Spiritual Perceiving (8) Fighting Blind

Before they disobeyed, Adam and Eve could see into the spiritual world, so that when they drew near to God, it seemed like he was walking in the garden with them. They were able to see the devil when he came to tempt them. This wonderful situation did not last long. When Adam and Eve sinned, their sight was changed so that they could no longer see into the spiritual realms. Sin placed an enormous dark barrier between them and God.

The Bible says their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked (Gen 3:7). This statement is a huge irony. Their eyes were actually closed to the spiritual realms. When they could see the brilliant glory of the heavenly realms, their observation of the physical world was dimmed, and they did not notice they were naked. Once the light of heavenly glory was turned off, their view of the physical world was greatly intensified, so they realised for the first time that they were naked.

Losing the ability to see into the spiritual realms was a serious problem, because they could no longer see what God and the angels were doing. Worse still, they could not see what the spiritual forces of evil were doing. This put humans at a terrible disadvantage in spiritual warfare.

Evil spirits could attack people and work in their lives without being seen. No one would see these attacks coming, or the good angels supporting them. They would not be aware that they had been attacked until the change began to show in their life. If a spiritual attack came at a traumatic time, they might blame the changes in their circumstances for the change in their life, and not be aware of the source of the attack. Fighting an enemy that you cannot see is really difficult, so spiritual blindness gave the powers of evil a huge advantage.

Gordon Homer RIP

Gordon Homer died last week, over ninety years old. His wife Joan had died a couple of weeks before. They had married when they were twenty. I guess the Lord took them home together, because their work on this earth was complete.

Gordon and Joan became Christians during a Billy Graham crusade. He made to visits to New Zealand in the early 1960s, which had a huge impact on the church here. Many of the leaders of the next generation came to faith during these crusades.

Gordon applied to the Presbyterian Church of NZ to train as a minister, but they turned him down, because they did not think he could manage the academic study. But they forgot to tell God, because he gave Gordon and Joan a ministry anyway. They travelled all over Otago and Soutland sharing the gospel and teaching about life in the Spirit. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people received the first touch of the Holy Spirit in their lives through the ministry of Gordon and Joan.

When I was a student studying theology in Dunedin, a fairly dry spiritual experience, it was the Prayer and Praise meetings in their home that kept us going spiritually. You did not always know what would happen at these meetings, but you could be sure that the Holy Spirit would turn up. Gordon always encouraged us to be dissatisfied with what we had, and seek more of God in our lives. He was always game to try something new, if he believed that the Spirit was leading.

Gordon and Joan were great intercessors. If they were praying for you, the struggles of life went better.

Gordon often talked about multiplication. He was definite that addition was not enough. Their ministry is not complete. It will not be finished until each person touched by Gordon and Joan, has multiplied what they received in the lives of the people that they meet.

Spiritual Perceiving (7)

The Holy Spirit is lives and moves in the spiritual realms, but he can take a physical appearance. When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit descended on him. Luke tells us that he came down in a physical form.

The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove (Luke 3:22).

The Holy Spirit is a spirit, so he would not normally seen. In the situation, he deliberately took a physical form. I presume that he did this to authenticate Jesus ministry.

Luke says that the Holy Spirit looked like a dove. A Holy Spirit in physical form is a bit of a contradiction for human eyes and human minds. The best that could be done to describe his appearance was to say that it was like a dove.

Luke does not say who saw this physical appearance of the Holy Spirit. It can be assumed that Jesus perceived it. John’s gospel tells us that John the Baptist saw it too. John the Baptist said,

I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him (John 1:32).

It is not clear if the other people who were present saw what John saw. John may have seen more, because the Spirit had been upon him since his birth (Luke 1:41).

Dangerous Prophets

Judging from the internet, the United States probably has more Christian prophets than any nation in history.

• Most of these prophets want a strong president. They slate President Obama for being weak. They admire Putin’s toughness and decisiveness.

• Many of these prophets think that the United States should control events in Eastern Europe, and other parts of the world. (This seems to be empire thinking).

I wonder how they would respond if the Beast of Revelation emerges in their midst.

