Acts 9:3-8 “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. (4) Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (5) And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." (6) So, he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (7) And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. (8) Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.”
The next level of vision which we will discuss is the trance. Unlike dreams, in these instances the individual’s physical senses are suspended while they are awake. In other words they are no longer aware of their physical bodies or their physical surroundings. During a trance the Holy Spirit restrains the body of the individual from any movement and they become motionless. While in this state of physical suspension the Holy Spirit opens the spirit realm to their inward man, allowing them to see and hear that which the Lord would show them. Very often when the individual falls into a trance, the Holy Spirit will take the person out of their bodies and transport them to another location to show them that which He wants them to see and hear. And so the first example that we will look at to discuss this level of vision is given to us in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this account we see that the Lord Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. When the Lord appeared to Saul he immediately fell to the ground in a trance. In other words all of Saul’s physical senses were suspended during this encounter, and he lost all consciousness of both his physical body and physical surroundings as he lay motionless on the ground. We know that Saul lay motionless on the ground throughout this encounter, because this passage reveals to us that it was only at the end of the encounter that he arose from the ground. When Paul relates this account to us in a later passage of scripture however, he tells us that the Lord told him to stand up on his feet while He spoke to him (Acts 26:16). And so we see that it was with his inner man that Saul stood before the Lord Jesus on that day, while his body lay motionless on the ground in a trance.
Acts 22:17-18 “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance (18) and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.”
The next example that we want to look at is recorded in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this instance the apostle Paul fell into a trance while he was praying in the temple. And so while he was in the trance the Lord Jesus appeared to him and conversed with him. If you read the full account in scripture you will see that Paul had an extensive conversation with the Lord during this vision. And so we see that trances can last for some time or can be of short duration, depending on what the Lord wants to reveal to the individual during the vision. As an aside, no one present would have heard either the Lord Jesus or Paul speaking during this encounter, for Paul conversed with the Lord with his inner man in the spirit realm, while his body remained motionless in the physical realm.
Acts 10:9-11 “The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. (10) Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance (11) and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.”
The next account we want to discuss is recorded for us in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this account we see that just like the apostle Paul, the apostle Peter fell into a trance as he was praying. The difference on this occasion was that Peter was alone on the roof, whereas Paul would not have been alone in the temple. And so we see that the Lord gave Peter the vision of the sheet let down from heaven to show him that the Lord had cleansed the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Again if you read the full account in scripture you will see that Peter argued with the Lord during the vision, because in Peter’s mind the Lord was instructing him to do that which was unlawful. And so the Lord had to repeat the instruction to him three times to drive the point home. Nevertheless if anyone had been present on the roof that day they would have heard neither the Lord nor Peter, because all of the discourse took place in the spirit realm as Peter conversed with the Lord with his inner man, and his physical body remained in a motionless state.
Luke 24:36-43 “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." (37) But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. (38) And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? (39) Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." (40) When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. (41) But while they still did not believe for joy, and marvelled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" (42) So, they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. (43) And He took it and ate in their presence.”
And so we come to the highest level of vision that occurs, which as we have already stated is commonly referred to as an open vision. We have stated that this type of vision occurs in one of two ways, i.e. either the spirit realm manifests in the physical realm or the individual is taken physically into the spiritual realm. And so the first example that we will discuss, is one in which the spirit realm manifests in the physical realm and the above quoted passage of scripture is just such an example. In this account we see that the Lord Jesus appeared out of nowhere, as He stepped out of the spirit realm into the physical realm on this occasion. And so this was an open vision which the disciples were being exposed to. Notice that the Lord Jesus interacted with the disciples in this realm just as any other physical person would, for He allowed them to handle Him as He ate with them and conversed with them. When the Lord had finished interacting with the disciples on this occasion He simply disappeared, as He stepped out of this physical realm back into the spirit realm.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third heaven. (3) And I know such a man--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-- (4) how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
We have stated that the second way in which an open vision occurs is when the Lord takes the individual physically into the spirit realm to show them that which He chooses, and then returns them to this physical realm. There is no clear example of this type of vision given to us in scripture however, for the only two clear examples of individuals being taken physically into the spirit realm are Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). Those two examples don’t count however, because those individuals have remained in heaven ever since then. And so although there are numerous accounts in scripture of saints being taken into the spirit realm to be shown things and then returned to the physical realm, such as the apostle John in the book of Revelation for example, scripture does not reveal to us if the individual was taken up physically or in spirit. Nevertheless there are numerous accounts in scripture of the Lord transporting His saints physically from one location to another in the spirit, e.g. the account of Phillip being transported from Gaza to Azotus in the spirit (Acts 8:39-40). And so if there are accounts of the Lord moving His saints physically through the realm of the spirit on earth, then it is certainly scriptural to envision the Lord taking His saints into the spirit realm in heaven to show them a vision and then return them to the physical realm. Another reason we know that this type of vision does occur is because of the above quoted passage of scripture. For in this passage Paul mentions that he was taken to the third heaven and Paradise on two separate occasions (all biblical scholars agree that Paul is relating his own experiences in this passage). Paul mentions that on both occasions he was unaware as to whether he was taken up either in the body or out of the body. Clearly Paul was on his own on both occasions, for had others been present they could have answered that question for Paul. And so we can see from this passage that when individuals are caught up in the Spirit, it sometimes becomes unclear just what kind of vision the individual is actually experiencing.
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