Seven Visitations from God
Twelve Revelations from Heaven
KEVIN HOFSAS
MmWp
Seven Visitations from God, Twelve Revelations from Heaven
Copyright © 2009 by Kevin Hofsas
MmWp
Mark My Words Publishing
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Strasburg, CO 80136
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All scripture quotations in this book are from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
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Disclaimer
None of the advice herein is to be misconstrued as professional counseling. If you know that you require professional counseling or if you believe that you may need professional counseling, please seek professional help.
Dedication
To the many fine servants and ministers of the gospel, both men and women, who pour their life into serving Christ. Thank you for fighting the good fight and standing for the truth of the eternal God. You are lights, voices and sign posts in a world too proud and selfish to know what’s best for itself.
To the man of God whose anointing I currently sit under—Pastor Tim Bagwell, Senior Pastor of Word of Life Christian Center. (wolcc.net) Your pulpit is uncompromising and dedicated to the release of the Holy Spirit. Exceeding excellent are those who minister from it.
To the LORD Almighty, eternal God who made all things and by whose word all things are sustained—thank you for creating life, that I might know you. Would to you, oh God, that all people came to know you and the power of your redemption.
Preface
This book is an account of events so extraordinary and exclusive, many of them have never been experienced or recorded before. As God is wont to use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and the things of the world which are base, and despised, and the things which are not, to bring to nought the things that are, he has probably likewise chosen me to write these things, that no flesh should glory in his presence.
In one of the chapters I write that Saul was the greatest threat to the church and became the greatest Apostle. Similarly, some people may find a number of things herein that appear of great threat to the church. But as I said in that chapter, let this information instead be of the highest inspiration. Why should what I write be any threat? There are multiple reasons. But rather than detail them now, allow me to instruct every reader what to do when confronted by my testimony. Ask yourself if I esteem Christ above all things. Ask yourself if I claim Christ is the source of all things. Ask yourself if I believe Christ is the Judge of all things. If therefore Christ is above all things to me and is my Savior, as Ephesians 1:20-23 states, you have little to fear from me.
~
Perhaps I am the antithesis of Paul the Apostle. As Paul claimed he was the chief sinner, I may claim I was furthest lost. At the same time that Saul (later known as Paul) was fully ordained in the church of his day, he sought to kill, steal and destroy . . . a contradiction in terms. Similarly skewed, I sought to find eternal life and discover truth by diving headfirst into the occult . . . another contradiction of terms. He taught the gospel from a foundation of the highest and most formal schooling. I teach the gospel not only as a layman, but even use illustrations from a place outside the will of God.
Yet what sets me apart from other people isn’t the dissimilarities between Paul and myself, but rather how God revealed himself to me. And that is, in a manner more profound than he’s ever revealed himself to anyone. This becomes particularly significant when we consider where God saved me from.
To many people, what I introduce will appear radical. Historically, people often resist information that challenges their perception of reality. But let this information rather be judged by its fruit. Does the information increase the awareness of everyone’s need of salvation, or decrease it? And, does this information magnify God’s infinite nature, or minimize it? If therefore the two most important themes of the bible are amplified, the fruit must be good.
Besides which, Jesus said forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. Mark 9:39&40.
~
Regardless that I have not yet completed advanced formal education, I have insights which no known university teaches. Likewise, my lack of a theological degree does not exempt me from knowing things about God no one else alive is aware of. Yet for all that, it isn’t with a domineering mindset that I declare these things, but rather great joy.
For Christ is a secret treasure to be found at all cost. To our normal eyesight, he is . . . invisible. Yet the entrance to his kingdom is as close as our heart. If we open our heart to his Spirit, he will make us aware of a much greater spiritual universe. Once alive to his Spirit, we will see that shortly, even this present world will bow to his Spirit.
Contents
1 The First Reason
2 The voice of Jesus
3 An elder of Heaven
4 The strength of Samson
5 Jesus revealed as the Word of God
6 Possession by the Lord Jesus
7 Seeing God
8 The Tongue of an Angel
9 A Holy Ghost trance
10 King Melchisedec
11 Possession by the Lord Jesus
while playing guitar
12 The Lord Jesus and the Father
walking over me
13 The Difference of Angel’s Worship
14 Joyous Addendum to Angel’s Worship
15 The Second Reason
16 Song of Salvation
1
The First Reason
Seven Visitations from God. An interesting title. What’s it mean? As unbelievable as it sounds, it means exactly what it says. This book is about seven visitations from God Almighty. It isn’t about dreams or visions. Calculated another way, these are twelve revelations that came from heaven. Unprecedented, unannounced, undeniable—herein lays an account of God extraordinarily revealing himself to one of his servants.
Now—why has God revealed himself to me? The simplest answers are probably the most accurate and they are, because he could, and two, so I would tell other people. It should also be a given that he’s revealed himself to others. But the way he’s revealed himself to me is significantly different from what others have declared, either Biblically or from modern day encounters. What all that means is I have actually been allowed to see the face of Father God.
