Christians only please give opinion?

Question

When my husband was baptised there was a loud boom that sounded like a clap of thunder , and the pastor dropped to one knee in mid step , like he was knocked down . I felt strange , like I was watching a movie . It seemed to me that there was an odd cast of light , like lightening throws out , but that could have been my shock at the loud boom .It was so loud it made you gasp .The whole church became hushed , because as I was told later , no one had seen anything like that before . It took the pastor a minute to recover and go on with what he was saying . Before that , music had been playing through the sound system and the pastor questioned the person who ran the music he said "I didn't do it ". He later said that the sound wasn't on the tapes , and he could not explain where it came from . I was later baptised in that same church , and nothing even remotely similar to that happened . Please give me your interpetation of this , and have you ever witnessed anything like this .

We later stopped attending church because the pastor told someone that my husband is the bad seed . He was so hurt that he won't go to any church .

sorry the sound came through the speakers which is why I mentioned them there was nothing going on as far as weather. it wasn't a flash of light it was a lingering cast

It was a total immersion and the pastor had just stepped out of the water and turned around . My husband is the only one who didn't hear the boom . We had asked for the tape so he could hear it but it's not on the tape .

The only thing that I can think of that changed after that , was after the pastor said my husband was a bad seed , a few people , at least 4 ,I don't know how many , dropped out and started going to a different churches . We only found out about it because some people called to say goodbye and to tell us why they were leaving . It's a small church and they were leaders within the church , and would be missed . It was sad because we all loved our pastor . But I think they felt this was too large to be ignored . My husband offered to go to this other church with his Brother , but he was put off . They were willing to walk out on that church but still wanted nothing to do with my husband after that . As if they were afraid .

Answer 1

That sounds like a frightening experience. As a Christian I believe that we have a supernatural nature. The Bible tells us that God is good, whatever comes from Him is good. It also tells us that satan is a trickster. He likes to leave you guessing, questioning, wondering.
When something like you've described happens it's hard to understand and the obvious question is: "Is this something expressed by God, either positive or negative?"
My experience with God is that He does not speak to us in ways that leave us questioning His actions. He responds to prayer, He doesn't play tricks, and His presence is peaceful, calm, loving.
Was your husband ever involved in any type of occult activity like tarot cards, horoscopes, ouija boards, anything like that? If so, these activities could have been a doorway for some sort of satanic activity.
If that is the case these activities need to be repented of, prayed about, discussed with your minister.
I found this out the hard way by working with a "psychic researcher" in California, doing what I thought was harmless paranormal activities. When I returned to my Christian roots I discovered that these things were spiritually dangerous for me. The experiences I had because of this caused me to become very cautious concerning anything spoken of in the Bible as being related to witchcraft.
As a Christian I avoid supernatural activities that are not related to prayer and Christ centered living. Anything wiccan, pagan, psychic, etc; is off limits to me. I like my relationship with God to be unimpeded by these things and I am leery of anyone who practices these activities.

Answer 2

Some people would claim that this is an act of God, but i personally believe that it is just merely a coincidence. I myself have felt and experienced a lot of strange things. One time at a youth camp several years ago - during a public speaker's attempt to draw youth to Christ - I was struck by what I thought to be a power of God. It felt as if I had no control over my body. Friends of mine looked into my eyes and told me later that when they had tried to move me it was as if I was hard as stone. They also said that I was shaking and crying (something that I don't do often) -They claimed that my eyes were fixed in place and a look of pure shock was visible on my face.

During this time I saw something - I won't say what it was because honestly I don't know what it was. I figure that I was just hallucinating. This speech was all about being baptized by fire ("the grace of the Holy Spirit as imparted through baptism".) - Afterwards I felt like I had the strength of a thousand men - like I could lift a mountain with one finger. I can't explain what happened to me that night just as I cannot explain what happened to your husband. What I can say is did what happened to your husband bear fruit? Did something - Anything good come from the weirdness of that day? If so then indeed it could very well be part of God's Will. If not then you know it was merely a coincidence and to think otherwise would allow evil to follow from it.

My advice for you is simple - Things aren't always what they seem. It is up to you to decide what you believe. No one can do that for you.

Hope this helps
Zen

Answer 3

When Christ was baptized, something similar happened, some heard thunder but some people heard something different, like a voice speaking about Christ being "God's" son, and how He was pleased with him. I don't know if it was a crack like that.

Like another person here, I have also heard a crack inside our house when I lived in Nebraska. I saw a flashing also out of the corner of my eye. Some say it could be ball lightning. Laura Engles Wilder, while in Nebraska had one follow her into the house. I would check it out where ever, to see if this type of phenomenon happened anywhere else.

