The Vision of Heaven and Earth
In 2009 God gave me a vision where I saw the Universe and planets being formed but in a very simplistic manner, i.e. I was not shown the full detail of how it was created but rather that the Universe was created into God’s light (presence/glory). I stood with my rear end against the kitchen counter, looking towards the door as I meditated on scripture. I saw the vision with my eyes wide open, and they remained open during the entire vision. I do not remember even blinking because I was amazed at what I witnessed. I believe the vision was given to me because I had asked God why the sun and moon were only created on day 4 and yet the Word of God speaks of there being day and night from day 1 to day 4, i.e. there was only darkness (no visible light) in the Universe as there was no sun or other stars. From this vision, I understood that day can represent a 24-hour day but is also symbolic of God’s light/glory (presence, power and wisdom) and night is symbolic of darkness where God’s glory is absent. Following is the sequence of events in the vision:
- I saw the light in a 2-dimensional hologram in front of me. I could see right through it and thus saw my kitchen walls, cupboards, and door. This happened in the same way I saw my ministry logo but in a different location.
- In my spirit, I knew that the light represented God/Heaven and I discerned that it extended in all directions, ad infinitum. I knew this light was what existed before anything was created—only God existed, nothing else—not even space, air, or any matter. I discerned that this was the third heaven, or the Kingdom of Heaven and God as reflected in scripture. I was already familiar with the third heaven spoken by Paul because I had already been “caught up/raptured” in heaven on one occasion.
- No, I was not raptured in body but in spirit, if we understand that the Kingdom of God cannot be inherited in physical (flesh and blood) bodies because we have to be transformed before this can occur (1 Corinthians 15:50-51), i.e. a corruptible body cannot inherit an incorruptible body as we have to be changed/transformed by the Spirit of Christ. I was not taken to the throne room but merely to two different areas where God spoke to me where He explained the extent to which I should read the Bible and to remove all distractions from my mind. The two scenarios tie up because the Word must replace what I had been indoctrinated by the corrupt world. The third heaven has no space or time because it is eternal, therefore, in heaven we can have access to any location in the physical Universe without travelling at all. Obviously, on the physical Earth or the Universe, we then have to travel.
- I then saw the first heaven or Universe being formed within the light (God) and knew that it was the first material substance coming into existence, i.e. space where the planets and stars would be created (Genesis 1:1). This was depicted in the vision as a dark patch appearing within the light outlining the Universe within God.
- I discerned that the Universe was expanding within God, and because God is eternal it can continue to grow ad infinitum. After the vision, I was concerned that I may have discerned this aspect from previous knowledge through my interest in astronomy and realised that we could dilute our understanding of God’s communication. Nevertheless, I believe I discerned it from the vision as well. The proof will be when astronomers can prove that the Universe is indeed expanding.
- I then saw Earth appear within the Universe, then other planets—I believe these were all within our solar system or galaxy as they were quite close in relation to the vision of the Universe— and then the vision stopped. This means I do not know if other galaxies besides our Milky Way Galaxy existed before this as God could have inspired scripture without giving us of knowledge of other worlds outside our domain of visible habitation with the naked eye.
1 Corinthians 15:50-51
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
I knew from this vision that God is light (glory) representing His presence, power, and wisdom and all spiritual and material life is manifest by His light. From scripture, I also realised that God has to manifest His light within the material Universe—a dark (nescient) dense physical environment of space—to create, transform and assist mankind. I realised that darkness in scripture has to do with a lack of knowledge, power, and presence of God, as opposed to evil or night, though evil is manifest because of a lack of understanding and relationship with God. I also knew from scripture that mankind has absolutely no ability to live or breathe without the spirit of God, which is the breath of God in mankind, i.e. the spirit we receive at birth is the light that God uses to give us life and to directs our path to His purpose, Proverbs 20:27, James 2:26.
Proverbs 20:27
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
James 2:26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
God’s transformative power
After God created the heaven and the earth and before He started transforming and populating the Earth, God first manifested His light/glory (Genesis 1:1-4) representing His presence, wisdom, and power. His light or glory always comes via the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Jesus) working harmoniously in unity to transform or create anything in the dark dense physical Universe even before God (Jesus Who is the Word) was incarnate. Jesus (Yahweh) was present at the beginning (John 1:1-3), creating the Universe alongside the Holy Spirit. Today, in the same way, because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit resides within us, transforming us if we permit it.
