My Experience Trumps Accountability
Consider why the first response of a person celebrating “I go to heaven all the time and live in the third heaven and ‘realms’ of Glory” will always be, “You don’t understand because you aren’t experiencing this.”
Why is this first response? Because the sentiment of this person about accountability is “but Jesus told me that face to face and that trumps all your thinking about my experience.” Going to heaven is the ultimate one-up on anything anybody can say, the greatest justification for avoiding accountability.
Like Paul, many of us who wish to see accountability, who do not make money and “we are supersaints” claims with our spiritual experiences, do not advertise our experiences with heaven because it is inappropriate to do so.
There, I said it. It is inappropriate to do so. It is not the basis of a calling or ministry. It is not the justification for supersaintliness. It is not the new wave of “Jesus wants us all doing this” or “stop living below your privileges”. It is not a new norm led by the “been there, done that” people. It is an inappropriate hype machine that leads to the dismantling of proper prophets process by the age-old practice of Name-dropping.
Puffed Up
The issues of this kind of valid visionary experience, however or whichever the spiritual grace capacity for it or the revelatory gift mix involved in the experience, remains the same ones that the Bible cautions us to avoid. Without proper process, this kind of “living in the mystic mists of the realms” produces pride.
Pride is a disease that makes everyone sick but the one who has it.
The puffed up become the one-up. “We have been there. Let us tell you what you don’t know. Let’s us convince you of our other-than lives and living. You can now have the revelation no one has.” Not so much since the experiences they describe are nearly always misapplied to prophetic process and lead to greater puffiness. At some point, the mature asked, “So? What if you did see that? So?”
1. Last days revelations are now available. This approach to one-up visionary discussion contends that Jesus has appointed certain supersaints to reveal heaven to us all. That is pretty much an irrational thought if we think with Bible thinking. The only people in history who can lay claim to that wrote the Bible, right?
No one is writing new books to the Bible.
So, no one is revealing anything that is not subject to the prophetic process, and all the puffed people produce unBiblical thinking because pride is deception. Whether any of their revelatory experiences are valid or not, and we can be sure that many do have some valid experiences, the use of the revelation fails the first tests of prophetic process. None of them pushes the person beyond the pale of accountability.
I heard one person who “goes to heaven every day” say that the four living creatures were not created but have always been with God.” Should we laugh or cry that the leader interviewing her didn’t stop and correct that obvious inconsistency with Bible thinking and spiritual reality? Should we celebrate the experiences, most of which make this obvious error seem like a salt shaker of misconception compared to an earthquake of error?
The whole idea that God is revealing heaven now because of some season shift that requires that someone fly off for updates directly from Jesus comes from conclusion developed from a false premise. At best, such a reach is unnecessary. At worst, it is purely heretical.
2. Jesus did. Paul did. John did. and Here’s the massive moment of mystic masquerade that supposedly provides a Bible context for “I go to heaven” experiences. Of course, everything about those two specific experiences, as described by Jesus and Paul, concludes exactly opposite the logic of “heaven is now open to us like never before.”
“Jesus wants us on the Mount of Transfiguration. Paul wants us into paradise.” Neither Jesus or Paul says that. In fact, both Jesus and Paul make it clear, as does the voice of the Father to Simon, that this conclusion is opposite the purpose of what is commonly called “heavenly visitations in realms.”
Before we examine that language, let’s revisit Jesus and Paul and John.
We have no instruction, mandate, presupposition, presumption, command, hint, shove, or whisper from the Bible that God wishes to normalize the transfiguration or the experiences of Paul and John. If we did, we would certainly have zero foundation for using these experiences outside the prophetic process.
We have no Bible thinking to support the way revelatory experiences are used by “we go to heaven” people.
Consider that 90% of the discussion concerning them is heavy on the “I need to tell you this to prove it really happened so you will believe in my experiences. Then, you will listen to me.”
Anyone with expertise and experience in kingdom leadership will immediately recognize this as an “I have just proven myself above accountability” argument. The point being made is “if my experience is valid, what I have to say is the very words of God.” And, the point is that, if this were true, it would not lift the experience above the prophetic process that each and every prophetic word communicated should go through.
Heaven Tells Me Things No One Knows
The person who says, “Heaven tells me things no one knows,” also infers, “I know this because of other people who have the same experiences.”
This is necessary because the Bible provides no validation for the experience as this person is using it. The only context for validating the experiences comes from experiences of other people. I do not refer to prophetic process. I refer to the scrapbooks of like-minded mystics. In other words, the person seeks out and attracts people willing to believe that heaven tells them things no one else knows.
