John G. Lake made a statement about the lightnings of God in the 1920’s. Here are his words:
I can see as my spirit discerns the future and reaches out to touch the heart of mankind and the desire of God, that there is coming from heaven a new manifestation of the Holy Spirit in power, and that new manifestation will be in sweetness, in love, in tenderness, and in the power of the Spirit, beyond anything your heart or mind ever saw. The very lightning of God will flash through men’s souls. The sons of God will meet the sons of darkness and prevail.
Another writing by Mr. Lake:
It is so simple: The life of God comes back into the part that is afflicted; immediately the blood flows; the closed, congested cells respond; the work is done! That is God’s divine science. Oh, beloved, when you pray, something is happening in you! It is not a myth; it is the action of God.
Having formal acknowledgement as a student of science, it was my privilege to attend clinics, which I frequently did.
At one time I submitted myself to a series of experiments. It was not sufficient to know God healed; I had to know how God healed.
I visited one of the great experimental institutions and submitted myself to a series of experiments.
First, an instrument was attached to my head. This instrument had an indicator that would register the vibrations of the brain.
I began to repeat things like the 23rd Psalm to soothe the mind and reduce its vibrations to the lowest point. Then I repeated the 31st Psalm, the 35th chapter of Isaiah, the 91st Psalm, and Paul’s address before Agrippa.
After this, I went into secular literature and recited Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade” and finally Poe’s “The Raven” as I prayed in my heart that at the psychological moment, God would anoint my soul in the Holy Spirit.
My difficulty was that while reciting, I could not keep the Spirit from coming upon me. When I finished with “The Raven,” those in charge of the experiment said, “You are a phenomenon. You have a wider mental range than any human being we have ever seen.”
In reality, this was not so. It was because the Spirit of God kept coming upon me to such a degree that I could feel the moving of the Spirit within me.
I prayed in my heart, “Lord God, if You will only let the Spirit of God come like the lightnings of God upon my soul for two seconds, I know something is going to happen that these men have never seen before.”
As I recited the last lines of the poem, suddenly the Spirit of God struck me with a burst of praise and tongues. The indicator on the instrument bounded to its limit – and I haven’t the least idea how much further it would have gone if it had been possible.
The professors said, “We have never seen anything like it!”
I replied, “Gentlemen, it is the Holy Ghost.”
In the second experiment, a powerful X-ray machine with microscopic attachments was connected to my head. The purpose was to see, if possible, what the action of the brain cells were.
I proceeded just as in the former experiment. First, I repeated Scriptures that were soothing – those calculated to reduce the action of the cortex cells to their lowest possible register. Then I went to Scriptures which conveyed better and richer things until I reached the first chapter of John. As I began to recite this, the fires of God began to burn in my heart.
Suddenly, the Spirit of God came upon me as before, and the man who was behind me touched me. It was a signal to keep that poise of soul until one after another could look through the instrument.
Finally, when I let go, the Spirit subsided. The professors said, “Why, man, we cannot understand this, but the cortex cells expanded amazingly.”
I said to them, “Gentlemen, I want you to see one more thing. Go down in your hospital and bring back a man who has inflammation in the bone. Take your instrument and attach it to his leg. Leave enough space to get my hand on his leg. You can attach it to both sides.”
When the instrument was ready, I put my hand on the man’s shin and prayed no strange prayer, but the cry of my heart to God.
I said, “God, kill this devilish disease by Your power. Let the Spirit move in him; let it live in him.”
Then I asked, “Gentlemen, what is taking place?”
They replied, “Every cell is responding.”
It is so simple: The life of God comes back into the part that is afflicted; immediately the blood flows; the closed, congested cells respond; the work is done!
That is God’s divine science.
Oh, beloved, when you pray, something is happening in you! It is not a myth; it is the action of God.
The Almighty God, by the Spirit, comes into your soul, takes possession of your brain and manifests Himself in the cortex cells of your brain. The fire of God – the power of God, that life of God, that nature of God – is transmitted from the cortex cells of your brain, your blood, your flesh, and your bone – into every square inch of your skin, until you are alive with God!
Additionally, he wrote:
Degrees of Baptism
There are as many degrees in God in the Baptism of the Holy Ghost as there are preachers who preach it. Some people are born away down weeping at the foot of the cross. They are still on the earth plane with Christ. They are still weeping over their sins, still trying to overcome sin and be pure of heart.
But there are other people who are born away up in the blessed dominion of God, like our Mother Etter. They have resurrection power. All power is given, and it is in our soul.
And beloved, one day there are going to be Christians baptized in the Holy Ghost who are away up in the throne of God, away up in the consciousness that is breathed out of His holy heart. Somebody is going to be born a son of God, and be baptized in the Holy Ghost where Jesus is today, in the throne-consciousness of Christ—-where they can say, like Jesus said, where they can feel like Jesus feels: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” [Revelation 1:18]. Absolute overcoming consciousness!
You dear folks listen who are trying to pump up a Pentecost that has worn out years ago. God let it die. God had only one way under heaven to get you to move up into God, and that way is to let you become dissatisfied with the thing you have. And if you have not the consciousness you once had, God Almighty understands the situation. He is trying to get you hungry, so that you will commit your body and your soul and your spirit to God forever, and by the grace of God you will be baptized in the Holy Ghost over again, at the throne of God-consciousness, in the power of Jesus Christ, as Jesus is today. `As he is, so are we in this world” [1 John 4:171.
Beloved, God is calling men and women to a holier consecration, to a higher place in God, and I am one of God’s candidates for that holy place in God. I want to get to the throne of God. Oh, Yes, God baptized me in the Holy Ghost with a wondrous baptism, according the understanding I possessed ten or fifteen years ago. But I am a candidate today for a new baptism in the Holy Ghost that comes out of the heart of the GLORIFIED Christ, in the lightnings of God; everlasting overcoming on the throne with Jesus.
And that is the experience that is going to make the sons of God in the world. That is the reason they will take the world for Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom will be established, and they will put the crown on the Son of God, and declare Him “King of kings and Lord of lords” [Revelation 19:16] forever. Amen
Therefore, fear not, for God is able to perform in you even that which He performed in Jesus, and raise you likewise in union with Christ Jesus, and make you reign in dominion over sin, instead of being dominated by the powers of evil and darkness.–Tongues and Interpretation Battle Creek, Michigan September 1913