In 1991, after serving as staff in YWAM Singapore Crossroads Discipleship Training School with my family, the Lord ushered us back to the Philippines. Then I met a pastor who became my friend after hearing me speak on hearing God's voice in a bible study group in Bay, Laguna. Together, we visited ABCOP churches where we ministered in healing and deliverance.

People got healed. Many were reconciled and restored back to their families, relatives and friends.

During these trips and ministries in the provinces, I have suffered from mild to severe discomforts in the bus. With a resolve to pray away discomfort, these little unpleasant feelings were neutralized. I also remember that these little unpleasant feelings occurred in different places. Back then I  was not yet aware that my spiritual skin was feeling the atmosphere of the towns I passed by. If not sleeping, my spirit is actively in fellowship  with the Holy Spirit or interceding for the people I will be ministering to. During this time, the Lord had sharpened my vision. I could see some of the past, present, or future of a person in my prayer.

In one of our gatherings, we were asked to pray for a family having relationship problems with a daughter. While somebody was praying, the Lord showed me in a vision that the daughter was being chased by a snake. I saw her but the snake caught up with her and bit her right heel. The Lord gave me its meaning but I kept quiet until the day I met the girl I saw in that vision.

The snake in the vision is a demon of lust and fornication. The bite means that she was already sinning with lust and fornication although at first she had tried to run away from it. After that bite, she was running with it, committing lust and fornication unknown to her parents. My  pastor friend and I went to minister to that family. The girl confessed and the parents forgave her.

There were other visions I saw in people's lives. Some of them were rejected, particularly the warnings and exposure of hidden sins, but the  Lord vindicated me.

One church rejected my ministry after ministering to them in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. During worship time, I saw in my vision that one of their worship members was committing sex sins with  another worship member. The pastor's wife rose in their defense and regarded my word as false and impossible, attesting to the person's Christian life. After 3 months, church leaders found out that my words were true.

The Lord protected me from " stones " being hurled at me as I bless  instead of curse them. Most of my time was spent in prayer, seeing the Lord in my visions and feeling him in the Spirit. I see angels when they minister with me. I see them travel with me, protecting not only me but  also those around me. All those times, my spirit was fed with many visions from the Lord and his awesome presence is all over me wherever I go as I maintain my spirit, soul and body to abide in him at all times.

The Unpleasant Feelings and Pain

There were a few times though that my feelings pick up the spirit of other  people. That is when I know quickly that a person has bitterness or resentment. The first time I noticed this was when I was in a friend's house. In the middle of conversation, his teenage daughter coming home  from school passed by me. A mild pain pricked my heart. I motioned my friend to ask her daughter if she was having resentments. He asked and she answered yes. My friend ministered to her and they were reconciled.

There were headaches, toothaches, stomachaches, colds, cough, fever  and other pains and sicknesses which I dealt with prayer and warfare and experienced healing. Sometimes these pains and sickness would quickly go, sometimes they would linger. I have asked God to let me  understand why the difference. Is it because of my faith? Is my healing process relative to my faith? One time I had a severe toothache. Since I have desired to perfect my faith in his word and works rather than to rely  on medicine, I asked the Lord if he will heal me without medicine and He said yes. I went into intense praying in tongues. The Lord lifted up my spirit and my prayer was like a battle cry waging war in the heavenly  places against demons and their weapons, spiritual or biological. In 10 minutes, the pain was completely gone. After a few days, the severe toothache came again. Quickly I prayed in tongues until the pain left. It  took me 5 minutes. After some days, that toothache was trying to inflict severe pain again. But this time as I was feeling it's pain mildly somewhere near the cap of my tooth, I quickly resisted it and before it  could spread, it was gone. Time lapse: split seconds. (More on healing of pain and sickness in pain & sensations. and war testimonies.)

I did not realize that these unpleasant feelings speak of some important  realities in the spirit realm. All I knew then was that I must exercise my faith in the Lord to deal with illness, sickness and diseases and receive healing. My first faith exercise in healing was dealing with colds in 1990 when I was revived from backsliding. Before I catch colds, I sneeze. Before I sneeze, I feel that irritating sensation in my nose.  Before that irritating virus could settle in my nose I would quickly command it to go away from me so I did not catch colds. Indeed I rebuke any pain and it will go.

