3.        And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 

"And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him."

"And he said let me go for the day breaketh. And he said I will not let thee go until thou bless me."  Genesis 32: 24-26

It is interesting to note that in this familiar passage, Jacob was in a spiritual state while his physical body was totally inactive.   This was certainly an encounter Jacob had with God.  We are spiritual beings as God, even though in stature and ability, we are no comparison to Him who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.   When God created man, it is written that he created man in his own image.  The common element between God and man is the spirit, while God also has a mind, emotion and will.  The fact that we are spiritual beings with a body and soul is once again established here in this instance.   We should further note at this juncture that we have the capacity to operate our spiritual faculties such as spiritual hearing, spiritual sight, spiritual understanding, spiritual discernment, etc. which are the common means by which we can have communication, fellowship and interaction with God.

4.        Noah, who walked with God, when all the other human beings were living and abounding in sin, had an encounter with God which was in the spirit, which means he was in a state of trance with his physical body and faculties inoperative.   At this state, God was able to communicate very clearly the assignment that he wanted to give him which was to build an ark and to take on board only his immediate family members and living creatures of every kind in order to escape from the great flood which He was going to cause to destroy the rest of the world.   It is also interesting to note that in this state of trance, God communicated to Noah very clearly, the manner in which the ark should be constructed and the dimensions of it.                  

5. Moses had at least two personal encounters with God which are descriptively stated in the bible and on both occasions, Moses had encounters at the top of the mountain.   When Moses was in the presence of God for 40 days and 40 nights, it is quite obvious that he was in a state of trance because he neither ate nor drank anything during that time.  Further, I assume that he would not have realized in the spiritual state in which he was, when he was in the presence of God, that 40 days slipped away.   When he saw the burning bush, I am sure that he did it with his spiritual eyes because it was the presence of God which we can not  see with our physical eyes.

When Moses brought 10 plagues to Egypt, he operated spiritually and not with any extraordinary or magical power.  What we should note from all these instances is, that it is possible for us to live a spiritual life and live in God's kingdom now which is spiritual, while we are still here on earth.   Even as we read the bible, we can and should be spiritually enlightened as the Holy Spirit gives us the revelation through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  The bible says that we should not be carnally minded but that we should be spiritually minded.   In the book of James, it is written that there is a clear distinction between the worldly wisdom with which worldly technological inventions are made, and through godly wisdom we can discern the spiritual realities and do things according to the dictates and plans of God.

6.       In the book of Isaiah, we read an exciting and a thrilling report given by prophet Isaiah in the 6^th chapter.

"… I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.   And one cried unto another and said, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of glory.  And the posts of the door moved as the voice of him cried, and the house was filled with smoke…… For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.    Then flew one of the seraphim's unto me, having a live coal in his hand…. He had taken with the tongs from of the altar: and he laid it upon my tongue…. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us?   Then said I, here am I, send me. "  Isaiah 6:1-8

In this passage, we can read about the experience that the prophet Isaiah had and which he has reported with great excitement and detailed descriptions.   It was certainly an encounter of Isaiah with God in spirit, with a vision of the Lord and a glimpse of heaven and heavenly creatures ending with a direct conversation with the Lord in which he totally yielded himself and offered himself to go on the mission which the Lord gave.  

The phrase 'falling into a trance' is literally getting into the spiritual realm in a state in which our physical body and natural mind are either weak, feeble, or inoperative while the spirit is very much alive, conscious and receptive.

7. Towards the end of the first chapter beginning from verse 26, prophet Ezekiel gives a vivid and exciting report about his spiritual experience of seeing a little bit of heaven in which report, he describes about the appearance of sapphire stones and the color of amber, as the appearance of fire, and the appearance of his loins even downward with fire round about.   Later he describes the appearance of the bow which was the appearance of the glory of God.  Then he says that when he saw it, he fell upon his face and heard a voice of God.  Obviously, Ezekiel was in a state of trance and while his physical faculties were inoperative, his spiritual faculties functioned sharply and discerned what God showed and spoke.

