December 11th, 2011
At once, I was caught up in the Spirit. I heard Jesus say to me, "I am the Lord, I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT, I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT, I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT. I want you to wake the dead. I am God — ask me for more, I am waiting for you to ask me for more. Can you see the fire in my eyes? I am a lion, I am a lion."
I felt like I was in Heaven, looking at Jesus as He was telling me all this. I was in a trance, but I was still aware of my physical body. I can only describe it as lucid dreaming while I was still awake. This is what many call an “open vision.” It was like the tighter I closed my earthly eyes, the more clearly I could see Heaven. The more I closed my eyes on Earth, the more I could see out of my eyes in Heaven. The best way I can describe this is by saying that I had in actual fact two bodies. I had my physical body here on Earth, and I had a spiritual body that at that moment was in Heaven. I didn’t then and still don’t today see Heaven as an abstraction. Heaven was not and is not just an illusion or hallucination or metaphysical incorporeal plane of existence. Heaven is a real place, in a real location, with rules and structures and organization and real people and things live there.
This open vision was the first time that I saw Heaven with my own eyes so to speak, and I was able to see the streets of gold, the River, clouds of glory, angels, and I also saw Jesus, but I couldn't really see His face because it was so bright. I was able to look around and even walk around a little in Heaven while I was there. Heaven felt huge in the sense that it felt almost endless, but despite this, it also felt incredibly intimate and personal. The gold on the streets wasn’t at all like the “yellow brick road” that I had previously thought it looked like. It’s hard to explain but you have to keep in mind that the gold in Heaven, actually all the metals and stones in Heaven were not only of the highest quality and kind, gleaming with the light of Jesus, and they were also made of materials that were completely devoid of any foreign substances, blemishes, impurities or dross. The outer edges of space surrounding the city were full of smoke or fog.
After some time in Heaven on my unguided tour, I saw Jesus face to face. He had a scepter in one hand and a sword in His other hand and He had a sword in His mouth. His hair was white and He was dressed in white robes. There was fire in his eyes, not like a glowing ember, but rather a roaring flame. There was also a fire in His hands, and suddenly there was a fire in my hands. I also saw Jesus as a lion. I did my best to draw it, but it’s difficult to explain. When you’re in the Spirit and you’re in Heaven, you see everything as it is, but you can also see multiple layers or multiple realities. So in one sense I was staring into the fire in the eyes of Jesus, who looked very much like a human, but at the same time I also saw a hungry, roaring lion in front of me. The significance of Jesus appearing as a lion hit me. He is the true lion, and the Devil is the counterfeit. The Devil appears as a roaring lion trying to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus, as the true lion, is a roaring lion seeking to give/bless, wake the dead/restore life, and build his kingdom inside of us. One of the most striking things about Jesus is that He is hungry for souls. I could sense a taste of His hunger.
In a flash, I was in Hell. I wasn’t sure how I got there, but I knew where I was. Then I looked around and all I saw was fire, everything was fire, and everyone was fire. The thing I remember most about Hell, besides the fire, is the overwhelmingly strong sense that you were completely and utterly alone. Since this vision, I have never felt the dread and terror that I felt when I was in Hell. After a few minutes, I suddenly felt myself being dragged. All I could see was my feet, and what was in front of me as I was being dragged backwards. I was being dragged out of the fire and up, up, up. Dragged far and high, through a tunnel of earth and then to earth and then to the sky. Then I saw the Earth from a distance and I was in space, being dragged higher and higher and higher, and I was in heaven again. It’s like there’s a long tunnel that goes from Hell all the way to space, and then once you enter space there’s a secret path that takes you to Heaven.
I also saw an amazing battlefield. I could see a battle that was being fought over the city of New Orleans. The city was black and dark and looked like it was in flames and I was flying with Jesus over this battlefield looking down at everything. Jesus and I were flying through the sky looking at the battle and all I can do to try and describe it is by saying that it was like something out of the Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings. On one side were angels and warriors of light and on the other were demons and monsters and the enemies of darkness.
Then, that suddenly I was back in my body and I could hear God pleading for me to ask for more, and so I did, and I didn't stop asking for more the rest of the night. I remember saying things like, "There is still more of me left, take it all. Take more.” I wasn't asking for more of God, but I was. I don't know how to explain it. I was asking for more of God in me and for God to take more of me out of me. I couldn't stop asking for more. Then I felt my hands glowing. On fire. Ablaze. My head too. It was almost like I was temporarily sent back to my body on Earth to charge up or something.
I started feeling like, "people can probably see me and maybe I am acting crazy" - but then the preacher that night started asking the Lord for and increase in specifically "trances and visitations," and that is what I was experiencing.
Then I was all the sudden back, flying with Jesus over New Orleans. Over the battlefield, hovering over the city, I saw them all again. Throngs of creatures and men, all fighting, all locked completely and fully in the war of good and evil. I knew that we are in a war for New Orleans. It suddenly reminded me of what God told me months ago, the first night I went to youth. I paced back and forth through the gym praying in tongues pleading for the souls of New Orleans. Pleading for the warriors, for the fighters, for the army. God wants this city. He is absolutely jealous for this city. New Orleans is a source of such great pride for the Devil. He is so proud of his work. New Orleans has essentially been under control of the Devil since it’s inception over 300 years ago. This city has been known for prostitution, debauchery, alcoholism, Voodoo, religion, gambling, and more since it’s earliest days.
Lord we need revival.
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