Ukraine

Some things about recent events in the Ukraine that are not widely understood.

• Russia has suffered three terrible invasions from the West. The French armies burned Moscow in the 19th century. Germans armies invaded twice in the twentieth century. In 1941, the German armies reached Moscow and the Russians took a million casualties defending their capital. The United States got paranoid when a building in New York was destroyed in 9/11. Have foreign armies invade the heartland your nation three times and besiege it, would really affect your psyche.

• In Hollywood, the United States won the Second World War. On the ground, the USSR was the major winner. More than 20 million Russians died driving Hitler’s Nazi forces out of Eastern Europe (US deaths were less than half a million). Naturally, they are not happy when Western leaders encourage the far right leaders back into the Ukraine again.

• Lenin and Stalin believe that the Communist Revolution would triumph throughout the world. So in a sense they wanted to create a world empire. Therefore, when they won significant territory in Eastern Europe, they stayed. Putin is far more realistic. He understands how weak Russia has become and that a Russian empire, even in Eastern Europe is not sustainable. His focus is on defending and building up the Russia homeland.

• Millions of Ukrainian civilians were killed during the battle between the Nazi and Soviet forces between 1933 and 1945. Many were killed by other Ukrainians. This has had a terrible spiritual effect, and many spirits of hatred and violence have made there home there. Many memories of violence and injustice are still strong. The associated guilt and hatred makes Ukraine a happy hunting ground for the Red Horse.
  

• Russia needs a warm water port to avoid having supplies cut off during the winter. This why Catherine the Great seized Crimea in 1783. The harbour at Sevastopol in the Black Sea gives Russian trade access to the Mediterranean Sea. Just as the US would never allow Canada to seize control of the St Lawrence Seaway, Russia will never give up control of Crimea. That is why Putin acted so quickly to secure it.

• Two of the richest Ukrainian oligarchs, Rinat Akhmentov and Dmitry Firtash, controlled 90 seats in the Ukrainian Rada (parliament) between them. They were cronies of President Yankukovych and he had looked after them. They saw the writing on the wall and switched their support to the opposition. This gave the Rada the majority it needed to depose the President. This was not a people’s revolution the media dream about, but oligarchs changing sides to protect their power and wealth.

• Putin is unlikely to invade Ukraine. He knows that is an economic basket case and would not be silly enough to take responsibility for it. The Ukraine needs access to Russian markets for its production. The Ukrainian economy needs discounted natural gas from Russian to survive. The new Ukranian leaders will have to beg for help from Putin, so he does not need to invade it.

• Many Ukrainians would like to part of the European Union. This is not because they are hankering for democracy. They have had democracy for twenty years, and all it has given them is poverty and corruption. The GDP of Ukraine is now 20 percent less than it was when the Soviet Union collapsed. They look at the relative prosperity of Poland next door and want some of it. They do not understand that their economy could not compete with German industry.

• The United States has offered a $1 billion dollar loan. That is not much help for a nation with debts of $30 billion that have to be repaid. The IMF is going to help too, but all it has to offer is austerity policies. The western powers will not be able to save the Ukrainian economy.

• Far right groups are emerging all over Europe. One of the groups leading the protests in Ukraine is Svobada, which has 36 deputies in the Rada. It began life as the Social National Party of Ukraine and has strong links with other far right parties in Europe.

• There are reports that some of the protesters were shot by radical members of far right militants, but this is already forgotten by history. It will record that the protestors were slaughtered by the Ukrainian security services, because that is what the western media wants to believe.

• Russia has suffered far more casualties to Islamic terrorist groups than the United States. So they are puzzled when John McCain pledges support for extreme Islamic groups in Syria and embraces far right groups in Ukraine.

• The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) spends $100 million dollars a year supporting democracy all over the world, but when push comes to shove, the United States ignores democracy. President Yanukovitch is a dodgy character who has lined his own pockets (like many politicians), but he was elected in a fair election in 2012. A greater percentage of the population voted for him than voted for Obama or George W. His part won a majority in the parliamentary elections in 2012. Yet the American government now supports his overthrow. So much for democracy?

