The Truth and Spiritual Blindness
Hi Friends,
Today I am writing about three visions that were given all within minutes of each other. I believe that each of them speaks of an aspect of not seeing or appreciating what is important.
Jesus spoke often in parables. He told stories and gave examples to explain spiritual concepts, but they were not always easily discerned. His disciples came up to him one day, and asked him why he did so. He replied:
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Matthew 13:13-16
What the Lord is describing is spiritual blindness, an inability to perceive truth. Today, communication and commentary is full of deception, purposeful misconceptions, and out right lies. It is obvious in some cases to see through the lies, but when it comes to spiritual truths, many can be deceived.
In the last days, when wickedness reaches its full measure, God himself will send a powerful delusion so that people will believe the lie. “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
The Visions
First I saw a person lift up a zippered black bag by its strap and place it on a table. The bag was rectangular about 9”L x 6”W x 7”H. The person was about ready to open the bag but the vision ended, before the contents were revealed.
Next, I saw a tall man get up from the ground and lumber forward towards me. But I noticed that he did not see me, but went past as if I were not there.
Then I saw a Bible on a high shelf, inside a tall bookcase with glass doors. The bookcase was lit by a directional ceiling light, whose light fell directly upon the Bible.
What I believe the visions mean:
The Black Bag
In the first vision, I saw a person lifting a bag by its strap and placing it on a table. This reminded me of security officers in an airport or government building who stop everyone with a bag to look inside for any dangerous personal items: a gun, a knife, a can of mace, explosives etc.
But before the bag could be opened, the vision ended.
The vision also reminded me of packing bags for a trip. The zippered bag was the size of a man’s ditty bag to carry toiletries. However, because it had a shoulder strap, it could have been a bag for a woman. It might have been a bag for a camera, or an instrument or technical device.
But what is important here is not what might have been in the bag. What I believe is important, is the fact that the vision ended before anything could be seen. What this vision shows is a sudden interruption.
The rapture of the Church is one such sudden interruption. Everyday life proceeds as usual, until suddenly, people are lifted up from the ground and changed, in a twinkling of the eye. It is the Lord who comes for his bride, the Church, who lifts them up, to meet him in the air.
Yet there were other “suddenlies” which also came to mind. These have more to do with judgment. The following are a few examples.
The Lord’s parable about a rich man:
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21
In a way, even the rapture of the Church mentioned before is a “suddenly” for those left behind. Everyone who remains on earth for some portion of the tribulation period after this “suddenly,” will experience the terrible wrath of God.
There are two other New Testament judgments that were also “suddenlies.”
Ananias and Sapphira were each given an opportunity to tell the truth regarding a monetary gift they presented to the church, after the sale of their home. But instead they each chose to lie to Peter and the Holy Spirit. As a result they suddenly died and fell to the ground. The young men were called in to carry them away and bury them.
Another “suddenly” was the death of Herod. He allowed foreign visitors to glorify him as a god, and did not correct them, so as to tell the truth and give glory to the one and only true God. He suddenly died right on the spot and was eaten by worms. Judgment by God is a fearful thing.
The person in the vision was preparing to look inside a bag, to inspect it, to pack it, to remove an item from it… We don’t know. But suddenly, without any warning the end of the vision came. And for each of us as individuals, or as a group, the end may come for us quite suddenly. We must be prepared to meet the Lord whenever that may take place.
The Staggering Man
The next vision was of a tall man who got up from the ground and staggered forward. He did not walk in an upright posture, but seemed to lumber, as if ready to stumble. He walked towards me, and then passed me, without seeing me.
The man was unaware of his placement in space. He had eyes to see, but failed to see. I was there, but he did not acknowledge my presence. At any moment, I expected him to fall.
As in the examples above, this man was not aware of the ramifications of his actions. His posture said it all. He was not upright.
The first psalm compares the life and ways of an upright man, to the life and ways of those who are not upright, the wicked:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1:1-6
Again, we see that the upright are blessed: “His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.” Psalm 112:2
We need to pray for those who do not see the error of their ways. So many people are lost. They do not know God, and they do not recognize their need for a savior. But they will remain lost until someone like ourselves introduces Jesus to our loved ones, friends, families, neighbors and co-workers. He declares: “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
The time is short, a “suddenly,” may be just around the corner.
The Bible
The last vision is of a Bible on display in a bookcase. It is behind a closed glass door. Even though the light is shining on the Bible, making it visible to whomever looks up at the shelf, it does not appear to be used.