Genesis 1:1-4
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In scripture, there are three heavens:
- The heaven created in Genesis 1:1 is the first heaven—our physical Universe—which is three-dimensional. The universe is the vast environment of space and time where celestial bodies in various solar systems and galaxies have different lengths of day and night. The Universe (physical heaven of space) had to be created before stars and planets, therefore, there was no matter such as air, ice, water, gas, elements, light, sand, metal, rock, wood, etc. Only God, Who is the Spirit and the Word (John 1:1-3), existed before creation (the foundation of the world) and is eternal, i.e. without beginning or end, i.e. He is the alpha and the omega.
- The second heaven (Genesis 1:6-8) is our environment as we witness from the surface of the Earth to the sky above us, currently populated by the visible, such as human beings, animals and other living creatures; and the invisible, such as fallen angels and demons which I have heard, felt, and seen, as they have tried to manifest themselves to me when trying to hit me. I actually saw a demon taking a swipe at me as he appeared visibly but then disappeared within seconds. Either he was trying to manifest himself to strike me, or God briefly opened my eyes to see that they were trying to destroy me. I understand that many believers have accepted the feeling/presence of such demonic beings as being of God and have mistaken their walk with God as a result. Our environment can vary from a malevolent to a benevolent atmosphere or ambience depending on how humanity directs the global ethics of our society. This atmosphere or ambience can have different characteristics for individuals, families, institutions, cities, nations, the globe, or any group/community of people, however, the dominant characteristic, behaviour, or mindset of a community will determine the status of the ambiance or atmosphere within that community. Some cults refer to this dimension as the 4th dimension because it’s the next level up from the physical three-dimensional world that we live in.
- The third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2) is the spiritual heaven manifest by the Spirit of The Living God and the medium from which angels can operate in service to God though they live and operate as created beings in the physical Universe of time and space, just as humanity will be placed within a heavenly environment but still operate from the physical Universe of time and space when Jesus appears the second time. As born-again believers, we can also operate from this dimension when God’s power comes upon us because our spirit sits in heaven, but we are rather limited as our bodies reside in the earthly realm where our five senses and worldly knowledge affect us negatively, or rather, our worldly thoughts interfere with our communication with the spirit which is why everything we do must be in spirit and truth. Once we stop walking by the spirit, we walk by the desires of the flesh which is why our life has ups and downs, and thus our desire should be to walk by the spirit permanently. Cults refer to the third heaven as the 5th dimension, some even state that this is further split into further dimensions but this could be coming from demonic sources because the devil creates confusion, which is how he divides to conquer. Opposing ideologies to God’s simple communication usually embellish truths to confuse those who would follow God and are thus inspired by evil spirits through clairvoyance, divination, etc, to divide humanity, because in this way satan can grow His dominion on the earth, or rather, nullify a believer’s faith in The Only True God. This phenomenon of divide and conquer is rife in certain societies, businesses, politics, and even in certain churches.
Genesis 1:6-8
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
2 Corinthians 12:2
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
The sun, moon, and stars were only made on day four, therefore, the first four physical days are not identifiable by the light of the sun but by full revolutions of the Earth. The Earth was dark (nescient) and void and thus God’s glory or light needed to be manifest so that the first 7 days of creation on the Earth could commence. The physical Universe is “dark”, not referring to night or lack of the sun, but rather that there is no active knowledge, power, and wisdom because God’s presence is absent, and as we also know, evil lurks because of darkness (nescience), i.e. lack of God’s presence, knowledge, and power results in evil manifesting within people because they follow the wrong spirit/s. That’s why believers must be born-again to receive the Holy Spirit (light) to enter the kingdom of God and experience transformation of character, an ongoing process of the born-again experience.
Therefore when the Holy Spirit said “Let there be light”, He was manifesting God’s glory/light from the third heaven onto the earth to prepare for creation/transformation. In other words, God Who is in Heaven, or rather, Who manifests the atmosphere of Heaven, is ubiquitous throughout the dark dense Universe and needs to manifest His presence/light into the physical dark dense Universe to create what He desires, or to assist mankind. That’s why a cloud (manifestation of heaven) directed the Israelites through the wilderness to assist them during the day, and a pillar of fire (manifestation of heaven) to protect them and give them light during the night. These manifestations of heaven were visible during Moses and Israel’s wanderings and were confined to a section of our environment but correlated with Jesus’s understanding that He would come in the clouds of heaven with power (Mark 13:26) because Jesus knew that after His glorification, He would be with God in Heaven (represented scripturally by clouds), to assist and reign with the believers in the cloud of witnesses, Hebrews 12:1. Jesus reigns on Earth today because He was given the authority over Heaven and Earth and the increase of His government will never end (Isaiah 9:7), i.e. the devil has no power over the believer because he has been bound, he can only create condemnation in the believer through deceit and lies because they do not know the Word (God), and if believers open themselves to him through unconfessed sin. This same manifestation of a cloud following Moses and Israel will be manifested in its full glory throughout the entire earth when Jesus appears for the second time for salvation. Complete salvation will only come when Jesus reappears as per Hebrews 9:28, therefore we are in the process of salvation, not fully saved as our bodies need transformation and our minds need renewing, though we are assured of salvation through the seal of the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession which is the spirit, soul, and body of the believer. Ephesians 1:14.
