New Testament Visions[1] and the Gospel

Several years ago a man came to speak in the church I was then attending.  I will not name him, because I consider what he said to be heresy.  Much of the sermon was about his personal experience of having a vision Jesus.  In this vision, he was in a room alone and his parents were leaving him there and walking away.  He was very upset because they were going away.  Then Jesus came into the room [which turned out to be a hospital quarantine room when he was four years old] and took him outside and they went on a swing-boat together.  In order to evaluate the nature of this vision, I decided to consider the content and context of the visions in the New Testament.

The argument is in several stages.  The first section considers the general visions in the book of Acts and their connection to the gospel.  Then I examine places in which people saw the risen and exalted Jesus.  It is then necessary to consider visions which did not have their origins in the Holy Spirit.  Next, I consider where Jesus is presently.  And finally I consider the need for discernment of visions and evaluate the vision described above in the light of this discussion.

Connections between NT visions and the Gospel

The first passage in the book of Acts about visions is found in chapter two.  It sets the scene for this exploration, because it gives explicit credence to the presence of visions in the New Testament church and puts those visions within the context of the gospel.

Acts 2:17 “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

This verse makes clear that visions are to be an expected part of the life of the church in the present.  There are visions which are given by the Spirit as part of the new universal outpouring of the Spirit as a result of the exaltation of Jesus to the right hand of the Father.  It is the context of this passage which gives the first indication of how to discern whether a given vision is given by the Spirit.  Several comments need to be made about this passage.

Peter makes this statement as part of his sermon on the day of Pentecost in order to explain the phenomena which had taken place in front of the crowds.  The mighty wind, the tongues of flame, and the proclamation of God’s wonders in many different languages to the gathered people from all over the world, were all in fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel regarding the eschatological outpouring of the Spirit.  Peter goes on to tell the crowd that these things had occurred because the Messiah had come into the world, been crucified by the people of Jerusalem, and raised from the dead.  This Messiah is Jesus, who is now exalted to the right hand of God and has therefore received the Holy Spirit and has poured him out on the new eschatological people of God.  The prophecy of Joel says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  It is the Lord’s Spirit who has been poured out on the people.  But Peter makes it clear that the Lord is now to be identified with Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus is the giver of the Spirit to the church.

All of the phenomena associated with the outpouring of the Spirit fall under the umbrella of prophecy: “your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”  These things are again summed up as “and they will prophecy”.  Dreams and visions are associated with OT prophets (Num 12:6; Dan 1:17; Ezek 1:1).  So visions are not something outside the general category of prophecy.  Therefore, visions should be subject to the same criteria that we must apply to discerning prophecy.  Given the context of this outpouring of the Spirit – that is, the proclamation of the gospel that Jesus is the Christ, who has died, been raised, and is exalted to the right hand of God – visions are intrinsically connected to the gospel.  Therefore, discernment of visions, as with prophecy, must involve asking how the vision is related to the gospel.

There are several examples in the book of Acts of people being given visions.  Let’s look at these and see how the visions relate to the gospel.  Acts 10 contains two visions both of which are connected to the proclamation of the gospel.  The first is given to a Gentile centurion named Cornelius:

Acts 10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

The reason that the vision was given to Cornelius was so that he would send for Peter in order that Peter could proclaim the gospel to him and his household.  That Peter would proclaim the gospel was not evident to Cornelius until the event actually happened, but being a pious man, Cornelius obeyed the instructions of the angel.  While Cornelius did not know what would happen when Peter came to his house, the reader of Acts is given this information as the story progresses.  The vision was given in order that Cornelius might hear the gospel.  However, even though there is a connection with the gospel in this passage, this vision is not strictly speaking in the category of Christian experience, because Cornelius was not at this point a person indwelt by the Spirit.

Peter, however, was a man filled with the Holy Spirit, and he had a vision as well.

