THE GREAT DEBATE OF THE AGES

All about God
Visible or Invisible?
Far or Near?

By
The Man Who Saw God Face To Face
Raphael Okechukwu Nweze

Introduction
          From time to time, people come up with ideas that it is not possible for a man to see God face to face. Below are some of the reasons and claims, as well as the convincing responses of a living saint to each of them. Both reasons and responses are intended to show you that it is not only possible to see God, but also that it is God’s delight to be in the midst of His people. The real problem is that mankind do not want to follow God’s will. They prefer to do things their own ways, which ways drive them further away from the Light that is God. In short, majority do not have time for God.

Reasons And Responses
  1. Those who claim to have seen God do so only to be esteemed by others.
    2.          Response : A true saint has no ego. Besides, He does not value fame. That is why Jesus said that the son of man does not accept praises from men. It does not profit to accept praises from the ignorant multitudes.

  2. They want to be envied and admired.
    3.          Response : A true saint does not practise attachment (possessiveness). As such, he does not attach undue attention and time to wealth, money, honour, even self-esteem. In fact, he dislikes social gatherings or boisterous occasions. That is why Jesus spent so much time in the mountains and wilderness alone; John the baptism lived in the wilderness. Moses was often on the mountains or tent of meeting. What of the monks, nuns and hermits who everyday keep away from the public and social gatherings.

  3. It is utterly impossible for a human spirit to be connected to the Son of God.
    4.          Response : Connecting to the highly evolved spirit is not performed by man, but by the Angels or God. Usually, the Angels arrive first to purify a person, change his level of spirituality before the person connects with heavenly beings.
             Besides, every good spirit is already a son of God, because he came from God. It is possible to connect and relate with the Son of God, Jesus, as Jesus Himself confirmed in several places of the sacred texts:

    At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (At that day means when you become perfect or spiritually awake.)

    He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21

    Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. John 14:23

    To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Revelation 3:21

  4. They regard themselves to be extremely valuable. The guides claimed by people are not high level guides. They are just ordinary people who had died and are devoted to helping others. It is not possible to see Angels.
    5.          Response : Those who have passed on do help the living people of the world. But such people cannot ascend to the throne of God to get messages for humanity, except in some special and few cases. Instead, it is the Angels that come down from the Heavens and from the presence of God. Besides, Angels are quite different from ordinary guides.
             Indeed, numerous Angels are everyday actively engaged in God’s work of salvation, doing everything possible to save those who would earnestly turn to God.
            Unfortunately, the world population, including majority of the religious leaders, do not know that they are lost. They are like a people who moved from light into darkness, and do not know again how to come out of the darkness.

  5. They look down on others.
    6.          Response : No true saint looks down on others. Every true saint values every creature in existence, even the smallest ant. He knows that each creature is very important to God and each is also life.

  6. They want to be honoured and venerated.
    7.          Response : No Angel or saint wants people to pray to him. Rather, every Angel or Saint wants people to know and worship the Lord Almighty. Apostle Peter would not allow the household of Cornelius to venerate him. The much celebrated veneration (worship) of Angels and Saints are practised by the public and churches out of ignorance and spiritual blindness. There is so much difference between what people hold as religious beliefs and practices here on earth, on the one hand, and what is actually obtainable in the heavenly kingdom, on the other hand. Unnecessary pieties are all man-made.

  7. They do consult their guides about other people.
    8.          Response : True saints are spiritually enlightened. They know that everybody has sovereignty, free will, free choice and personal responsibility. They do not interfere in the affairs of others.

  8. A human being cannot bear the power of approach; that is a human body cannot withstand the radiation from the body of the Angels, Jesus or God.
    9.          Response : This is true. Yet, there is a way out. It is either that a person is stepped up to the high spiritual state of the heavenly beings, or that the heavenly beings step themselves down to the level of ordinary human beings.
             When Moses met the Lord Almighty, and his face was not stepped down, the Israelites could not look at his face. So, he had to cover his face with a clothe. God allowed this development in order to prove to the Israelites that Moses actually saw and met Him.