Right there, every biblical authority should throw down the gauntlet . . . and I’ll tell you why:
In Exodus 33:20, the Lord tells Moses, “Thou canst not see my face: for no man shall see me and live.”
In Exodus 33:23 the Lord reiterates, “. . . but my face shall not be seen.”
The apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 6:16 said, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.”
The Apostle John said by the Holy Ghost in John 1:18, “No man hath seen God at anytime; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
And in John 6:46 the Lord Jesus Christ himself said, “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.” By which he was speaking of himself.
These scripture all clearly state what I claim isn’t possible. Besides which, it would be foolish to lie about such a thing. Yet I affirm I have seen the face of Father God. Since this is the case I present, do I at least have a reason for the contradiction? Yes. On the surface, the answer is simple. When God’s word says no man may see my face and live, the two critical elements are ‘man’ and ‘live.’ And the simple answer is, it was the alteration of these two elements which allowed me to see the face of Father God.
To address the first of these two elements, this first reason I was able to see God is because it wasn’t with a man’s normal perceptions that I saw, when the Lord revealed the Father to me. This is half of the reason why it was possible. The other half of the reason I explain in chapter 15.
In this chapter I will explain one of the alterations that took place. Yet before I do that, I want to create a boundary so you will not be threatened by my testimony. I believe this is necessary because most people will feel threatened by where I came from.
Permit me to introduce three more scriptures. 1st John 2:17 says, “And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” James 4:4 tells us, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” There are many other scriptures which explain the world doesn’t know God, the world is guilty before God and God will judge the world. Yet God also tells us of a different world that will last forever. Isaiah 45:17 says, “But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.”
Clearly, God has given us two opposing definitions of the world—one that ends and one that never ends. Which is it? The truth is, both are right. That’s because the worlds that exist are formed by our perception. I know that sounds quaint, or maybe too simple, but it a foundational truth. The worlds that exist are formed by our perception.
In the Western society we blend nature, the universe and society into one bundle and call it the world. Yet from God’s perspective, the world in not the earth, though at times God’s word does call the earth the world. But as I said, the worlds that exist are formed by our perception. This is the boundary I want readers to hold onto. Every world defines itself by its own definition. From the most primitive tribe living in squalor to the most sophisticated metropolis—mutual consensus forms culture and society functions. Each has defined itself as the world.
Since there are many more societies than simply primitive and sophisticated, there are many more worlds. As people understand different cultures, communication proliferates and ideas are exchanged. Science and technology enables far-reaching standardization. The modern world appears to knit all cultures closer together. The world seems to grow smaller.
There are still other worlds. When a person comes to Christ Jesus to accept forgiveness and receive salvation—that person enter a world the ordinary world doesn’t know about. It is one that must be experienced to be found. This hidden world is the kingdom of God’s dear Son. It is the world of the perception of God, verses the world of man, separated from God. In this world, God’s definitions rule.
Still another definition is the world I came from. But before I tell you which world that was, I ask every reader to brace themselves and remember God came into the world to save sinners. He shall also judge the world. The whole world shall be guilty before God. Every world therefore is A, defined by perception, B, guilty before and to be judged by God, and C, the place where God goes to save sinners. Including the world I came from. To name it, the world I came from was the sorcerer’s world.
Just as there are many different areas in mans modern world, there are different areas in the sorcerers world. Just as there are evil men in the modern world, there are evil sorcerers. And just as there are upright men in the modern world, there are upright men in the sorcerer’s world. By that I mean some of them hold no malice or ill-will towards others. But the addendum to that is upright or not, a man must be born-again to enter the kingdom of heaven. No matter how lawful or upright anyone is, only by accepting Christ can anyone be made perfect. And perfection is the requirement of God to enter his presence.
Though I was once in the sinful world of the sorcerers, I have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. I have been born from above—God’s Spirit dwells within me and my name has been written in the Lamb’s book of life. My testimony, like every Christian’s testimony, is two-fold: what I was before I came to Christ, and what I’ve done since. And the saying, ‘what I’ve done since’ is meant in its unselfish definition of serving God.
When I came to God, I accepted Christ on three premises. One, if Christ really is going to judge me when I died, I would be up the creek without a paddle if I didn’t get right with him. Two, if he really did purchase me when he died on the cross, he deserved to have me. The third premise was if God Almighty wanted to be my friend, I’d be a fool not to accept. Hanging like a caboose on the end of those three premises was the belief that if God was real, he’d reveal himself to me. Because of the unusual things I experienced in the world he was saving me from, I held no reservations believing he could reveal himself to me. Only I had no idea how greatly he would do just that.
