Hearing From The Holy Spirit

There is a regular debate over whether the bible is, or is not, the final arbiter/authority over hearing the whisper of the Holy Spirit.
This debate has been thoroughly hammered back and forth not just in this forum, but in many others I have visited. I try not to get too involved because people from both camps (including me) get a little hot under the collar. However I just wanted to air some fresh thoughts that to date, I haven't seen aired.

The bible vs the Holy Spirit, where does the buck stop?
The answer is neither, because the buck actually stops with me and my ego. I am the one who makes that choice, not God, and I am sure that I have now just offended half the readers, but lets look at some facts.
Whether prophesying or bible teaching, everyone in the body of Christ is subject to pride and or humility in varying levels. It is these two factors that influence the truth more than everything else put together.

Theologians quite rightly fear that false prophets will lead the church astray.
As someone who has a teaching ministry, as well as a prophetic ministry, I understand this, but with my prophet's hat on, I would guess that there are equal or perhaps more congregations being led astray by false teaching than by false prophets. I say this because there are very few churches that claim to be prophet based, rather than bible based.
However in both the prophetic and the teaching ministries it is not the medium being used, but pride that is doing the damage!

1Tim4v1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

I bring this scripture because it is a warning about the teaching of doctrines of demons. ie. it is not directly about prophetics, but about false teachers.
But has anyone noticed something quite significant here. If this is about doctrines of demons, then these teachers must wittingly or unwittingly be hearing demonic whispers among their thoughts, even though they don't even count themselves as prophets.

Anyone wishing to study the bible must do it prayerfully, seeking God for understanding. Unless we do it this way, we will interpret scripture by intellect alone, ie. a Tree of Knowledge interpretation, and we know who inhabits the tree of Knowledge! Vast amounts of theology is academia at work. They can prove anything they want from their bible studies and many do so as Timothy makes clear. Pride means that their ears are closed to truth, even though they might have a doctorate in theology. Unfortunately a doctorate is demanded by many churches before anyone would be considered for a leadership post. There are few examinations to discern what spirit that theologian has been following.

Thus to make scripture alone the arbiter of what the Holy Spirit might whisper is a flawed measure. Unless humility before God is evident, nothing is certain. Everybody, christian and non christian are subject to the realm of the spirit. Those who resist the ministry of the Holy Spirit whispering to people today would be completely deaf and blind to the idea that demons have given them that notion! Thus they certainly do hear in the spirit, just the wrong spirit, otherwise doctrines of demons would be impossible. The prime reason for this, is pride!

One final afterthought. Here we see Peter's reaction to a vision sent by the Holy Spirit.
Acts10v9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”


15The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.


Here we see Peter receiving a vision. Falling back on scriptural authority to interpret the vision, then rejecting the vision three times. God had to overrule Peter's comprehension of scripture.
So we see that the Holy Spirit trumps scripture at times, or at least what we personally believe of scripture, and that's the problem.
If I understand you correctly, you are saying that humility in the person teaching the scriptures needs to be evident in order for us to be able to trust that the message is being conveyed by the Holy Spirit. If this is the case then how do we accurately determine if this person is humble or not?
 
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If I understand you correctly, you are saying that humility in the person teaching the scriptures needs to be evident in order for us to be able to trust that the message is being conveyed by the Holy Spirit. If this is the case then how do we accurately determine if this person is humble or not?
Haha, that's the problem isn't it?
As I implied, whether teacher or prophet, anyone can lead a congregation astray, and they do all over the globe.
But God is an amazing Father, and he alone will lead his people by the Holy Spirit into all truth.
That is why the prime responsibility of all ministries is to get people personally in tune with the leading of the Holy Spirit and with what scripture reveals, rather than in tune with men and following them. But that is another subject for another time.
 
If I understand you correctly, you are saying that humility in the person teaching the scriptures needs to be evident in order for us to be able to trust that the message is being conveyed by the Holy Spirit. If this is the case then how do we accurately determine if this person is humble or not?

Well, what d'yer know. I found this interesting thread started by a guy called Mykuhl! Reckon he's on to something.
"I would like to know if there is anywhere in the bible that says that either satan can or can not read minds? I don't remember reading anything either way. If he can't read minds then how can he speak words into your mind and have them sound like your own thoughts, when you and God are the only ones that know what the voice of your thoughts sound like?"

