In another article in this issue of The Christian we have mentioned that dreams and visions were frequently used in the Old Testament, before the Word of God was complete and before the coming down of the Holy Spirit to indwell every true believer. We have also mentioned that God continues to use dreams and visions today, especially in parts of the world where His Word may not be available. However, the Lord did use dreams and visions from time to time in the early church, particularly with Peter and Paul.
Both Peter and Paul lived in a transitional time, and the Lord did not immediately stop using this way of communicating to His servants. “The darkness [was] passing,” and the “true light” was already shining (1 John 2:8 JND), but this took place over a period of time. Paul was the one used of the Lord to “fulfill [or complete] the word of God” (Col. 1:25), and thus he had a very special calling. There were seven times in his life that the Lord chose to speak to him in a direct vision, rather than simply leading him by the Holy Spirit.
The First Vision
The first time that Paul saw a vision was when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6). A light brighter than the sun suddenly struck him down, and a voice spoke to him: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” Saul, as he was called before he was saved, immediately recognized this as a “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19), and he replied, “Who art Thou, Lord?” He knew that the Lord Himself was speaking to him, and he waited for the Lord to tell him what to do next.
It is important to recognize that Saul was persecuting Christians with a good conscience, for he could say later to the Jewish Sanhedrin, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:1). Saul thought he was doing the right thing and that persecuting the Christians was pleasing to the Lord. But the Lord was going to show him otherwise and that Saul’s laying his hands on believers in Christ was persecuting Christ Himself.
The Second Vision
The second vision Paul had was shortly afterward, when he was in Damascus, blinded for three days, with time to ponder what had happened to him. During this time Saul evidently saw another vision — a vision of a man named Ananias coming to him, putting his hands on him, and giving him back his sight (Acts 9:11-12). The Lord had also sent a vision to Ananias, telling him to go and do this, and He had told Ananias that Saul would be expecting him. During this same visit from Ananias, Saul was baptized and was “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 9:17).
It was shortly before this that Stephen was martyred while Saul looked on with approval, but as another has commented, “It was typical of the ways of God in this dispensation of grace, that when Satan succeeded in putting out one of the brightest lights in the early church, God laid hold of the worst one responsible and said, as it were, “You come and take his place!” Then the Lord made of Saul of Tarsus an even greater servant than Stephen.
Direction in Service and Guidance
For the third vision we must go on to Acts 22:17-21, where we read Paul’s account of how God gave him direction in service. Saul (by this time called Paul) was evidently in Jerusalem, praying in the temple, when the Lord told him clearly to “depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21). Unlike Peter’s mission, which was to the Jews, Paul’s commission was to the Gentiles. Later, when Paul did go back to Jerusalem to witness to his own nation — the Jews—there was nothing but trouble. All this is a good lesson for us; we are always right to do what the Lord gives us to do. Following our own way, even with good motives, will never accomplish God’s purposes.
The fourth vision is given to us in Acts 16:9, for here Paul and his companion Silas are uncertain of what to do. If Paul received general guidance as to his service for the Lord in Jerusalem, he also sometimes needed specific guidance. They were “forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,” and when they tried to “go into Bithynia,” we read that “the Spirit suffered them not.” But then, after coming to Troas, they received another vision telling them that there was a man in Macedonia, asking them to “come over into Macedonia, and help us” (vs. 9). They had labored for the Lord in Asia, but now it was time for the gospel to be introduced into Europe. Again, how wonderful are the ways of God! Little did Paul and Silas know that to reach that man (the jailor in Philippi), they would have to endure beating and imprisonment. Paul was learning how he was to suffer for the name of Christ (Acts 9:16).
Encouragement
The fifth vision is one of encouragement, for here Paul is in a large, wealthy, and very important city in Greece — Corinth. Paul was fearful as he went there, and he admits this later in 1 Corinthians 2:3: “I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.” It was not that he had any doubt as to the power of the gospel, but he was afraid that perhaps these wealthy, educated people might not want to listen to him. The Lord encourages him by telling him that “no man shall set on thee to hurt thee” and that He, the Lord, had “much people in this city” (Acts 18:10). The Lord kept His word, and we do not read of any direct persecution in Corinth, although Paul stayed there for a year and a half. The one attempt by the Jews to raise up persecution resulted only in the Jews’ being driven from the judgment seat by Gallio, the Roman deputy of the region.
The sixth vision is very precious, for it occurs at a low point in Paul’s life, when he was doubtless rather discouraged. After being told that his commission was to the Gentiles, his love for his own nation, the Jews, caused him some years later to go up to Jerusalem once more, intent on preaching to them one more time. However, there was no blessing from his efforts, and had it not been for the Lord’s allowing the Jews to force him out of the temple, he might have seriously compromised his Christian position (Acts 21:18-30). As a result of the uproar that ensued, he was taken into custody by the Romans and no doubt felt his failure keenly. The night following the Lord appeared to him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome” (Acts 23:11). We might call this encouragement in trial, for, as we have mentioned, Paul surely must have realized his failure in going up to Jerusalem. Also, many believers had witnessed to him on his trip up to Jerusalem that he should not go there. But the Lord had pity on His servant, for He knew that Paul’s motives were right. The Lord first gives Paul credit for testifying of Him in Jerusalem, and then He tells him that he would also bear witness at Rome. Paul knew, right from that point, that he would reach Rome. All this must have made it somewhat easier for him to bear the two long years in prison before he was finally sent to Rome. But Paul knew that the Lord was in charge of all his circumstances.
His Appearing Before Caesar
The seventh visit might be called encouragement or intelligence in danger. After spending two years in prison in Caesarea, Paul was finally put on a ship to Rome. It turned out to be a dangerous journey, and so much so that most on board the ship thought that they would be lost at sea. Paul already had the answer: He knew that would not happen, but that he would reach Rome. However, now God gave him a further vision. Not only would he reach Rome and be brought before Caesar, but the Lord would graciously preserve all who were on board that ship (Acts 27:23-25). When Paul revealed this vision to those on the ship, he spoke with authority, and he took charge of the ship, although only a prisoner. The result was that “then were they all of good cheer” (Acts 27:36). Again, this is an encouragement to us, for when a believer in Christ speaks with God’s authority, others, even unbelievers, will often recognize the voice of the Lord and listen.
We might mention one final vision Paul had, although it was more than a vision. I refer to the time when Paul was “caught up to the third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2). No doubt Paul was actually caught up to the third heaven (the dwelling place of God), although he was not conscious of whether he was in the body or out of the body. It was a wonderful preview of coming glory, yet afterward he needed “a thorn for the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7 JND), lest he should be “exalted above measure.” Human pride could still get in the way, and that thorn kept Paul humble. Yet later Paul could rejoice in it, for it only made the power of Christ more evident in his life.
You and I will not likely experience visions such as Paul had, but God by His Holy Spirit can make His mind very clear to us, in all the areas where Paul saw visions. However, we must be walking with the Lord, with a true desire to know His mind.
W. J. Prost