I lived for decades, next to an elderly Jewish woman grand daughter of an orthodox rabbi, now deceased. Now probably over 40 years ago her son, to her consternation, had become a believer in Jesus. One day she was watching a televangelist who after preaching a basic Jesus died for your sins, is risen from the dead, come to Jesus message pointed to the camera “It is possible for you to believe” She murmured to herself, “Yes, it is possible” A few days later Jesus appeared to her in an eye to eye 3D vision. She told me the first thing she said,”Lord, you look younger than I expected!” Then she felt his love settle on her like a fur stole and her next words were, “You love me like I love my granddaughter!” She walked with the Lord the rest of her life. I know five other people who have had these full on visual encounters with Jesus - mother-in-law, brother-in-law, three friends.
It is also a common feature among converts to Christianity from Islam. An interesting read is to look at the continued appearances of Jesus in the Book of Acts after the road to Damascus. Here are descriptions of the Muslim convert phenomena.
Also when Paul queried who had appeared to him the clear response was Jesus of Nazareth. A common though usually seldom referred to feature of alien abduction events is that when the abductee prays to Jesus or calls on him the experience stops.
Christ also appeared post ascension to,John at the beginning of Revelation when you compared that account to one in Ezekiel 1 it seems to me you could say it was the same person in both events.
Act references of other post ascension appearance of Jesus besides the Damascus event Acts 7:55-56, 9:10-16 (no eye damage here or in following ones), 18:9-10, 22:17-21, 23:11
I am not a biblical literalist, nor am I a Jesus exclusivist. I don’t doubt that there are people who have apparitions of Jesus that are purely visual, nor that they may convert for various reasons. It does seem like the more conventionally orthodox apparitions seem to be driven by a strong state of fear in the convert.
None of that detracts from the fact that there are similarities in what we call UFO accounts—which I don’t believe in any way are cause by literal green men from outer space—and various theophanic reports throughout religious literature, including apparitions of Jesus and Mary.
Speaking of UFOs. A quote from a commentator on that subject. “UAPs (the new name for UFOs), and says it’s all more real to him that Christianity ever was. The hiddenness of God infuriates him. The UAPs give him something to see and feel. Of course he is being very selective here, ignoring the many miracles of Christ, and the signs and wonders that continue within Christianity today. But I think I get it: this UAP thing is visceral, and he is an enthusiast.
It does not seem to have occurred to him that these things might be real (as I believe they are) but not of God, and indeed evil. He’s all in. Jacques Vallée, who is not a Christian, theorizes that they are real, and are manifestations of a malign superintelligence.”
Jacques Vallee is a prominent investigator and writer on UFO’s from decades ago and was the model for a character in Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind movie.
Vallee says what we call UFO’s and the beings associated with them are a long standing phenomena in human history.
I don’t think Jesus is part of that group but a separate phenomena from God.
So here is where I am not at all an orthodox Christian- I don’t believe in evil, or rather I don’t believe that evil has any real substance, but is rather a product of human fears, delusions, and misapprehensions. Which is not to say it can’t have real, tangible effects, but at its root the spirits we perceive as evil are just energies that need to be transmuted and integrated. Some energies are too strong to be integrated by humans (either collectively or individually) at present and can be lovingly returned to god. This is how I approach exorcism- and this is something I have a little bit of experience with, both in myself and doing it for others..
I’ve personally experienced how even the most frightening spirit can change shape and become profoundly useful when approached with love, courage, and trust in a higher intelligence that is guiding me. I honestly don’t have much use for scaredy-cats.
It strikes me that that last sentence is overly confrontational and dismissive. I don’t want to dismiss what I think are reasonable fears around encountering and confronting these things. But I do believe part of our function as humans in the cosmos, in the body of Christ, is to expand the capacity of our minds, hearts, and bodies to be present to these disruptive energies, which we have helped to create, so we can transform and integrate them.
We do that step-by step, beginning with our own selves (psyche, spirit, and body) before we can do it on the collective level. But I am convinced this is what Jesus was doing and what gave him such a powerful command over spirits, and what he expected his disciples to do. Unfortunately most of them didn’t get it.
I didn’t realize Paul received the stigmata. Brother Francis also had enduring eye problems and also received the stigmata, although I think his eye issues began years before his stigmata, which occurred later in his life.
It’s not clear that the wounds Paul received were what we call stigmata, that is, the classic 5 wounds of Christ. Paul used that word, but it referred to branding. Stigmata became equated with the wounds of Christ because of Francis.