Again, we note the significance of getting into the state of trance, which is like slipping into the presence of God to experience God and to see heavenly visions.  

8. Daniel's vision is given descriptively in chapter 10 of the book of Daniel beginning with verse 5, and continuing in the next several verses.   Perhaps, it is better to enumerate his spiritual experiences, obviously when he was in a state of trance, herein below in words and phrases:

· I lifted up mine eyes and looked

· Saw a man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with fine gold….

· His body also was like beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning and his eyes as lamps of fire and his feet like in color to polished brass and the voice of his words as the voice of a multitude

· He alone saw the vision

· And the men that were with him did not see it.

· A great quaking fell upon them

· And therefore they fled and hid themselves

· Daniel was left alone and saw the great vision

· There remained no strength in him which means physically he was not operative

· He heard the voice of his words

·Then I was in a deep sleep on my face and my face towards the ground

· A hand touched me which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands

·Then I heard God speak to me

[Daniel 10:5-10]

This is a very clear and vivid spiritual experience of Daniel when his physical senses were inoperative but his spiritual faculties were sharp and functioning.   In essence, this is what has been described throughout the bible as a state of trance or being in the spirit or being less and less carnally minded and being more and more spiritually minded.

We can possibly give numerous illustrations about the men who lived in Old Testament times whether they may have been kings, judges or prophets such as the examples cited above but interestingly, each one had a close relationship with God and they frequently heard the voice of God as well as encounters with him.  

9. New Testament- References

Every writer of the book of the New Testament as well as the Old Testament were inspired by the Holy Spirit when they wrote the books under the unction of the Holy Spirit.   In a way, we can say that they were in the spirit or at least a temporary state of trance for them to hear the voice of God.  That is the reason why generally, all Christians and denominations accept the fact that the holy scriptures have been written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.   In other words, the author of the entire bible is God himself, but he has used the human instrumentalities to write various sections of the bible and again, it is the Holy Spirit that has clubbed and arranged all the verses, chapters and books of the bible systematically, orderly and chronologically, and as most denominations claim and believe the holy scriptures are inherent, inspired and infallible.

The bible says that the word is the spirit and therefore, the written words in the bible called 'logos' has to become 'Rhema' the revealed words in our spirit to get the spiritual insight, discernment and understanding which the Holy Spirit alone can give when we are open to him.   The bible also says that it is the anointing that teaches us all things.  It is given unto us to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but for them it is not given. [Mathew 13:11]

The bible can be and should be interpreted by the bible.  Interestingly, as the bible says, for every truth mentioned in the bible, there is a supporting scripture.   There is absolutely no contradiction in the bible unless we interpret it wrongly using our limited understanding of spiritual things and too much of reliance of our human intellect.  In the 4 gospels we read about the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.   In a way, it may seem like there are a lot of repetitions of the same events in the life of Jesus, but we can also take it as a confirmation and testimony of other disciples who were also with Jesus during his life.  

Again, continuing the topic of 'falling into a trance,'  the examples in the gospels in which several instances are recorded about various kinds of spiritual events, experiences, etc, .in a wide variety of forms, manner and places,  are too numerous to make an exhaustive list. Every miraculous healing and deliverance proves the supernatural having an encounter with the natural.  God is a supernatural being while we are natural beings living on the planet earth.   Throughout bible history, we can see clearly that every time God intervened in human history, something supernatural happened.  Since Jesus was the son of God, who came in flesh to this earth and dwelt among us, doing the will of the father, we can notice throughout the gospels that several supernatural miracles performed by Jesus who was naturally supernatural and supernaturally natural.   Jesus literally brought heaven to earth and established his spiritual kingdom and also has made a way for every human being to be born and to live in his kingdom experiencing heaven on earth.  This spiritual experiences that we can have now are not simply some ecstatic experiences but something of spiritual nature.  We can even oversimplify and say that every time we experience something spiritual, we are in a state of trance at least  momentarily.  It is needless to say that in this article, paper, thesis or dissertation or whatever it is or seems like, everything that happened supernaturally in the life and ministry of Jesus, but a few specific instances would further amplify our understanding of the concept and reality of falling into a trance or experiencing something supernaturally by the divine intervention of God.   In a sense, trance is the presence of God intervening in the human life.