Mark 13:26
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory
Hebrews 12:1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
From this, we understand that God will manifest heaven (His presence) on the dark dense earth to create, transform, and assist mankind. By implication, God lives in thick darkness (nescience) when operating in this Universe, as mentioned in 1 Kings 8:12 when Solomon built the temple. Still, Solomon knew that building a temple could not contain God and would not move God out of living amid the darkness of the Earth (Universe) because the temple and its furnishings are inanimate objects with no power, knowledge, or presence, i.e. God was the only power behind those objects.
1 Kings 8:12
Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
It’s God’s power and presence in or over the temple and the ark that gave Israel direction and favour, but Israel bound themselves religiously to the temple instead of God, and eventually, the inanimate objects became idols, and God’s ways were gradually forgotten as their carnal traditions took over, which is why they did not understand that Jesus was the temple when He said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it in three days”, see John 2:19-21. Should I rather say that the priesthood did not want to lose their power? The inanimate temple was a picture, shadow, or model of the future living Christ but they missed it. There are, therefore, no more physical temples needed in future because believers are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) within which God dwells, just as God dwelt in Jesus when in a body (Romans 8-11), and we dwell in God and walk with God assuming we are led by the spirit of God and by the Word of God (Jesus). Our spirit is in heaven when we are born again but if we are doing what pleases us instead of God we are being led by the desires of the flesh which bring about sin and death, instead of life which is a result of being led by the Spirit (John 6:63). In Jeremiah 3:14-18 God tells His unfaithful people that they will return to Israel and states emphatically that there will come a time when the ark of the covenant will not be remembered, meaning that there will be no temple and rituals reminiscent of the old one. Any temple being rebuilt in the future needs to be scrutinized as the anti-Christ may use that to seduce the elect. Why would God want another temple when He dwells within His people? We are the temple and thus the building of another temple makes no sense unless it is purely Jesus’s abode or office from which he directs society, but in the new Heaven and Earth will we need a building to dwell in?
John 2:19-21
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Romans 8-11
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you
John 6:63
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Jeremiah 3:14-18
14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
The word is clear in that there is no temple in the new Jerusalem Revelation 21:22 so why would we need it is the Millennial reign of Christ?. We also know that the future temple of Ezekiel does not contain the ark, the veil, the altar of incense, the table of the showbread, or the candlestick, meaning that we are free from rituals and we can approach the Father boldly, which is what we do today in spirit. We also live and flow by the Holy Spirit, depicted by the walking in the river of water that comes out of the temple’s threshold, symbolic of our bodies from which flows the power of the Holy Spirit. Initially, the water is ankle deep, then knee deep, then waist deep, then chest deep until the water takes us freely. This describes our progress in our walk with the Holy Spirit until we eventually surrender to Him and allow Him to do what He wants with us, symbolized by the deep river waters (Ezekiel 47:1-12), and the healing that will take place as is currently experienced by the power of the Holy Spirit for those who truly believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. My only concern is that the temple will have sacrifices, which could be a perpetual memorial looking back at what Jesus did, or more accurately, the remembrance of His sacrifice for the salvation of the world, but not the physical slaughtering of animals.
Revelation 21:22
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it
Ezekiel 47:1-12
1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
The permanent manifestation of God’s presence has however come to the believer through Jesus Christ, that’s why a believer can see (understand) and enter the Kingdom of God right here on earth in our physical bodies by being born-again in the spirit. To enter and see the kingdom of God is not about dying and then going to heaven, but rather experiencing God’s kingdom within our hearts here on earth before inheriting it when Jesus reappears to change our vile bodies (Philippians 3:21) and establishing the new Heaven and Earth, i.e. the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. In other words, it is only by INHERITING the Kingdom of God that believers will be transformed into glorious bodies and finally have access to the new Heaven and Earth where righteousness dwells under the Lord Jesus. Therefore God shines His light (presence, Holy Spirit) in the heart of the believer to give us the knowledge of God based on the reflection of Jesus Christ’s life (2 Corinthians 4:6) so that we can be transformed in character here on earth, or as the scripture says in 2 Corinthians 3:18; looking in the mirror so that we can be transformed into His image. In other words, looking in the mirror symbolises the reading and studying of the Word because Jesus is the Word (John 1:1 and John 1:14), and thus we will become like Him if we get to know and walk by the Word as He does. I believe the second appearance of Jesus will only take place when the church decides to be holy as a “chaste or virgin” church, Ephesians 5:25-27, and when Israel comes back to God (Matthew 23:39) as God is waiting for as many as possible to be saved.