I lived for decades, next to an elderly Jewish woman grand daughter of an orthodox rabbi, now deceased. Now probably over 40 years ago her son, to her consternation, had become a believer in Jesus. One day she was watching a televangelist who after preaching a basic Jesus died for your sins, is risen from the dead, come to Jesus message pointed to the camera “It is possible for you to believe” She murmured to herself, “Yes, it is possible” A few days later Jesus appeared to her in an eye to eye 3D vision. She told me the first thing she said,”Lord, you look younger than I expected!” Then she felt his love settle on her like a fur stole and her next words were, “You love me like I love my granddaughter!” She walked with the Lord the rest of her life. I know five other people who have had these full on visual encounters with Jesus - mother-in-law, brother-in-law, three friends.
It is also a common feature among converts to Christianity from Islam. An interesting read is to look at the continued appearances of Jesus in the Book of Acts after the road to Damascus. Here are descriptions of the Muslim convert phenomena.
https://lausanneworldpulse.com/perspectives-php/595/01-2007 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/muslims-dream-jesus/
Also when Paul queried who had appeared to him the clear response was Jesus of Nazareth. A common though usually seldom referred to feature of alien abduction events is that when the abductee prays to Jesus or calls on him the experience stops.
Christ also appeared post ascension to,John at the beginning of Revelation when you compared that account to one in Ezekiel 1 it seems to me you could say it was the same person in both events.
Act references of other post ascension appearance of Jesus besides the Damascus event Acts 7:55-56, 9:10-16 (no eye damage here or in following ones), 18:9-10, 22:17-21, 23:11
I am not a biblical literalist, nor am I a Jesus exclusivist. I don’t doubt that there are people who have apparitions of Jesus that are purely visual, nor that they may convert for various reasons. It does seem like the more conventionally orthodox apparitions seem to be driven by a strong state of fear in the convert.
None of that detracts from the fact that there are similarities in what we call UFO accounts—which I don’t believe in any way are cause by literal green men from outer space—and various theophanic reports throughout religious literature, including apparitions of Jesus and Mary.
Speaking of UFOs. A quote from a commentator on that subject. “UAPs (the new name for UFOs), and says it’s all more real to him that Christianity ever was. The hiddenness of God infuriates him. The UAPs give him something to see and feel. Of course he is being very selective here, ignoring the many miracles of Christ, and the signs and wonders that continue within Christianity today. But I think I get it: this UAP thing is visceral, and he is an enthusiast.
It does not seem to have occurred to him that these things might be real (as I believe they are) but not of God, and indeed evil. He’s all in. Jacques Vallée, who is not a Christian, theorizes that they are real, and are manifestations of a malign superintelligence.”
Jacques Vallee is a prominent investigator and writer on UFO’s from decades ago and was the model for a character in Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind movie.
Vallee says what we call UFO’s and the beings associated with them are a long standing phenomena in human history.
I don’t think Jesus is part of that group but a separate phenomena from God.
So here is where I am not at all an orthodox Christian- I don’t believe in evil, or rather I don’t believe that evil has any real substance, but is rather a product of human fears, delusions, and misapprehensions. Which is not to say it can’t have real, tangible effects, but at its root the spirits we perceive as evil are just energies that need to be transmuted and integrated. Some energies are too strong to be integrated by humans (either collectively or individually) at present and can be lovingly returned to god. This is how I approach exorcism- and this is something I have a little bit of experience with, both in myself and doing it for others..
I’ve personally experienced how even the most frightening spirit can change shape and become profoundly useful when approached with love, courage, and trust in a higher intelligence that is guiding me. I honestly don’t have much use for scaredy-cats.
It strikes me that that last sentence is overly confrontational and dismissive. I don’t want to dismiss what I think are reasonable fears around encountering and confronting these things. But I do believe part of our function as humans in the cosmos, in the body of Christ, is to expand the capacity of our minds, hearts, and bodies to be present to these disruptive energies, which we have helped to create, so we can transform and integrate them.
We do that step-by step, beginning with our own selves (psyche, spirit, and body) before we can do it on the collective level. But I am convinced this is what Jesus was doing and what gave him such a powerful command over spirits, and what he expected his disciples to do. Unfortunately most of them didn’t get it.
I didn’t realize Paul received the stigmata. Brother Francis also had enduring eye problems and also received the stigmata, although I think his eye issues began years before his stigmata, which occurred later in his life.
It’s not clear that the wounds Paul received were what we call stigmata, that is, the classic 5 wounds of Christ. Paul used that word, but it referred to branding. Stigmata became equated with the wounds of Christ because of Francis.