Go check it out, its an interesting thread.
If Satan and his demonic aids cannot engage in mental conversations with humanity, there would not be doctrines of demons to worry about would there?

 
Hi, I'm new here and Jewish, and a bit nervous of posting my experiences so please try and be understanding as I don't know all the different terms am still trying to learn more about it and what happened.
I've always seen spirit though never knew what it was.
When I was very young, maybe 5 or 6, a man would come on the TV when my parents were watching the news and he would talk to me, he told me what life would be like on earth and that people are mean and told me not to change because they can be mean. I used to answer him by speaking out loud and he told me that I had to speak to him with my thoughts or my mom would take me to a shrink, I tried to 'think' my replies as often as I could but would talk normally, he said he would have to go away if I didn't coz of mom and one day mom asked me who I was talking too and said if I didn't stop she would take me to a psychiatrist, the man didn't come back on the TV after that.
When in a religious Jewish day school in preschool, jesus would sit at the end of my 'nap time' stretcher bed and talk to me, just like the man on TV, one day he stopped coming and I asked the teacher where the man was, being a religious girls school men weren't allowed and it caused some confusion about the man sneaking in.
When I was in my 30's I saw Jesus for the first time as an adult, he was standing at the entrance to my apartments and was as real as you and me, he had a crown of thorns and his palms were facing me, there were no marks or scars on his hands or feet, he was about 10 inches above the floor and had a beautiful white aura around him that was a couple feet wide and started about a foot from his body, I didn't know why I was seeing him coz I am Jewish and he didn't say anything so I shrugged my shoulders and went upstairs and had a shower, in the shower I saw a hand reaching out to me and I touched it, when I did I fainted and had about 300 stitches in my forehead as I landed on tiles, I was concused for a year and have had a circle of broken capillaries on my left foot since, it was about 12 - 14 years ago, I'm not sure the exact date coz it didn't mean much to me at the time, I thought I should have being seeing Moses or Abraham.
Last year I saw him again, I was meditating and suddenly I saw clouds spinning around like in a vortex and Jesus came out of them and held my head in his hands in the clouds and said 'please don't listen to the bad people', I promised I wouldn't, later on in the shower I saw him again standing in front of me and the love I felt from him made me cry, it was so strong and so real I didn't know what to do, it was in everything, everything cell, everything, not like the love we feel which is directed at a person or an object, this was an all encompassing love. He told me to 'read revelation chapter 2' and 'read the new testament' and said 'you are witnessing prophesy' and 'it is written', he told me to tell people that I am a Jew and I have seen Jesus Christ and to say that I am a Jew and I have been taken by Jesus Christ.
I've been scared ever since and am very nervous talking about it here.
Please understand that I am not lying and I'm scared people will hate me and not believe me or be negative about it because I'm Jewish.
I only wish people well and he told me to teach what I have learned.
 
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Hi, I'm new here and Jewish, and a bit nervous of posting my experiences so please try and be understanding as I don't know all the different terms am still trying to learn more about it and what happened.
I've always seen spirit though never knew what it was.
When I was very young, maybe 5 or 6, a man would come on the TV when my parents were watching the news and he would talk to me, he told me what life would be like on earth and that people are mean and told me not to change because they can be mean. I used to answer him by speaking out loud and he told me that I had to speak to him with my thoughts or my mom would take me to a shrink, I tried to 'think' my replies as often as I could but would talk normally, he said he would have to go away if I didn't coz of mom and one day mom asked me who I was talking too and said if I didn't stop she would take me to a psychiatrist, the man didn't come back on the TV after that.
When in a religious Jewish day school in preschool, jesus would sit at the end of my 'nap time' stretcher bed and talk to me, just like the man on TV, one day he stopped coming and I asked the teacher where the man was, being a religious girls school men weren't allowed and it caused some confusion about the man sneaking in.
When I was in my 30's I saw Jesus for the first time as an adult, he was standing at the entrance to my apartments and was as real as you and me, he had a crown of thorns and his palms were facing me, there were no marks or scars on his hands or feet, he was about 10 inches above the floor and had a beautiful white aura around him that was a couple feet wide and started about a foot from his body, I didn't know why I was seeing him coz I am Jewish and he didn't say anything so I shrugged my shoulders and went upstairs and had a shower, in the shower I saw a hand reaching out to me and I touched it, when I did I fainted and had about 300 stitches in my forehead as I landed on tiles, I was concused for a year and have had a circle of broken capillaries on my left foot since, it was about 12 - 14 years ago, I'm not sure the exact date coz it didn't mean much to me at the time, I thought I should have being seeing Moses or Abraham.
Last year I saw him again, I was meditating and suddenly I saw clouds spinning around like in a vortex and Jesus came out of them and held my head in his hands in the clouds and said 'please don't listen to the bad people', I promised I wouldn't, later on in the shower I saw him again standing in front of me and the love I felt from him made me cry, it was so strong and so real I didn't know what to do, it was in everything, everything cell, everything, not like the love we feel which is directed at a person or an object, this was an all encompassing love. He told me to 'read revelation chapter 2' and 'read the new testament' and said 'you are witnessing prophesy' and 'it is written', he told me to tell people that I am a Jew and I have seen Jesus Christ and to say that I am a Jew and I have been taken by Jesus Christ.
I've been scared ever since and am very nervous talking about it here.
Please understand that I am not lying and I'm scared people will hate me and not believe me or be negative about it because I'm Jewish.
I only wish people well and he told me to teach what I have learned.