I highly doubt the 'bad seed' part;) That comes from a small town mentality, and should be taken as a grain of salt. You should go somewhere else as it was the pastor that was knocked down not your husband. (It sounds like they weren't in water, as the pastor fell on his knee.) This doesn't happen very often, so it probably wouldn't happen to you too.

If it was not on record, it may very well be supernatural. I would ask for the recording anyways,a nd ask all the people what they heard. Was anything changed after this happening? like a healing, or sense of God's presence, or a change in behavior that you know of? If so, write it in to "It's Suprenatural" on the Sid Roth show. Someone there got struck and saw visions.

Thanks for sharing.

Answer 4

interesting! I can't say I have heard of anything like it really.
In July our church went to Nashville for something called "The Call" which involved a repentance walk down one of the streets leading into Titan Stadium. I stayed in the Stadium to reserve seats for our large group, and when those that walked came in they asked if we had shot off fireworks or something. I said no, why? And they told me that from the road it looked like billowing smoke coming up from inside the arena. That whole morning there was no fire, no fireworks, nothing that would cause them to see that. We later thought that the Bible says our praises rise like incense, and maybe that was what it was. Very wierd.
Its my belief that someone in your church that witnessed that, God has laid an interpretation of the event, on their heart. (like He did with the incense about our incident). No doubt it was amazing and a way that God is trying to communicate to someone. I hope they have the boldness to come forward and share what the Lord has given them.

EDIT: I cannot believe that your pastor said that! I highly recommend you and your husband read a book called Exquisit Agony Healing for Christians who have been hurt by other christians by Gene Edwards. I too, have been hurt by the church, and found restoration and healing from this book. It can be ordered online or through any Christian bookstore. Please look into it. Your husband does not have to give that victory over to Satan.

Answer 5

This is a good question not just because there is one commandment that says "you shall have no other gods before me" but because He clearly makes a distinction between gods and idols. Several other posters have said "oh, he means don't put false gods or worship cows or TV or money" as the reasoning behind the commandment. Yet if that were true, why does the next commandment say "you shall have no other idols before me"? What, then, is the difference between other gods and other idols. If they are the same thing, why say it twice? I always thought this was an interesting point, and wondered if it did mean there were other gods (or perhaps other angels trying to set themselves us as gods?). Clearly there is something up, as there is a point made of mentioning both "gods" and "idols".

Answer 6

I know that God can do some things that are often coincidence.

True story. My neighbor's 8 year old died a couple of years ago by doing something stupid in his house, which devasted his parents. As the boy was being wheeled out of the house, I recall thunder and lightning in the sky. In Michigan, thunderstorms are unusual for that time of the year and it only lasted for half an hour. Another neighbor down the street mentioned that a friend of hers had died a couple of years back and they both were storm chasers and loved to watch lightning and thunder. She thinks it was her friend telling her that he would be watching out for the boy who just came into heaven. Personally, I think that this kid, who was our resident Dennis the Menace went into heaven with a huge bang and is keeping the angels pretty busy.

My point to this story is that yes, I do believe that God may have sent this noise. Who knows? I think your husband should really pray about it and it just may be that God has plans in store for your husband.

Answer 7

When I was baptized, three years ago, next month, it was like lightning in the water. I’ve never experienced anything like it, not even my conversion . . . which was like Paul’s on the road to Damascus.

Mine was a full-body emersion baptism.

I went under, even with my eyes closed, I could see light, but everything went completely dark and I heard a massive roar – more than just being in a swimming pool, for example.

After my baptism, the congregation applauded. The pastor later told me in his 30-plus years, he’d never heard people applaud a baptism.

Yesterday, I preached at the same church, and am in seminary, and am serving at a church as their new pastor – all less than three years after being baptized.

God works in amazing and powerful ways.

Sometimes we understand, and other times we see things in a mirror dimly. Sometimes we see, but we still don’t understand, and we have to respond anyway.

Godspeed.

Answer 8

Yes I have heard a sound of a rushing wind, that was not on the tapes. And I have heard many others, also.

Here is my interpretation, mostly when stuff like that happens God has a special plan for that person if they are willing to accept it. For the bible says that many are called and few are chosen.
But that word chosen is the wrong word the word should be choosing.

Answer 9

did everyone miss the ''christians only'' part, or what? nevermind the scoffers...

i'm not sure what it meant, but it definitely meant something. it could have been nothing more than a conviction from God... His way of saying ''it's about time you came around.'' it could have been God's way of letting you know He approved of the baptism. there's also a strong possibility God has a special plan for your husband. it could have been a lot of different things, but i definitely believe it was SOMETHING from God. it may have been nothing more than something to grab your attention, and letting you know He's there. the more i think of it, the more i think that's what it was. He'll do that sometimes. pretty cool of Him, huh? thanks for your story. it's always good to hear about the times when God makes His presence known in obvious ways.

Answer 10

Sounds like a nearby lightning strike and a bad pastor.