As a teenager, a huge poster of a tropical beach used to decorate my bedroom wall. It was one of those beach scenes that was almost too perfect to be true and had you saying to yourself, “One of these days, I’ve gotta go there!” It wasn’t enough to just see it, it begged you to experience it!
A vision from God does the same. It’s like an invitation and it will always mean change. It’s purpose is to encourage, inspire, foretell, warn or prepare a person for change.
One may argue that the ultimate purpose of a vision from God, is worship of God! Absolutely, but remember worship is change. It’s a change of posture or disposition and the principal biblical terms (Hebrew saha and Greek proskyneo) both emphasise the act of prostration or the doing of obeisance.
When God gives us a vision, something will change. We can choose to obey or disobey but – for better or worse – we will not be the same.
One of the most famous recorded visions is that of Isaiah chapter 6. Notice the following;
Firstly, he has a vision of God.
V.1-3 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.””
As a result, things are different. There is now an awareness of sin.
V.5 ““Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LordAlmighty.””
God deals with this by offering atonement for sin.
V.6-7 “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.””
And now, an invitation to go to which Isaiah responds.
V.8 “”Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!””
A vision is an invitation to change. The purpose of divine revelation is divine transformation.
This is why Paul is confident that,
“We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, Holman Christian Standard Bible).
Would you like a fresh vision of God? He will answer the genuine seeker, but when he does – brace yourself for change! The very best change.
From glory to glory!