Welcome softly! Blessings
Wow, what an awesome testimony! Thank You for being obedient to God and sharing it. May the Lord richly bless your obedience with an abundance of grace and peace! I pray that you will continue to write and share with us all!
 
Welcome softly! Blessings
Wow, what an awesome testimony! Thank You for being obedient to God and sharing it. May the Lord richly bless your obedience with an abundance of grace and peace! I pray that you will continue to write and share with us all!
Thank you so much, I came on to delete the comment because I've been nervous all day about posting it and telling people about what's happened and your beautiful warm welcome is so kind and lovely it made me smile, thank you again, so much.
 
Thank you so much, I came on to delete the comment because I've been nervous all day about posting it and telling people about what's happened and your beautiful warm welcome is so kind and lovely it made me smile, thank you again, so much.
Welcome Softly, it is so good to have you here. But please please do not delete your comment, as it is extremely valid and interesting.
I myself had various experiences of the Holy Spirit decades before I read a bible or surrendered my life to the Lord. The same is true for my wife who encountered the Lord as a tiny child.
What you have written may well challenge some people because it is outside their own spiritual or theological experience or knowledge, but don't let that disturb you.
There are also those who are adamant that all such spiritual experiences and all gifts of the Holy Spirit stopped, once the last book of the bible was completed. They miss the fact that the bible was only available to a tiny sector of mankind, and for the rest, personal intervention of the Holy Spirit would be their only contact with God.
 
Welcome Softly, it is so good to have you here. But please please do not delete your comment, as it is extremely valid and interesting.
I myself had various experiences of the Holy Spirit decades before I read a bible or surrendered my life to the Lord. The same is true for my wife who encountered the Lord as a tiny child.
What you have written may well challenge some people because it is outside their own spiritual or theological experience or knowledge, but don't let that disturb you.
There are also those who are adamant that all such spiritual experiences and all gifts of the Holy Spirit stopped, once the last book of the bible was completed. They miss the fact that the bible was only available to a tiny sector of mankind, and for the rest, personal intervention of the Holy Spirit would be their only contact with God.
Thank you so much for your support, I am really scared of speaking about it and hearing your generous words and explanations is really helpful to me, and I am so grateful to you for that. I told a rabbi/world renown Kabbalist and he said it fit in with the Old Testament and that I was delusional and then by accident a catholic priest, I didn't know he was catholic when I approached him in the street, I thought all priests wore a black and white neck thing, he didn't know revelation and I even showed him the red mark on my foot and he didn't even read revelation after I showed him or has wanted to speak to me afterwards.
The people that say that all gifts of God have stopped haven't marvelled in their own existence, and they are so wrong about all spiritual experiences having stopped, I've lived with spirit all my life, I remember watching my father before I was born, looking down through the clouds and watching him, he had already been chosen for me but I wanted to see who he was and I saw a good man and was happy with the choice, he is a wonderful dad, the best dad, I love him dearly. There is no more absolute than the very real existence of spirit, it is my reality and I don't know life without spirit, I would have no life without spirit, I would feel empty and dead inside, life wouldn't have the same beauty and awe it has given me. Spirit has also warned me I would get cancer before I turned 30 and by a sequence of lucky events I ended up at the right surgeon for the right body part and he said there was no reason he could see that I should worry but he had a bad feeling and told me to be in surgery within the week and he found tumours and said I was the luckiest person to ever walk into his office, a couple more months and it would have been a different story. I have asked spirit all sorts of questions and seen the most awe inspiring visions all my life and when I meditate I often leave my body, the first time I did, leave my body, I ended up in the middle of the universe with planets and stars all around me and then millions of stars came towards me and created the shape of a perfect eye, it was magnificent. To say all spiritual experiences are gone is the most wrong thing anyone can say and I wouldn't even argue with them, I'd just love them for who they are, it's not my job to convince people of spirit, and walk away.
This is very hard for me to tell anyone, I am so very scared and nervous of posting this but he told me to teach what I had learned when I saw him and we spoke, and I don't know what that is besides Jesus is the messiah/God, I've been speaking to him all my life and never knew who it was, that he is angry I didn't know it was him, and that we are the generation of his return, though I don't know if it's in 10 years or 10 months but I know it's this generation, absolutely.
I get so overwhelmed inside thinking about it I feel light headed sometimes and have to do something else to distract me so I don't think about it.
 
