Absolutely, test the spirits.
Where does this practice of slaying in the spirit come from?
Who started it?
While some try to connect it to revival scenes in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as the Cane Ridge Revival of 1801 where people swooned, shouted, or fell under emotional intensity, the specific language and ritual of being “slain in the Spirit” was popularized in the 1960s and 1970s through the Pentecostal and later Charismatic movements. Figures like Kathryn Kuhlman and later Benny Hinn made it central to their ministries, turning it into a visible “sign” of the Spirit’s presence.
Historically, it is not found in the Apostolic era, nor in the early church fathers, but emerges much later as a phenomenon in revivalist and charismatic culture.
Why it is not biblical
First, there is no command, no promise, and no consistent example in Scripture of believers being pushed down or falling backward as a normative sign of the Spirit’s power. When the Spirit comes in Acts 2, He fills them to speak in tongues and proclaim Christ crucified, not to knock them unconscious.
When the Spirit fills Stephen in Acts 7, he preaches Christ and sees the glory of God, he does not collapse.
When Paul prays for believers in Ephesians 3:16–19, the Spirit’s work is strengthening the inner man, rooting them in love, and filling them with the fullness of God, not knocking them to the ground.
Second, falling backward in Scripture is almost always a sign of judgment, not blessing.
In Isaiah 28:13 the disobedient “fall backward, be broken, snared, and taken.” In John 18:6 when Jesus identifies Himself as “I am He,” His enemies fall backward to the ground, not His disciples.
By contrast, when people in Scripture fall forward, it is in reverent worship before God’s presence (Genesis 17:3, Ezekiel 1:28, Revelation 1:17).
This sharp distinction shows that “slain in the Spirit” cannot be reinterpreted as worshipful yielding, since it imitates the wrong posture.
Third, the Spirit’s authentic work is to glorify Christ Jesus (John 16:14), to produce fruit of holiness (Galatians 5:22–23), and to empower witness (Acts 1:8).
None of this is accomplished by an emotional spectacle of people being pushed or falling into catchers’ arms. The apostles preached the cross with clarity and power, they did not cultivate dramatic collapses.
So, in short-
“Slaying in the Spirit” is a modern Pentecostal-charismatic invention, popularized in the 20th century, with no root in the apostolic witness. Scripture consistently shows the Spirit equipping, strengthening, and sanctifying believers through the Word and the cross of Christ. Falling backward as a spiritual sign is foreign to the New Testament and often symbolizes judgment. The true evidence of the Spirit is not a body on the floor, but a life crucified with Christ and raised in holiness.
Take care and shalom.
J.