by Theodore Wright.

 
Originally, I did not believe in appearances of Jesus Christ after the time of His ascension to Heaven. That is, with the exception of the conversion moment of Saul of Tarsus who became the Apostle Paul. I based this view of mine from Acts 1:11 in the Holy Bible…

Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Also, there was 1 Corinthians 15:8 where this was mentioned, after all the other appearances of Jesus, where I understood that Paul was the last to see Jesus…

Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

So, I thought that these stories of Christian women seeing Jesus Christ while having a cup of coffee in the kitchen were ridiculous. Since that time, I have had some reconsideration on the matter.   Could it be that others, after the Apostle Paul, also saw Jesus risen from the dead? Was Paul perhaps the last one to see Jesus only back then?

This is the story about the matter…

The year was 2013. Why were a number of Christians suddenly discussing with me about them seeing Jesus? Not simply having visions, but seeing His person while they are awake and alert. The people I kept meeting like this were increasing and even at unusual places and times. Still, this sounded to me like the cartoon “Coffee with Jesus”. I tried keeping an open mind but often found myself skeptical.

My study of historical writings of revivals started from diverse literature then continued with writings from The Great Awakening to other revivals such as the 2nd Great Awakening, the 3rd, onward to the Azusa Street revival in 1906. I spoke to my friend David about something I read in a writing from the Great Awakening. In that writing, one person asked another (I believe these were women) saying, “Have you seen the risen Lord Jesus Christ?” I said to David, “Do you see this conversation here? This question was asked so casually! It seems like this was possibly a common enough experience back then.” This was an issue for me to consider.
 

There was a prophetess, Isabel Allum, who spoke to my wife and I a 5-minute long or so prophesy which I found quite powerful like she had read my mail and knew our lives. She was speaking so quickly as though the message was coming to her faster than she could speak it. Actually, I was looking into a family trip to the Toronto area to see this prophetess since the Lord put in on my heart but then the trip did not work out. Just afterwards, I found she was coming to the very church we were attending at the time when it was only shortly before her arrival. Her coming to our local church was only a last-minute decision made by others that I did not know about ahead of time.

Later, I watched videos on the internet of her church spoken messages. She mentioned times when she saw Jesus. While I was still skeptical on this topic, I did find her as someone believable.
 

While I was working on my home computer, quietly thinking on this to myself, my wife suddenly tells me that she saw Jesus Christ while having a cup of cocoa in the kitchen. That’s right. She said the very statement I would think ridiculous. Yet, I knew my wife already had a large number of visions and dreams from the Lord which profoundly affected my life. I suddenly slapped my hand on the table and said loudly, “That’s it! I’m doing a Bible study on this… Post-ascension appearances of Jesus Christ. I am going to find the Bible’s answer to this subject one way or another!”
 

In my study of the Holy Bible on this there were verses I still questioned on the topic, I was finally convinced by Acts 23:11…

And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

Another convincing passage is John 14:21…

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.

Having then been convinced from the Bible that this is a real occurrence for Christians in modern times, I wanted this experience for myself. I wanted to see the risen Lord Jesus Christ! I kept meeting Christians telling me of this experience even when I had not told them I was seeking this. So, I took up this subject with the Lord in prayer. God told me that during the time of seeking Him for this experience with Him that He would speak to me but very quietly. This was also confirmed to me in a dream I previously had but I did not fully understand it then until the Lord spoke to me about it. Yes, Jesus did speak to me but He spoke to me very quietly. When He did speak I would raise my voice and say, “I heard that!” Oh, the things he would tell me, but yet so very softly.

I heard, at this time, a sermon I saw being preached on television. The preacher said that when God moves in your life that you grow in your soul but not in your spirit. It is in the quiet times waiting that we grow in the spirit. This comforted me and helped to equip me to patiently wait on Him.

One night, only shortly after this, while in my bedroom praying, my two youngest sons came into the bedroom with me. I decided to read to them from a children’s story Bible about the death and resurrection of Jesus. The next morning, my youngest child told my wife he saw Jesus after he woke up. Jesus told my 4-year-old son not to be afraid of the dark. I remembered my prayers to the Lord that I did not just pray for myself alone to see Jesus, but for my family as well to see Him.
 

Since that time, in addition to this vision, my youngest child saw Jesus in two of his dreams. One dream he said he saw God. I thought to ask him what God looked like, wondering how he would answer this. He said God had wings. I replied saying that I didn’t think that God had wings. Without blinking, he looked up to me and said, “The Holy Spirit”. Since the Holy Spirit has appeared as a dove before, I perceived he had a real encounter.

Just after this time, I did have a dream seeing Jesus. I did not realize it was Jesus until the man in my dream sat down and said, “I am the bread of life!” I looked to my left in my dream and saw my youngest son holding a Bible sizable for him and nodding three times yes. I still continue in prayer during these days to have this experience. I want to be caught up to the third Heaven to see Jesus but also to see awake, in the land of the living, the risen Lord Jesus Christ. So, have you seen the risen Lord Jesus Christ?