  9. Prophesy in the form of dreams, visions, trance are no longer possible.
    10.          Response : This belief is a sign of spiritual blindness, dumbness and laziness into which mankind have plunged themselves. It shows how dead people are in spirituality. Jesus confirmed it, when he said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.” The same belief contradicts God’s message that in later days prophecy shall be very common.

    And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;
    and your sons and your daughters
    shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    your young men shall see visions:
    Joel 2;28

             Indeed, God is God of prophecy. Through prophecy, He foretells the future, confirms the present and recollects the pasts. Is it not disappointing and indeed unfortunate, that today many religious and church leaders treat prophecy with disdain and skepticism. That shows that many religious leaders are hypocrites. They block the flow of the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of truth, preferring to lead the church of God by their personal and collective opinions. That is why they are always ready to quote councils, refer to synods and meetings instead of quoting the Angels, Jesus or God Almighty like the prophets of old, who were led by the Holy Spirit.

  10. A day’s encounter is not enough to confirm the reality of spiritual experiences. Once is not enough.
    11.          Response : Those that are spiritually enlightened and advanced do not base their corrections, messages or teachings on a single occurrence. Usually, series of spiritual encounters and experiences take place, even from childhood, before a saint starts to minister to the public. For example, the churches teach that God called Abraham to Canaan and Abraham promptly obeyed. That sounds true, but it does not give the details. What actually happened was that Abraham was a prophet right from childhood. He knew God out of series of spiritual encounters and experiences. Already he knew the Lord Almighty. That is why when God directed him to move to Canaan, he promptly obeyed.
             Likewise, in the case of Mary. The truth was that Mary had been seeing and associating with Angels since her childhood. That was why when Angel Gabriel spoke to her about the birth of Jesus, she promptly accepted. Otherwise, she would have started asking Gabriel, "Who are you? And from whence you came?"

  11. God is invisible, unapproachable and inaccessible.
    12.          Response : A times, you may not blame those who are spiritually enlightened for their wrong claims. This is because each person can only speak to the extent he is enlightened, qualified, or permitted. Your belief is a key. It either opens the door for you, or locks you out. Consider the case of Buddha’s mother and Jesus’ mother. Buddha’s mother believed that any person who gives birth to a saviour would die. And she died soon after Buddha was born. How can God plan such a thing? When the best provision is that a child should be reared by his mother.
             Now compare the above case with Jesus’ mother, Mary, who did not have such belief. She outlived Jesus; she experienced all the difficulties and oppositions Jesus had. She was even present on the Calvary while Jesus was being crucified. God is invisible. Also, He makes Himself visible. He is approachable and accessible. That is why He said,

    “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:23

             The real problem is that people do not earnestly seek God. They do not care enough. In short, people do not have time for God! This is true despite the numeruosity of churches, prayer houses, ministries, fellowships, campsites, etc.

             If God makes Himself invisible, unapproachable and inaccessible, He would become the author of polytheism and idolatry. For then, people will have good reasons to seek other gods, which indeed are non-existent. People prefer to deal with what they can see, feel or touch, than something that is abstract and unnoticeable.
             Again, being invisible is not the distinguishing characteristics of God, for all things were first invisible before they became visible. His distinguishing characteristics are Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence. Also, Almighty Father because He is unborn; and The Creator of the universe.
             Indeed, there is no one who has clearly demonstrated and explained about God than God Himself. He has on several occasions manifested Himself, gave so many teachings and books about Himself and the universe. It is the religious leaders who keep such revelations, teachings and books away from the eyes of the public. They prefer to hold sway over the ignorant multitudes, than associate with enlightened ones who can easily question and challenge them.
             Those who preach that God is Unsubstantiated (Invisible only), should not think that they are doing a service to God.
             There is no darkness that light cannot penetrate.
             It is not a sin for a child to see his father.

             Awake!
             Awake, man!
             Step out of darkness,
             Into the light,
             Before the judgment starts
             Lest you be swept away
             With the shaff!

             For verily I say unto you, God delights to be in the midst of His holy people. For everyone that builds a castle and estate delights to visit the same, even doing so room by room and section by section.