Is trembling and falling biblical?

The God who created the universe and who holds our breath in His hand is a great and awesome God. He is also full of love, grace, and mercy. The Spirit of God permeates all of creation and He can choose to manifest His presence to anyone on earth at any time. The Bible tells us of people who trembled and fell in the presence of the Lord and His angels. This is also something that we may witness in meetings today as we glorify the Lord. 

(简体中文 > 战栗和跌倒符合圣经吗 | 繁體中文 > 戰慄和跌倒符合聖經嗎)

Daniel 5:23 NKJV  And the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

Psalm 145:3 NKJV  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.

Psalm 33:8 NKJV  Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

When people in the Bible encountered God, they often fell on the ground in worshipful reverence, awe, and fear. Daniel and John described themselves as falling flat on their faces as though they were in a deep sleep or had died.

1. Abraham fell before God | Genesis 17:3-4 NKJV  Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
2. Joshua fell down before the Commander of the LORD’s army | Joshua 5:14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”  And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
3. Ezekiel fell on his face at the glory of the LORD | Ezekiel 1:28  Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
4. Daniel fell on his face out of fear in the presence of Gabriel the angel | Daniel 8:16-18  And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.
5. Peter, James, and John fell on their faces in fear at the Transfiguration | Matthew 17:5-7  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”
6. Paul fell to the ground on the road to Damascus |  Acts 9:3-5  As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”  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.”
7. John fell at Jesus’ feet “as dead” in a vision | Revelation 1:17  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. 

We still see similar phenomena in gatherings where the Holy Spirit is welcomed. In some rare occasions, we may even experience some of the things described in the Bible:

• A cloud descends on the venue (Exodus 34:5) 
• There is a sound of a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2)
• Divided tongues, as of fire, appear above people (Acts 2:3)
• People start speaking in tongues spontaneously (Acts 2:3)
• The entire place shakes (Acts 4:31)
• Signs and wonders, miracles, and spiritual gifts break out (Hebrews 2:4)

In fact, one might expect these signs to become more and more common in the Last Days as prophesied in Joel 2, when the Lord pours out His Spirit on all flesh.

Joel 2:28-30  “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

Laughter and trembling in the presence of the Lord 

The Lord is good. His magnificent glory may intimidate us but in His presence, we will experience revitalisation and great joy. Sometimes, this manifests as people laughing where they cannot control themselves. To outsiders, this may look odd but praise God that this is an opportunity to rejoice with them, as they encounter a personal touch and revelation of the God of the universe. What a privilege. 

The presence of the Lord brings:

• Times of refreshing | Acts 3:19 NKJV  Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
• The fullness of joy | Psalm 16:11 NKJV  You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
• Exceeding gladness | Psalm 21:6 NKJV  For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.

It is also not uncommon for people to sway, tremble and shake or feel a physical touch from the Holy Spirit. Here are several instances recorded in the Bible:

• The Israelites trembled at the foot of Mount Sinai when God descended upon it in fire with smoke and thunder, causing the entire mountain to shake violently | Exodus 20:18 NKJV   Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
• Daniel felt a hand on him and trembled on his knees and hands | Daniel 10:10-11 NKJV  Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.
• Women at Jesus’ tomb encountered an angel and were overwhelmed by astonishment and trembled | Mark 16:5-8 NKJV  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Where the unadulterated gospel is preached, we can expect the Lord to move in such signs and wonders by the power of His Spirit to confirm His Word. We have seen precedences in the Bible and should not be alarmed or dismissive, but remain humble with childlike faith, seeking the Lord for truth and revelation.

Romans 15:18-19  For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Demonic manifestation

At times, the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit can so overwhelm other spirits hiding in worshippers that demons begin to manifest. It is imperative to develop the spiritual discernment to test the spirits. Demonic shaking, convulsion, and falling over produce fear and confusion. The person’s eyes will go “blank” and it seems another personality has taken over. Demonic manifestations tend to disrupt a meeting and draw unnecessary attention away from worship or the sharing of the Word.

1 John 4:1-3  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

This is not the Holy Spirit, the Lord brings joy, peace, and rejoicing. He is gentle, kind and compassionate. He does not “hijack” anyone, He honours the free will He has given us, and He will glorify Jesus. One quick way to test the spirit is to ask the person to confess that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”, as shown in 1 John 4:1-3. If we believe that it is an unclean spirit that has manifested then it is best that deliverance is done quickly or privately in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, all for His glory. (See posts on deliverance.)

End of the age

We are now at the end of the age and can expect more of such phenomena to occur across the church around the world as the Lord prepares His church to receive Him. Praise God that the Lord Jesus is returning for His Bride, the church. Let us not mock the true manifestation of the Holy Spirit and discern the true from the false. We do not want to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, neither should we tolerate the work of evil spirits in our midst. 

Ephesians 5:25–27 NKJV   … Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Matthew 12:31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love the Lord with all your heart and worship Him in spirit and in truth.