Hello Softly
I am new to this forum also - this is my first post.
I would just like to say that your post encouraged me because you believe there is a spirit world. I have encountered people, even in church, who have not believed there is a spirit world (good or bad). They think there is just church and the Bible, and that spiritual stuff is for after death.

But I have had experiences as you have. When I was aged three I would have visions of heaven. I called them "think-dreams" because they were like dreams (came unbidden and not in my control) and yet they were in the daytime.

My parents were not Christians and so I had no experience of church or God or anything. Yet in these visions I was in heaven and met with Jesus/God. I knew it was Him, although I knew nothing about Him. In one vision He took me to the heavenly city, where all the walls were precious stones and there were houses built into the walls.

On another occasion I had a vision where He took me to a place outside the walls of the city and opened a chest made of mother-of-pearl shell. He told me to choose a weapon from inside the chest. I do not remember seeing any weapons or even properly understanding what a weapon was. I don't actually remember taking anything into my hands either. I only knew I was to have something that would help me, because I would have to fight the "bad boy" (this was Satan, but as a child I wouldn't have understood that, so Jesus called him the "bad boy").

From there, I was taken to another place. I can only describe it as below heaven and above earth. The "bad boy" had a lot of people there, tied up in chains. I stood in front of the "bad boy" and told him off (in other words, my words were the weapon I used). As a result, the people in chains were set free.

There were other visions but I won't repeat them all here! I know how old I was when these happened because I remember my mum taking me to her friend's house for a meal. Her friend's son refused to eat his peas and his mother said he was a bad boy for not eating them. I sat there thinking, "But he's not the 'bad boy'!" - and the last time we saw that family was when I was aged three and a half.

My mother - and most other people - dismissed my visions as if they were something I made up, so I learned not to talk about them.

When I was in my late teens, I joined a church youth group. During that time I was given a Bible and one day happened to read a bit of Revelation. When I read about the heavenly city I just KNEW the Bible was true because I had been there, to that city. When I told others at the church about the visions they reacted by being very wary of me. So I learned not to talk about what I'd seen to other people at all, even though I committed my life to Jesus partly because of the visions.

In recent years, though, I have met a number of people who have had similar experiences, and have been encouraged to share my own. I believe other people have experiences of the spirit world too.

People in many countries that do not share our Judeo/Christian heritage accept that there is a spirit realm (although often they experience the negative/evil side of it). But it makes it easier for them to take hold of the idea of the Holy Spirit and thus seek God.

When I talk about "spirit realm" I'm referring to the heaven of God. But there is a more overall sense in which the spirit realm includes Satan's territory too. (In my vision Satan was not in the highest heaven, but nor was he on earth, and in the book of Job it seems Satan can come before the throne of God).

People can dabble in the spirit realm (witches, those who believe in demons as some do in India, etc) but it doesn't mean they are Christian or that all aspects of the spirit realm are inherently good. I just wanted to say that, so there is no confusion about what I'm saying.

