David Diga Hernandez - The Spirit Speaks: Visions

God, the Holy Spirit can speak to you through visions. Now it is up to the Holy Spirit when and where He will speak through visions, but the Holy Spirit does indeed speak through visions to the believer. There is not necessarily something that you can do to help bring these visions to pass, but there are things that you can do to position yourself to see heavenly visions if that is God’s will for you. First and foremost, I want to show you in Scripture that, in fact, seeing visions is biblical. Acts chapter 2, verses 17 through 18 say this: «In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days, I will pour out My Spirit even on My servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy.»

2nd Corinthians chapter 12, verses 1 through 4 say this: «Boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven 14 years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know; only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.»

When you capture a glimpse of the heavenly realm, when the Holy Spirit entrusts a vision to you, you must realize that there is a time to speak about what you have seen in that vision and a time to remain silent. Obviously, the Holy Spirit gives us visions to either give us a message or reveal something to us personally. There are times when the Holy Spirit will give you something to say to others through a vision, but you must use discernment and tread reverently on this ground. When the Holy Spirit trusts you with a vision, you must pray and seek the direction of the Lord to determine whether or not this is something you will share.

Now, the Apostle Paul had a vision, and there were some things that he saw in that vision that he said he wouldn’t dare share with anyone. Of course, there are other biblical examples that show us that those who receive visions ought to share what God has shown them through those visions. No doubt, this is astounding; it is a wonderful miracle that God demonstrates to His children. This is something powerful and heavenly, something exciting and divine. God is full of wonders and mysteries, and every so often, He allows you to capture glimpses of those mysteries. As I said, this is a very exciting truth.

Visions are exciting; they’re thrilling. However, we have to remember to keep them in their proper place. As I mentioned with dreams in the last session, we must ensure that we are not putting our total trust in visions alone. The Word of God is our primary source of truth; it is the foundation of all truth. All visions must be measured against the Word of God to determine whether the message is true or false. We also have to remember that no authority is given to us just because of visions. Often, you’ll see men and women attempting to, how shall I put this, exalt themselves through their visions. They try to create the impression that they have divine authority that comes exclusively from their visions.

It must be noted, biblically speaking, that visions do not grant you authority. Your authority comes from the Word of God; it comes from the mantle of the Holy Spirit; it comes from the abiding presence and power of the Holy Spirit within you. When you receive a vision, this is not something you should try to use for your own benefit to gain power over others. When God gives you a vision, it is for a purpose; either it is for something to be spoken to you personally, or it is something that God gives you to share with others. However, even in sharing that vision with others, this is not a means by which people gain spiritual authority.

Despite what people have claimed to have seen, do not put your trust in their visions. Visions are biblical; God gives His children visions. Ultimately, though, spiritual authority is not granted to an individual because of a vision they had. People will attempt this. They’ll say, «I saw the Lord,» or «I saw an angel,» or «Some heavenly being came to me and told me, 'I have this, this, and this; now you must listen to me because I had this vision and nobody else did.'» Not only is that manipulative, but it is also anti-biblical.

Here is what the Bible says: Colossians chapter 2, verses 16 through 18 say, «So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink or for not celebrating certain holy days, new moon ceremonies, or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come, and Christ Himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud.» The scripture here does not say that anyone who claims to have had a vision is sinful, but it teaches us that people will try to use their visions as a means of authority.