1.     When Jesus was on the face of this earth in a bodily form, he literally encountered in the lives of several persons, in a wide variety of ways, to do a number of spiritual miraculous or supernatural things.   In other words, at least momentarily, God's presence overshadowed the people in whose life an instant miracle took place. 
 

2.     It is important to mention about the mountain top experience which the three key disciples of Jesus Christ had literally, when Jesus took James, John and Peter to the top of the mountain, on one occasion, where the same Jesus that dwelt among them just like any other human being, suddenly revealed his supernatural glory through transfiguration, when his face began to shine like the sun and his white raiment seemed like light.   The three disciples were literally present at the scene at the time when the natural and supernatural met.  Literally, the heaven came down on earth, and the glory of God filled that place, as we sing in a chorus.   These disciples saw Moses and Elijah descending to the top of the mountain and heard a voice from heaven saying [referring to Jesus], this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, therefore hear ye him.   When the heaven literally overshadowed all of them at the top of the mountain and the spiritual eyes of these three disciples were opened to see and witness a little bit of heaven and at that time, when there was thunder and lightning, reflecting the collision of the natural and supernatural.   All the three disciples fell to the ground, obviously in a state of trance, being unable to stand on their human physical strength but being lost in the spirit which is again an illustration of falling into a trance at the sight of the heavenly vision.   Further it is interesting to note that whatever they experienced in this event, was so heavenly, glorious, thrilling, enjoyable and fulfilling, they pleaded with Jesus, to make three tents there, one for Him, one for Moses and one for Elijah, and so far as they were concerned, they were willing to sleep on the grass.   Falling into a trance or experiencing heaven on earth or having an encounter with God is essentially the same experience that God gives us for a wide variety of reasons and in this particular instance, I believe that the Lord wanted to reveal a little bit of his glory and give them a glimpse of heaven.
 

3.     When Jesus died on the cross, in the graves a kind of a reverse trance took place, when those the dead bodies laid there became alive, came out of the  grave, and were seen by many, which is in a way, a kind of reverse trance from supernatural to the natural. The incidence of utter darkness covering the earth at the noon time for three hours because of the change in the course of nature in the sun getting out of position was certainly a change of the course of nature.
 

4.     When Jesus appeared to many for many days in many places to many

 people in his glorified spiritual body, was a literal transformation, from earthly to the heavenly. It is written in the Bible at the Second Coming of Jesus, that in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, that we the mortal humans are going to put on immortality, and be caught up in the mid air with Jesus, defying the natural law of gravity, will a total and permanent transformation from the physical to the spiritual form. If we can not believe in a temporary, instant and partial transformation for God to intervene in our lives to do something, how can one believe in being transformed instantly at the coming of the Lord and putting on immortality, and to be with the Lord for ever.
 

5.     When Peter went to an upper room and started praying before having his lunch, we read that he fell into a trance. When he was in trance he saw a vision or in other words, when he was in a trance, God was able to get his attention to show and tell him something very important.
 

6.     When Paul was on his way to Damascus, he fell off the donkey when a bright light shone round about him. It was nothing but an intervention of God in the life of Paul. At that time, he fell on the ground losing his balance and strength.  He also heard the voice of God in that state of trance, and obeyed his voice.
 

7.     We also read about Paul falling into a trance when he went to a temple to pray. Prayer should be the experience of slipping into the presence of God, when we will be caught up alone with the Lord, as we sing, we should forget about ourselves and concentrate on Him when we pray. In a real sense that is falling into a trance. Many of us are able to get into a trance but here we see that when Paul went to a temple to pray, he fell into a trance. We can also say that he was in his spirit and not in the flesh; he was not carnally minded but spiritually minded.
 