1. People hoping to convince others of false doctrines about “manifested sons” and “spiritual X-men” that require some “other than” and “higher than” spiritual experiences. In other words, if the idea that God is going manifest glorified sons at some point – and this group assumes they are the ones and now is the time – somebody must be having some experiences at higher, greater levels. “I was out creating universes this morning.” Or, “I was caught up to play golf with Jesus on planet Heaven today.” Or, “I removed one of the rings of Saturn yesterday.” Or, “I was in heaven and saw Michael Jackson there.” [Actual quotes]
What follows is nothing more than parlor tricks impossible to validate but convincing enough to people wishing to believe this is all available to the body of Christ that they weep about it. “I saw your father and he told me to tell you…” Or, “I talked with Elijah yesterday and he was telling me that….”
Of course, the end point of why everyone in the world hasn’t yet embraced this obvious super revelation is religion and bozos like me writing about prophetic process and Bible stuff. If we could only get past “them,” the entire earth will hear us. “Soon, this generation will be listening to the voice of the ones going to heaven every day. “Cities will have an advisor to the mayor who can tell him or her what Jesus wants and crime, poverty, racism, disease, and bad people will be defeated by these special representatives of heaven.” Of course, this is coming and what stops it from happening right now is the present prophetic limitations put upon them by people insisting upon controlling processes.
Now, add to that the promise that billions are coming into the hands of these supersaints and your proximity to them will bring you into that realm of unlimited supply. “Sow into that unlimited supply of billions right now in this offering basket…”
2. The idea that this is a higher level of revelation falls apart immediately you hear the message. The message has no kingdom application or implementation! Nothing said about the messages from the mouth of God accomplish anything. Instead, the promise of what is coming continues. One heavenly visitor spokesman, teaching “secrets I learned in the realms” that sound suspiciously just like the ones someone else already printed in a book because they are word for word quotes, says that “everyone will be healed when we get into this fully” while unable to stand up straight from bad back pain, crippled knees, and extreme digestive dysfunction. While standing before people and claiming to create universes, swim with sharks, and walk on water, promising healing to all, the manifested son cannot seem to receive his own healing?
The people applauding his amazing revelations, overcoming all witches and warlocks in a single bound, finally we are winning euphoria filling the room, seem oblivious to the complete lack of any sign or wonder, miracle or moment of truth. While claiming this for decades without any outward manifestation, the line of people ready to hear the next level of the realms message remains long.
Bottom line: once we parse through the revelations, absent the hype of circus fog machine mysticism, we find some basically valid revelations that should be part of the prophetic process instead of the fuel of a puffed up air balloon of “other than” and “far above” John the Revelator status. The ongoing effort to pull another heavenly visit out of the hat requires greater and greater delusional vacations from reality.
What to Do?
The answer is the Bible. We have lost kingdom culture and we don’t even know we lost it. Three months of proper kingdom culture, prophetic process, accountability, correction and restoration would separate the valid from the worthless, and offer a pathway toward authentic experience. It would probably come at the expense of entire ministries, however, and people would have to lay down the sources of income they receive for carrying on with the misappropriated visionary gifts they have. It would disruptive to them because what they have built is illegitimate.
Apostolic order would deal with this lovingly, of course, but the reality is that the first premise of people lost in this delusion begins with the idea that they are above accountability.
In any case, the new wave we need isn’t about Jesus opening heaven for daily tours and words directly from His mouth. The new wave we need is a restoration of the very foundations of the kingdom, so apostles and prophets function at the foundational level, with apostolic order based upon kingdom culture.
1. Rebuild kingdom culture.
2. Reset apostolic order.
3. Restore function of apostles and prophets at the foundational level.
The reality is that many revelatory people are experiencing what these people claim is novel but submitting to the first premise of the Bible about what to do with the experiences. Let me say this: the level of revelation at which many of these people operate would fit better into the life of an intercessor in a closet than a showboat on a platform. The revelatory conclusions they reach, once bleached of hype and supersaintliness, should simply be submitted to leaders as part of compilation of puzzle pieces.
In other words, if the intercessors I train weren’t having this same level of prophetic insight, I would call for a thirty-day reset to restore normal function. In other words, people at the gift of prophecy level have these kind of experiences. In other words, prophets who know what to do with these kinds of experiences would immediately recognize them for what they really are. Mature leaders would simply say, “There is some revelation here but there is no basis for your claim to supersaintlinesss.”