Acts 10:9 …. Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” 14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

Peter had this vision while he was praying.  The unclean animals in the vision are something which Peter would not have eaten in accordance with the OT Law.  So there was a precedent according to the Word of God for assuming that this vision was not from the Spirit, or so it may at first seem.  But Peter was a man who must live, not according to OT Law, but according to the New Covenant gospel.  Under the New Covenant, Jesus had declared all foods clean, and so there is no Word of God against eating the unclean animals.  However, Peter has not yet adjusted his thinking to the gospel.

Of course the meaning of the vision is not to do with eating but to do with preaching the gospel to Gentiles, which is tied up with the declaration that all foods are now clean (See the Gospel of Mark chapter 7).  Peter, indeed the church as a whole, had not proclaimed the gospel to Gentiles, even though Jesus had commanded that the gospel be preached to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).  This was because the Jewish believers had not yet understood that the cross of Christ has broken down the barrier between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:14-16).  They were still stuck in the culture of exclusion, which said that Jews cannot interact with Gentiles, particularly that Jews cannot enter into Gentile houses, because this would be defiling.  They had not taken in the words and actions of Jesus in regard to Gentiles (e.g. Matt 8:5-13; 15:21-28).

The point is that although there appeared at first glance to be something in the Word of God which stood against Peter obeying the command given in the vision to kill and eat, the gospel has changed those commands.  The vision was necessary in order to bring Peter to a place where he understood the new commands/words of the gospel and applied them by proclaiming Christ to the Gentiles.  But the vision is not given in isolation, as Peter also received a word from the Holy Spirit (10:19-20), confirming that he should go with the men who had come from Cornelius.  These two – the vision and the word from the Spirit – worked together to convince Peter to go to Cornelius’ house to proclaim the gospel to Gentiles.

Paul also had a vision in the midst of one of his missionary journeys.

Acts 16:6 Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The vision which Paul has in this passage is part of the leading of the Spirit in regard to Paul’s missionary journey.  The Spirit first directed Paul to not enter Bithynia, then Paul was given a vision of man from Macedonia asking him to come there.  The passage is explicit that this vision was given so that Paul would go to Macedonia to preach the gospel there.

What all these visions have in common is that they all have connections to the gospel.  Visions are possible because the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the church.  This outpouring is the result of the death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus.  They are therefore intrinsically linked to the gospel.  The other visions above are all linked to the proclamation of the gospel, either leading people to proclaim the gospel or encouraging them to go or stay somewhere to proclaim the gospel.  The above visions cannot be disconnected to the gospel.

Visions in which people saw Jesus

The visions above were about objects and people, but there are also examples of visions in which people saw Jesus himself.  The first of these is in the story of Stephen, one of the seven deacons of the early church (Acts 6:1-6).

Acts 7:55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen had preached a long speech to the people in Jerusalem and they were deeply offended by the things which he said.  The people became angry and murderous, stoning him.  But Stephen saw into heaven, where he saw Jesus at the right hand of God.  The result of Stephen seeing Jesus was his imitation of Jesus as he said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”.  Stephen did not experience this vision of Jesus so that he could later tell of how he had a wonderful spiritual experience.  It was transformative, so that instead of being angry or resentful of those people who were bringing about his death, he became like the Lord Jesus in his death on the cross, and was able to forgive.

Paul also saw Jesus.[2]  There his vision brought about his conversion.

Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” ⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” ⁷ The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Saul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus.  There are several aspects of importance here.  Firstly, the light which Paul saw came from heaven.  This is where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God.  Then Jesus spoke to Paul and told him to go into Damascus.  The immediate result of seeing Jesus was that Paul became blind.  This experience of seeing Jesus was not shared by the people with Paul; they only heard the sound.  It is not clear if they heard what was said or only that there was a noise.  Paul’s experience here does not clearly say that he actually saw Jesus, but two passages in 1 Corinthians suggest that he did.

1 Corinthians 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?

1 Corinthians 15:5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

In the second passage Paul compares his seeing Jesus to that of the other apostles.  The original apostles saw Jesus after his resurrection.  In fact, many other people saw Jesus after his resurrection.  Paul, then, saw the risen Jesus.  This was not a vision is the same sense as the one which Peter had in Acts 10, in which animals came down onto a sheet in front of him.  Peter’s vision seems to be something merely illustrative of a point, not a real event.  But when Paul saw Jesus, he actually saw into heaven to behold the risen Christ at the right hand of the Father.

