VISION

More Than The Eyes Can See

Part 2

The prophet Joel, one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible, prophesied the inauguration of the Christian Church, some 800 years before the birth and subsequent earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Joel 2:28,29 the prophet writes concerning the church age: "And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions,
And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

In the Book of Acts, in which some of the beginnings of the Christian Church are recorded, in Chapter 2, the Apostle Peter quotes the above passage from the prophet Joel with the words: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel....." signifying the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as being foretold over 800 years previously by the prophet. God is always true to His Word.
As mentioned in the first part of this blog, there are numerous examples of people in the Old Testament having received supernatural visions and dreams. Such also is the case in the New Testament, with examples such as those received by Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10, and also by the Apostle Paul in Acts 16:9,10 where during Paul's second missionary journey:
 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. 

Another aspect of vision can be seen in passages such as recorded in Habakkuk 2:1-3
 I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.
Then The Lord answered me and said:
"Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end, it will speak, and it will
not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry."

Proverbs 29:18 KJV states Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The NKJV says Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.....
Other translations give an even clearer picture of the meaning of this verse...
"Where there is no continuous revelation, the people live carelessly."...."Without a progressive vision, the people dwell carelessly."........"Where there is no vision, the people run wild,"............."Without prophecy, the people become demoralized."
It was never God's intention that we, as His children, should live haphazard lives, with the attitude of the old song "Que Sera Sera"....Whatever will be, will be.
As the Good Shepherd (John 10), He promises to lead and guide us into "green pastures."
We may not all have supernatural visions and dreams in technicolor, but we can just as surely know the plans and purposes the Lord has laid out for us as we draw close to Him and come into His presence with expectant hearts, trusting Him to give us vision for now and the future.

The much quoted verses in Jeremiah 29:11-13 are worth mentioning here. Jeremiah was speaking to the people of Judah who had been taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. 
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Verse 14 goes on to say: "I will be found of you," declares the :Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."

To Be Continued................................

VISION 

More Than The Eyes Can See

When we speak about Vision, we can be speaking about a number of different things. The most obvious meaning is that which is able to be seen or perceived with the human eye. In that regard we speak about our ability to see clearly, for example, as having clear or perfect vision. A vision specialist doctor or an optometrist uses an eye chart to test visual accuity, such as the one opposite, originally developed by a Dutch ophthamologist, Hermann Snellen, in 1862. The chart was called, not surprisingly the Snellen chart. A variation of this chart is now used.

In the business world, businesses and other enterprises often formulate a Vision Statement, outlining in clear unambiguous terms a succinct summary of the goals and aspirations of the organisation, thus presenting the Vision for said business or organisation.
 Many churches and Christian ministries present
a Statement of Beliefs as well as a Mission and/ or Vision Statement.

In the Bible, the word Vision can also take on several meanings. There are many instances in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible where people had supernatural revelation from God, very often in very visual, as well as often audible experiences. Space does not permit to list all these instances of supernatural visions in the Bible. A good exercise is to look up the word vision, or revelation in a concordance or Bible Dictionary, or on the internet, and see how many times the Lord God has spoken in His Word to individuals on behalf of the nation of Israel quite often - in the Old Testament, and for the benefit of the Church in the New Testament. 
A vivid Old Testament example is the call of the prophet Isaiah, as recorded in Isaiah 6. The chapter begins: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one cried to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!"
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
       So I said:
"Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts."
The chapter continues to recount the call and commissioning of Isaiah to prophesy to the nations of Judah and Israel, and to the surrounding nations - to declare the Lord's displeasure and judgment upon sin in the nations, but also to help turn the people away from their sin and disobedience to avert disaster. The greatest purpose, as stated in the notes in the New Spirit Filled Life Bible was to lay a foundation of hope and promise for the faithful remnant of God's people. The book of Isaiah contains a large number of Messianic prophecies - foreseeing the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
There can be no doubt, after reading the account in Isaiah 6 that the vision the prophet received was highly visual, as well as involving other senses.

One New Testament example of a supernatural vision is that recorded in the Book of Acts, in Chapter 10 where the Roman centurion, Cornelius, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always (verses 1-2) - sees an angel in a vision telling him to send men to the town Joppa to find the apostle Peter, whom Cornelius is assured by the angel, will tell them what they must do. The chapter goes on to recount that Peter himself also receives a supernatural vision from the Lord instructing him to go with the men sent from Cornelius to tell him and his household the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with their resultant salvation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit. 
Powerful stuff, indeed!!

Proverbs 29:18 KJV states: Where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Other versions, including the NKJV use the word revelation instead of vision.
What is this type of vision? How does this apply to Christians, individually and to the Church today?
These questions and examples of this type of vision will be addressed in the next blog post in this series. God Bless.

Peter Harvey