Now—the part of the sorcerer’s world I was trapped by was called the path of knowledge. It was and is a counterfeit path of salvation. The true path of salvation is Jesus Christ and he alone. There simply isn’t any other way to God. (Because we have to be made perfect to enter God’s presence, and only the blood of Jesus Christ can make us perfect.) Sorcery was a stepping stone used by that false path to prime an apprentice. It then demonstrated there is more than one definition of the world. Once an apprentice’s view of the world was detached from man’s world view, then the real training began.
This real training dealt with what we are as creatures—from a perspective entirely alien to the world of man. Without a doubt, the devil instigated this false path. But this is important—the view that was taught is that as creatures, we are luminous beings.
This is the first part of why Father God was able to reveal his face to me and for me not to die. After I describe these visitations I will explain why that impossible revelation was possible. But to sum it up, the first part of why God was able to reveal his face to me is because I awoke that part of myself which these men who knew not God called their luminosity.
What is it like to experience the luminosity? To imagine that, take one of your ordinary senses, like hearing, and then pretend there is no such thing as sound. Pretend that not one thing in nature hears. Pretend that for some reason, God didn’t include sound waves in the laws of nature. And then for the first time, you alone actually heard. Except the transition was an order of magnitude more powerful than that.
When I saw my luminosity and saw with my luminosity, I became aware of things which are impossible to understand while not in that heightened state. I also perceived such breath-taking beauty that it would be impossible to ever become bored with it.
While in that super-heightened state, one thing was put in my heart—and I think probably God himself gave me the suggestion. I’m not saying he brought me to that super-heightened state—I’m saying that while I was there, seeing that God is omnipresent, he suggested something to me. And the suggestion was to think of something to remember, to take back with me to the normal world, from that place where I was trespassing.
So I did what was suggested and thought of the normal world, and compared what I am normally aware of to that place where my body was light that perceived. And to compare that place to this place, right now we are all stone-cold-asleep. Why? Because to perceive with the luminous body is to become aware of a level of creation much greater than what is here. We are easily as limited from that realm where angels tread as a baby in its mother’s womb is limited from knowing this universe. This present level is only a formative stage, soon to be left behind—without remorse, thought or desire. To look back to here—from there, is to realize we know next to nothing.
Though I must add, to be able to leave this realm without remorse, one must inherit the kingdom of God. If a soul leaves this realm without Jesus Christ, only hell awaits. If we are not his children serving and praising him for saving us, then we are the children of his enemy. Truly, the only way to escape hell is to flee into Jesus—here and now. To reject Jesus is to declare allegiance with the Devil and with hell. Believe me, if there are any pleasures you like in this life, you won’t like hell.
But about the luminous creature. When we are translated into the presence of God, we shall be like him, and he is the light. As God is my witness, when I perceived with my luminous body, it wasn’t my imagination. It wasn’t a demon. It wasn’t an evil spirit or the devil come to me as an angel of light. It was simply the much greater part of myself that I suddenly perceived with. What does it look like? It appears as a lightning bright radiance that extends outward from a human body two feet and is egg shaped. It consists of countless billions of laser taunt, hair-fine strands of light. And the luminous creature perceives with all of them.
I would venture to guess this is the same thing many false religions have discovered. Because of its profound intensity and unparalleled superiority, it easily becomes the crowning achievement. Yet it is, in the end, only the creature.
Why should anyone believe what I have to say is true? Because God has revealed himself to me these many times, and continues to do so. God himself gives me the authority to explain what I know. His authenticity establishes my testimony. Because God is real, I have the authority to explain what I explain. “For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance.” Romans 11:29.
Why doesn’t the bible explain the luminosity? For starters, it doesn’t explain much about physics, either. Nor of biology. Neither does it explain the many other things modern technology has discovered, invented or employed. If we ask why, the simplest answer may well be the best, which is people from back then didn’t need to know these things. Nor could they have related to them. This same explanation we may apply to why God didn’t explain the luminosity. Because no one would have understood it.
When Paul the Apostle said it was unlawful for him to speak about the third heaven, he simply meant what his words may define and what his understanding can comprehend cannot describe or digest heavenly reality. Something about an individual much change—at a fundamental level—just to relate to God’s higher reality.
When Paul went to the third heaven, or for that matter, whenever any encounter of God’s higher reality occurs, God elevates that person above their normal station to receive that encounter. So it is probably safe to say, the luminosity isn’t spoken about because no one could have understood it. Yet it exists. Just as jumbo jets, hydroelectric power plants and nuclear submarines exist.
But this account isn’t to lead anyone away from Christ—rather it’s to incite as many as may come to understand—the life God has in store for you is more precious than you can possibly imagine. For if it critical to save our lives now, which are only flesh and blood, how much more critical is it to save a creature of unimaginable superiority? For the luminous creature is priceless beyond our calculation. Though it slumbers in all of us right now, it is a creature invaluable. Is this not why God went to such extremes to save us?