When Paul saw and heard the risen Jesus, he was given to understand that Jesus is Lord.  Paul asked him, “Who are you Lord?”  Jesus gave Paul a command to go into the city and await instructions as to what to do next.  Paul, although blinded by his vision of Jesus and needing help to go, obeyed the instructions of the Lord Jesus.  The vision of Jesus turned Paul’s life around and caused him to become obedient to the risen Lord.  It was no mere spiritual experience to be excited about, but a life-changing experience which brought about repentance and obedience to Jesus.

Acts 9:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord– Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here– has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Ananias saw Jesus in a vision.  The Lord Jesus called to him and told him what to do about Saul.  This vision is not the same as hearing from the Holy Spirit, which does not seem to involve anything visual.  Ananias is told to go lay hands on Saul and this is probably the reason for the vision rather than merely a word from the Spirit.  Saul had a reputation for persecuting Christians and Ananias probably would not be ready to go to Saul without some clear word to do so.  This vision is the clearest way to receive such a word.  There is no indication as to where Jesus is standing when Ananias saw him in the vision.

According to this passage Saul also had a vision so that he would expect Ananias, but Saul’s vision did not involve Jesus.  He only saw Ananias in his vision.  Saul’s vision, therefore, must have been more of a picture of future events, rather than seeing Jesus face to face like his vision on the road.  Those who see Jesus seem to actually see Jesus as he actually is.  But the other visions appear to be more a matter of seeing a picture of something or someone, but not an event in real time.

The result of Ananias’ vision of Jesus was that Ananias was obedient to the word given him and went to speak to the persecutor of the church, Saul.  This obedience was potentially very costly for Ananias.  Had Saul not been transformed, Ananias would have been thrown into prison or killed for obedience to this command.  The vision was not for the purpose of giving Ananias an experience to make him feel good, but to bring about the purposes of God for the church as a whole, both in that time and the rest of history.  Ananias needed to obey the command given to him so that Saul would become the apostle Paul, preach to the Gentiles and write a large part of the New Testament.

The final person[3] in the New Testament who saw the risen Jesus in heaven was John, as recorded in the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” ¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. ¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Here John was taken caught up in the Spirit to see the glorified, risen Jesus, who appeared in splendour as “one like a son of man”.  This is a powerful description of the glory of the risen Lord Jesus.  This amazing experience of seeing the risen Jesus was given to John in order that he might write down his experience for the church of the present and the future.  John was a man who had paid a high price for being faithful to Jesus; he was imprisoned on Patmos because of his witness to Christ.  He calls himself “your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus.”  We must not imagine that these kinds of experiences are given to those who are unwilling to pay the price of discipleship.  God gives understanding of himself only to those who will “take up their cross and follow” Christ (Luke 41:27) and who have put their hands to the plough and will not turn back (Luke 9:62).

John did not receive this vision of Jesus lightly.  He wrote: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”  The sight of Jesus in his glory was too much for John to take in casually.  Like Abraham who fell on his face when God called to him (Gen 17:3) and Saul who fell on his face when he saw Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4), John fell at the feet of Jesus out of reverence and fear.  This posture of worship is utterly appropriate when confronted by the majesty of the risen
Jesus.  He is Lord and he is worthy of such worship and awe.  A casual response to the sight of the risen Jesus is not possible.

Visions not from the Holy Spirit

Having considered the visions which are recorded in the book of Acts and the book of Revelation, I want to consider the possibility that there are false visions, visions which originate from sources other than the Holy Spirit.  The Old Testament speaks of false visions in several places:

Jeremiah 14:14 “Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.”

Jeremiah 23:16 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”

Lamentations 2:14 “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.”

Ezekiel 13:6 “Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, “The LORD declares,” when the LORD has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled.”