Mystery of Dark Places Unfolded

There were places I went where God's presence is not felt. Some of  those places were churches, Christian schools, parsonage, pastor's offices and homes where Bible studies and prayer meetings were held.

I became keen on God's presence when I had developed the discipline of praying and fellowshipping with God as long as I am awake. Then I also realized that even in my sleep, my spirit prays. This I was told by the staff who spent the night with us at the reception room of YWAM DTS  House. This discipline started after I had complained to God that he was not faithful to his promise of providing for me and my family's needs. Financially broke and emotionally broken, that day I was driven by self  pity to complain to God because of lack of food and money to pay our bills long overdue. The Lord gently corrected me saying, " You are not working. Should you receive wages?"

I replied, " But Lord, you said you called me to be a Levite forever, to  work full time in the ministry. Now you are saying that I must work. I cannot understand you. I left my job, my business and gave up all plans to go into any income generating activity and now you tell me I have to work?"

The Lord gently explained to me what I must do. He said, " Be on your  knees and I will pay you. You have not received your provision because your enemies are encamped at your gates ".

He reminded me of the time when Israel was stricken with famine because their enemies were encamped at the gates of the city.  Merchants and traders could not come in.

My spirit also saw in a vision the angel who appeared to Daniel and  heard his voice saying, " I have come to respond to your prayer but principalities came to resist me." The Holy Spirit also reminded me of God's word in Isaiah 60:11and 12 which says, " Your gates will always  stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations ---their kings led in triumphal procession.  For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. "

On hearing God's voice and seeing visions, my spirit received peace and I stopped complaining. I repented and my spirit became strong. This  revelation stirred me to rise up in the spirit. With the sword out of my mouth, I dashed to pieces the enemies encamped at the gates. With intensity, I soared in powerful prayer of declaring truths and the will of  God to manifest. I declared that heaven be opened and the men whom God had sent will bring the wealth of the nation to us. The next day, provision came. As blessings flowed, food became abundant; bills were paid.

Through the years, my wife and I had seen the awesome ways of God in  faithfully providing our needs. He dealt with us as our father and he showed us his distinct ways according to our growing stages. As we grow, our lessons get tougher yet challenging and exciting. Many  Christians are comforting themselves by labeling their sufferings as trials they have to undergo by God's grace. With scriptures to support this concept , they have graciously resigned themselves to the thought that  God wants to test their faith, patience, trust, etc. This understanding limits God to being one who does not know the measure of faith of every Christian. Leading him or her into a testing scenario will let him know.  Our Omniscient God is a loving Father who trains, he does not need to test. He already knows what we are capable. In fact he does not try us beyond what we are able. Though prophets, apostles and men of God in  the bible speak of trials, there is one statement written in the Book of Revelations telling of the hour of trial where the devil will test the world.

Catching the Prophetic Anointing

In 1991, the Philippines experienced the prophetic move of the Holy  Spirit when Bill Hamon and other prophets and apostles from other nations came and imparted to the Filipinos the prophetic office and gifting. Every spiritually sensitive Christian could easily prophesy at that  time. Local and internationally known or unknown prophets prophesied to me and the first recorded prophesy my wife and I received from an American man of God was in Singapore at YWAM Crossroads DTS. He  prophesied our calling into warfare and worship ministry throughout the islands of the Philippines. He gave me and my wife in that assembly prophetic description of us moving with a cloud above us in a vision. After  a few months, his prophecy came to pass.

Others gave a prophetic word on my prophetic mantle. Whenever I had  the opportunity to minister, that prophetic mantle linked many prophetic people in churches to see visions, dreams, revelations and glimpses of past, present and future leading to directions and /or restorations. Many  were lifted up to soar as with eagle's wings. Many young men and women easily caught the prophetic fire. Churches were revived and the prophetic gifts were activated everywhere. The prophetic fire simply fell  on any Christian who believed: Baptists, Methodists, AGs, Foursquares, Pentecostals and others, it didn't matter. The prophetic manifestation was inevitable in spite of some oppositions. Ministers and pastors  hungered for this new move. Prophetic schools and conferences sprung in strategic cities and regions. Prophetic men and women with Davidic anointing went to different places making a prophetic impact  transforming people from sin to holiness and righteousness.

