It is named after the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church in Toronto, Canada, where the movement first hit the headlines in January 1994.If you have never heard of this movement I will go over of some of their beliefs and views.
If we look at what actually happens when people receive the blessing the immediate observable effects, we see the following:
One of the very obvious things on the Toronto Blessing is that they claim that `switching off your mind’, getting your mind “out Of the way”, yielding yourself unthinkingly to the spirit that is Operating, etc.
My friends I tell you all these that happened in the Toronto Blessing was and is happening all over the world in New Age gatherings and all kinds of cultic gatherings. But one thing we know by reading the Bible and looking at the Christian Churches history you can never find a phenomenon in this manner in the Christian faith. It is a lie of the enemy recycled In Christianity and the sad part is that Christian all over the world are buying into this lie. The problem is that Christians are not satisfied with the Word of God and that is why they start searching for supernatural experiences and fall in the traps of the cultists and false teachers.
It is well-known throughout Christendom that the Bible speaks of the `last days’ as being a time of great deception and apostasy,and it is obvious from the Scriptures that much of this willarise from WITHIN THE CHURCH, so as to deceive the Christians.(See Mt 24, etc). The Apostle Paul wrote that, “in the last days PERILOUS TIMES WILL COME. For men shall be lovers of their own selves… lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Tim 3:1-4). And, “the Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to SEDUCING SPIRITS, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim 4:1). Surely, as we have seen, we are indeed living today in such `perilous times’.
Look up ‘Andrew Strom, urgent warning,’ as ‘david’ I have written how I now perceive the ‘Toronto Blessing.’ It is I believe, also very very important, that we understand that the deception of the toronto blessing, is permitted to come against God’s true church, to test its sincerity; when I say true church, I of course mean the baptized church, baptized with The precious Holy Spirit (LUKE 12 v 50), Who is The Promise, The Oil, The Wedding clothes, the Anointing that seals us, and marks us, as the children of God, and the anointing (CHRIST) from which we get our name ‘Christian,’ meaning anointed one. I imagine that the Toronto Blessing could also take place in the churches that reject baptism, and tongues (God’s Own sign and wonder, that people like to mock.), as all that is required is an acceptance of the doctrine, and opening yourself up to its suggestion, the spirit does the rest, when permitted to do so, – the temptation (thought) gives rise to the action, when the temptation (thought) is acted upon. The Toronto Blessing, is in fact, no different to any other temptation, lies, greed, lust, pride, violence, Satan presents the temptation to our mind, as a thought, that we might put the temptation into action; we may lie, be greedy, lustful, proud, violent, fall, laugh, shake, roar, howel, hop, run, wield swords, they are all presented to us within our mind, before we allow them expression within our body. But it is not so with the God given gift of tongues; even though we may KNOW OF tongues, unless given by God, it cannot be spoken, it is not a thought, that can be used as a temptation, and acted out, it is a gift. Temptation is not a gift, it is a persuasion, an idea, a thought. I can be persuaded to fall, indeed I was, I can be persuaded then let a spirit do things to, or through my body, and indeed I shook, and rolled, and though I never have, I could have been persuaded to laugh, roar, howel, hop, run, wield a sword, because I already know how to do all of those things. All it takes is for me to be persuaded to believe that God wants me to allow myself to do it. Come to think of it, all of God’s signs and wonders, almost without exception (the burning bush, though the Word of God was a gift), were gifts, not signs with no purpose, gift of The Holy Spirit, and gift of tongues, gift of healing, gift of life to the dead, gift of wine, gift of food, gift of freedom from demons, they were gifts, that became signs of God, and still are, they were not the empty signs and wonders that we see within the Toronto Blessing, that give nothing at all, but ready people to accept deceitful doctrine that will further mislead them, and cause them to sin.
David.