I believe it is important that, as believers, we continually seek God to discern what is of Him and what is not. I have found that the enemy can sound extremely reasonable at times!!! This is why it is important to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit as a way of life.

Isilme
 
Thank you so much for your support, I am really scared of speaking about it and hearing your generous words and explanations is really helpful to me, and I am so grateful to you for that. I told a rabbi/world renown Kabbalist and he said it fit in with the Old Testament and that I was delusional and then by accident a catholic priest, I didn't know he was catholic when I approached him in the street, I thought all priests wore a black and white neck thing, he didn't know revelation and I even showed him the red mark on my foot and he didn't even read revelation after I showed him or has wanted to speak to me afterwards.
The people that say that all gifts of God have stopped haven't marvelled in their own existence, and they are so wrong about all spiritual experiences having stopped, I've lived with spirit all my life, I remember watching my father before I was born, looking down through the clouds and watching him, he had already been chosen for me but I wanted to see who he was and I saw a good man and was happy with the choice, he is a wonderful dad, the best dad, I love him dearly. There is no more absolute than the very real existence of spirit, it is my reality and I don't know life without spirit, I would have no life without spirit, I would feel empty and dead inside, life wouldn't have the same beauty and awe it has given me. Spirit has also warned me I would get cancer before I turned 30 and by a sequence of lucky events I ended up at the right surgeon for the right body part and he said there was no reason he could see that I should worry but he had a bad feeling and told me to be in surgery within the week and he found tumours and said I was the luckiest person to ever walk into his office, a couple more months and it would have been a different story. I have asked spirit all sorts of questions and seen the most awe inspiring visions all my life and when I meditate I often leave my body, the first time I did, leave my body, I ended up in the middle of the universe with planets and stars all around me and then millions of stars came towards me and created the shape of a perfect eye, it was magnificent. To say all spiritual experiences are gone is the most wrong thing anyone can say and I wouldn't even argue with them, I'd just love them for who they are, it's not my job to convince people of spirit, and walk away.
This is very hard for me to tell anyone, I am so very scared and nervous of posting this but he told me to teach what I had learned when I saw him and we spoke, and I don't know what that is besides Jesus is the messiah/God, I've been speaking to him all my life and never knew who it was, that he is angry I didn't know it was him, and that we are the generation of his return, though I don't know if it's in 10 years or 10 months but I know it's this generation, absolutely.
I get so overwhelmed inside thinking about it I feel light headed sometimes and have to do something else to distract me so I don't think about it.

Softly,
All mankind are made up of body, soul, and spirit.
Today, because of the materialistic modern world, most people deny all things spiritual. Even religious people place their intellectual reason above spiritual revelation, and that includes Christians.
It is the same for everybody that spiritual revelation can only be discerned by their own human spirit, and not the brain. No amount of intellectual brain activity will discern spiritual things.

However, the spiritual realm itself also includes Satan and his territory, and Satan is a master of disguise and deception. Therefore you must be always on guard for that, and the only place you can get wisdom for such things is to ask God for it.
Ask God, your creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ask for wisdom because he promises wisdom to all who ask for it.