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Matthew 23:39
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Creating the Heaven and Earth
The heaven (first heaven) and the earth were created in the beginning but it does not state whether this was day one or before day one. Most have assumed they were created on day one because the scripture says that there was evening and then the morning after God created heaven and earth and separated light from darkness. In other words, darkness came first—symbolising the evening when God created the Heavens and the Earth—and then the light was manifested by the Holy Spirit symbolising the morning, or day, to separate darkness from light. As the sun had not yet been created, we could say that God’s light was symbolic of the day and one revolution of the earth would represent one full 24-hour day.
The creation of Heaven and Earth could also have taken place before the first day, wherefore day one could be merely for the separation between light and darkness, but again, the scripture does not provide this detail. Thus, God’s purpose is not that mankind know exactly how old the Universe and Earth are, but rather, that we understand that creation was for mankind to exist and to know God (light/life), and therefore, not to know God (darkness/death) is counter-intuitive as that could lead mankind into believing in false gods and doctrines that are generated by evil spirits, not very different to the gods of Egypt that Israel was under when in captivity.
Another possibility is that a day could represent an undefined period, eg: God rested on day 7, but for spiritual reasons, day 7 is still ongoing as God waits for mankind to enter His rest through faith in Christ, and Peter states that a day for the Lord can be a 1,000 years, and a 1,000 years in scripture represents an undefined period or the full complement of whatever is necessary to complete a specific period or quota, such as in Psalm 50:10. After all, I do not believe that God was in a hurry to create as can be witnessed on how long it takes for things to transform and even to get mankind to enter His rest on day seven. Furthermore, why has day 7 lasted from when God rested until today, and the Word of God uses the same Hebrew word representing “day” in all 7 days of creation? This implies that “yôm” can be used for a specific day or figuratively such as “age”, as per Strong’s dictionary. I also discerned, correctly or incorrectly, that no person lived beyond 1,000 years, representing that due to sin mankind did not complete their spiritual development to enter God’s rest, thus their bodies were not transformed into glorious bodies which was God’s aim for mankind, i.e. mankind’s sin came short of God’s glory for all have sinned.
Psalm 50:10
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
H3117 יוֹם yôm yome
From an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literally (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figuratively (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverbially): – age, + always, + chronicles, continually (-ance), daily, ([birth-], each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever (-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (. . . live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year (-ly), + younger.
In the latter 2 cases, the Earth could be far older than what people assume from scripture, but I believe scripture is accurate about how long mankind has lived (+- 6,000 years) as they were created on the last day of creation after the trees, plants, birds, and sea creatures due to dependency on them for life. God also said that what He created was good and therefore death was not yet apparent when He created mankind, however, Romans 5:12 says that death passed onto all men after Adam sinned. Note, it does not say that death is passed onto land animals, birds, or sea creatures, though I believe it did because Romans 8:20-22 speaks of the creature being subject to corruption which would only take place after mankind sinned. It is therefore not inconceivable that birds and sea creatures lived long without dying before mankind sinned, as death would only take place after the fall, Therefore, the correlation between man’s sin and death does not prove that the Earth is only 6,000 years old as creatures would only start dying after man’s fall into sin.
Romans 5:12
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Romans 8:20-22
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
The problem with a chronological approach of a day being an “undefined period” in creation is that dependencies are important. As a simple example, darkness is fine for trees and plant seeds to germinate, however, they would later die because they need the sun for photosynthesis unless God’s Spirit maintained the plants and trees, or plants and trees were created in one day, or an overlap/concurrent approach of days was instituted. Then the most probable explanation is that God made the “undefined periods” in Genesis overlap with each other, meaning that God could have started day 3 for trees and plants and then started day 4 concurrently afterwards to get the sun to provide nourishment for the trees and plants. I believe that days 1, 2, 3, and 4 could run concurrently as long as they started once their dependency has been established on one of the other days. Then even birds and sea creatures could also overlap with days 3 and 4 as long as the creation is done in an order based on each creature’s dependency on each other. Then evening and morning could be symbolic of an undefined period, thus representing normal or longer days where days of creation are compartmentalised based on God’s light that ran concurrently or chronologically or a combination of both. Jesus also used day and night to represent his presence as discussed below. However, scripture is not clear on how long creation took and therefore not important regarding God’s purpose for mankind which is to attain God’s rest by living in God’s light as opposed to darkness.
