VVV (5) Types of Revelation

In her book called Visions, Visitations and the Voice of God, Lyn Packer lists the range of types of revelation that Christians can experience.

The following are terms that can be used to describe the way that we receive revelation.

• Still small voice of God - This is an internal hearing. God speaks spontaneous words or thoughts into our mind and heart from our spirit.

• Internal visual impression– A thought picture impression or vision that is seen with the eyes of our understanding.

• Open eyed vision – Physical reality fades and the spirit realm is opened before us while our eyes are open.

• Open-eye spiritual vision – Our eyes are open, but a strong impression, sensing or perceiving is overlaid onto the physical realm – we usually still see the physical realm.

• Closed-eye vision – We receive a strong impression, or pictures like a TV screen on the backs of our eyelids.

• Trance vision – Our body usually goes very still and can even be frozen in place. Our eyes can be open or shut. Often we are in the vision, operating within it.

• Perceiving – A strong knowing within, that a particular reality is there.

• Dreams/daydreams – Dreams are often used by God to reveal kingdom mysteries and his heart. They are often symbolic in nature and will often apply to our personal life.

• Night visions – These happen while we sleep but are different from a dream.

• Angelic visitation – Where we receive revelation from one of God’s angelic messengers.

• Inner audible voice – When the voice of God is so loud in our mind, it might well have been audible.

• Audible voice of God – God’s voice is heard with our natural hearing.

• Words of knowledge – One of the gifts of the Sprit.

• Bodily impressions – Through physical sensation. For example, heat in the hands often means a healing anointing.

• Spiritual discernment – The ability to ascertain the presence, identify and activities of both good and evil spirits.

• Inner witness – God confirms something to you by an inner knowing that “This is a God thing”

• Prophecy – God speaks to us through other believers.

• Visitation – An extended period of time when God speaks through vision or speech to an individual or group.

Remember revelation is revelation however it comes, and all revelation is an invitation to intimacy and co-operation with the Lord.

The last part of Lyn's book contais a series of Activations. These exercises will help Christians to experience a greater experiences of the spiritual realms and grow their relationship with Jesus.

This is a very good book.

VVVV (4) Describe Clearly

In her book called Visions, Visitations and the Voice of God, Lyn Packer advises Christians to be careful how they describe what they see in the spiritual realms.

People need to know exactly what we are saying. There are three extremes we can go to when describing visions and experiences. One can lead to pride, another to a false sense of humility, and the last can lead to deception.

The first extreme is when we love to use the correct term but do so in a way that is designed to impress those we are talking to. We need to be careful that we don’t allow spiritual pride to creep in Pride can defile not only our ability to see and hear, but also our delivery.

The next extreme is to down play everything. We often do this out of a false sense of humility. Don’t be afraid to use the word “vision” if you have had a vision.

The last extreme is to exaggerate or stretch the truth. Most of don’t do that deliberately, but we may say things like, “I saw a vision” when we mean that we sensed, perceived, or had an impression.

Be careful to make sure you are accurate in how you describe things. Otherwise you will end up misleading people and in the end you could damage you credibility as well.

VVV(3) Subjectivity

In her book called Visions, Visitations and the Voice of God, Lyn Packer warns of the dangers of subjectivity.

All revelation is prone to subjectivity. Each of us have lenses we look through that distort or color our vision. Our very humanness causes everything we see and experience to be subjective, to one degree or another.

Faint impressions, the still, small voice of God, and some of the other ways of receiving revelation are received through the eyes of our heart (our imagination). As a result they can be influenced by our thoughts, emotions, doctrinal beliefs, point of view, and eve our woundedness.

Open-eyed visions, trances and encounters in the heavens are also prone to subjectivity. We filter what we see through personal paradigms, woundedness, values, and our understanding of God’s word, heart and character.

We tend to assume that if we have seen something with our own eyes it is true. That does not work in the spiritual realms.

VVV (2)

In her book called Visions, Visitations and the Voice of God, Lyn Packer warns against ranking different types of revelation.

I don’t believe that any particular way of hearing or seeing is necessarily superior to another. Revelation is revelation and no one way of receiving is more spiritual than any other. For example, a thought picture/impression inspired by God can be as weighty and profound as a trance vision.

Likewise, you don’t need a higher level of spiritually to hear in particular ways from God; you simply have to be open to receive.

Some ways of receiving may be more impressive or dramatic to our natural mind, but that doesn’t make them better. All the ways we receive are equally valid.

While opened-eyed visions are definitely more dramatic to receive, I have sometimes been more deeply impacted by some of the faint impression I have received from the Lord.

In fact, the God-given subtle impression and thoughts sometimes require greater faith to walk in than the more dramatic God encounters. Lean into those impressions, chase them down – they often contain deep riches and mysteries.

She refers to research about the way that well-known prophets and prophetic people hear God.

The most common way they receive those weighty revelations is through the still small voice of God, or the internal visual impression.

At the same time, we should desire and ask for all the different ways of receiving revelation to be opened up to us.

Why does God speak in a still, small voice? One reason is that it sharpens our listening skills and causes us to draw closer to the Lord to hear him. It brings us to a place of stillness, so we can listen for Him to speak, and it stretches and grows our faith.

I believe that with faith, practice and persistence, we can all see and hear with great clarity, and frequency than we do at present.

VVV (1)

I have been reading Visions, Visitations and the Voice of God by Lyn Packer. It is a good book. Here are some quotes.

Our physical senses are not always a true indicator, or interpreter, of what is happening in the spiritual realm.

Sometimes people tell me that they don’t hear God speak to them. However, the issue is not whether we can hear God’s voice (because scripture tells us that we can). The real issue is learning to recognise God’s voice when he speaks to us.

I used to believe that spiritual experiences, like visions, were sovereign acts of God. I thought I had to wait until God felt like give me an experience before I would have one. But I have since discovered that experience with God and revelation can be accessed by faith, just I access everything else in my Christian walk by faith. Of course, Gold still can and does give me revelation sovereignly.

Often, revelation will be received through multiple senses simultaneously. Some people will find certain senses are better developed than others, but they can all be developed with time and practice.

All experiences in the Kingdom of God are available to us, because of what Jesus has done on the cross. Experience is not dependant on our feeling or how mature we are, but wisdom tells us that we need to be growing in maturity to rightly discern and interpret what we see and hear.