Scales off my Skin

The visions and dreams continued to manifest in my ministry but I  noticed that God was ushering me to another level of training and experience where the wonders and beauty of seeing prophetic visions had to give way for another part of me to be prophetically familiarized  with the spirit realm: my skin. It was to serve its purpose in the Lord. My spiritual and physical skin became supersensitive to the atmosphere. My wife once described to me a skin with a burn that hurt terribly  because of the affected pain receptors. Her presentation also gave me a greater understanding in my heart why God gave me a wife who is a doctor. Once more I am grateful to see how we can together discover  vital truths. The symbolic significance of man's anatomy in the spirit realm that would be tremendously helpful in endtime warfare. So by this time, my eyes of understanding began to take on a different view of the  human anatomy, God's special unique design that no one can clone. A rhema hit me and stirred a strong interest in connecting physical manifestations with spiritual activities. Thus this drew me to the door of  mystery in the spirit realm, which God has opened for me, my wife, children and others to explore.

My wife and I shared these truths and experiences in warfare conferences and seminars. Though many were able to appreciate and grasp the significance of this discovery, there were a few who stirred  others not to accept this teaching as biblical. But the Lord encouraged us not to stop but to move on.

One young lady once said to me that she doesn't' t like this experience. Neither do I, I agreed with her. But I later realized that it is a privilege to  be chosen by the Lord to trail blaze this field. So I repented.

The Lord continued to encourage me to go on and explore deeper into  this mystery. The unbearable pain on my teeth caused me sleepless nights. The pain that tormented my head, fever and chills at night do not seem to be an inviting testimony for endtime warriors to be trained for  war against the dragon and the anti-Christ.

The traditional theology of pain and suffering in the evangelical circles  must be revised. God is showing his Church to be radical and take tormentors under their feet. God's grace is sufficient for Paul and for us to go through the pain and suffering not because they come from God  but because God wants us to discover the truths and principles on how to handle pain and overcome it. Like a skin of an infant that was exposed to the elements, pain is easily felt than with the skin of an adult. When I  was stripped of the scales of ignorance and faithlessness, my skin was like that of an infant. The filthy atmosphere was unbearable yet God's grace is sufficient for me to go through the torment of wickedness. In the  beginnings of this torment, the pleading of Paul was also the prayer my spirit uttered. The same answer also echoed in my ears. My grace is sufficient for you. But this time, I was ushered by the Lord to learn in his  courts and be sent out in skirmishes with the tormentors.

The Truth Sets Me Free by Uttering the Word

The discovery of this power in defeating the tormentors was not easy but worth the pain, the grace and the love of the Lord. The experience in Bulacan and in Grace Village were God's leading. I discovered that this  ability to feel the atmosphere is the Lord's prerogative. He designates his warriors to this task. Zeny and I were in a cab, she felt pain in her heart. She utters the word and the pain leaves. In some situations, I felt the pain. I utter the word; the pain leaves. Those who learned with us also  became our encouragements. They are mighty warriors who were misunderstood by their leaders and peers. They were like the men of David when he was pursued by Saul because of tremendous jealousy.  These warriors whose heart are right with God suffered with us. They also bore those pains of the tormentors in the heavenly places. They too uttered the word and pain leaves. Now who can dissuade them from  renouncing a new found truth attested by their own experience and discoveries in the spirit realm?

When all of us at the parsonage would feel the terrible oppression infesting the air, I also came to that understanding that what we are  picking up is a terrible oppression of principalities assaulting our nation or city. The primary exposure to this oppressive spirit was awful. It took us more or less 24 hours to bear them. The words of prayer or  utterances may have not been accurate. Obviously, we were not hitting the target. Honestly, we did not know our target so how can we hit him? The first time this happened, the pain passed away without knowing  what was going on in the heavens. All we knew was the unbearable pain we had to endure.

