Lesson 1. Why People See Visions. The school of Father’s Blessing Church, where Senior Pastor Dmitriy Leo revealed the features of dreams and visions from God.
1. Who Can See Visions
Joel 2:28 And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.
A vision is one of the biblical ways the Lord communicates information to a person. Through visions, a person can receive knowledge of the past, present, and future. The Holy Spirit is what makes this possible.
If a person does not receive visions from the Lord, two points should be considered:
- Has the person received the Holy Spirit?
- Does the person have fellowship with the Holy Spirit?
Whoever has not received the Holy Spirit has not received the promises from Joel 2:28 either. Conversely, the manifestation of these promises in a person’s life is one of the signs that they have received the Holy Spirit.
The second reason why people do not see visions, or see them very rarely, is a lack of fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
It is the Holy Spirit who reveals the mysteries of God to people. Having a good connection between a person and the Holy Spirit is very important.
1 Cor. 2:9 But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him. 10 But God has revealed it to us through His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God,
We noticed that people receive their most vivid and significant visions during periods when they have close fellowship with the Holy Spirit or are filled with the Holy Spirit.
I received most of my significant dreams, prophecies, and visions when I was “at the peak” of fellowship with the Holy Spirit or was in a state of being filled with the Spirit. Of course, I also received significant dreams, prophecies, and visions in simpler circumstances—during “plateau” periods. However, when I was “at the peak,” the quantity and quality of such spiritual experiences increased many times over.
In other words, the better a person’s fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the more often they will see visions, receive dreams, and prophesy. This is a fact.
2. Sources of Visions
Visions, prophecies, and dreams can come from different sources. For example, visions can come from the Holy Spirit, from an unclean spirit, or not be visions at all, but rather a person’s imagination.
To avoid accepting something empty or false, we must remain vigilant. The prophet Ezekiel wrote that one can see falsehood in a vision.
Ezek. 13:8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken emptiness and seen lies in visions, therefore, behold, I am against you, says the Lord God.
Some people call their imaginings “visions.” Some consciously invent things, while others do so unconsciously.
There are also people who, instead of receiving visions from the Holy Spirit, begin to receive visions from an unclean spirit.
In most cases, this is preceded by a person’s spiritual error or deception. This may involve an interest in books, teachings, and revelations that are not biblical.
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
How can you discern the source of a vision?
1. The principle of elimination.
People who do not have the Holy Spirit cannot receive visions from the Holy Spirit—this is logical. We immediately exclude visions from such people from the list of those we can trust.
Next, we need to look for signs of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the person’s life. Does the person sharing their visions have the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit?
- If a person has both the gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit, then the visions they receive are trustworthy.
- If a person does not have the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit, then the visions they receive are either imagination or a counterfeit from an unclean spirit.
By the way, it is not difficult to see that demons can also give people visions. Fortune-tellers, diviners, mediums, and others who engage in spiritual practices receive visions.
Of course, this ability does not come to them from the Holy Spirit. They do not even hide the fact that a spirit with which they come into contact shows them everything.
2. The principle of discernment.
When someone tells people what visions he or she sees, God’s people will always have either confirmation or a warning in their spirit.
People who walk in the Holy Spirit generally have spiritual discernment. It is normal for a person of God to discern what spirit is behind a particular person or message.
Acts 16:16 Once, as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and earned a great deal of money for her masters by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 She kept doing this for many days. Paul became greatly annoyed, turned around, and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit came out at that very moment.
A counterfeit may look very much like the original, but spiritual discernment will help us recognize it.
3. The Principle of Observation.
We need to develop the good habit of observing what is happening “behind the scenes of ministry” in each person’s life. In other words, it is important for us not to follow gifts, but to observe the fruit in a person’s life.
Matthew 7:17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Jesus teaches us to test people specifically by their fruit, not by their words, gifts, or spiritual manifestations. This also applies to people who see visions. The fruit in such people’s lives speaks louder than words. We must not ignore this.
If someone’s style of ministry and fruit do not conform to biblical standards, such people are most likely receiving visions not from the Holy Spirit.
Conclusions
Why do people see visions? Because this is the fulfillment of the Lord’s promises. It is one of the signs for those who have received the Holy Spirit.
If a person does not receive visions, then either they have not received the Holy Spirit or they do not have fellowship with Him.
A person’s spiritual condition directly affects the quantity and quality of the visions they receive.
However, not every vision comes from the Holy Spirit. It may be a person’s imagination—or, worse, a vision from an unclean spirit.
The origin of visions can be discerned using three principles: exclusion, discernment, and observation. All these principles are useful and will help distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit and hold fast only to the visions from the Lord.
End of lesson.
Source: Father’s Blessing Church
Teacher: Dmitriy Leo