Nevertheless, God manifests His light (presence, wisdom, and power) when transforming the earth and populating it with living creatures, therefore, how did God create the physical heaven (space or Universe) when it was created on day one, and the Bible does not speak of manifesting His light for this? The open-eyed vision highlighted that there was only God—He is light—and the Universe was created within Himself (light) so there was no need to manifest as He was there already, however, when He created the Universe within Himself He birthed a dark material domain (Universe) into which He manifests Himself (light) to create or transform.
The vision impressed upon me that there is no end to God, for He is eternal, in every direction though there is no space in Him. The “no space in God” is difficult to understand. How does God get a humungous Universe with so much space, planets, and stars into something that has no space? I believe that God (Holy Spirit) is the source of heaven itself, and the love we feel in the presence of the Holy Spirit is the heavenly atmosphere God creates in our hearts, or external to us, for the Kingdom of God is not food or drink, but joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17), i.e. it is abstract or spiritual, not physical. God did not answer me regarding how He gets the Universe within Himself which is the decillion-dollar question, I guess because the Spirit of God is far more complex than any carnal mind can imagine. I can, however, hazard a guess based on the logic of a vision or dream. For example, we can imagine a physical location and see the details in our mind, but we cannot manifest what we imagine, however, God can, ie: our thoughts have no space but we can imagine a physical location and focus on each aspect of that location, but only God can manifest that location—the Universe in God’s case—and then simultaneously manifest Himself wherever He desires to create, transform or assist within that location. Therefore God’s Spirit houses or envelops the Universe (Hebrews 11-3) which is then infused with God’s presence when He manifests Himself into the nescient darkness of the Universe. It is like the microcosm is in the macrocosm and vice versa.
Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Hebrews 11-3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
God created the physical heaven (Universe of dense dark space) within Himself as He is the Glory or light. God was all that existed at the time, therefore anything created is born within Him (Spirit), i.e. there is nowhere else to create something except in Him (light). When the Universe was created, a physical dense darkness was born, and thus God manifests Himself as light/glory into the physical darkness to create for His pleasure. This reminded me of the scripture that says the whole Universe is framed by God’s Word (Jesus) and the things we see are not made by what we see, i.e. they are made by spirit or the unseen, see Hebrews 11-3. He then created the Earth but I was not shown whether this was day one or how far back this occurred before day 1. I just saw the Earth appearing in the Universe, and then the other planets coming into the picture within the physical Universe and I knew from scripture that it was day 4.
I did not see a big bang as the purpose was not to show me exactly how the Universe was created, I just saw the Universe appearing in the light (God) and then the planets appearing in the Universe. The vision did not show me that He manifested His presence in creating the earth or planets but I guess that He did because everything created or changed by God needs His manifest presence in this dense dark physical world. This also applies to changing a believer’s heart, or anything physical in the material world. I therefore understood that day 1 to day 4 symbolised God’s presence/light/glory as opposed to physical light, as the sun and moon had not been created. Therefore, for creation from day 1 to 7—including light, land, sky, water, people, trees, animals, and other stars and planets—God’s light was present, but the sunlight was only available from day 5 to day 7 when living creatures were created. I guess that most trees and plants needed darkness (no sunlight in this case) to germinate and thus the sun was created after them, however, the sun was created before mankind because people depend on the sun and plants for sustenance. I believe God used the light of day in scripture to symbolically express His presence to create during the day, and the darkness or night was symbolic of removing His presence when He finished creating for the day, but I did not see this in the vision when He created the celestial bodies.
God is light and there is no darkness in Him, however, when He created the Universe within Him, a dark physical place was born but that does not mean that God suddenly had a form of darkness about Him because he transcends all creation, and thus, creating something physical within Him does not affect His character because the physical does not affect the spiritual, but rather, the spiritual affects the physical. Similarly, it’s our thoughts and beliefs—spiritual maturity—that drive and form our character, and hence, can influence our physical well-being. Of course, sustenance and exercise are essential for good physical health as well so that the body can function correctly.
Jesus also uses “night” and “day” to reflect His presence or lack of it as per the 7 days of creation when He said that there is time in the day to work but that we stumble at night, see John 11:9-10.
John 11:9-10
9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
Was Jesus saying that He could not perform miracles or do anything during the night? Of course not, He only said that because He wanted them to realize that He is light (glory/presence/knowledge/power), symbolic of day and that miracles can only be done when the light is available, but when He is gone it will become dark (night – no presence, power, or knowledge of God) where no miracles can be performed because the light is gone. Without God (light/presence) it is impossible to do miracles. Therefore, light and day or dark and night are sometimes used interchangeably, or rather, used as a metaphor.
God does not dwell above the atmosphere
We see in Isaiah 40:22 that God sits upon the circle of the earth which tells us that God’s Spirit is everywhere, around and above the earth, and therefore fills the entire Universe.