In times of pain, my ability to hear God's voice and see vision seem  impossible. The terrible pain selfishly draws the focus of my mind, soul and body. It paralyzes me from doing tasks. This paralyzing effect triggered me to argue with God on the significance of symbolizing pain  on my body. How can I ever survive the painful effect of wickedness in the atmosphere if when afflicted, my sense of hearing and seeing is blocked and is paralyzed? The pain seem to push me down to my defeat  because it leaves me writhing and pleading pathetically. Is there any other means to subdue wickedness as quick as lightning so that pain would be cut short? Sometimes I wondered if I have to go through this.  How I have wished that I stay in God's presence and experience the joy of worshiping in His courts where his presence is strongly felt.

Lord how can I pray when pain is so unbearable that concentration  seems impossible? The gravity of pain I experienced became the reason for pursuing sharpness, accuracy and persistence in attaining truth to win. This is simply because the Lord did not give us any option. The Lord  dealt with us as spiritual grownups, not kids. And if we were kids, then we should grow up. At least in this area where the battle must be won. The war cry that developed in our parlance today is that as warriors, we  shouldn't ask the Father to drive the wolf away for us. A grown up son must drive the wolf for the Father's sheep.

Spiritual Skin

We are spirits and this is what makes us feel the spirit realm: our  spiritual skin. The unspiritual man is afflicted with spiritual leprosy. This I have perceived in the spirit realm, where man's spirit must be the dominant part of being over his flesh. You see, people practicing the  occult are as sensitive as those who are filled with the Spirit. Our spirit is the being that sees, hears, feels, smells, and tastes the spirit realm.  This ability is called ESP, clairvoyance, and so on but I say they are the ability of our spirit to see what no eye has seen, to hear what no ear has  heard, to feel what no skin has felt, to taste what no tongue has tasted, and to smell what no nose has smelled.

Former Satanists are reporting tremendous abilities and phenomena in their ranks and many were impressed. This is a deception in its form because the hidden agenda accomplished here is making impressions that it is supposed to be for God and his people. The message conveyed behind is to attract you to get involved. The wonders of darkness seem to draw the admiration and appreciation of naive Christians for this ex Satanists and faith healers. Subtly, they have become a source of  information regarding Satan's hierarchy and hitherto unmatched methods.

But the Lord is calling forth his church to explore, discover truths and  principles and experience them in the spirit realm in the Lord's battle against the dragon and his angels.

Spiritual Leprosy

Ignoring sensations & pains leads to spiritual leprosy.

 It islikegetting used to it. This dreaded disease strips a man of his godly  form and function, beauty and fragrance and, most of all, his honor. The effect of painlessness is devastating. The leprous skin works without caution because there is no pain to alert and alarm it of danger. The  leprous skin holds hot items and grips sharp objects. Frequent abuse of the skin causes deformation and deterioration. This is also true with our spiritual skin. If you keep on ignoring the sensations and pains in the  spirit realm, this develops into spiritual leprosy. The person becomes insensitive to the realities of ungodly spirit beings and their manifestations which are affecting the heavenly realms and people in it.  In times of church worship, one who is sensitive to the spirit realm would feel the real situation: if heaven is open or not; if God's presence is made  manifest or not; if there are angels or demons lurking; if somebody has come with heaviness or bitterness; if somebody is lustful or loving the Lord.

 The Power of Symbols

With other Christians operating in this level of prophetic & apostolic  warfare, we experience the power of symbols. There are many realities in the spirit and physical world that we need to understand by getting the truth and principles instituted by God since the beginning of the angels  and man. The meaning of symbols as revealed by God are more than rituals and ceremonies in the temple courts or anywhere. The Old Testament is a record of symbols done in ceremonies at the temple  officiated by priests. In obedience to the law receive by Moses from Yahweh, the Jews did them without full understanding. But our generation today, Jew or grafted Jew, is ushered by the Holy Spirit and  his angels to experience and grasp the full meaning and power of being holy and righteous men and women symbolic of things to come .