Shouldn’t the Bible be placed on a table, where someone can pick it up and read it. Shouldn’t the Bible be placed on a night table next to the bed, so that one could pick it up in the morning or read it before bed. Shouldn’t we read the Bible so as to be aware of the Lord’s revealed will? We don’t want to be like Ananias and Sapphira who had no fear of God. Who did not understand the importance of truth, but rather chose to deceive others to glorify themselves. “For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” John 12:43
The Bible is given to us to lead us in the Lord’s ways. If we have the Holy Spirit as a tutor, he will reveal even the hidden things. “He will glorify me by taking from what is mine and disclosing it to you.” John 16:14
There is no reason why a believer should live in darkness, yet deception is all around us, for the days are wicked. If we know the Word of God, it will keep us safe from false teachers, false prophets, and those who teach what they do not understand. I just wrote about this topic recently in a post I entitled: “Freedom in Christ.” I hope you will read this post and understand how easy it can be, to be lead astray. We must pray for discernment, wisdom and understanding, for the days are evil and deception is everywhere.
Please spend time in the Word every day and commit it to memory.
Now, I must share one more vision, given to me around the time of 1996-7:
A Vision of End-times
I was sitting on my bed with four books in my lap: The first was my Bible. I knew that it would be dangerous for me to carry my Bible, so I took my large study Bible and placed it upright on my night table. I took a tiny New Testament, “pocket size,” and placed it in its tiny box and then inside my purse.
The next book in my lap was entitled: “Huis Clos” which is a play written by Jean-Paul Sartre. “No Exit,” is the name we give to this play. Sartre is an existentialist, who believes that we make our hell or heaven on earth. “No Exit” is about hell—where there is no way out.
Jesus warns us about sin and hell: “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’” Mark 9:47-48 (quoting: Isaiah 66:24)
The next book is entitled: “Those Left Behind.” (Now this is before the Left Behind Series was written.) On the cover of the book is a dark scene of a castle or palace in the background. In the foreground are rows and rows of short crosses with people who were crucified with their knees bent. Their bodies and their crosses were completely charred.
While still in the vision, I thought to myself, “These people must have been those killed in the Holocaust.”
But I believe that these people who were pictured as being crucified and burned on the cover of the book are those who will face severe persecution during the Great Tribulation.
“And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Revelation 6:9-10
In the vision, the last book in my lap I did not see its cover. I took the stack of three books and placed them on the night table in front of the Bible.
The last book was there, but not seen. Just like Daniel, he was told to seal up the Book (scroll), for it was to be kept until the proper time. " But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. " Daniel 12:4
But then John was told not to seal up the prophecy in the Book of Revelation. “Then he told me, ‘Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near. Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.” “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.” Revelation 22:10-13
I do not know what the last book might reveal, but we must live our lives with what has been already revealed in the Word of God. The Word is truth.
In Summary
In the first vision, there is a bag, but we cannot see inside, for something interrupts the vision. That “something” is a “suddenly,” a happening, that is unexpected. Jesus speaks of his coming for his bride: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:36-39
In the second vision, the man was unaware of his surroundings, and his position in space. He was not upright, but lumbered, staggered, and was about to fall. This is the way of the wicked. Unless a wicked man sees the lack of uprightness in his walk, and the evil motives of his heart, he will stumble and fall. The man in the vision represents the lost. Even in the church there will be people like Ananias and Sapphira, who claim to be saved, but who have no fear of God. Their presumption of salvation is not based of truth, for they lie and have no remorse. They have succumbed to their own flesh (their worldliness), and have deceived themselves. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23
The third vision of the Bible reminds us that the days are wicked, and deceitfulness is the norm rather than the exception. We must know the Bible, and we must know the Lord. “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3
These three visions also come together for one clear message, especially for believers: If one does not know the Word of God, and have a good grasp of the the Lord’s teachings in the Bible, anyone can become deceived. And without the wisdom of the Bible, and an intimate relationship with the Lord to know his heart, even a believer will become deceived. If the word is not given a place within the man’s spirit he will not recognize sin, he will feel no godly sorrow or remorse, and he will fall.
If we are not in the Word, if we do not spend time with the Lord, then when the moment that comes suddenly will catch us off guard, and we will find that our destination is not heavenward with the Lord, but is to judgment and everlasting hell.
Please understand the importance of this message. For we should be expecting and prepared for the Lord’s return for his church. It will come suddenly. This will be utter joy or the deepest despair.
Will you please, share this with those you love and with those who need to understand that now is the time? “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2
“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:5
God bless you and keep you!