And we say, “No . . . God did what he did because he loves us.” And that is so. But I tell you like a brain surgeon might tell someone from twenty centuries ago, there is more to your body than you can possible imagine.
The luminous creature is another reason why God held nothing back to save even the most vile or evil person—because deep inside everyone is a creature of such unimaginable worth, it is worth any effort to save. It will do well to remind you, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. Yet there is a resurrection of the body. For what? If the body is resurrected it lives. But flesh and blood cannot inherit heaven. Why is there a contradiction? It means there is a translation coming which all the redeemed shall benefit from. All the redeemed shall be translated into God’s presence, who is light. Once in his presence, we shall be like him.
Philippians 3:20 & 21 says, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” Since his glorious body is a body of light—guess what—ours will be too. A concept so far beyond our understanding that it is impossible to relate to unless one has experienced it. And who that one would be . . . is me.
It stands merit to repeat it—the fact we are to become luminous creatures is not to drive you away from Christ, but rather to quicken you and help you understand the invaluable worth of every human being. Every human has incalculable worth because of how much God loves us. Moreover, the creature which slumbers within each of us also has unimaginable worth. This creature is worth so much, God went through immense effort to save it. And that is much more than simply the cross, as if there were anything simple about it. He will also punish those who destroy it, if they reject the antidote God gave us, which is exclusively and without any substitute, his Son Jesus Christ.
So informing you of the luminous body isn’t to teach you error. It is inspiration of the highest order. It is the key you may need to redouble your efforts to serve God. It is instruction that you and everyone around you are more valuable than you can possibly imagine.
God dwells in the light he radiates himself. As it says in Revelation 21:23 “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Plainly, this declares God radiates light. Glorious, Holy, pure light. Now look at 1st John 3:2: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Since we are to be like him, then we too, shall have light imbued upon us. Look at the first part of this verse: “now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.” So what we are now, as we appear now, this is not our final state. Though we have the word of God and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, things which declare we are the sons of God, what we are to become is still hidden from us. What’s left to happen but to become beings of light?
Now see Revelation 22:5. “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” The use of a candle is for the passage of a lone individual or to light a small assembly. To tie the need of a candle together with reigning forever means we shall at times, be about studies or interests or explorations alone. But we won’t need a candle, for as it says, the Lord God giveth them light—and this is the light he will imbue upon and within us. If we shall be like him, and see him as he is, then we must also have light upon us. Moreover, since we are the bride of Christ, he will make us exactly as he is. And these and many other scripture all point out that God radiates light.
An exhaustive study of every scripture in the bible which refers to God exuding light and how we are to become like him is not what I intended this chapter to be. Perhaps a book like that will be written someday. There is certainly more than enough material for one.
In short, I ask you to take my testimony at face value. God has these many times revealed himself to me. Why he was able to is in part due to what I awoke before he brought me to himself. What that was, though it occurred illegally, is I perceived as a luminous being. And that is not possible unless it is an inherit part of our nature.
So I bring this information from a place outside of the will of God, and do now proclaim it is what we are to become. But not all—for only those who escape the destruction of eternal condemnation may receive this gift which God shall bestow upon all his children. Which condemnation is self inflicted—it would be from rejecting Jesus Christ, either before or after coming to him. For it is not possible that imperfection enters heaven—and only redemption can make a man perfect and able to enter. Our perfection must be complete, which is only possible by becoming one with God. And the only way for that to happen is by having Jesus Christ in our heart, who is God. For only through the blood of the Lamb shall any be cleansed of the sin of this world. Only the atonement of Christ’s sacrifice can save us who are born into this world which lies in the lap of the wicked one. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin. And all judgment has been committed to the Son, who is the resurrection and the life.
And though seeing God is perhaps the grandest visitation I have had, it wasn’t the first revelation. That was hearing the voice of Jesus with my natural ears. As you may have guessed, I long to hear his voice again. I can hardly wait. I describe it in the next chapter.
2
The Voice of Jesus
When I accepted God’s free gift of salvation and eternal life through Christ Jesus, I became one of the happiest persons alive. You see, I had ensnared myself in the occult trying to attain some kind of eternal life. I wanted a part of myself to continue forever. I focused upon that specific goal, to the exclusion of most everything else. And stumbling upon that false path of salvation, I saw a way for it to perhaps become possible.
But Jesus had achieved eternal life in a far more excellent way when he conquered death by rising from the dead—after paying my ransom on that cross—because it was not possible that death could hold him. As he said in John 10:18 speaking about his life, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” All I wanted was to continue my awareness past death.
Yet the eternal life God gives us in Christ Jesus is greater than my desire the way a supernova is greater than a . . . match! Worse, my concept was wrong. I was stuck with my eternal soul just like everyone else is, and didn’t even realize it. That part of us is guaranteed to continue forever, which presents a two-fold problem.