8.     On the day of Pentecost all the 120 believers who were waiting and praying in the upper room, went into a trance when the Holy Spirit came like a rushing mighty wind. They looked like they were drunk, because obviously they lost their balance in some way when they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  

· Some were probably walking unsteadily

· Some were probably lying on the ground

· Some were probably laughing

· Some were probably mumbling

          Anyway that place gave the appearance of a Bar, and the people that came from outside asked if they were drunk. 
          Actually they were in a state of trance.
 

9.     In the Book of Revelation in Chapter 1:10, we read that John was in the Spirit. During that time he took a heavenly tour; heard the voice of God; and wrote what all God told him to write. Obviously when he was in the spirit which was being in a state of trance.

Being in a trance is a supernatural experience, getting into the realm of the spirit or having an encounter with God. In the present day ministry, I have experienced and witnessed 1000s of people falling into a trance when I ministered to them after preaching. When people are touched by the word, they open themselves to the spirit, and that is the time when we pray they just slip into the presence of God, and experience many supernatural things like healing, deliverance, baptism, infilling and anointing of the Holy Spirit. They receive miracles and receive answers to their prayers. They have heavenly visions, see angels, get filled with the glory of God, fullness of joy (and not being able to contain it within themselves, begin to bubble with joy) etc. Many literally have an encounter with God. The Bible says that in His presence, there is fullness of Joy. Just one glimpse, one touch, one word, one encounter with God, will transform the lives of people.

Now the probing question that is asked about this spiritual experience of    "trance" is, why do they fall down.  When a person becomes more and more spiritual and less and less carnal he becomes more sensitive to the spiritual things and less sensitive physically. The physical faculties become totally numb, and that is why they just fall. If you push backward any conscious man will try to stand steadily by grabbing something or try to move forward. I have prayed for thousands of people in more than 50 countries, numerous times after giving a message and an altar call. 100s and 100s of people of all races and cultures in all the five continents of the world, gently fell down and were in a state of trance for a stretch of time ranging from 10 seconds to 3 hours. 100s of people have given beautiful testimonies about the healing, miracle, infilling, vision etc they received, and described their experience as something peaceful, joyful, heavenly and serene. There was always order and decency. No one was hurt even when they fell at a force on the cement floor without a catcher, and the head directly hit the floor. They all said that they did not feel their weight and felt like a balloon or a sponge, and also said that they were slightly conscious of what was happening to them.

The real problems that people have now with the understanding and accepting "Trance" and falling, are stated below:

1. Not having a clear understanding of the phenomenon and the benefits of falling into a trance
2. Preachers taking the glory when the Holy Spirit operates in Meetings and blesses people and perform miracles and healings, through a trance
3. Capitalizing on this phenomenon to enrich themselves, and doing propaganda to enrich themselves.
4. Giving the appearance of Performing something with their own  power
5. Excesses by way of acting, performing, and making humorous comments when people fall into a trance.
6. Seeking popularity and fame, taking undue advantage of the move of the Holy Spirit
7. Not giving proper teaching and adequate explanation about the phenomenon of "falling into  trance", with scriptural references
8. Not teaching the people properly to yield themselves totally to the Holy Spirit, so that He can take complete control of them and do the work that is needed
9. Trying to display their showmanship and making a spec table out of it
10. Trying to be humorous when we have to be serious
11. Not properly guiding the people to receive the blessings of God when He moves, by yielding themselves
12.  Not setting an atmosphere in which people can really experience the Presence of God, having heavenly experiences on earth now, and even have a foretaste of Heaven.  

In conclusion, I would like to say to those who are ignorant of the biblical experience of falling into a trance and receiving spiritual blessings, to try to understand the references given in this article with an open mind and a receptive attitude, or at least not to say and write against these things which you neither have understood nor experienced.

Please note that if there is a counterfeit, there will be the real thing.

Rather than wasting one's time, doing research on the counterfeit, we should earnestly try to find the genuine, and be blessed, and be a blessing to others!   

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