• The British tried to invade Crimea in 1853 and failed. Now the UK foreign minister William Hague struts around Europe proclaiming what should happen in Crimea in his whining pompous voice. No one cares what the British thinks. Someone should tell him that he lost his empire in 1940.

Ukraine cannot be restored to peace and prosperity by political or military power. Only the gospel of Jesus can break down the barriers and only a vision of the Kingdom of God can restore what has been lost.

Another Rib for the Bear

In 2008, George W Bush, who was skilled in starting wars that he could not finish, encouraged Georgian President to seize control of the independent enclave of South Ossetia. Vladimir Putin gave him a bloody nose and George W was powerless to help. At the time, I wrote these words in a series called What Happens Next.

Daniel foresaw these events in a dream. He saw four terrible beasts coming out of the sea. The first was an eagle attempting to get free from a lion. That has already been fulfilled. The second beast was a bear.

And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh (Dan 7:5).

For a long time, I thought that Russia was too weak to be a fulfilment of this vision, but that now seems to be changing. Russia is now growing in strength towards the west (one side).

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lost territory on its western flank. Some of the ribs that protect its central organs were ripped out of its side. These ribs are now being recovered. The three ribs being crushed by the bear’s teeth probably represent three nations, with Georgia being the first. The other possibility is that the three ribs are Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia. These territories are like three ribs in a row.

The bear was told to “Get up and eat”, so we can expect to more to follow. I am not sure which territories they are. One possibility is the Eastern Ukraine, which has many Russian speaking citizens. The other possibility is Crimea, which is important for control of the Black Sea.

NATO is currently intent on stirring up the nations on Russian’s western flank. In response to the Georgian saga, the union of states has established missile bases in Poland. NATO pressure leaves Russia vulnerable to attack, so it is not surprising that the bear is fighting back. NATO should be careful, because God has given the bear permission to “get up and eat its fill of flesh”.

God is allowing this to happen as judgement on the Western nations that have forgotten him and focused on feeding the flesh. He has allowed Russian control over a significant share of the world’s oil supplies to shake the western economy. This will lead to the third seal of Revelation. The solution is not belligerence towards Russia, but repentance towards God.

The US Ambassador Victoria Nuland has poked the bear again. If Abkhazia and South Assetia was the first rib, Crimea is the next rib to be crushed by the bear’s teeth. I am not sure about the third rib.

Women in Ministry (3)

The New Testament gives a broad range of roles to women. The first person that Jesus entrusted with the message of the resurrection was a woman (John 20:2). If Mary had obeyed the modern teaching, we would not know about it because she should have remain silent. Or do we assume that her husband or father gave her permission to speak. That would be pointless, because no one was there to confirm what she saw.

Junia was an apostle, despite the best efforts of the translators to give her a sex change (Rom 16:7). Priscilla is another important leader in a NT church (Rom 16:3).

NT Wright points out that Paul entrusted a woman called Phoebe a minister in the church of Cenchrae to deliver his letter to the Romans (Rom 16:1). She would probably have read the letter out to the gathered Roman Christians. Some would have asked her questions about what Paul meant when he wrote some things. So the first person to do expository preaching on the book of Romans was probably a woman.

If people want to be biblical, they should be asking why they are not “loving one another”. A study of the NT demonstrates that loving one another in the New Testament church was quite different. We have nothing like that in our modern churches.

Women in Ministry (2)

The modern role we call “pastor” does not exist in the NT Testament. It is much closer to the role of CEO or managing director in a public company. Labelling the role “pastor” does not change its essence. Funnily enough, the role pastor does not seem to have existed in the NT. Pastor is only used once as a noun, apart from references to Jesus as the head shepherd. Pastoring is a verb in the NT and something that many people did. And there are no direct references saying whether a person shepherding should be male or female. There were plenty of female shepherds in biblical times, so there is no reason why we would deduce that it should be exclusively male. Anyway that it is beside the point, as the modern role is totally different, so any NT rules would be irrelevant, even if we apply the same label.

The other funny thing is that more of the real “shepherding” in many modern churches is done by the pastor’s wife, even though they are not given the label.