Isaiah 40:22
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Deuteronomy 4:39 also tells us that God is in Heaven and on the Earth which is beneath the Heaven.
Deuteronomy 4:39
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
This refers to the physical Heaven (first heaven/Universe) and Earth to make us understand that God’s Spirit is everywhere in relation to every location of the Universe/Earth where God needs to manifest His light or His presence within the physical heavens to create or transform things. Heaven (third heaven) or the Kingdom of Heaven, which has no space and time, envelops and exists in parallel with the physical heaven (Universe) which has space and time. Therefore, hypothetically speaking, if we wanted to move swiftly from America to Europe, we should step out of the physical realm into the spiritual realm and out again from the spiritual realm into the destination of the physical realm. That’s why Jesus and His disciple’s boat appeared immediately on the other side after Jesus stepped into the boat, see John 6:21.
John 6:21
Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
See also Acts 8:36-40 where Phillip is transported elsewhere by the Spirit. Of course, human beings cannot step from heaven to earth and vice versa without the aid of the Holy Spirit, which is why we must be born-again to become righteous by faith in Jesus Christ to receive the Spirit of God. Transportation is immediate because there is no space in the Kingdom of Heaven and thus the Holy Spirit has simultaneous access to all locations of the physical realm because His person or heaven is ubiquitous (everywhere) in the Universe.
Acts 8:36-40
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
1 Corinthians 15:50
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Therefore when people say that God sits somewhere above the atmosphere or stratosphere, they do not realize that God is everywhere because Heaven has no space and thus is ubiquitous in the universe as one holistic indivisible abstract entity. Isaiah 66:1 says that heaven is God’s throne and earth is His footstool, i.e. He is not physically sitting in Heaven and His feet on the Earth but it is merely a figure of speech to denote He is everywhere, from the ground of the earth to the outskirts of heaven (Universe), even under the earth. God is everywhere as everything was created in Him, see Psalms 139.
Isaiah 66:1
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Transforming mankind
Human beings are more complicated than inanimate things because God gave us intellect and free will though we have bequeathed our free will to God when we asked Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. God’s wish is to have a relationship with mankind but sin drove us away from God and so God has tried to reconcile us to Him in various ways. God’s spirit, light, or breath in mankind was meant to direct us in God’s ways, however, our soulish free will drove us in another direction and so, in the last days, He sent Jesus Christ, by whom God made the worlds, who was a propitiation for our sins, and has made the Holy Spirit available to assist us in our walk with God, (Hebrews 1:1-3). This means that we had originally quenched God’s light in us (subdued our spirit) and therefore we need to be reborn by the spirit, and thus we need to receive the Holy Spirit to regenerate our spirit to rekindle our walk with God.
Hebrews 1:1-3
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
2 Corinthians 4:6 says that God Who shined the light out of darkness, referring to when the earth was dark and void, also shined in our hearts to give the light (Holy Spirit) of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This light to creating things on Earth is the same light that He shines in our hearts to change us from the inside out, i.e.: from darkness (lack of knowledge) to light (knowledge or illumination). This light in the first 4 days of creation cannot be the sun otherwise we would have a meltdown. The light in the beginning of creation is the same light in our hearts; the Holy Spirit who transforms our hearts.
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Mankind tries to be righteous through the fulfilment of the law but they cannot achieve this because the letter of the law has no power to change hearts, i.e. the inner man. After all, the law is weak through the flesh (Romans 8:1-4) and even one sin makes us fail the entire law, meaning we cannot be saved by the law or our good works because God’s standard of righteousness is perfect and unassailable by mankind without the Holy Spirit, i.e. even after the new birth, our mind and five-sense controlled flesh cannot continuously adhere to the law because it will always fall back on our instincts through the heart in spontaneous or fight-or-flight situations, or we may even make corrupt decisions under pressurised conditions whether for financial gain, reward or recognition. In other words, spontaneous or fight-or-flight situations do not always give us the time to think before reacting, so the corruption in our hearts might be inadvertently exposed. Therefore the heart needs to be transformed through perseverance in seeking God, in learning and acting on the Word until it becomes instinctive and replaces the previous thoughts and behaviours in the inner man or heart. Faith, humility, and respect for others are imperative for this change, and the Holy Spirit gave us this ability when He gave us the new man (spirit), and as He sheds love in our hearts and gives us all things necessary for attaining the divine nature. Only then can we operate fully out of love, because the Word is God and God is love, which makes fight-or-flight situations correctly dealt with through instinct based on our new character grounded in love that does not harm, thereby fulfilling God’s law. In other words, we no longer worry about reacting incorrectly due to anxiety, stress, or any negative aspects because of the trust and faith we put in God and the Word, and as we realise that the love of God (Romans 5:5) in us bears all things (1 Corinthians 13-7) through humility. In other words, the desires of the flesh (carnality) become non-existent as we are led by the spirit in faith as opposed to the letter of the law and thus judge no one, and this can only be done by the spirit because only the spirit can shed love in our hearts through a relationship with God/Word. Most Christians do not realise that judging others, as is common in legalism, is not acceptable because we are using God’s law to shame or punish others when we also have our quirks, i.e. there is no one without sin. We are not God and therefore do not always judge accurately, for God is the only one who understands each person’s intentions which may be expressed incorrectly through the flesh, James 4:11-12. This is the reason that Paul states that he knows no man by the flesh but by the spirit, (2 Corinthians 5:16). Obviously, we must be taught what is right and wrong as the law is a tutor to make us understand God’s ways, however, we do not judge when someone sins out of weakness, we do however, remove people from our lives who live a life of sin so that satan can afflict their flesh unto repentance, and to prevent them from affecting the body of Christ negatively (a little yeast leavens the whole lump).