This symbolic generation are they who...do not forget their first love | were afflicted and poor, slandered yet faithful to the end | aggressively fought against the teachings of Balaam  and practices of Balak, and against the teachings of the Nicolaitans, who did not tolerate Jezebel who misleads Christians into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols | whose deeds are found complete in the eyes of my God | kept His word to endure patiently | are not lukewarm but have bought gold refined in the fire, white  clothes to wear, and salve to put on their eyes to see | ®Rev.2 & 3They are those who...overcame the dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil, by the blood  of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death | ®Rev.12:11.All events in the physical world are symbolic of the spirit realm; all  events in the spirit realm are symbolic of the physical realm. In a profound statement I can say:

The spirit and the physical are one and in one realm, the heavenly places - on earth and above it.

But which is first? When Paul wrote in the Scriptures that the flesh came  first, this meant that God first formed the dwelling then sent the indweller. He formed man from dust and breathe into it his spirit.

The symbol of wickedness and evil is pain and suffering. The symbol of godliness is pleasure and joy.

Paul had this insight on symbolic significance of the human body in 1  Corinthians 12:12-31. He described the church as the body of Christ and its parts in perfect function and unity. But we humbly submit to the Body of Christ a new dimension of understanding the human body and its  symbolic significance in our global warfare against the dragon and his angels. The different parts of our body were perfectly designed by God. Its functions and the integrated relationships of organs give a picture of  ongoing and upcoming situation in the heavens. It is also a showcase of the heavens, the unseen creatures and activities in the spirit realm.

When an invader, a colds virus, enters my nose, I sneeze. This is the  alarm and defense system excellently working. If that virus breaks through and goes deeper, the mucous membrane lining my nose and throat will secrete mucus to trap the invader so it can be expelled by my  sneeze or cough reflex.

My skin has pain receptors that respond to a hot object immediately so I  reflexly withdraw my hand or limb and safeguard me from further harm. These sensors and the reflex ability to respond to the dangerous situation are built into my body by God even while I was being formed in  my mother's womb to preserve me. Even my pain is important.

When the body is attacked by virus, bacteria, or any foreign body for that  matter, the body has its own system to resist such invasion. This is the immune system where certain cells have the specific task of fighting against the foreigner, attaching itself to the invader causing it to burst or  be destroyed. These are our antibodies, our soldiers inside the body rising up in arms. We say at that level there is warfare going on. And such an engagement produces heat. The heat of the battle we record in  our thermometers as fever. When we have a good resistance force, we win the battle. We say we have waged good warfare. Then the other group of the force comes along to mop up the mess, the rubbles of  battle. These are the macrophages, like pacman cells disposing of the debris and mess.

We are Signs being Perfected

To the proud and arrogant of this world, we are a sign of fear, woe,  catastrophe, death, and a coming judgment. To the meek though defiled and troubled, we are a sign of healing, deliverance, guidance, quiet waters, prosperity, life and joy. Signs speak of a coming event. They  warn, direct, or lead the passerby or the traveler so that at the crossroads, he will know where to go.

Also, we can be door signs telling what is behind the door in this world with many doors. When we have been through the door, we can tell  others what are behind. Like doors of deception and wickedness such as immorality, bad company, yoking with unbelievers, new age, alternative medicine, occultism, religion, witchcraft, and etc. On the other hand are  the doors of godliness, faith, love, peace, patience, faithfulness, self-control, and joy.

Our feelings are signs. They are indicators of peace or war, bitterness or  forgiveness, holiness or wickedness, love or lust, light or darkness, prosperity or poverty, pain or pleasure, healing or suffering, and bondage or deliverance. In the prime of my combat training in prophetic warfare,  my bad feelings were emoted, which should not be. Our emotions should NOT serve as signs of affliction, oppression, tension, agitation, lust, pride and arrogance. Such wicked emotions should not exist in us  because God has called us to be a sign of the Kingdom of God not of darkness or wickedness. Our wrong attitude and behavior should not be considered as one of our prophetic task as signs and symbols. We  should repent and correct them. We should emote love, truth, holiness, righteousness, and the 9 fruit of the Spirit. Then we win.

© created: 8/4/1998 ~ modified: 1/26/2015 12:17:07 AM