Ezekiel 13:8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

False visions may arise from the “delusions of their own minds,” rather than from the “mouth of God.”  False visions do not expose sin and hence cannot bring about repentance.  Those who claim to have visions from God, but do not, will be opposed by God.  Such false visions cannot be fulfilled.  The words which are translated “delusions of their own minds” might be translated “resolution or purpose or striving” of the “heart”.  The heart is something deceitfully wicked (Jer 17:9) when not fully submitted to the Lordship of Christ and transformed by the Spirit of God.  It can produce deceitful visions to show people what they want to see.  This is akin to the people listening to what their itching ears want to hear, instead of to the Word of Truth (2 Tim 4:3).

The experience of Jesus in the wilderness when he was tempted by the devil shows that visions can also have their source in the Evil One.

Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

It seems unlikely that these experiences of going to the holy city and going up to a high mountain involve literally going all over Palestine.  It is also unlikely that any mountain exists which would enable Jesus to physically see all the kingdoms of the earth.  Would Jesus have submitted to following the Devil around like this?  Instead, I think that Jesus was taken to these places by the Devil in a vision.  In this experience Jesus was tempted to jump off the Temple in order to tempt God.  He refused on the basis of the Word of God.  He was tempted to worship the Devil to receive all the kingdoms of the world.  He again refused on the basis of the Word of God.  The point here is that visions may well be from the Evil One.  They would not appear less real than one from the Spirit.  The measure of the truth of the vision is always the Word of God, not the vividness of the experience.

Paul speaks also of those who are puffed up by their spiritual experiences, including visions.  “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,” (Colossians 2:18 NAS).  This is a false kind of spirituality which appears to others are something from the Spirit.  But Paul says these people are inflated, puffed up, by their fleshly minds.  Elsewhere (Rom 8:6) he writes that the mind[4] controlled by the flesh is death.  What this tells us is that there are false visions and false understandings of spirituality.  While these may appear to be wonderful and from the Holy Spirit, they in fact lead to death not life.

Discernment is necessary

Knowing that it is possible to have visions which are false, the church must exercise discernment when a person claims to have a vision from the Holy Spirit.  Too often Christians are happy to glory in the exciting and the spectacular, without asking whether these things are genuine.  This is not something which can be left alone, because false spirituality leads to living in the flesh, and the way of the flesh is the way of death, not life.  False teachers will come into the church and bring false teachings to lead the church away from following Christ.  Once the spectacular and the exciting become the centre of Christian experience, Christ must inevitably become on the outer.  Yet God’s desire is that the body grow up into the full stature of Christ (Eph 4:15).  This will not happen if the body of Christ is unwilling to discern what is true and what is false.

To this end I summarize the conclusions I have come to in my discussion of the visions recorded in the New Testament:

1)      The New Testament affirms that visions are still part of the prophetic experience of the church.

2)      True visions are given by the Holy Spirit as part of the end-time experience of the outpouring of the Spirit on the church.

3)      The visions given to people in the book of Acts are directly related to the proclamation of the gospel.

4)      Those who had visions were obedient to the words contained therein.

5)      Those who saw the risen Jesus worshipped him as the exalted Lord.

6)      The experience of seeing the risen Jesus was transformative for those who saw him.

But, there still remains one more thing to be resolved in order to discern whether the vision of Jesus I described at the start of this paper was genuine or not.  That is, we must ask where is Jesus now and what is he like?  I believe that the answer to this question has profound soteriological [pertaining to salvation] consequences.

Who and where is Jesus now?

As Jesus now possesses a risen, glorified human body, he is not able to be present everywhere in the earth in a physical way.  He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he is present in the world through the Holy Spirit (Rev 5:6).  This is why those who see Jesus only see him in heaven at God’s right hand and not in the place in which the viewer sits.  John warns that those who say that Jesus did not come in the flesh are antichrist (1 John 4:3).  Only a non-human Jesus can be in all places at all times.  Only a Trinitarian way of thinking will keep us from believing in a docetic [not really human] Jesus.  Repeatedly the Bible says that Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God.  It is vital to affirm this fact and oppose all those who claim otherwise, whether it be in doctrine, teaching or supposed visions of Jesus coming to the earth in various guises.  An examination of some of the passages which speak of Jesus being exalted to God’s right hand will demonstrate the soteriological significance of Jesus’ session [his sitting at God’s right hand].