The two-fold problem being, everyone’s soul needs to be saved and two, if our soul doesn’t get saved, it’ll wind up in hell. Naturally, that doesn’t take into consideration the age of accountability. But suffice it to say, if you’re wondering if you can get away with sin for a little while longer, it’s time to repent.
Hell is infinitely terribly painful. Remember, it’s a hell made for a real devil. If God would have made hell only for humans that rejected him, I don’t think it would be as bad as it is. But it’s a Devil’s Hell—and for those who side with him—by rejecting Christ Jesus.
Hell I have seen and felt too. It occurred before I gave myself to Christ. Though to be honest, it’s entirely possible that the Lord allowed or even caused me to see it. I told myself four words when I felt hell. I said, “I . . . can’t . . . be . . . here.” I could no more endure it than a piece of paper could be thrown in a furnace and not get burned up. At the time, I was doing a sorcerous experiment with some very dangerous stuff. Though I have good eyes and it was daytime, I went completely blind, but I could still hear and feel everything around me.
And though I couldn’t see, I could still see something, but it wasn’t the world I was sitting in. The world where my body sat I had to grope to find anything. What I could see, was hell. I could feel it, too. Not my body burning, but in my mind, what it’s like to be in that inescapable place. And the inescapability of it is one of its torments. To lift up one’s eyes in hell is to see its un-climbable walls like mountains in the distance. You know there is no way out.
In hindsight, I was being given a foretaste of where I was headed if I didn’t change tracks. It scares me to death to remember how far away I wandered before God rescued me through his matchless grace. Though to be fair, I didn’t realize I had seen hell until months after I got saved.
But the fact is, when I got saved, I was one of the happiest people alive. I probably had a grin on my face twenty-four hours a day. I was ecstatic to receive eternal life from God—and heaven to boot!
One thing I would point out straight away—once a person honestly gives them self to Christ, in faith and obedience, then the Holy Spirit will immediately begin teaching you Jesus. It is critical to feed this process with the word of God, which is the bible. But it’s also Jesus, for he also is the word of God. He is the word of God which became flesh and dwelt among us.
A great error that often occurs here is to begin to look for mistakes in the word of God. Don’t do that. Look instead for his promises which are steps and handholds of power from on high that will lead us up out of this dreary troubled place to everlasting life and truth with love and joy and happiness.
It’s also critical to find a good church. God ordained church for our benefit. There are many, many reasons believers should be in church. It would take a book to explain why. For now, be confident that God ordained church for the believers benefit. It is your responsibility to find a good one. Make sure they believe the whole word of God, which includes being filled with the Spirit and being baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Once a soul gets saved, God’s very presence is the destination and the great reward. Only in his presence will we ever be loved as completely as we need to be. Yet once in his marvelous presence, we don’t hold one thought about ourselves. We are only filled with his infinite nature.
If you just read that and didn’t get excited, it’s because it didn’t register that the word infinite and the word marvelous are applied to the same person. Which also means, he is infinitely marvelous. So marvelous, that once in your grasp, you would never let him go. Yet for now we have the Holy Spirit to teach us—Jesus.
Which begs the question, what’s the difference between being taught about Jesus, verses being taught Jesus? The one is knowledge we put in our brain. With it, if we have enough wisdom, we will turn to this living God, ask his forgiveness, and commit our lives to him. The other is after this event happens, after we have received Jesus Christ. For immediately upon receiving Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to teach us . . . Jesus. And that makes the difference between head knowledge and this knowledge being, he teaches us from the inside out. This is how we all come to know Jesus.
Better yet, his presence is much more than simply being loved—his presence is the great reward. We are created to be able to hold his presence like a sponge holds water. Likewise, once in his presence we will resonate with it. If you’ll allow me to make an analogy, we were created to resonate like a musical instrument when touched by God, and it is something that we feel. And what one feels is God.
Dear believer, the most we ever usually feel is the Holy Spirit. Don’t misunderstand this, but the Holy Spirit isn’t Jesus. The Holy Spirit is just that—he’s the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit may easily be considered a person, just like Jesus is. The Holy Spirit will lead believers into all truth. The Holy Spirit will comfort us in all things. He empowers us. He convicts us. He leads us and guides us and helps us do the will of God. He even restrains evil, in our life and in the world at large. But he isn’t Jesus.
If you can’t believe that, believe this—I know, because I’ve been in the presence of Jesus. The joy of his presence, and the joy in his presence surpasses words to describe the goodness thereof. Once in his presence, I can tell you flat out, every believer will, in one form or another, offer immediate praise. Why? It is the natural thing for a child of God to do.
When Jesus first came to visit me, I wanted to fight the fact he left when he did. I wanted to cry, come back! Come back! Now that it has happened these several times, I just accept it, and relish the bliss I do not deserve.
You see, here’s the secret—we will feel God when we are in paradise. We will feel his presence so thoroughly and so powerfully that to make a comparison, it’s like we’re all vessels which are made to be filled, but until we get in his presence, we’re empty. I would say, none of us are filled yet. All of us are quite empty. Yes, we have the Holy Spirit. But even the bible explains, that is only a down payment. A hint. A tiny sample. A small earnest payment.
