Toronto Blessing - Randy Clark - Manifestations

In recent years, there have been some younger deliverance ministers and prophetic ministers who have come out and spoken against the Toronto Blessing. They have stated that it was the work of the Kundalini spirit (demonic spirit) instead of the Holy Spirit. This article will address these accusations.

Toronto Leadership

I believe the leadership of the Toronto Blessing are born-again believers and were ministering by the Holy Spirit. I have been to a number of Randy Clark’s meetings (2010, 2011, and 2015) and have heard him preach Jesus. I believe he has a genuine desire to see believers touched by the Holy Spirit, healed, and operating in the gifts of the Spirit. I never sensed the “Kundalini spirit” or any other demonic spirit operating in his meetings. I believe ministers have misjudged by only watching video footage of the Toronto Blessing or reading articles online and not actually being present in meetings conducted by these leaders.

Mixture

It was reported that weird manifestations took place during the Toronto Blessing, such as people rolling on the floor and barking like dogs. We must understand that many of the believers coming to these meetings were immature and many had demonic influences. When the power of the Holy Spirit came upon some of these people, the demons in them may have manifested in weird ways while other believers may have behaved in fleshly or carnal ways. Demons can manifest in people under the presence of God and not actually be cast from the person. So some “mixture” was probably occurring during these meetings.

For example, if there were 3,000 people in a meeting and 300 of those people were manifesting demonically or behaving in a fleshly manner, however the remainder of the people were greatly impacted by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. This meeting was successful in the fact that it spiritually impacted most people for the better.

How can one minister see and know everything that is going on in a large meeting where the Holy Spirit is moving? Those who have never conducted a large meeting in which the Holy Spirit is moving upon people should be careful in judging leaders who have. Would the critics do any better when conducting a meeting of the same nature? Or would the critics completely shut down the Holy Spirit so that no believers are touched or impacted positively?

We must allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of meetings and not shut down His operation. I’m not implying we allow fleshly believers or unbelievers to parade around like fools or demons to manifest in people and steal the spotlight from the Lord. I am saying that conducting revival meetings of that nature is a little more complicated than internet critics know. It is one thing to judge from behind a computer screen and an entirely different thing to be before 3,000 people running a meeting where the Holy Spirit is moving powerfully. Conducting meetings of that nature would be a “learning curve” for any of us. I don’t suppose I would be able to lead a revival perfectly either. In fact, I’m sure that I could not.

Manifestations

I have witnessed power manifestations of the Holy Spirit in Randy Clark’s meetings in Montana and Brazil. The manifestations I both experienced and witnessed were not demonic but were from the power of God. I felt the Holy Spirit come upon me very strongly in one meeting as the burden of the Lord was upon me. Hunger for the Lord rose up in my heart and I was crying out for Him. I yielded control to the Holy Spirit and my body had violent movements or manifestations as I yielded control to the Holy Spirit. It was a powerful experience that brought me closer to the Holy Spirit and impacted my walk with the Lord.

Some people do not trust the Holy Spirit enough to yield to Him in this way. Others do not want to look “weird” in front of people or are too prideful and/or bound by the fear of man to relinquish their control to the Holy Spirit. I have found that He moves upon those who are hungry for Him, have childlike faith, and don’t care what others think.

I witnessed more manifestations in Brazil than I did in Montana meetings. I believe this was because the Brazilian people were more hungry, humble, childlike, and free from the fear of man. I prayed for three people in Brazil who really stood out. Each one was powerfully touched by the Holy Spirit. They all went to the floor, where I continued to pray for them for around 10 minutes each.

I remember holding the head of one teenage girl because she was vibrating so badly under the power of God and I didn’t want her head to hit the concrete floor. I knew that the Lord was marking her and imparting His calling to her. I could tell and feel in the Spirit that she would never be the same again. That encounter would cause her to be “all in” for the Lord and pursue Him with her whole heart.

I have experienced and witnessed the good fruit of power manifestations through minsters that came from the Toronto Blessing such as Randy Clark and Leif Hetland. I cannot speak for other ministries that came from that revival.

When the Holy Spirit is moving upon people causing manifestations and impacting them for His eternal kingdom, it would be unwise to say His power is demonic in nature. The Holy Spirit can do whatever He desires to do. In Acts Chapter 2, He chose to move on believers with tongues and prophecy. He can move in other ways as well. We don’t get to dictate to Him how we think He should move. We don’t get to grant Him permission because He is our Master. When soldiers came to arrest Jesus, the Holy Spirit manifested in power and knocked them on the ground:

“So Judas, obtaining and taking charge of the band of soldiers and some guards (attendants) of the high priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was about to befall Him, went out to them and said, Whom are you seeking? [Whom do you want?] They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus said to them, I am He. Judas, who was betraying Him, was also standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am He, they went backwards (drew back, lurched backward) and fell to the ground.” (John 18:3-6 AMPC)

None of the men were hurt by God’s power knocking them to the ground. However, the Holy Spirit chose to manifest His power in this way to reveal the Truth that King Jesus is. He still chooses to demonstrate His power today in ways that our natural minds don’t understand. The carnal mind of men will always fight against spiritual things that it cannot comprehend. Many times the Holy Spirit will touch believers with His power in order to give them a hunger to pursue Him.

Speaking Evil of the Holy Spirit

Ministers and believers need to be very careful about calling the Holy Spirit a demonic spirit. Attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to demons is bordering on blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which is the only sin that will not be forgiven. This is extremely scary. If you don’t know whether or not something is the Holy Spirit, then wait, seek God, and refrain from judging.

“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 

“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:22-24, 31-32 NKJV)

Maturity

The Lord began revealing to me in 2014, the need for the church to progress to maturity. We cannot go on to fullness if we only focus and preach on healing, power, gifts of the Spirit, and manifestations. Those outpourings of power are good and we shouldn’t reject them. However we need to focus on Jesus Christ becoming our life. As His life possesses us, we come to the measure of the stature of His fullness. The Lord desires His church to come to fullness so that she is ready to be His bride.

-Ty Unruh (October 2023)