets also operate by familiar spirits, they endorsed and encouraged it as being a display of the Holy Spirit. Although the false prophets themselves very seldom, if ever, display such behaviour, they nevertheless encourage it in the church.

Ephesians 4:14 “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”

And so, that brings us to the display of the flesh in this area, which is by far the bulk of this type of manifestation. It is only immature believers who get caught up with this type of behaviour, for the above passage of scripture teaches us that it is children in the church who are carried about by the trickery of men. So, why do some carnal Christians desire to imitate animal behaviour in the church? The reason is that they observe those in the church who have familiar spirits prophesying, etc., while displaying some sort of animal behaviour. The false prophets and teachers then endorse such behaviour as being of the Holy Spirit. All of this has the effect of enticing immature believers to try to mimic the same animal behaviour because they want to be seen as spiritual and also because they want to access the supernatural. And so, while many just stay in the flesh and never access the supernatural but simply behave foolishly, there are those who do have supernatural encounters, but with unclean spirits. And so, sadly, many come away from these encounters with a demon that they never had before.

In this series, we have looked at some of the physical manifestations that can occur as a result of spiritual encounters. The purpose is to equip the believer with a biblical perspective regarding these various manifestations so that they can be more discerning of them.

Michael E.B. Maher

Holy Spirit Encounters

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