Luke 22:69 “But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”  Here Jesus declares to those who were about to have him killed that they were killing the Christ, the one who would in the future be at God’s right hand.  This affirms who he is and that all he has done is from the Father.

Acts 2:33 “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”  If Jesus is not at the right hand of the Father then he cannot pour out the Holy Spirit on the church.

Acts 5:31 “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”  Unless Jesus is at God’s right hand he is unable to grant repentance and forgiveness to Israel, and by extension to all the Gentiles.

Romans 8:34 “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died– more than that, who was raised to life– is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”  The fact of Jesus’ continual intercession for those who are sinners, and therefore worthy of death without his shed blood to cover them, hinges entirely on his position at God’s right hand.

Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”  The word ‘sat’ implies something settled; he sat and that is where he remains.  Jesus sitting at God’s right hand is our assurance that he has successfully provided purification for sins.

Hebrews 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Jesus was able to endure the cross because he knew that after this he would forever sit down at the right hand of God, and he would no longer need to endure the suffering of this world.  If he were to leave the right hand of God, he would have endured the cross but lost his eternal reward.

1 Peter 3:22 “who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand– with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”  Sitting at the right hand of God is the evidence of Jesus’ authority over all angels, authorities and powers.  Our victory over the powers of darkness is therefore dependent on the position of Jesus at God’s right hand.

Finally, the entire Book of Revelation revolves around the exaltation of Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain and is now able to open the scrolls and bring judgement upon the earth (e.g. Rev 5:5).  If Jesus were no longer in his exalted place in heaven, then his ability to bring about the judgement of the world and the final consummation of history would be compromised.

Evaluation of the vision described at the beginning

So far I have discussed the nature of New Testament visions, in general and those which involve Jesus.  Now it is time to determine the validity or otherwise of the vision initially described.  To do this I will ask of it some questions.  Firstly, does this vision have anything to do with the gospel or the proclamation of the gospel?  Apart from the mention of Jesus in the vision, the answer is no.  Secondly, did the vision result in obedience or worship?  Again, the answer is no.  Thirdly, is the ‘Jesus’ of the vision in keeping with what the Bible says about the exalted Christ?  As Jesus Christ is now at the right hand of the Father in heaven, he is not going through time, fixing up people’s traumatic experiences.  So the ‘Jesus’ of the vision is not the exalted Lord Jesus Christ described in the Bible.

The vision described at the beginning is a false vision, not one from the Holy Spirit.  Where did this vision come from?  There are two possibilities: from the evil one or from the corrupt imagination.  I have heard other people describe similar experiences of ‘Jesus,’ and I expect that these have arisen because the suggestion was given to them that such a thing is both possible and likely.  However, whether the false vision was given by the Devil or came from a corrupt imagination, it was not from the Holy Spirit, and must therefore be discounted.  The really important matter is that the church in general must not be afraid to test all things.

1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Test everything. Hold on to the good.”

A final word

Finally, let us return to Colossians and Paul’s discussion of false spirituality.

Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

There are clearly people in the church who have a false understanding of spirituality.  They are obsessed with ‘spiritual’ experiences involving angels and visions.  Verse 19 provides the reason for such a false spirituality: these people have lost connection with the head, that is, Jesus Christ.  A focus on what seems to be exciting and on experiences, instead of a concentration on the person and work of Jesus Christ, will cause the body of Christ to lose its way.  To know Jesus as he really is, not as we may imagine him to be, there is no substitute for studying the Word of God.  We cannot afford to put aside serious study of the Word, because without this the church will be without the ability to discern what is true and what is false.  Courage is also needed to stand against what is false, in order that Jesus will be truly exalted and obeyed by his people.

---