The modern task of preaching an instructional sermon to a group of Christians or leading a bible study does not really exist in the New Testament. Therefore scriptural rules about NT teachers are not really relevant, because the roles are quite different, even though we give them the same label.

Women in Ministry (1)

I see the modern approach to women’s ministry as a problem of false labelling.

We take the label given to a role in the NT church and give it to a role in our modern churches and assume that it makes them the same. That is illogical. I could give my dog the name “prophet”. I could then deduce from the scriptures that my dog is a false prophet, because only false prophets bark. This would be nonsense, because changing the name of my dog has not changed him. He is still just a dog.

The roles in the NT church are very different from the roles in a modern church. Giving them the same names creates the illusion that they are the same, but this is wrong. The NT church was a relational church, led by relational leaders. I have described how this works in my book Being Church. I think that a relational church should be our aspiration today, but that is beside the point here.

The point is that in a relational leadership model, cross-sexual relationships can become a problem. Men should not disciple women and woman should not disciple men. Jesus did choose twelve men, because men because men were superior, but to avoid the problems that would have arisen if he had a mixed team. Paul would not have taken Barbara with him, if Barnabas could not go, because that would be asking for trouble. It seems that some married apostles did take their wives and that was fine.

The modern church uses a managerial model. It is much closer to the model used in most businesses, than to anything in the New Testament. Giving these managment roles labels from the New Testament does not change anything, except it makes the roles seem different from what they really are. The elders of a modern church act more like the board of directors of a public company. Calling them elders does not change that. There is nothing in the NT Testament about how a board of directors should operate so trying to apply principles from there is pointless (apart from general guidance about good behaviour).

Summer Classics

Over the summer, I have read a couple of classic novels for relaxation.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas

Both these novels are more than a thousand pages long, but they are really gripping stories.

They come from a different time. The striking thing is that everyone believes in God and that faith colours all human activies. The main character in each novel triumph over terrible adversity by allowing their life to be changed through encounters with men of faith.

Victor Hugo’s novel is known through the stage show and movie. The novel has much greater scope and provides much deeper insight in the the lives of the characters and the events and people that influenced them. Hugo also gives powerful descriptions of the effects of the grinding poverty of post-revolutionary France on the lives of women and children.

Each author offers great wisdom about life as they tell their story. Here are some quotes.

From Alexander Dumas:

God is always the last resource. Unfortunates, who ought to begin with God, do not have any hope in him until they have exhausted all other means of deliverance.

Moral wounds have this peculiarity – they may be hidden, but they never close: always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart.

From Victor Hugo.

M Myiel had to undergo the fate of every newcomer in a little town, where they are many mouths which talk, and very few heads that think.

Let us never fear robbers and murderers. These are dangers without. Let us fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers. Vices are the real murderers. The great danger lives within. What matters it what threatens our head or our purse. Let us think only of that which threatens our soul

New Foundations

Three years after the Christchurch earthquake good progress is being made, but thousands of houses still need to be repaired or rebuilt. I took this photo recently while out for a walk at lunch time.

This house needs new foundations. It has been jacked up so they can be rebuilt. The bobcat was working under the house clearing out the old foundations.

Must be a parable here.

Red Horse in Ukraine

The newsreader last night introduced her story about Ukraine as a “a triumph for people power”. The Neocons are describing the situation as the collapse of socialism. Both are missing the point. The latest events in the Ukraine represent another advance of the Red Horse of Revelation. This horse represents military struggles between ethnic groups that will destroy government and tear apart nations that were established during the age of nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Ukraine came together in its current form at the end of World War 2.

Eastern Ukraine is the cradle of the Russian Orthodox Church and the place where the Russian empire began. Most of the people speak Russian and have links to the Russian Orthodox Church. They suffered terribly during the German invasion, so they look to Russia for protection from the West.

Crimea in the south of Ukraine has been part of Russia for a long time. It was joined to the Ukraine by Khrushchev in 1954.

Western Ukraine was part of the Lithuanian and Polish empires for several centuries. The people speak Ukrainian and are mostly Roman Catholic. They are much more open to the West.