Romans 8:1-4
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 5:5
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
1 Corinthians 13-7
(Charity) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
James 4:11-12
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
2 Corinthians 5:16
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
To see transformation in mankind, the Holy Spirit must indwell mankind’s hearts where love, peace, and joy are endemic because of His presence and function. God’s breath generates the human spirit at man’s conception or regenerates the human spirit at the born-again experience, however, the Holy Spirit is still needed to assist us in our walk to transform us internally in the heart to influence our behaviour and character to maintain our salvation at the last day. This does not mean that we become passive, but rather active in building a relationship with God, where we listen and act upon the Holy Spirit’s direction and the Word of God for real transformation to take place. Being passive will grieve the Holy Spirit because it is disobedience. The Holy Spirit is also essential to prevent our soul from once again subduing the human spirit so that we can continue progressing toward the purpose God placed in us. The Holy Spirit also guides and comforts us when we run into trouble or sin, always reminding us of our righteousness in Christ (John 16:18-11) and working to transform us from the inside out as we gradually eliminate carnality (fleshy desires) through the Word in both knowledge and deed. This is expressed by the fact that when Moses erected the Tabernacle, he first placed the Ark of the Covenant in the Holies of Holies (inner man, subconscious, heart, or spirit) before organising the rest (Exodus 40:17-21). The Ark of the Covenant is symbolic of the heart of man with the concealed law. Law in the heart means that mankind knows instinctively right from wrong but God wants them to walk in love, not the law, for love implies a change of heart for the desire to walk in righteousness by the spirit, where the law is compulsive and generates a mindset of pride and self-righteousness which is against God’s desire and purpose for mankind. The only power that gives mankind the ability to continuously walk in righteousness is founded in the Holy Spirit for God has given us a spirit of love, power, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), man cannot do it by himself through laws.
John 16:18-11
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Exodus 40:17-21
17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.
19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.
20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
It is God’s breath (spirit) and Word in a person that influences that person’s soul and thus their destiny (Genesis 2:27), however, God gave the soul free will to choose their destiny through the five senses which are aroused by the person’s experiences and desires. The spirit breathed in a person is therefore what God purposed the person to be, but the person/soul chooses what it wants to become as it experiences life through the senses. In the final analysis, if our soul, through free will, is obedient to God, it will walk in unison with our spirit (God’s purpose), which is why Amos 3:3 asks, “Can two walk together unless they agree?”, even though God was talking to unfaithful Israel as a nation at the time. In other words, we do not walk or have a solid relationship with God if we do not agree with God’s purpose for us. Similarly, when two or more are gathered in Jesus’ name, He is present, but this does not only apply to two people or more, but to the soul and spirit of one person as well. The spirit breathed by God into a person is a way of giving that person their gifts and purpose in life, but the soul has free will in deciding whether they want to follow, and how they want to achieve that purpose. Having said that, let’s remind ourselves that we gave our lives to God when we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we, therefore, should follow obediently. Then, if the two (soul and spirit) in a person are in agreement, the person walks in peace, love, and joy because the person is walking in God’s purpose and not resisting the Holy Spirit, i.e. the soul has realised that its free will was given to God at the born-again experience and walks in conformance to God’s will.
Genesis 2:27
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Amos 3:3
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Being born-again does not automatically make us walk by the spirit in faith because we still have to learn the Word and follow our spiritual purpose based on the spirit’s direction. We, therefore, have to learn and act on the Word, making it a heartfelt issue until we instinctively know and do what we have learnt. We can then say we are walking in the spirit for those behaviours and deeds that conform to God’s Word, but not in those that do not. Walking by the spirit in all aspects of our lives means we are walking fully in the spirit, and therefore serving God’s purpose for our lives after God has come upon us and filled us with power. Therefore walking by the spirit can only set us free when we know the truth. John 8:32.