What is it that helps us endure all our tribulation? Is it not the Holy Spirit? When we cry in anguish, who comforts us? Isn’t it the Holy Spirit? Whatever hard thing we encounter, since all who would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer, what is it that comforts us? It’s the Holy Spirit. Then it is obvious, while we are here, we will suffer, but when we get to Jesus, our suffering will be done. But that doesn’t even begin to explain what his glorious presence is like.
His presence resonates so powerfully upon us, that until we reach his presence, we are like a musical instrument—one that has never played a note. But when we finally reach his side, our very beings will resonate like a grand piano that the master’s hands have finally touched—for the very first time.
His presence will rivet us to everlasting absolute ecstasy—we will offer lovely praise as his infinite nature engulfs us.
Once in his presence, there will never be any end to everlasting joy and love and peace. I am here to tell you—the rapture of going to heaven will be finding his presence to be everlasting joy.
~
Of the two things that were most astonishing when Jesus spoke to me, the greatest was how intensely I recognized him. If I use for example the person whose voice I would recognize more than anyone else in the world, it might be my earthly father. Ask the same thing yourself. Who is that person whose voice you recognize better than anyone’s? Is it your spouse? Is it the President of the United States? Is it your Pastor? Your Mom? Your Dad? Your child? Your best friend? God forbid, your enemy? Pick anyone you will, it doesn’t matter. Because when I heard the voice of Jesus, I recognized him better than anyone. But that doesn’t describe the magnitude of the difference. That was the truly astonishing part. The shock of how deeply I recognized him was greater than the surprise I felt because he was speaking out loud to me.
So if the person I would most easily recognize were to speak to me from behind my back without me knowing he was there, I could say my ears and my mind and maybe even my heart recognized him. But when Jesus spoke to me, it was as if every cell in my body recognized him. And that isn’t something I even knew was possible. Since when can our cells be aware? Or since when could we know what they are aware of?
So to benchmark it at a flat rate, the next time you hear the voice of Jesus, I say you’ll recognize him one trillion times better than you have ever recognized anyone. I say ‘next time’ because he knew us before we were born. Jeremiah 1:5 states as much. It is so probable that God spoke to us then it should most likely be considered a given. This is in all probability the reason why I recognized his voice with such overwhelming recognition. Because a part of me has known him for longer than I have been alive.
Let me linger on this first aspect. I’d like to expand on what it felt like to hear Christ’s audible voice. This was not the still quiet voice we read about in the scripture. This was not the Holy Spirit, who is that voice. I’d begin by reminding us that our bodies are made up of approximately fifty trillion cells. But for some reason, it’s as if God has appointed that we perceive through only one cell to make it through this life.
I say ‘one cell’ because my sense of self is completely unified. My body supplies me the impression of a unified being. Through the marvelous process of all my cells cooperating, I perceive as an individual. Everyone naturally does this. We automatically sum up this location by calling it ‘I.’
But when Christ spoke to me, my whole body recognized him. It was very much the larger part of me that recognized him. Almost, it was as if I was a spectator, and it was something else that he came to speak to—but that is only almost. For he spoke directly to me, and I hung on every word with delight and love and adoration. His presence commands instantaneous awe, yet his loves tempers that so we may feel the incredible comfort of his love.
And the transitions were seamless as I went from joyously meditating on him to realizing a much greater part of my being recognized him the instant he spoke, to being awestruck by the beauty of his voice, to focusing on the memory of his presence after he left.
There was such joy in recognizing Jesus! It put unspeakable joy and immeasurable comfort in my heart to discover that I knew him so deeply. His Lordship over me covered me in absolute love. His presence was so instantly wonderful, I immediately knew I could never, ever have enough. Certainly, even just his voice is greater than life.
To be in his presence is like being a plant that needs the sunshine, but until I was blessed by his presence, I had never been in sunshine! Thus will it be when each of you, if you are saved, meets our living God.
There is also something else spectacularly wonderful about his voice. His voice is beautiful! If I could hear his voice again, even if he only recited the alphabet, it would enrapture me. I know it. To my sorrow, that is the harder part to recall than the depth of recognition. Just hearing the beauty of his voice was joy unspeakable.
It must be like this: we are now in a dreary world where no one makes it out alive. All suffer. So that is dreary, no? In this world, we have no exposure to true beauty, which is from heaven. But if it were to make itself appear to us, we instantly see it for what it is—heavenly beauty—from the world of heaven, above. We recognize that as easily as we recognize the air we breathe. But we are now temporarily barred from experiencing perfect beauty. But anyone instantly recognizes this when it is revealed to them. Instantly we know that our beauty has been shades of grey—because there is color right in front of us! But until that door is opened, we can’t know this. But the beauty of the Lord’s voice went beyond even that.