James 1v5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
 
Hi, I'm new here and Jewish, and a bit nervous of posting my experiences so please try and be understanding as I don't know all the different terms am still trying to learn more about it and what happened.
I've always seen spirit though never knew what it was.
When I was very young, maybe 5 or 6, a man would come on the TV when my parents were watching the news and he would talk to me, he told me what life would be like on earth and that people are mean and told me not to change because they can be mean. I used to answer him by speaking out loud and he told me that I had to speak to him with my thoughts or my mom would take me to a shrink, I tried to 'think' my replies as often as I could but would talk normally, he said he would have to go away if I didn't coz of mom and one day mom asked me who I was talking too and said if I didn't stop she would take me to a psychiatrist, the man didn't come back on the TV after that.
When in a religious Jewish day school in preschool, jesus would sit at the end of my 'nap time' stretcher bed and talk to me, just like the man on TV, one day he stopped coming and I asked the teacher where the man was, being a religious girls school men weren't allowed and it caused some confusion about the man sneaking in.
When I was in my 30's I saw Jesus for the first time as an adult, he was standing at the entrance to my apartments and was as real as you and me, he had a crown of thorns and his palms were facing me, there were no marks or scars on his hands or feet, he was about 10 inches above the floor and had a beautiful white aura around him that was a couple feet wide and started about a foot from his body, I didn't know why I was seeing him coz I am Jewish and he didn't say anything so I shrugged my shoulders and went upstairs and had a shower, in the shower I saw a hand reaching out to me and I touched it, when I did I fainted and had about 300 stitches in my forehead as I landed on tiles, I was concused for a year and have had a circle of broken capillaries on my left foot since, it was about 12 - 14 years ago, I'm not sure the exact date coz it didn't mean much to me at the time, I thought I should have being seeing Moses or Abraham.
Last year I saw him again, I was meditating and suddenly I saw clouds spinning around like in a vortex and Jesus came out of them and held my head in his hands in the clouds and said 'please don't listen to the bad people', I promised I wouldn't, later on in the shower I saw him again standing in front of me and the love I felt from him made me cry, it was so strong and so real I didn't know what to do, it was in everything, everything cell, everything, not like the love we feel which is directed at a person or an object, this was an all encompassing love. He told me to 'read revelation chapter 2' and 'read the new testament' and said 'you are witnessing prophesy' and 'it is written', he told me to tell people that I am a Jew and I have seen Jesus Christ and to say that I am a Jew and I have been taken by Jesus Christ.
I've been scared ever since and am very nervous talking about it here.
Please understand that I am not lying and I'm scared people will hate me and not believe me or be negative about it because I'm Jewish.
I only wish people well and he told me to teach what I have learned.

We are living in days where both Jews and Muslims are coming to Christ in record numbers, and not only that, but they are doing so by personal revelation and actual God-given visions. Your early experiences seem questionable to me, as Jesus Christ will never permit us to remain fearful, but confident, nor would He cause us to sustain a bodily injury, for He would never allow harm to come to us, so being concussed for a year is not a good sign.

If you will read the New Testament and believe what you are reading as from God to you personally, you will indeed meet the Saviour, Jesus Christ, your Messiah! I do believe that the Lord Jesus is wooing you, and that is right where you will find His wonderful message of God's truth and grace for you!

That said, welcome, Softly, to CFS, and I pray you will continue with us and feel free to ask questions as we will endeavour to fill you in from the word of God!

 
Hello Softly
I am new to this forum also - this is my first post.
I would just like to say that your post encouraged me because you believe there is a spirit world. I have encountered people, even in church, who have not believed there is a spirit world (good or bad). They think there is just church and the Bible, and that spiritual stuff is for after death.

But I have had experiences as you have. When I was aged three I would have visions of heaven. I called them "think-dreams" because they were like dreams (came unbidden and not in my control) and yet they were in the daytime.

My parents were not Christians and so I had no experience of church or God or anything. Yet in these visions I was in heaven and met with Jesus/God. I knew it was Him, although I knew nothing about Him. In one vision He took me to the heavenly city, where all the walls were precious stones and there were houses built into the walls.

On another occasion I had a vision where He took me to a place outside the walls of the city and opened a chest made of mother-of-pearl shell. He told me to choose a weapon from inside the chest. I do not remember seeing any weapons or even properly understanding what a weapon was. I don't actually remember taking anything into my hands either. I only knew I was to have something that would help me, because I would have to fight the "bad boy" (this was Satan, but as a child I wouldn't have understood that, so Jesus called him the "bad boy").

From there, I was taken to another place. I can only describe it as below heaven and above earth. The "bad boy" had a lot of people there, tied up in chains. I stood in front of the "bad boy" and told him off (in other words, my words were the weapon I used). As a result, the people in chains were set free.

There were other visions but I won't repeat them all here! I know how old I was when these happened because I remember my mum taking me to her friend's house for a meal. Her friend's son refused to eat his peas and his mother said he was a bad boy for not eating them. I sat there thinking, "But he's not the 'bad boy'!" - and the last time we saw that family was when I was aged three and a half.

My mother - and most other people - dismissed my visions as if they were something I made up, so I learned not to talk about them.