John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Christians make the mistake of thinking that they are walking in the spirit merely because they are born-again, only to find out later that they are still walking in the desires of the flesh because of sin or disobedience to God, whether in thought, word, or deed. Even though our spirit sits in heavenly places, our bodies do not, and thus we must renew our minds to the Word and walk in obedience to God and the Holy Spirit before we decide to serve God, otherwise, our weaknesses and sin can be detrimental to some who are new in the faith, even to those that have a legalistic outlook in the Word of God. The truth is that at the born-again experience, we are one with God because the Spirit of God is “in us” and our spirit “is in heaven/God”, however, we do not necessarily walk “in the spirit” until we learn and do the Word of God as Jesus did. When Jesus had learnt the Word and reached the age of 30, which was a requirement for acting as a rabbi in Judaism according to the law, He was ready to be baptised with the Holy Spirit who abided upon Him when John baptised Him before His successful test in the wilderness. This test proved that Jesus knew and did the Word of God by faith. Believers must also prove that the Word of God has renewed their minds (to see the Kingdom) and be to born by water and by the spirit to enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:1-5), where water represents coming from our mother’s womb and spirit represents the regeneration of the human spirit in mankind. We are then works in progress as we learn and do the Word of God. We start to walk in the spirit of those things that we have learnt and do until we learn all things of God and thus walk fully in the spirit. Is it possible? Yes, not that I have attained to this. Only when our minds are completely washed and conform to the Word and the Holy Spirit’s direction, will we then be able to walk as Jesus did, and as His disciples did in Acts 2:1-4 when the Holy Spirit filled them with power.
John 3:1-5
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I have not met anyone upon whom the Holy Spirit has abided like in the case of Jesus, but scripture does indicate that we can be refilled from time to time with the Spirit of God. We therefore seem to be in and out of the Spirit of God, but I believe that the Spirit can abide on us if we dedicate ourselves completely to Jesus Christ, i.e. we will then always walk continuously in the heavenly atmosphere of the Holy Spirit, even here on earth. We all have our weaknesses, meaning that we have good and bad characteristics, therefore some issues are easy to walk by the spirit while others need character transformation, which can take time. To find peace and love in this world we need to learn the Word out of free will to renew our minds and thus transform our souls to comply with the Word of God, assisted by the indwelling Holy Spirit so that we may be perfected as per Ephesians 4:11-13.
Ephesians 4:11
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Once our hearts are transformed to a point, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and fills us with power according to His pleasure so that we can be of service to God. This can be small increments as we all have to start somewhere, which is why God tells us not to despise small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). The greater the surrender to God the greater the infilling is with power. When Jesus told John the Baptist to baptise Him so that they could fulfil all righteousness, even though Jesus had no sin, He still had to be water baptised for the Holy Spirit to abide on Him so that John could point Him out as the Messiah, to do it for the sin of the world, and to set an example for future believers who would symbolically mimic His death and resurrection. For the believer, this represents the dying of the old man when submerged in water and being raised to a new life when coming out of the water. Believers receive the Holy Spirit without the baptism of water, but every believer should do it because water baptism helps us have a clear conscience toward God. We may become righteous by faith when we are born-again, but we still sin through our weaknesses, and so we hold onto the hope that one day we will walk in righteousness by the spirit, see Galatians 5:4-5. Then we will be perfected.
Matthew 3:14-16
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Galatians 5:4-5
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Therefore, in the born-again experience, when the Holy Spirit (light) comes to dwell within, it is for the renewal/transformation of heart and mind by the Word. However, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, He fills believers with power, and potentially more power at subsequent infillings as we grow in faithfulness and walk closer to God. Sometimes we fall from grace and need to be refilled to reestablish the power we already had. It is not that the power was taken away but that we fell from the Spirit’s embrace through our carnality and need to reestablish it, for God’s gifts are without repentance (Romans 11:29). The anointing always resides within the believer after the born-again experience, but we need the Spirit within and upon for the anointing to operate in power, just like the earth got soaked in water from within (underground) and from above at the time of Noah and the flood who were saved from drowning.
Romans 11:29
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
We may lose the Holy Spirit’s presence, or rather, the atmosphere created within us, through disobedience and perpetual sin and lose our progress in transformation, however, the Holy Spirit never leaves us. It is then up to the believer to rededicate themselves to the Holy Spirit to resume their walk. The Holy Spirit never leaves us; therefore, we can always return to our former desire to live by the spirit.