This is part 1 of a three-part blog series written by Daniel Lovett, a musician, writer, and follower of Christ.  It was first featured on his blog, DanielLovett.com, on August 27, 2015.  Parts 2 and 3 of the series will be shared here in subsequent links as well.  Enjoy!

 

 

Spirit Travel? Teleporting? Say what!?!? Isn’t this just the stuff of science fiction?

Well, you might be surprised to learn that teleporting and spirit travel is throughout the Bible and is an ability that God has and will still sometimes employ for those in service of the King, Yehoshua (aka Jesus)… and sometimes maybe just for fun! God is a Happy and fun-loving God!

I came to soon realize after exploring this topic that this is apparently a controversial subject among Christians and some react quite negatively toward this idea of being able to travel through space (and time!) either as a spirit or even in a physical body. I thought I would just share what the Holy Scriptures have to say on the subject to alleviate the fears and concerns that some may have about this topic of Teleportation and Spirit travel. I expect that even the most staunchly conservative people will have to submit to God’s Word on this one?

We will explore in this blog how the prophets, saints, and the apostles experienced spirit travel and teleporting and how this just might become your experience as well as you grow in fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There are numerous places in Scripture where we see people being teleported or translated while others travel great distances as a spirit in what I like to refer to as “Spirit travel”. The apostle Paul didn’t know whether he was in the body or in the spirit on some of his spiritual adventures. This is often what is meant by “visions” in the Scripture – you go into the spirit realm and are shown spiritual truths in wild dreamlike pictures, ever read the book of Revelation? (These prophetic visions must be tested by the standard for all truth! God’s holy Word!). Visions are to be expected among all of humanity really and most especially by his children:

“It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
“Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28-29 NASB

“Those days” were initiated when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit began at Pentecost. (See Acts 2)

It was Jesus who said, “With God all things are possible for those who believe.” Teleporting and spirit travel are just some of those “things” possible through faith by the Spirit of God. There is no limit to what God can do!

I am aware that this sort of thing isn’t on most Christians radar at all, and if they have heard of it they will likely reject it outright without a second thought and label it “new age” or some such nonsense. This seems to be what most people do when they are afraid. But will we wrestle through the Word to see if these things are so, like the Bereans did?

“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Let’s dive in and see for ourselves what the Scripture has to say:

Scriptures on Teleportation:

1 Kings 18:10-12

“ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. 11 And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.”

So, does this prove that Elijah had teleported? Well, Obadiah, the man speaking here believed that Elijah could be or had been carried away by the Spirit (teleported). Interestingly I had heard of a story of this very thing happening to a Christian leader in the church in China who was surrounded by the police at a conference.

John 6:16-21  (NASB)

“Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He *said to them, “It is I; [my footnote says, or: “The I AM is here”] do not be afraid.” 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”

So the boat immediately arrives at the destination when Jesus entered the boat. They were only three to four miles across an eight mile wide lake. Pretty wild!

Acts 8:38-40  (NASB)

“And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.”

This is by far one of the most clear passages about teleportation. Philip, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, is translated by the Spirit thirty miles North. I see absolutely no reason that anyone who is full of faith and the Holy Spirit, would not at some point possibly experience the same. Do you?

I find it baffling that people can accept that Philip was teleported, but that it could not happen today? Instead I think that signs and wonders and miracles and supernatural experiences of God will increase in the end times. God is still pouring out His Spirit on all mankind (Acts 2) and I choose to believe what Jesus said in John 14:

“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”

God didn’t have to spare Philip the thirty mile walk. Perhaps he did this just for the sheer fun of it? How playful and fun is God with his kids? My experience tells me it’s a great deal more than we think.

2 Corinthians 12  (NASB)

“Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. 5 On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. 6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!”

It’s agreed by the experts that Paul is humbly referring to himself in the third person here. He talks of visiting Paradise and hearing inexpressible words. Was he in his body or out of it? He didn’t know.

To keep Paul humble, the Lord allowed a messenger of Satan to torment him! Paul goes on to say he pleaded with the Lord three times to remove it. Christ’s response was, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Scriptures on “Spirit Travel”:

2 Kings 5:26

“But Elisha asked him, “Don’t you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you?””

Elisha was there in spirit keeping an eye on Gehazi his servant. Incidentally my own mother had a similar experience when she once “saw in the spirit” someone stealing something.

Ezekiel 8  (NASB)

“It came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell on me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from His loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. 3 He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there”

Ezekiel is lifted up into the sky by the Spirit and transported to Jerusalem in a vision from God and was taken to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple. He is taken on a journey of about 500 miles as the crow flies from Babylon to Jerusalem. In the phrase “visions from God” indicates me that he is in a spiritual form but taken to to a very real physical place, the temple. I see this as spirit travel. What do you think?

He is shown the idolatry that is persisting in Jerusalem and thus the cause for the coming judgement.

I wonder if any of us would be up for such a vision. To be shown the sin of America and all the detestable things that America has done and the cause for its coming judgement. What if you or I were to be called upon to deliver the kinds of messages the prophets did? Visions are certainly not just fun and games. It is truly sobering that we live among such sin and in an evil culture all around us.

Aren’t you the least bit curious to know what God might speak or show to you? Would you be willing to experience what Ezekiel did? He was called upon to do some downright uncomfortable things as a prophet, like lay on one side for over a year without moving having the same meal every day cooked over dung (the Lord had first told him human dung but Ezekiel talked him into using cow dung). If you want to know why, then please read Ezekiel!

Revelation 4:1-6 (NASB)

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.

5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.”

So here John is in the Spirit in heaven itself witnessing One sitting on the throne in glory. Wow! Interestingly the Shema Yisrael says, “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is One”. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” and then Jesus himself invites us into this “oneness” with God!

Ezekiel 40:1-4  (NASB)

“In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was taken, on that same day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. 2 In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, and on it to the south there was a structure like a city. 3 So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

The above Scriptures are just some of the examples of a book (the Bible) that is entirely crammed full of supernatural experiences of God! Dreams and visions and miracles abound! I suppose I like to geek out over what visions exactly are. A vision is happening in the spirit realm and might just involve a trip outside of your physical body (Out of Body Experience). I ask myself what would that be like, to be taken out of your body like Ezekiel was by the Spirit and flown 500 miles to Jerusalem? How was Philip teleported? What was that like?

It would be next to impossible to tell my own walk with God without including how dreams and visions have been such a big part of my journey. It saddens me that there are those in the church who judge and even despise, reject and marginalize those who experience dreams and visions from God – which is a direct result of experiencing the Spirit of God. This MUST STOP! If that is you I am asking you to repent.

Have you experienced a vision or a dream from God? I am here to tell you it’s alright to ask God for them. Don’t let anyone steal your crown, bully or intimidate you from experiencing God for yourself. Keep yourself immersed in the Word of God and keep seeking him!

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6

Teleportation and Spirit Travel – Part 2 – Coming soon
Teleportation and Spirit Travel – Part 3 – Coming soon

(Here are some testimonies from other believers who have experienced this: Personal Testimonies – and an amazing account of John G Lake a highly respected and anointed minister of God experiencing this at least 3 times in this free ebook: Adventures in God)

One final blog by Daniel Lovett on the subject for those who want to learn how to teleport: How to Teleport