In 40 Days in Heaven there’s a few moments when you see the angels especially seemingly give instructions to people who then come up to Seneca and drive his heavenly encounter in a certain direction. And far from being a mark of fraud as contrarians insist, you should expect some clear guiding force shaping the narrative of any true heavenly visitation testimony. People see some evidence of angels steering conversations, or setting up people to meet on purpose, or promoting specific questions and say, “Ha! It’s all fake! It’s all made up! See! The angels are controlling the whole thing behind the scenes! Busted!”
First, it suddenly became clear that if it was a made up story the author would never write something like that! No, he would just script random encounters without needing this kind of ‘deus ex machina’ contrived device to move the plot forward. A human author would carefully hide his directing hand, that’s what all human authors always do! So when Seneca records seeing an angel giving someone a suggestion to broach a certain topic or they just happen to stumble upon Moses and Paul and Abraham talking about theology on the Earth, it’s too clearly set up to be a coincidence, but also not what a human author would dare make up for fear of being exposed as a third-rate hack. A human author hiding himself would certainly contrive a more subtle, witty excuse to lead up to these encounters. But someone just honestly telling you what they saw, even describing an angel directing their interactions, is a subtle indication that this is a real testimony of actual events he witnessed, not a carefully made up story.
But second I’m thinking, like DUH! Do you think anyone gets to heaven by accident? Well I was headed to Pluto and took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and wow! I ended up here; what is this shiny place? Even the ‘normal way’ people die ‘accidentally’ is certainly never an unforeseen event from the heavenly view. So when we are talking about a living person being allowed to visit heaven, interact with saints and angels, learn mysteries and then come back to share these things with Mortal Mankind still on the earth … can you think of ANY scenario where such a journey would in any wise occur ‘accidentally’ without very intentional Divine Intervention? Any such visitation would HAVE to be planned. John heard stuff on earth he was not allowed to speak, even Paul mentioned this, so what Seneca sees, who he meets and what he is allowed to report back on earth MUST be guided, controlled and managed in fitting with what we already know about heavenly revelations from the Bible.
So not that I know personally, but I assume you would need at a minimum an angel to be sent under God’s specific command to intentionally fetch you, then there to be carefully prepared events, meetings, conversations intended to convey the right messages, experiences and testimonies to share back home with a very suspicious human audience … yes, and then purposefully return you to the Earth, probably kicking and screaming, “No! I don’t want to go baaaaack!!”
Ready to Die in a Heartbeat
My pastor in the US said one night Jesus visited him. He was in the room and how was the pastor aware of this? How could he NOT be! First he came out of his body and was suddenly in his spirit body floating just about his body of flesh and bone. Second, in his spirit body he said he could see in all directions at once! Not needing a human organ to mechanically sense light, his spirit was all an ‘eye’ he said and he could literally see in 360 degrees simultaneously.
Then Jesus spoke and he didn’t use English. He spoke the pastor said the volume of a NOVEL of information right into his spirit all in the blink of an eye. More surprisingly the pastor said he also spoke back to Jesus in the same way, that literally a NOVEL WORTH of information was ‘spoken’ back to Jesus in an instant as well. This ultra-high-bandwidth spirit-to Spirit unobstructed direct communication went on a few times he said, back and forth, back and forth ….
But that’s not why I am telling this story for. It’s because then he almost died.
Jesus was done visiting and left the room but as he did he came close to the pastor, he almost brushed his arm and … almost … almost … touched him. The pastor said … when Jesus did this … he almost died!
Jesus was so attractive, so wonderful, so loving getting that close to him he was ready to just leave everything behind, his wife, his kids, his ministry … and just go to be with Jesus for ever. He said it was overpowering love, and if he had indeed touched him, he would not have been able to resist the pull and yes, would have left his body and died without reservation in less than a heartbeat.
Better than a light switch
If someone wants to complain about 40 Days in Heaven, let them. And if they get all the way to where the angel shows he is promoting questions to talk with Seneca about and STILL need an excuse to disbelieve, it’s just sad. Sure, I want to discuss, debate, even argue with them and this can be helpful, especially if they simply misunderstand or have some mechanical switch in their surface thinking that is in the wrong position. Human arguing can help solve this.
But Jesus told me if instead the reason they disbelieve is deeper in the heart, then mere human reasoning, debate and arguments cannot fix it.
This was when he compared using human logic to a light switch, which is a mechanical switch that aligns surface thinking. But if the light won’t turn on for any other reason: a short circuit, a burned out light bulb, the power being cut, etc., then flicking the switch vigorously back and forth will never work. Maybe you need to try it before you believe me? Go ahead. I’ll wait.
So argue with people all you want, you are factually right after all–but it’s still not going to work to solve the problem in their hearts and make them believe. However he said the HOLY SPIRIT can fix these deeper issues and remove the obstacles keeping them from seeing the light. It can be fixed by ministering the power of the Holy Spirit.
