Theophanies

Theophanies, a time in which the Lord shares Himself with Man in a special way. How many times do we wish we could see God, and sometimes imagine what He might say to us. Though some say we cannot see God, they might agree that men could see angels. And so the yearning and the imaginations go on, wishing we might see and hear from heaven.

From what we read in the scriptures, heaven is a different place than earth . . . a place where God’s will is done. And we know that God Himself is quite a different person than we are, though we are made in His image. His thoughts are higher than ours and His ways cannot be comprehended in their entirety. Yet He chooses to reveal Himself to us through the Spirit of His Son Jesus, by the scriptures, through visitations of angels, and through theophanies. When God reveals Himself to Man, it is for a purpose.

I’d like to share an experience I had on March 24, 2006 wherein I saw and heard the “man who speaks from heaven.” (Heb 12:25). He appeared in a dream, wearing a white robe and standing in the clouds. The words he spoke were punctuated with claps of thunder until I had heard 7 thunders. He admonished “How long will you wait before you take possession of the inheritance?” (Josh 18:3) I awoke to the last of the 7 thunders, stunned.

The “man from heaven” reference in Hebrew is about the Lord speaking from heaven to remove that which can be shaken, so that that which cannot be shaken will remain. Clearly God is doing that right now. However, that which shall remain, the inheritance, does not come without our effort. In order for an inheritance to be gained from the promises of God, we must walk our lives out in faith. The battle the Hebrews fought for their Promised Land represents a type of the battles we fight for our own promises in our lives.

If God’s promises came to us solely through His own divine efforts, the Lord would not now challenge us about waiting too long to get them. Joshua admonished the Hebrews that, should they wait too long, God would stop fighting for them. He prophesied to them that, in their waiting, if they “ally yourselves the survivors of these nations that remain among you” . . . “they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.” (Josh 23:12-13).

The good fight of faith takes tremendous effort on our part, like fighting a war. And yet, passivity brings compromise with the world and concessions with our flesh. In the end, if we do not walk in faith to overcome the world and our flesh, we lose.

Joel prophesied that when the Lord poured out His Spirit on us, some would dream dreams from Him (Joel 2:28-29). These are important dreams and the significance of God’s message should not be lessened because one receives them while asleep. If that were so, God would not have told us long ago that this time of dreams, dreams from the Lord, was coming. Let us hear His message through this dream and seek to stand on His Word for the promises over our lives. He will fight with us, and we will receive a great inheritance. This is what His portion is for the saints of the Lord. Amen.