Six times to date I have perceived heavenly beauty. Two of those times were before I even got saved. Now how’s that? one might ask. The short answer is, one was seeing the devil, who contrary to popular opinion, hasn’t lost any of the perfect beauty God appointed him at the beginning and two, perceiving and perceiving with my luminosity, which is the same thing angels revealed when their countenance shines like lightning and part of what the Lord revealed when he was transfigured. Neither of these incidents qualifies in the least to be part of the twelve.
Some may ask, why don’t I explain what the devil looks like if I have seen him? The answer to that is I do described what he looks like in my first book, The Faith of Angels. The reason I won’t describe him here is he is not worthy to be described in the same book that speaks of profound mysteries of God. Yes, I know the bible speaks about both God and the devil, but the bible was written by a better author than I am. The last time I saw him, (which is the only time) he still had the perfect beauty God originally appointed him. What I would really like to see is for God to take his perfect beauty back from the devil. For that is the only place Satan got it from, seeing he is a created being. Maybe when God throws the devil in the lake of fire at the last judgment, he will do just that.
The beauty of the luminous body I also detail in The Faith of Angels. But since the way I discovered it was illegal, neither is it worthy to be included as part of the number of things I have received from God. The extent that I explain it here is because I know its validity and because it is part of the reason why I have been allowed to see God. Though it was through illegal entry that I touched that realm, it did not prevent God from saving me from that realm, which also affirms its existence. Saul was the greatest threat to the church and became the greatest Apostle. This information may likewise appear of great threat to the church, but by God’s grace, may it offer the highest inspiration.
And these two ‘sightings’ if you will, hardly compare to the beauty that our Lord is imbued with. That they are more beautiful than anything earthly is a given. That they are more beautiful than anything earthly because they are God’s handiwork—is also a given.
The third time I saw heavenly beauty is when I heard Jesus’ voice out loud. The forth is when I prayed in tongues and the tongue of an angel came out. The fifth is when a holy angel of God visited me as I worshiped God with my guitar. And the sixth time is when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and caused me to see what it looks like to God’s eyes when the body of Christ worships him in the Spirit.
I must add a note—the revelations God has given me from heaven, whether they are of his presence or of something else, have always been limited to a single, specific topic. One thing is isolated to the exclusion of everything else. For instance, when I walked with the Lord as Adam walked with the Lord in the garden, that only did I perceive. The question to pose is, was it beautiful? I could say that it was, but that wasn’t the topic. And I believe it is my limitations that are responsible for the extremely narrow focus of the subject matter during these revelations.
Yet whenever confronted by beauty of heavenly stature, the best of this world becomes like a brown paper sack. The beauty of the Lord’s voice was such that I marvel my ears could receive it. Though that too must be credited to God’s account, for only he has the ability to create something that is able to perceive his beauty. Of the words he spoke, they were for me alone. But to hear his voice again . . . I have longed for that since the day it happened. Only the in-filling of the Holy Spirit keeps me content.
Of his voice, remember this: you have absolutely no idea how deeply you will recognize his voice, and two, the beauty of his voice will be joy unspeakable. Of that you can be sure.
3
An elder of heaven
Although this was a visitation from an elder of heaven, it is not included in the seven. The reason being, elders are not God. Was this elder sent from God? At the time, I didn’t know. I thought it may have been possible he acted on his own. Now, as I write this approximately twenty-four years later, I think God did send him. I believe that now because I’ve grown to understand that God directs his kingdom with Devine and perfect wisdom.
The reason that at one time I thought it was possible the elder acted on his own is due to what he communicated to me. For what he communicated wasn’t information in the usual sense of the word. Rather, he communicated the attitude and perspective he held towards me. And it was this: he rebuked me. He uttered not one word. Only I saw his face like in a vision, partially there. I suppose now would be as good a time as any to clarify what I believe the difference is between visions and visitations.
Jesus, on the mount of transfiguration with Peter, James and John said, “Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.” Matthew 17:9. So Jesus called what happened on the mount of transfiguration a vision.
As to my definition of vision and visitation, what they experienced is what I would call a visitation. When the Father spoke out of the cloud—definitely a visitation. When Moses and Elijah stood with Jesus—anybody can see they were being visited.
But the fact is, Jesus called the visitation a vision. And I believe it was for good reason. I believe Jesus called it a vision because it wasn’t with their ordinary senses that they perceived this event. They witnessed something thoroughly removed from anything they had ever experienced before. And not only was it something they had never before experienced, they also perceived with a part of their perception they had never perceived with before.
God accessed a part of each of them so they could witness this extraordinary event—and the part of their being which it registered upon was so unfamiliar to them that Jesus flatly called what happened a vision. To their ordinary senses, they did have a vision. We may consider this proof that as creatures, there is more to our beings than we are presently aware of. For to receive any ‘vision’ there has to be a receptor. They couldn’t have witnessed this without something within their makeup for it to register upon. Just like a bat needs special ears to hear its own type of sonar, God has created mankind with components that instantly recognize his higher creation. But since we are here in the mundane, working out our salvation with fear and trembling, there is no need for us to access this higher aspect God has put within us.