These religious, ethnic and language tensions are now tearing the nation apart. The intensity of the divisions is compounded by serious economic problems. The Ukrainian government is broke. Debts of more than thirteen billion dollars are outstanding and need to be rolled over. Most of these debts are owed to western banks. The European Union is talking sweetly, but all they have to offer Ukraine is austerity.

The Ukrainian economy is controlled by a few powerful oligarchs. The economy is dependent on Russian gas for fuel and needs Russian markets for the sale of its products. While people in Eastern Ukraine would like stronger links with the EU, its businesses could not compete with other European countries.

Ukraine has many groups who are not afraid to use force and violence to gain political and economic power. These conditions are perfect for the Red Horse.

Up until now the Red Horse has mostly worked in the Middle East and Africa, often in Moslem countries (Lebanon, Bosnian Syria, Iraq). Ukraine is the first Christian country to be stuck by the Red Horse. We will see more of this. Zechariah indicated the direction that would be taken by three of the horsemen of Revelation (north south and west). He gives no direction for the Red Horse. John says that the Red Horse is given a large sword to take peace from the world so that people would kill each other (Rev 6:4). This indicates that the Red Horse will show up all over the world, not just in the East.

Events in Europe are a warning of what could happen in the rest of Europe.

Spiritual Perceiving (6) Testing

Some Christians are getting intense revelation of the spiritual realms. However, powerful revelations are not a sign of spiritual maturity. Often really intense spiritual encounters are experienced by quite new Christians. Amazing spiritual experiences can be false. We should not assess the maturity of ourselves or other Christians by the intensity of their seeing.

The means by which a revelation is received does not determine its truth. We should be careful about assuming that a revelation is received by an intense spiritual experience is true. We should not trust what a leader says just because they received in an open-eyed vision or other heavenly encounter. All humans are capable of being deceived. The enemy masquerades as an angel of light.

The rules of testing apply to all revelations, no matter how they are received. Some visions will be fake, just as some spiritual internal impressions are false. Intensity of revelation does not make spiritual discernment and testing redundant. It actually makes them more important.

Spiritual Perceiving (5) Faith or Sight

We are called to live by faith, rather than relying on what we can see.

We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7)

So Christians should aim to see in the spirit by faith, rather than needing to see the spiritual realms with our physical eyes.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words (1 Cor 2:10-13).

In most situations, seeing in the Spirit by faith should be sufficient. It requires faith, but that it is good because God wants us to grow in faith.

We are to walk by faith and not by sight, so in principle seeing and hearing in the Spirit should be enough. However, God is not stingy, so he gives us more when we need it, or just when he wants to bless us. There are several reasons why a person might get more intense perception revelation of the spiritual realms.

1. A common reason is corrective. Our world has become so secular and materialistic that we are almost ignorant of the spiritual realms, and most Christians lack the ability to discern them. God is allowing some Christians to see the spiritual realms physically, so they can communicate clearly what is happening to make his people hungry and open their minds to what they are missing. This seems to be the case with Brad Healy. He sees amazing details. It took quite a while, but he eventually came to understand that his purpose was to help other Christians see and understand the spiritual realms. He seems to be committed to helping Christians see in the Spirit more clearly.

   Our understanding of the spiritual realms is so limited that we need descriptions by people who seen their working clearly to open our minds. Christians should be taught about the operation of the spiritual realms as soon as they come to faith. Most have not had this teaching. We need this understanding to become normal again. People who have seen vividly can help with this restoration.

2. When we have a big costly decision to make, God can give a more intense revelation, so that we can be certain of what he has asked us to do. Joseph is an example. God sent an angel to him in a dream. Through the dream, he knew exactly what God wanted him to do, even though he was not skilled in hearing and obeying the Spirit. He could not have this skill, because the Spirit has not yet been poured out.

3. People called to a task that is really critical for God’s plan may get very clear perception and direction. Mary spoke with an angel face-to-face. A young woman caring for a baby conceived by the Holy Spirit would need tremendous faith. Receiving such a vivid and real communication would have built her faith. Mary was wise and fed her spirit by treasuring her experience in her heart.
   