When I was in my late teens, I joined a church youth group. During that time I was given a Bible and one day happened to read a bit of Revelation. When I read about the heavenly city I just KNEW the Bible was true because I had been there, to that city. When I told others at the church about the visions they reacted by being very wary of me. So I learned not to talk about what I'd seen to other people at all, even though I committed my life to Jesus partly because of the visions.

In recent years, though, I have met a number of people who have had similar experiences, and have been encouraged to share my own. I believe other people have experiences of the spirit world too.

People in many countries that do not share our Judeo/Christian heritage accept that there is a spirit realm (although often they experience the negative/evil side of it). But it makes it easier for them to take hold of the idea of the Holy Spirit and thus seek God.

When I talk about "spirit realm" I'm referring to the heaven of God. But there is a more overall sense in which the spirit realm includes Satan's territory too. (In my vision Satan was not in the highest heaven, but nor was he on earth, and in the book of Job it seems Satan can come before the throne of God).

People can dabble in the spirit realm (witches, those who believe in demons as some do in India, etc) but it doesn't mean they are Christian or that all aspects of the spirit realm are inherently good. I just wanted to say that, so there is no confusion about what I'm saying.

I believe it is important that, as believers, we continually seek God to discern what is of Him and what is not. I have found that the enemy can sound extremely reasonable at times!!! This is why it is important to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit as a way of life.

Isilme

Welcome Isilme to cfs! Thank You for sharing your experiences as well. I really enjoyed reading your post and agree with you fully. I have not had the kind of experiences that you or @Softly have had, but have demonic dreams. I am so blessed to see you both here and being apart of this forum! If you need anything feel free to pm me :)
 
Thank you so much, I came on to delete the comment because I've been nervous all day about posting it and telling people about what's happened and your beautiful warm welcome is so kind and lovely it made me smile, thank you again, so much.

If you need anything...please feel free to pm me. I am realoy glad that you have chosen to stay. Lots of wonderful and loving people in here!
Blessings
 
Hello Softly
I am new to this forum also - this is my first post.
I would just like to say that your post encouraged me because you believe there is a spirit world. I have encountered people, even in church, who have not believed there is a spirit world (good or bad). They think there is just church and the Bible, and that spiritual stuff is for after death.

But I have had experiences as you have. When I was aged three I would have visions of heaven. I called them "think-dreams" because they were like dreams (came unbidden and not in my control) and yet they were in the daytime.

My parents were not Christians and so I had no experience of church or God or anything. Yet in these visions I was in heaven and met with Jesus/God. I knew it was Him, although I knew nothing about Him. In one vision He took me to the heavenly city, where all the walls were precious stones and there were houses built into the walls.

On another occasion I had a vision where He took me to a place outside the walls of the city and opened a chest made of mother-of-pearl shell. He told me to choose a weapon from inside the chest. I do not remember seeing any weapons or even properly understanding what a weapon was. I don't actually remember taking anything into my hands either. I only knew I was to have something that would help me, because I would have to fight the "bad boy" (this was Satan, but as a child I wouldn't have understood that, so Jesus called him the "bad boy").

From there, I was taken to another place. I can only describe it as below heaven and above earth. The "bad boy" had a lot of people there, tied up in chains. I stood in front of the "bad boy" and told him off (in other words, my words were the weapon I used). As a result, the people in chains were set free.

There were other visions but I won't repeat them all here! I know how old I was when these happened because I remember my mum taking me to her friend's house for a meal. Her friend's son refused to eat his peas and his mother said he was a bad boy for not eating them. I sat there thinking, "But he's not the 'bad boy'!" - and the last time we saw that family was when I was aged three and a half.

My mother - and most other people - dismissed my visions as if they were something I made up, so I learned not to talk about them.

When I was in my late teens, I joined a church youth group. During that time I was given a Bible and one day happened to read a bit of Revelation. When I read about the heavenly city I just KNEW the Bible was true because I had been there, to that city. When I told others at the church about the visions they reacted by being very wary of me. So I learned not to talk about what I'd seen to other people at all, even though I committed my life to Jesus partly because of the visions.

In recent years, though, I have met a number of people who have had similar experiences, and have been encouraged to share my own. I believe other people have experiences of the spirit world too.

People in many countries that do not share our Judeo/Christian heritage accept that there is a spirit realm (although often they experience the negative/evil side of it). But it makes it easier for them to take hold of the idea of the Holy Spirit and thus seek God.