Likewise he told me you can’t just pray ‘all demons on earth flee now!’ ‘All sickness in my church just leave’ ‘Everyone just get along!’ Jesus told me such prayers do not actually work because there are strongholds that first must be dealt with in people’s hearts. Yes if you are fighting a demon of strife rebuke it, a spirit of infirmity cast it out, but to pray to have every person even in your entire family or church just magically mature overnight … well Jesus told me he can do it! But the people themselves can’t receive it. You have a good heart to pray that way, thank you, but a war is won by counsel and wisdom, not by mere wishful thinking or blind luck.
People’s hearts are wounded from years of neglect, abuse and sin. They need the Holy Spirit to TOUCH them deeply to heal these deep wounds. You cannot effect this kind of change with a cute anecdote, witty chick-track or fruity tick-tak. The Holy Spirit must manifest, and they have to either allow him in, or at least sit back and not resist it! And for you ministering this change, you can cast out a demon with a word! But first, Jesus told me, THAT WORD has to live inside of you. You can heal with a touch, but first that source of life, the Holy Spirit, needs to ABIDE within you, not just be an occasional visitor. He told me he can’t help it, but when he shows up healings happen because he is the source of life! Our job therefore is just to bring him. Once he manifests he will do the rest.
Walled Cities in all the Best Places
Jesus was healing me of so many bad attitudes in my heart and yet I had been born again many years and was astonished at how much darkness was still present inside me and he said Yes, the Promised Land has walled cities in all the best locations.
WOOSH, that went right over my head for about 10 years!
The Promised Land has walled cities in the best places … it’s pride, anger, lust, greed, selfishness, stupidity, fear … these are all IN MY HEART preventing me from occupying the Land God has Promised ME! These demonic strongholds are preventing me from occupying the land of promise, which is my heart set free and cultivated to carry his Presence within it. Jesus called it the Kingdom of God … it’s my heart, healed, free from marauding bandits or hostile invaders, free from drought or pestilence, all the while bathed in the gentle rain and glorious light of a beautiful summer’s day! The Kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU.
So this Promised Land / Kingdom of God IS my heart … it is my heart when it is finally in open communion, giving him free access, eager to enjoy his friendship and companionship … it’s when the wild corruption of the flesh within us has been conquered and civilized and our hearts are transformed and yielded to the spiritual peace of a heavenly country … all of which is going on WITHIN you. And so when my heart has finally become a temple where HE can ABIDE within me, then the Kingdom of God has indeed finally come!
So this is the Promised Land, it’s your heart renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit to look and think and act … like Jesus … as a person thinks in his heart SO IS HE. So there are obstacles within us preventing us from walking in peace, joy, hope, faith, trust, patience, goodness, kindness … basically faith, hope and love. If we allowed God to heal and transform us to look and act more like him, to be reformed into HIS image as we behold him with the veil on our hearts and faces removed, then we would surely become transformed into Oak Trees of Righteousness, displaying his splendor.
It’s all quite simple when you put all the pieces together in the right way, isn’t it!
So to achieve these heavenly results you need to minister with purpose, intent and use the tools God provided to achieve these results. So this is why Paul said when he ministered he came with a DEMONSTRATION of the SPIRIT not just with sermons of witty, eloquent words, and he said it was so YOUR FAITH would not be in man’s wisdom but instead be in the actual tangible, active, living Spirit and power of God. (1 Cor 1:17; 1 Cor 2:1-5) So we also must minister in the demonstration of the Spirit of God because he is real and because this is what brings a real change, a real touch, a real service (ministry) to the people he wants to touch. DON’T JUST TALK ABOUT GOD healing the broken hearted! Demonstrate him, lay on hands and release him to DO IT! You can begin to do this even in small ways, even in simple ways, but do not minister merely in talk because the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power. Simply release the real presence of God that is living inside you. Its easy, you can do that, can’t you? Sure, try it. Get some practice. Seek you will find and be the one who brings the Awesome to the party!
So yes, don’t argue with your stubborn unbelieving friend! Just pray. It’s ok to start small, but just begin to pray for your unbelieving friend to be touched by the healing, delivering, enlightening power of the Holy Spirit bringing the Love of God into their dark, wounded, scared little world. You don’t even need to be present, do it while he’s asleep and can’t even resist you! Haha! Gotcha!
But pray with wisdom and discernment, pray specifically and pray BIG, HARD and STRONG. Command, rebuke, bind, loose, pray your own way, pray from your heart I mean, but pray with counsel, wisdom, insight and you will be much more effective than using these kinds of wishful fantasy requests people often pray … So just ask the Holy Spirit who to pray for, what to pray for them, and HOW to pray for them … then pray IN the Holy Spirit, pray WITH the Holy Spirit … and you will be VERY effective.
40 Days in Heaven Link