   Abraham saw three angels. This dramatic encounter would have contributed to his faith and enabled him to trust God’s promise and move to a new land where he did not belong.

4. Many prophets were given an open vision at the beginning of their ministry as part of their calling. Elisha saw Elijah go up to heaven (2 Kings 2). Jeremiah saw a vision of an almond tree (Jer 1). Isaiah received a vision of angels (Is 6).

5. When prophets receive vision for way in the future, God sometimes give clear physical vision. The prophet is often called to prophesy about things so far in the future that they cannot even imagine the situation. God has to use powerful physical revelation to break that barrier. The Revelation of John is an example. John probably thought that he understood some of what he saw. But he could not even imagine the world in which some of it will be fulfilled. God gave the vision to him in a way that his mind could see and record, without needing the background understanding.

6. God will sometimes send intense revelation to sustain people who are being persecuted for their faith. We do not know when it occurred, but Paul had an experience where he went in the third heaven (also known as paradise). He saw things he could not speak about. This event would have sustained him through his frustration and loneliness during this may years of persecution in Roman jails.

   Stephen was given an open vision of Jesus seated at the right hand of God when he needed the faith to face martyrdom (Acts 7:55-57).

7. When people are afraid, God sometimes gives a powerful and clear vision of the spiritual reams to increase their confidence. Elisha’s servant is an example, he was afraid of the enemy army, so God gave him and open vision of the spiritual forces arrayed against it (2 Kings 6:15-17).

8. When people have been hurt by traumatic experiences, they can find it hard to accept that God loves. Sometimes a powerful vision of Jesus, where they can see his love is needed to open their hearts.

9. Spiritual visions are a quick way of understanding the cause of the problems carried by people who come to us for ministry, especially if we do not know them. God can expose the root of the problem in a spiritual revelation.

10. Children sometime see into the spiritual realms very clearly, because they have not yet learnt to ignore them. John the Baptist had a physical experience of Jesus when has still in the womb. Children growing up in Christian families should learn about the spiritual realms from their parents, as they are growing up. I suspect that many would get insight quickly. I presume that many children experience things that parents think are quaint, such as invisible friends, which are really experiences of the spiritual realms. Parents should help their children to get a broader understanding of the spiritual realms in which they live, rather than just laughing.

Seeing by faith is probably better than seeing by sight. However pretending to see by faith, when you are really walking in darkness is foolish. We need a lot more of both seeing by sigh and seeing by faith. We will need a lot more seeing by sight before God’s people are proficient at seeing the spiritual realms in the spirit by faith.

Spiritual Perceiving (4) How

God wants us to understand the links between events in the spiritual realms and events on earth, so he will reveal the spiritual realms in the way this is appropriate for us at the time. We should not demand particular types of revelation, but rather we should seek a better understanding of the spiritual realms, and leave him to decide how we will receive it.

On the other hand, we should be open to all types of seeing that he offers to us, and not set boundaries on what he can do. It would be sad, if we missed out on a revelation, because we had decided that a particular type of seeing was not for us, or not for this time.

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach us all that he sees the Father doing. We must allow the Holy Spirit to speak and reveal in whatever way he chooses. Those who hungry to understand God’s purpose will be ready to accept whatever revelation the Holy Spirit gives.

We cannot decide how we will see. God determines how he will show us the things the he wants us to perceive. If he decides to speak with an still small voice, we cannot demand an open vision. We don’t have the right to demand and particular type of revelation.

We can decide whether we will see or not. God wants us to see and understand the spiritual realms.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor 5:18).

Since he has commanded us to be aware of the spiritual realms, every follower of Jesus must be able to see in some way. If we are not seeing, it could be because we have chosen not to see, or are ignoring what he is showing us. Therefore, if we are not seeing, we should make the decision to seek to see more clearly.

If we ask him to show us what we need to know about events in the spiritual realms, he will do so. However, we cannot determine how we will see. He can show us however he chooses, and because he is God, he will show us in the way that is right for us.

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.