When I talk about "spirit realm" I'm referring to the heaven of God. But there is a more overall sense in which the spirit realm includes Satan's territory too. (In my vision Satan was not in the highest heaven, but nor was he on earth, and in the book of Job it seems Satan can come before the throne of God).

People can dabble in the spirit realm (witches, those who believe in demons as some do in India, etc) but it doesn't mean they are Christian or that all aspects of the spirit realm are inherently good. I just wanted to say that, so there is no confusion about what I'm saying.

I believe it is important that, as believers, we continually seek God to discern what is of Him and what is not. I have found that the enemy can sound extremely reasonable at times!!! This is why it is important to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit as a way of life.

Isilme
Thank you so much for sharing your visions, I haven't seen the holy city as you have and find it fascinating and loved reading about them, what wonderful visions you've had, thank you again and please continue to share any other visions.
 
Softly,
All mankind are made up of body, soul, and spirit.
Today, because of the materialistic modern world, most people deny all things spiritual. Even religious people place their intellectual reason above spiritual revelation, and that includes Christians.
It is the same for everybody that spiritual revelation can only be discerned by their own human spirit, and not the brain. No amount of intellectual brain activity will discern spiritual things.

However, the spiritual realm itself also includes Satan and his territory, and Satan is a master of disguise and deception. Therefore you must be always on guard for that, and the only place you can get wisdom for such things is to ask God for it.
Ask God, your creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ask for wisdom because he promises wisdom to all who ask for it.

James 1v5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Yes, I do agree with you, we are taught that spiritual things are nonsense or crazy and science has the answers. I walked away from all formal and informal religions when I was teenager, I was upset at the disrespect shown in shule (shule is a Jewish church), to me it was a house of worship for a god and when you were there you worshiped that God, not gossip or dress to impress and it disturbed me that rabbis spoke and prayed in Hebrew without explaining anything to an English congregation and thought it was wrong.
My spirituality is mine and I only ever wanted to know the truth as there was so many different religions and sects and theories yet no one that called themselves a guru or leader actually saw or spoke to spirit, they only recited the words of another who had no experience with spirit and them the person before them who had their own ideas about spirit but again no direct experience. I've seen reality. I believe that communication with spirit is our natural state.
I am not a very wise person, I agree, I wish I had some form of wisdom but also rejected wisdom (as well as teachings) as it seemed a false pretence and an easy way to fool even wise people with things that don't actually make sense, they just sound wise. Maybe wisdom is an open mind and a willingness to be wrong and to be foolish enough to see perfection in every living being and every human being and having a compassion for them that makes you only smile kindly when you see them, an understanding of people that can only allow you to truly accept them and never judge them, as either good or bad, just know that they are human beings and have lived their own life and have their own experiences and their own interpretation and ways of dealing with these experiences.
I believe wisdom is a simple heart and an open heart, a grateful way of being, of loving without having to be loved, giving without expectation, giving because it feels good even when you don't have much to give.
 
We are living in days where both Jews and Muslims are coming to Christ in record numbers, and not only that, but they are doing so by personal revelation and actual God-given visions. Your early experiences seem questionable to me, as Jesus Christ will never permit us to remain fearful, but confident, nor would He cause us to sustain a bodily injury, for He would never allow harm to come to us, so being concussed for a year is not a good sign.

If you will read the New Testament and believe what you are reading as from God to you personally, you will indeed meet the Saviour, Jesus Christ, your Messiah! I do believe that the Lord Jesus is wooing you, and that is right where you will find His wonderful message of God's truth and grace for you!

That said, welcome, Softly, to CFS, and I pray you will continue with us and feel free to ask questions as we will endeavour to fill you in from the word of God!

Thank you for expressing your concerns, they are valuable to me and I am grateful that you can be open and honest with me.
I can't quote the bible or verses, I've read most of it but it upsets me too much to read how angry God is with the Jewish people and how in his wrath and fury he is going hurt them for hurting him, and, then I cried reading it because I realised God is also a human being (we are made in his image) and he has feelings just like we do and he hurts just like we do, maybe he even hurts more sometimes, and then we judge him saying what he is and what he is not and what he can do and what he can't do as though we know his thoughts and they are just like ours.
 
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