Acts 9:3-8 “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. (4) Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (5) And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." (6) So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (7) And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. (8) Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.”
The above passage of scripture describes, among other things, Paul’s physical responses to the supernatural encounter he had with the Lord Jesus. The encounter began when a bright light from heaven suddenly shone around both Paul and his travel companions. Although his companions also saw the light, Paul was the only one who was blinded by it (Acts 22:9). Evidently, Paul was exposed to the fullness of that light during the vision, whereas his companions were not.
Three days after this encounter, the disciple Ananias laid his hands on Paul and prayed for his sight to be restored. Scales fell from Paul’s eyes, and he could see again (Acts 9:17-18). It is clear that the Lord had placed the scales over Paul’s eyes to protect them from the brightness of the light, which Paul describes as being brighter than the sun (Acts 26:13).
Another result of Paul’s encounter with the Lord was that he fell to the ground. However, Paul was not the only one who fell; in a later account of the same incident, he describes how all those who were with him also fell to the ground (Acts 26:14). Clearly, the power of the Lord was present, and their natural human bodies were unable to stand as they came into contact with the power of the supernatural.
Paul also describes how his body trembled in the Lord’s presence. As the vision progressed, the men travelling with Paul were eventually able to stand up. They could hear Paul conversing with the Lord in the vision and could hear the sound of the Lord’s voice, but they were unable to make out the words He spoke (Acts 22:9).
Once again, we see that the reason Paul and his travel companions fell to the ground was simply because they were overcome by the power of the Lord’s presence, not because His power forced or threw them to the ground against their will.
Revelation 1:10-17 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, (11) saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." (12) Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, (13) and in the midst of the seven lamp stands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. (14) His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; (15) His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; (16) He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (17) And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.”
The above passage of scripture describes the Apostle John’s encounter with the Lord Jesus while he was in exile on the island of Patmos. Before this vision, our Lord Jesus had appeared to John and his fellow disciples on numerous occasions after His resurrection, conversing and sharing meals with them. In those visions, our Lord appeared to His disciples in His natural state, but on this occasion, He appeared to John displaying His glory. There was one other occasion when John had witnessed a limited display of our Lord’s glory, and that was on the mountain when our Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and himself (Luke 9:28-36).
However, on this occasion, when John was exposed to the full glory of the Lord, his physical response was immediate: he fell at the feet of Jesus in a trance. He described falling at the feet of Jesus “as dead.” This had never happened to John before because he had never been exposed to the full glory of the Lord Jesus. Once again, we see that the reason John fell to the ground was simply because he was overwhelmed by the power of the Lord’s presence, not because His power forced John to the ground against his will.
Thus, we see that all the biblical accounts reveal the same truth: when our natural human bodies encounter the power of God, due to their weakness, the natural physical reaction is to fall to the ground. However, I need to make a comment on this point. All the accounts we’ve looked at show individuals falling to the ground because of the tremendous power they were exposed to. That does not mean that every time we encounter the power of the Holy Spirit, we should expect to fall to the floor. Many times, the degree of power we encounter, though tangible, is not overwhelming, and it is entirely possible for the saint to remain standing in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit ministers to them.
Another observation from these accounts is that all the saints who fell under the power of God lay there in a trance-like state as the Lord dealt with them. They did not roll or thrash about on the ground, which is a practice seen in some churches today. There is no scriptural evidence for such behaviour, except when people are thrown to the ground by a demonic power (Mark 9:20).
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments