Visitation
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| Time, distance, matter and space cease to mean the same and neither can they be measured the same way |
These were accounts of individuals from different parts of the world, from very different cultures and walks of life, yet they all seemed to have a common denominator when it came to the reality of both heaven and hell. Eternity is nothing like we have been led to believe. Not only were these reports very disturbing, they shook the very basis of his theology.
At first, he was inclined to disregard them all and continue holding the notion of the identity of God and His love and grace as he had believed for most of his life. However, as he later discovered, we believe a lot of things not because they are true, but because we wish them to be true.
For example, the idea that only those who had not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior actually went to hell has caused many to water down much of Jesus’ teachings e.g. in Matthew 7, where He refers to the rejected ones who exorcised demons and performed miracles in His Name.
However, no matter how hard he tried to brush away these testimonies and get on with his usual life, they stuck in his memory and he could not shake them off. He knew to continue pondering these accounts would inevitably lead him to question much of what he myself had believed since childhood, yet he still felt drawn to reflect on the subject of eternity in a deeper way than he had ever done before. In fact, the more he prayed, the more this subject moved into the foreground, until it eventually developed into a quest that he felt compelled to consciously pursue.
Before all this, he had received a specific prophetic word recorded live in the presence of witnesses: Visions. And there will come a visitation from God. Visions, with a visitation from God - I said that purposely twice. You are a man that is meticulous. You put things in order in your mind. And I will direct it and I will set order before you and behind you. I am going to correct the pathway that you are on. For don’t fear, He says, it is well. For this will be a season that is like a sharp turn. Don’t abort the vision, I am leading you… A walk of intercession shall come.
He had been petitioning the Lord for His light to shine in his heart and life and expose his condition for what it truly was. A fresh baptism in the fire of intercession took place and there was enough grace to spend time in seasons of prayer. One of the burdens that he felt returning in his spirit heavily during this time, was the burden to pray for a personal encounter with Him, not in the earthly realm, but in eternity.
At first, it felt almost presumptuous. Yet so many prayers had been answered and prophecies fulfilled by this time, he not only felt the grace to pray for this, but also to believe that it too would be answered. Besides, he could see no other way of settling the issues concerning eternity once and for all. Only the Judge could either affirm or refute these reports and evaluate where he personally stood in in view of eternity. The key scripture for him in this case was James 1:5: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
The burden grew as the months passed and intercession deepened. Finally, on the morning of 4th June, he was in the prayer room at the basement of the house of prayer. On this particular day however, no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not break through. All that seemed to have come to an abrupt end. This came as a surprise, it was a sharp contrast in view of all the prior times of devotion which had been so unquestionably full of energy, passion and life.
The burden grew as the months passed and intercession deepened. Finally, on the morning of 4th June, he was in the prayer room at the basement of the house of prayer. On this particular day however, no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not break through. All that seemed to have come to an abrupt end. This came as a surprise, it was a sharp contrast in view of all the prior times of devotion which had been so unquestionably full of energy, passion and life.
He began to question himself and tried to retrace his steps mentally to see what sin he may have committed to create this barrier and started to pray for cleansing. However, the more he went into confession, petition and worship, the more difficult it became and heavier the atmosphere seemed to be. No matter what he tried to do or how hard he tried to do it, there was simply no sense of His presence.
Finally, after about two hours, he decided to leave and prepare for work. He would take time to ponder over this in the course of the day. He switched off the lights, went up the flight of stairs and prepared to leave. He sat down on a chair near the main entrance. And that is when it happened. It started as an impression, so still and small - a tugging of the heart: Go back.
A conflict arose in his reasoning. This was so out of character. He had already left the basement. He had purposefully discontinued the devotion for reasons which were sensible to him. Moreover, he needed to report to work and did not think that the time left could achieve more than the period he had already given himself down there. However, after some time of debating within himself, he decided to lay aside his reasoning and return, even if it was only for a short while. As it turned out, this was a life-changing decision.
Back again in the basement, he felt impressed to pray in other tongues. The previous struggle was still there, yet he felt the urge to be persistent. Finally, as he sat, closed his eyes and started to worship, gradually, he felt the atmosphere around him begin to change. It continued to intensify till he was conscious of being enveloped in the radiance of His presence.
The same fire that he had experienced when he met Him at the beginning of the season returned, only now much more intense and glorious. The anointing in the room was so heavy he was too awed to pray, but only worshiped quietly as his being shuddered and tears streamed down his face. Even without opening his eyes, he knew he was not alone. Someone had walked into the room. The man felt his being becoming ever more lighter till eventually he crossed over and passed into another realm. One moment he was in the basement of the prayer house, the next, he was caught up into another world.
He knew his physical body was still there, seated inside the basement. He was aware of this. But his real person - his spirit had moved beyond the ceiling of the building to a point above the city and was now ascending fast. Even though he was detached from it, he could still feel the life of his body on earth and therefore knew he was not dead. Yet, in all his earthly life, there was nothing that came even remotely close to what he was experiencing now.
Being fully conscious, he could tell the different levels he was passing through. This was no dream or fantasy. He knew the moment he broke out of earth’s atmosphere and came into outer space. He was conscious of passing stellar bodies in the cosmos and travelling through outer space at an indescribable speed. He could not relate this transition with anything physical since time, distance, matter and space cease to mean the same when one leaves the natural realm and can no longer be defined or measured the same way.
Beyond outer space, he felt the power of each realm he passed through. He continued on till at last he came to the realm with might and power far above all the others he had left behind. Here, his progress slowed to a halt and he instinctively knew he had arrived. His ascent had come to an end. Here, in this place, he was shaken and overwhelmed beyond words.
Throughout his journey, he had not seen, heard or felt any other being apart from the strong, enveloping presence of the Lord. Now in this place, reality itself was composed of nothing but the glory and power of His majesty. The atmosphere was so free, he felt my entire being begin to take on this freedom without any conscious effort on his part.
There literally did not seem to be any barriers at all. He still retained his human identity and was still capable of perceiving and feeling as a man. However, all his perceptions and feelings here were no longer simply taking place within the confines of his heart as they do on earth. Everything that was going on within him was just as open, transparent and free as the atmosphere around him. He knew someone standing there would automatically know everything there was to know about him and he would know the same about them. Because of this, there were no limits and the freedom was boundless.
Our spirit processes reality in a different way from our natural bodies. In our material state, we comprehend life within the confines of physical matter and space. This is like in a grain of sand compared to the eternal reality the spirit engages with. In the spirit, the capacity of each of our senses is multiplied. One is conscious of everything at the same time and in a much deeper way. You have the power of vision, yet you do not need to see in order to know what is going on around you. You have the power of speech, yet you do not have to say anything in order to communicate or express yourself. You do not have to touch something in order to feel it. Our earthly body is built for time. Our spirit is built for eternity.
When he became conscious of His presence in this realm, the experience was so overwhelming, his initial instinct was to retreat. He simply could see no possible way of surviving this. However, there was no way of retreat now. He could not extricate himself and return the way he had come. He realized he was nowhere near ready for what was taking place here and at the same time he could not turn back the events that had led him to this place.
On earth, we get used to thinking of another person’s character and attributes as something intangible he or she possesses. This is how we perceive and speak of their kindness, generosity, hospitality, patience as simply qualities of their personality. It is how we are used to understanding each other as individuals.
The central thing about God’s nature is that He is Life. Everything about Him is filled with divine life. To the sojourner, the atmosphere around Him felt like being completely submerged in the boundlessness of seas innumerable, flowing from eternity to eternity. Each of these was a single attribute of His nature, indescribably powerful and alive, surging on forever, wave after wave. He knew that on earth, he had made a distinction between God's attributes in his own blindness and ignorance. That was possible because he could theorize them in his mind while on earth. However, there was no theory here. Every attribute was alive and overwhelming beyond words and they all flowed together in perfect harmony.
It was not possible for him to elevate one above the other, as he had so often done on earth. For example, he could feel the power in His endless love and at the same time he could also feel the power in His holiness. The life in His love was not the same as the life in His holiness, yet both were part of His identity as much as was His peace, His truth, His wisdom and His judgments. There was life in each one of these attributes and he felt them in the boundless waves that flowed over, around and through him, surging from the Source of life.
He realized it is not possible to be immersed in the true freedom of His Spirit without being at the same time baptized with the fear and reverence of His presence. He could not separate the sea of grace that overwhelmed his being from the awesome power of His glory or His purity. In fact, it was somehow because in this place he was able to truly experience what is meant by the terror of the Lord, that he was also saturated by freedom and love greater than he had ever dreamed possible.
