If it were possible for the average Christian to be the recipient of visible and audible appearance of Jesus, I am quite sure that our apostle Paul, as well as John and Peter, would have left us something in the Bible to make us aware of that. But instead, we see just the opposite.
"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." Matthew 24:23-25 (KJV)
Well, if we are Bible believers, we do this:
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1 (KJV)
"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:" Isaiah 28:10 (KJV)
When someone tells me that they "had a vision", "had a dream", or that "Jesus appeared to them", all I can do is take what they say at face value. I have absolutely no way of any kind to verify their story in any way at all. But what I can do with absolute certainty is to compare what they are claiming with what the Bible says to be true. So with that, here are a few easy to digest bullet points about reconciling "appearances" of Jesus with Bible doctrine and Bible truth.
- JESUS APPEARED TO SAUL AND JOHN, WHY NOT TO ME? One line of argument that people who make claims of "seeing Jesus" like to use is this one. After His resurrection, the Bible says that Jesus appeared to Saul on the Damascus road, and to John on the isle of Patmos, so He should be able to appear to them as well. Well, Jesus did appear to Saul who became Paul, but the vision was so intense it made him go blind. "At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me." Acts 26:13 (KJV). Jesus did appear to John in Patmos, and when John saw Jesus it was so overwhelming that he fell at His feet as "if he were dead". Yet, in 2018, when the same Jesus "makes an appearance" it's all soft and fuzzy, maybe some tears are shed, but it's nothing like accounts in the Bible of when the risen Jesus appeared to people. "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"Revelation 1:17 (KJV). Also keep in mind that after Jesus appeared to John, John wrote the Gospel of John, 1,2 and 3 John, and the entire book of Revelation. After Jesus appeared to Paul, Paul writes everything from Romans to Philemon. From this we may safely conclude that when the risen Jesus appears to someone, it is always for a very distinct reason and purpose to be recorded in the Bible. Yet, every story I hear from modern "appearances" seem to accomplish no Biblical purpose at all.
- THE DETAILS DON'T EVER SEEM TO MATCH UP: Pastor Stovall Weems, in describing his fantastical "waking vision" that took place on the Friday before Easter told the audience about what Jesus looked like. He mentioned very specifically that Jesus' hair was "dark brown", even repeated it two or three times for maximum effect. But a quick trip to Revelation shows that not to be the case. This is what Jesus looks like right now, and this should have been the Jesus that Pastor Weems saw, but somehow did not. "His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters." Revelation 1:14,15 (KJV). In the book "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven", published as a gushing miracle of a boy who died, went to Heaven and came back, the boy Alex Malarkey described what he saw in great detail. The book was lapped up by charismatics all over the world right up to the moment the boy repented of the lie he and his father concocted and admitted it was all fake. But Bible believers knew it was fake long before they confessed. How? Because in the book the boy describes a multicolor rainbow around the throne of God, but that is not what Revelation says it is. The Bible says that rainbow is green, hmm. Who do you believe? "And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." Revelation 4:3 (KJV). Stovall Weems seems like a decent person, and it is our hope and prayer that, like the boy and his dad that got carried away with telling a phony trip to Heaven and back, that Pastor Weems will think long and hard about his claims, walk them back and admit he got overwhelmed with emotion and that Jesus didn't actually appear to him. No one will fault him for that, in fact, that would be a great living example of showing how a Christian lets the Bible correct them. But if not, then unfortunately he will have to be placed into the false teacher category.
Jesus made no promises of any kind to appear to anyone except at the Rapture of the Church and then at the Second Coming
If it were possible for the average Christian to be the recipient of visible and audible appearance of Jesus, I am quite sure that our apostle Paul, as well as John and Peter, would have left us something in the Bible to make us aware of that. But instead, we see just the opposite. Please note the following:
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." John 1:18 (KJV)
"(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)" 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." John 1:18 (KJV)
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." 1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV)
"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8,9 (KJV)
On top of that, Jesus takes great care to point out to us that after He ascended up into Heaven, He would leave Someone here in His place to lead us and guide us. And no, that someone is not, never was, and could never be the pope of the Catholic Church. This is Who He left for us:
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 16:7,13-15 (KJV)
That's how the Bible says God gives truth to the Christian, not through "manifestations of Jesus" but by the administration of the Holy Spirit. Search the New Testament for as long as you like, and you will never find anywhere one single verse that says Jesus will appear to anyone outside of the
Rapture of the Church and at His return at
the Second Coming. And that brings us to our last point today. The end times deception.
The Bible says that in the end times, there will be a worldwide deception that will take place, and people will be deceived into thinking they have meet Jesus Christ when in fact they have actually met Antichrist. Now we know that this will take place during the time of Jacob's trouble after the Rapture of the Church, but could it be that the Devil is getting a jump start on things by manifesting himself even now?
"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:" 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 (KJV)
Do you see what the Bible says that the Devil will deceive people with? With "signs and wonders", exactly what the Charismatic crowd is so desperate to have right now. On top of that, the "Jesus" that is appearing to people now is not aligned with what the Bible reveals to be what He actually looks and sounds like.
If Jesus was going to appear anywhere it would be to His chosen people the Jews, and it would be in His holy land of Israel. On the same Friday evening that Pastor Weems claimed to have "met Jesus" personally, Israel was under attack from Hamas in the Gaza Strip. So instead of appearing to His chosen people, we are to believe that Jesus appeared at Celebration Church in Florida, and didn't have a message for the world when He showed up? I think not!
When you judge your experiences by the Bible, you will be lead into truth every time. When you judge the Bible by what you experienced, that's where you fall off the path and slip into first error, then heresy, and finally into full-blown apostasy.
Don't trust your feelings, dreams and "visions", trust the one thing in your life that cannot lie to you. The Bible.
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