Saturday, September 7, 2013

Spiritual Drunkeness


Mishel McCumber
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the apostolic and prophetic movement is being drunk in the spirit. “Have another drink” they shout, “Come and get some” and “More Lord”. However, do we really want to fill our glass with what these apostates are drinking? The truth is, nowhere in scripture does God equate the Holy Spirit with staggering, loss of control, disrupted motor function, slurred speech, confusion, disorientation, or stumbling around. In fact, it appears scripture teaches quite the OPPOSITE. We are admonished to stay sober and be vigilant and all the more as we see the end approaching!
Of course it is not surprising that the followers of the Apostolic and Prophetic movement would not know exactly what the Bible says about this.  This movement discourages the use of scripture and exchanges the Word of God for “progressive” or “new” revelation from their prophets, and apostles. Questioning is never encouraged; after all, we dare not touch the Lord’s anointed.
Inevitably the verses in Acts 2:14-16 are used to prove that “getting drunk in the Spirit” is encouraged and sanctioned by God. Let’s look at these scriptures.

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

The accusation of drunkenness was leveled against these men because they were speaking in other tongues. The mocking bystanders, having nothing in their past experience to explain this strange phenomena thought they must be drunk. However, Peter clearly stated that THEY WERE NOT DRUNK. He flat-out refuted it! He very easily could have said they are drunk but not with earthly wine but he did not. He closed the door on this assumption altogether and stated that they were not drunk –period.
It would seem that we are admonished in scripture to remain sober and vigilant and all the more as the end approaches. Consider the following scriptures.
  • 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober,  be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh  about, seeking whom he may devour:
  • 1 Peter 4:7 But  the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
  • Titus 2:6 Young  men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
  • 1 Peter 1:3  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Is spiritual drunkenness a blessing?
No! God sending drunkenness is always a sign of judgment in the Bible!
  • Deuteronomy  28:29 24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth,  and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 25 They  grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
  • Psalm 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 27They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
  • Isaiah 19:14   The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
  • Isaiah 24:20  The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
  • Isaiah 29:9  Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. 10For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the      prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
  • Isaiah 51:17   Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the  cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
  • Isaiah 51:17 Therefore  hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
  • Isaiah 63:6 And  I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
  • Jeremiah 48:26 Make  ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also  shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
  • 1 Thessalonians: 6 Thereforelet us not  sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.  7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
According to Thomas Shepard (1605-1649), an American Puritan minister and a significant figure in early colonial New England;
“Spiritual drunkenness occurs as the result of the excessive drinking of the pleasures of sin. When the wills and affections of men drink at fountains of forbidden pleasure, God will cause them to experience spiritual drunkenness. When they insist on imbibing the things their hearts should be weaned from, things which should be bitter to them, God will give them up to this. In this sense the Prophet calls the Kings, Priests and People, “The drunkards of Ephraim” (Is 28:1; Jer 25:15-18). The Lord puts His cup of just judgments into the hands of those he intends to destroy and bids them take their pleasure in sins. They lose all fear of death and judgment even when both are at their very doors.”
We are told that one of the main things that will characterize the end of the age is deception. Jesus warns us that the deception will come in his name and will be accompanied by miracles signs and wonders. He further tell us that these mighty feats will be so convincing that even those who truly know him (God’s elect) will find it nearly impossible to tell the difference! This will set the stage for the “lawless one” (2 Thessalonians 2:8, 9, 10) and the coming one world church. In fact the revelation of this lawless one will be accompanied by all manner of miracles!

The Bible tells also tells us that coming one-world-church will share the same mindset of as that of the Great Harlot! The Bible says they will be drunk with the wine of her fornication. Why was she called a fornicator? She had not remained true to her Husband (GOD) and had run after other deities! Her drunkennesswas therefore equated with idolatry. Thus the end time church will be literally drunk on idolatry. Is it any coincidence that all mystical and Eastern religions have the spiritual drunkenness phenomena?

In light of this I ask you, do you really want “another drink”?

Sunday, March 24, 2013