Is this teaching biblical?
Wagner Ribeiro's TikTok and social media presence is dominated by charismatic spectacle: throwing his jacket at people who then fall to the ground ('cair no poder' — 'falling in the power'), dramatic 'anointing' performances, and theatrical displays tagged #uncao (anointing) and #avivamento (revival). Ironically, he himself posted 'Unção sem caráter!' ('Anointing without character!') — a phrase that describes his own ministry perfectly. His TikTok content shows virtually no exposition of Scripture, no call to repentance, no preaching of the Cross, no teaching on holiness or self-denial. The focus is entirely on the spectacle of people falling down. This is the 'cai-cai' phenomenon ('fall-fall anointing') widely criticized even within Brazilian Pentecostalism. Jesus warned that many will perform signs and wonders in His name yet He will say to them: 'I never knew you.' The test is not whether people fall — it is whether the message is the true gospel.
What did Wagner Ribeiro say?
"Unção sem caráter!"
English Translation"Anointing without character!"
Speaker: Wagner Ribeiro
Source: Instagram @wagnerribeiro.23, TikTok @wagnerribeiro.23
What does Scripture actually teach?
1 Corinthians 14:33, 40
"For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints... Let all things be done decently and in order."
— NKJV
Paul declares God is not the author of confusion and commands that everything in worship be done 'decently and in order.' Throwing jackets at people to make them fall to the ground is neither decent nor orderly — it is theatrical chaos designed for social media virality. The Holy Spirit produces peace, order, and edification — not staged spectacles for TikTok content.
Matthew 7:22-23
"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"
— NKJV
Jesus explicitly warns that performing signs and wonders in His name does not equal knowing Him. People will point to their miracles, their prophecies, their wonders — and Jesus will say 'I never knew you.' The question is not whether people fall when a jacket is thrown at them. The question is: where is the message of repentance? Where is the Cross? Where is the call to holiness? Ribeiro's TikTok is full of #uncao and #milagres but empty of Christ crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
— NKJV
Paul's demonstration of 'the Spirit and of power' was inseparable from his message: 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified.' The power served the message. Ribeiro inverts this — the spectacle IS the message. His TikTok communicates: 'Look at the power! Look at people falling!' without the substance of 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified.' Paul's power pointed to the Cross. Ribeiro's spectacle points to Wagner.
Matthew 12:39
"But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.'"
— NKJV
Jesus rebuked those who constantly sought signs and wonders. An 'evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.' Ribeiro's entire TikTok ministry is built on signs — people falling, dramatic reactions, visible spectacle. Jesus said the only sign that matters is His death and resurrection (the sign of Jonah). The obsessive focus on visible signs while ignoring the message of the Cross is precisely what Jesus condemned.
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