Philip’s Transport
Acts 8:38 … Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and travelled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Following a miraculous encounter last Friday, I still believe I’m going to Korea next week. Even though they’ve not emailed me to make arrangements and I don’t have their contact details.
As I’m wondering how God’s going to work out this impossibility, I’m speculating over this particularly novel option. I’m writing this to build faith in my soul ;-). See also https://georgesjournal.net/2012/06/29/was-philip-transported-miraculously-after-the-ethiopian-was-baptised/
“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.”
Sherlock Holmes
Around 5950 years ago, God created spacetime.
1000 years later, Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
600 years after that, God destroyed Noah’s world with the flood, but he saved Noah’s family. The rocks cry out this truth with fossils displayed in museums all over the world and continental geographical features similar to those formed by the receding tide each day.
1000 years later God miraculously brought Israel out of Egypt through the deep waters of the Gulf of Aqaba to Saudi Arabia where he sustained millions of people in the desert for 40 years.
Our miraculous creator God does not confine himself to the laws of his created physical universe. Yet he has created us in his image. For a time, sin has disconnected us from his image, but Jesus’ resurrection has restored God’s image in us.
Mark 11:22 ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. 23 ‘truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’
John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Considering this miraculous story of Philip ministering to the Ethiopian official, then suddenly appearing in Azotus (Ashdod) some 30km away, I wonder if God might do the same for me. Note that the Greek word harpazo (Strongs #726) used, is that which describes the rapture.
I agree with you – I sound crazy. I’m projecting my disappointment of my dream of preaching the integrity of God’s word in Korea falling through. I’m grasping at impossibilities. I sound like those loonies who give up their worldly goods to gather at a certain place for God’s rapture.
If nothing happens, I’ve shown God that I’m ready to go wherever and whenever he calls. I know now that Korea is in my future and I must prepare for it – as for Israel. Similarly, 16 years ago, God called me to Brazil. I’ve studied Portuguese, but the time has not yet come. But I will one day minister there also.
There are other cases where God supernaturally translated people – particularly into heaven:
2 Kings 2:11 As [Elijah and Elisha] were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up (harpazo) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.
Lol – for Korea, I’ll definitely need a translator – unless God translates for me.
위대하신 주 = How great is our God
I’m not really satisfied with these verses to establish any sort of doctrine. God reminded me additionally that angels do this all the time. As did Jesus:
John 6:16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about 5 or 6 kilometres they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. 14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
It is interesting to consider astro-travel or astro-projection. This is a pagan / satanic practice where one meditates such that their spirit leaves their body and goes to another place to project influence – often for nefarious purposes. We know that Satan counterfeits things of God, masquerading the miraculous. The fact that there is such a thing supports the idea – that there is a godly original.
Colossians 2:5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
1 Corinthians 5:4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,…
Considering how this could be possible, Quantum Physics theorizes that there are many more dimensions than we perceive. If we consider our universe as a cloth. It can be scrunched up into a ball such that places thousands of kilometres or even light years away can be touching through extra dimensions. One needs to simply step across this extra dimension. This is commonly called a wormhole in science-fiction. Alternately, as God is outside space-time, he is Lord over distance and time and matter. He is the author of these and can do with them as he pleases. He need not conform to theories of extra dimensions he’s created. He can move people rapidly – as on eagle’s wings or simply translate them from one place to another. Either of these could be applied to the rapture when Jesus receives his bride to himself. Listening to near death experiences and other visions of heaven, we see additional evidence of such things.
This is really weird stuff – but so is Jesus walking on water and Moses whacking this rock to produce a lake to quench millions near Mt Sanai in Saudi Arabia (Jebel al Lawz).
I don’t mean to imply any sort of doctrine here, but to present impossible possibilities with our great God.
All things are possible.
Wouldn’t this be so cool – it’d sure spin the wheels of so many great preachers who spend days flying to their next gig.
I have a dream.
위대하신 주 – How great is our God.
Shalom