In actuality I wouldn’t call what happened to Peter, James and John a vision. To me, it couldn’t more obviously be a visitation. But that’s me. Probably, these men never accessed anything within themselves remotely related to what happened at this event. To say they were floored is an understatement. The event so detached them from their ordinary perception that Jesus didn’t bother trying to reconcile them to it. If I were to make light of it I’d say, Jesus patted them on the head and said, ‘tell the vision to no man until I am risen from the dead.’
So what are visions to me? Visions are things I have received that come unbidden and which bring no sense of any other presence. In contrast, when God visits me, the tsunami of his presence over-rolls me—I am lost in one aspect of his goodness—it’s almost like I’ve disintegrated and only feel him. Moreover, I feel him with a totality of my being which has been, up to that moment, 99.999 percent hidden even from myself. In all likelihood, this intensity is linked with trespassing into that realm which God has withheld from man.
Ecstasy is much too bland a word to accurately describe the immeasurable fulfillment God’s presence brings to that higher being.
Yet a vision has only sight.
Which is all to say, if we knew what things God had in store for us when we reach heaven, we would do anything to get there. Just anything at all. Yet God has made it an issue of the heart, and not of works.
Truthfully, God did hand out a free pass to heaven when he gave us his only Son. But we must come on his terms. And his terms are that we are baptized into Christ. I could just as easily say his terms are that we become crucified in Christ, but I don’t want to scare you away. Yet the truth of the matter is, the world is full of Christians who will tell you, it is a good thing to be crucified with Christ! It’s because as we deny the part of our self that loves the world, Christ takes that place. These are the believers who have truly put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
But back to the elder. Why did the elder rebuke me? Let me explain how, first. It was with his countenance. He was angry with me. He let his visage be revealed to me, and as any child would understand an angry look from a parent, I understood this. As to why, I concluded it was due to my impatience over finding a wife. Recently rescued and delivered from a branch of the occult where celibacy was practiced, I earnestly desired a wife. What I should have done instead was more diligently seek first the kingdom of God.
It isn’t enough to give adequate effort about some things—sometimes a believer should give all they’ve got and then reach down deep inside and find some more. In hindsight, if I knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently. Probably many people could say the same thing about their own lives.
Be that as it may, the good part isn’t that I was rebuked by an elder of heaven or that I saw his visage. The good part is how I knew it was an elder of heaven. This is such an excellent thing because it is a foretaste of the glory that is to come. And like seeing heavenly beauty and knowing instantly what it is though having never seen it before, so also did I recognize this higher reality that is far, far greater than the world we now live in.
More important than seeing the elders face or his visage was the fact that I saw what spiritual authority he held over me. I saw ‘positionally’ where an elder of heaven is compared to me. Seeing this far outweighed the sting from his rebuke.
A short detour as to who they are. I’ve heard suggested they are the twelve apostles and the twelve patriarchs. But if that’s the case, how did John the revelator say he saw twenty-four elders, if he was one of them? Wouldn’t he have recognized himself? Or even, shouldn’t it have been impossible for him to be in two places at the same time, so that if he were one of them, there should have been only twenty-three?
Personally though, I don’t think elders are men that were born of women who lived on the earth. I think elders were created just like the angels were created, as beings intended from their inception to serve God in heaven. Since they don’t get out much and since the bible speaks minimally about them, theologians have drawn inaccuracies.
Biblically, angel’s do God’s bidding and minister unto the saints. Apparently, angels assist humans in drawing nearer to God. Matthew 18:10 quotes Jesus as saying, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” ‘Little ones’ is referring to little children. Little children are then issued angels, and their angels do always behold the face of God. Which in itself should stir us to such pangs of love, since angelic beings are easily one million times more sophisticated than we are, yet they are so enraptured by the face of God they do constantly behold it! Would to God more humans would follow their angels to Christ rather than the lies of the devil which lead away from Christ. And Isaiah 53 details the Messiah.
But elders? The arena where elders function is so far above our level we know next to nothing about them. We are planted with sticks and stones and our math is equivalently rooted here. Our elements cannot approach the multifaceted nature of the lines and points which establish, maintain and authorize the elder’s dominion. God tells us, my ways are not your ways. God’s ways are above our ways the way the heavens are above the earth. Likewise, the elders reign at a level so high it is invisible to us. They are like an Air Force jet operating at 100,000 feet. Invisible. It’s almost as if they are God’s Air Force, operating above us at that altitude, while the angels are down here on the ground with us. Thus it isn’t primarily a physical altitude that distinguishes elders from angels, but a spiritual ‘altitude.’