When I was in my preteens, I became very ill. While I was suffering from
chicken pox, high fever, and serious dehydration, my mother invited two
Assemblies of God Hispanic pastors to come pray for me. As these two
pastors prayed for me, I gave my life to Jesus, and he healed me from
my sickness. This Hispanic Assemblies of God church in Canada
believed in the movement of the Spirit and his diverse gifts.
As I began to get serious about my faith, I fasted and prayed. I recall
that before my pastor baptized me, he sat down with me and told me
that there was another baptism—the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He asked
me if he could lay hands on me to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I remember his saying, “You might feel something or you might not, but
seek it and the Lord will give it to you.” He prayed for me and nothing
happened. Then several days later, on my way to school, I began to
speak in tongues.
The Visions Begin
This baptism awoke a hunger within my spirit. I began to fast and pray
for God to move in the church. As I was seeking his face, I had two
visions. When I closed my eyes in prayer, I saw the blue sky. In the sky,
I saw a black circle hanging between the sky and earth. This first vision
scared me because I had never seen into the spirit realm before. The
next day I was in prayer again, and the Lord showed the same vision
except that this time the black circle became a black liquid that was coming
down to earth. This really disturbed me. Since I was newwith visions,
I went to my pastor to find out what was going on with all that I had
seen.
After I explained the visions in detail, my pastor smiled and said, “The
Lord is showing you a revelation that takes years for other Christians to
see and/or receive. God is revealing these things to you at a fast pace.”
He then opened his Bible to Matthew 24:29, where Jesus says,
“Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and
the powers of heaven will be shaken” (NRSV, emphasis mine). My pastor
explained to me that this text has meaning beyond the actual stars and
heavens; it is also talking about the demonic powers that are in the heavenlies.
Greg Boyd affirms, “Indeed, as a number of scholars have suggested,
read in the light of the broader apocalyptic tradition, ‘the stars’ falling
down from heaven and ‘the powers in the heavens’ being shaken (V. 29)
may refer to rebel cosmic powers being defeated in battle.”1 In the last
days, those powers are going to be shaken by the power of God. My pastor
concluded, “Rony, God wants you to know who your enemy is.” This
was my first lesson in spiritual warfare and interpreting visions.