APRIL 25, 2016
THREE TYPES OF VISIONS
Memory Verse: Acts 10:3 “He saw in a vision evidently about the night hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius”
I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s teaching on discerning of spirits. We will continue today by looking at three types of visions. First, what is a vision? A vision is a divinely granted appearance given by the Holy Spirit. It is an operation of the gift of discerning of spirits. We must separate between visions and hallucinations. While a vision is by the agency of the Holy Spirit, hallucination is either by the presence of an evil spirit or a neurological pathological condition because there are other sources of visions asides the Holy Spirit. Now to the three types of visions that there are;
We have 1. Inner vision 2. Open vision 3. Trance
- The inner vision is the most common type of vision believers experience but it is also if I may say the least kind because in this kind of vision, your natural senses are not suspended, the vision is occurring inside you, so you are seeing with the eyes of your heart (inner man) 2 Kings 5:26 “And he said unto him, went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?” and it usually occurs during spiritually stimulating exercises like fasting, praying in tongues, meditating on scriptures. You will just notice that an image or picture will form within your spirit or an occurrence played like a movie would flash across your consciousness. In the case of the scripture above, Elisha says “went not my heart with thee”, he was explaining the gift of discerning of spirits operating in a word of knowledge expressed in a vision
- Open vision: an open vision is different from an inner vision in that in this type, what is been revealed is shown to you like a screen placed in front of you, you’re seeing it in front of you. It seems as though what is shown to you is placed in front of you. At times, it looks as though the vision is projected in front of you. Let me explain: when a man has an open vision of an angel like in Acts 10, he will see the angel in relation to his own physical surrounding so his natural senses are not suspended, he is aware of where he is but still sees into the spirit realm
- Trance: This is the highest kind of the three in that the natural senses are suspended. We see an example of this in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 and Acts 10:11-15. What happens in a trance is basically that the consciousness of your physical surrounding disappears and you are fully conscious of the realm of the spirit. In this type of vision, if a man sees an angel for example, he will see the angel in relation to the realm of the spirit and not the physical. It is God’s desire that all believers begin to walk in this wonderful gift. Remember that the moment you received the Holy Spirit into your life, all the nine gifts are resident in you. If you have the Spirit, you have the gifts.
CONFESSION: I give myself to discerning of spirits, I declare that I am yielded to the operation of this gift in my life. Amen
Further Bible Reading: Revelations 1, Psalm 130
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I’ve been having very detailed inner visions for most of my life as much as forty years actually though Good often spoke to me through then, still satan easily put doubt in me saying they were just strong daydreams. Usually I was conscious enough to write down what I was seeing as it occurred. Usually it began with a vivid image in my mind that would not go away until I wrote down what I was seeing then it would evolve and become a full inner vision and more than just a strong picture. I wondered if they really were visions from God just what they were called. Thank you for clarifying that for me.
I’ve been having very detailed inner visions for most of my life as much as forty years actually though God often spoke to me through them, still satan easily put doubt in me saying they were just strong daydreams. I was most often conscious enough to write down what I was seeing as it occurred. Usually it began with a vivid image in my mind that would not go away until I wrote down what I was seeing then it would evolve and become a full inner vision and more than just a strong picture. I wondered if they really were visions from God just what they were called. Thank you for clarifying that for me.
You are highly welcome Richard.
Stay on the word and the supernatural will continue to be natural to you.