And the Lord will create over the whole site, over every dwelling place of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy (a defense of divine love and protection) (Isaiah 4:5 AMPC).
If you’re familiar with deserts, such as the Northern African Sahara and Southwestern United States Mojave Deserts, you’ll know they can be very unforgiving places, which aren’t conducive for human habitation. At night, they could get bitterly cold, and in the day, they’re terribly hot. This was the kind of harsh environment the children of Israel found themselves in after leaving Egypt. To be under such extreme conditions for the length of time they wandered through the wilderness could have spelled doom for them, but the Lord was with them, and He gave them His divine atmosphere. He shielded them as a cloud in the daytime, overshadowing them from the scorching heat. And at night, He was to them a pillar of fire, protecting them against the extreme cold. So, the children of Israel travelled with their “own atmosphere”; it was the presence of the Holy Spirit (Exodus 13:21)! If you’re born again, you carry this glorious presence of the Holy Spirit in and with you (John 14:17); it’s the blessing of the new creation. You carry your own atmosphere of the miraculous! It therefore doesn’t matter where you may find yourself or what happens around you. That “divine” atmosphere shields and protects you against the harsh conditions and negative circumstances of life. No wonder Jesus described us—Christians—as indestructible when He said in Luke 10:19 “…and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” You’re divinely shielded and immune from everything that hurts, binds, or destroys. Everyone around you may have an infection due to the outbreak of an epidemic, but not you. There’s something that creates an atmosphere of health and victory around you; it’s the indwelling and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.
This same presence can be created by you in the place of prayer, they were under God’s divine atmosphere, provision, love and care. Exodus 13:21-22 says, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire….” Even though they were in the desert, in that terrible arid land, they weren’t scorched by the sun. Then at night, they were kept warm by a pillar of fire. Thus, day or night—they were under a special atmosphere. That’s amazing! This didn’t happen for one day, three days, a few months or a year; it was for forty long years. God protected them!
Read the psalmist’s account of this in Psalm 105:37 (AMPC): “He brought [Israel] forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.” Deuteronomy 29:5 (NKJV) says, “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet….” This is extraordinary; they were in God’s presence and He fed and nurtured them. Nehemiah 9:20-21 (GNB) says, “In your goodness you told them what they should do; you fed them manna and gave them water to drink. Through forty years in the desert you provided all that they needed; their clothing never wore out, and their feet were not swollen with pain.” He hasn’t changed. The same God takes care of you and nurtures you today. His presence in, with, and about you today makes you an oasis of love and grace in a troubled world. You live in His presence, in a divine atmosphere of joy, bliss and glory, where you’re absolutely independent of circumstances. Be mindful of this always. There could be chaos or anarchy everywhere, but in Him you’re at peace and in safety. Hallelujah!
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Daniel 15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision (Hazon), I sought [r]to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one [s]who looked (Mareh) like a man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, explain the vision (Mareh) to this man.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; and he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision (Hazon)pertains to the time of the end.” 18 Now while he was talking with me, I was dazed with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand at my place. 19 And he said, “Behold, I am going to inform you of what will occur at the final period of the indignation because it pertains to the appointed time of the end.
Hazon: Revelation, Sight, Vision Daniel 9: 21 Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision (Hazon) at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. Everything is very consistent in the Hebrew hazah, hazo, hazon and these words continue to be used in the same manner until suddenly in chapter 10 there was a different degree of vision. There was a different experience in his vision. Notice in Daniel 8:15 When I, Daniel had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; and behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai. There would probably be people walking around that day. But there is no record that the people around him were affected. All he had was a personal vision.
Mareh: Appearance, Sight, Vision Daniel 10: 2-3 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks; I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth. In case you didn’t know it that’s one of the best types of fast. A partial fast that is a long one where he ate no pleasant food. Nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And so in chapter 10, there was definitely something different about the kind of vision he was having. There was a depth of vision that he had during his experience in chapter 10. Let’s read on in Daniel chapter 10:7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision. But a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. There was something definitely different. Before that he had visions but the people around never reacted like that day. Just cross-reference to the one he had earlier. Chapter 8 he saw Gabriel in verse 16. As he saw it there was no record of the people around him being affected at all. But in Daniel 10:7 nobody saw the vision but everyone around felt something. For the word vision is a different Hebrew word. In verse 7 I, Daniel alone saw the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision (Mara). It’s a different type of vision. So here mara has a totally different meaning. Here the word mara is used to bring out the depth of the vision that he was having. With all these Hebrew words I summarize it to be two main areas hazon and mareh or mara. The other words are just deviations. If I were having a hazon vision I could be kneeling down or sitting down and worshipping. It can be in three different types. It can be a closed vision, an open vision or a spiritual vision. And anyone around me wouldn’t know it. Everyone around would have thought that I was just praising the Lord. But if I were to be having a mara kind of vision, and you were around me something would affect you. Maybe you began to shiver and shake. Maybe you would feel a holy awe and terror striking you, even though you don’t know what’s going on.
A mara vision is of a very high degree. Let’s read on to establish this fact here in Daniel 10: 8. See everybody ran when he had a mara vision. Although they didn’t see Gabriel they felt something that was frightening to the natural man and they ran. Verse 8 Therefore I was left alone and saw this great vision (Mara). Even though you don’t understand Hebrew you can see the adjective great added to the noun vision; never before has Daniel used the word great to describe his previous visions in the previous chapters. He calls that vision a great vision. The word vision again is the word mara. He saw a great mara. And it affected him more than it affected him before. It says, and no strength was left in me; my radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words; and when I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in a deep sleep with my face to the ground. And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. Definitely, this is a different experience. Before that he had different types of experiences. Like in chapter 8 verse 27 he felt weak for some time. But now he was so affected that he fell into a deep sleep. And then when Gabriel’s hand touched him, his body couldn’t stand the amount of power that was being transmitted and his palms were vibrating and his knees were shaking. Understand that Daniel was a very spiritual man and he had seen visions before. But this was different. What happens in Hazon and Mara, there are different things that take place between Mara and Hazon. Our bodies are affected No. 1 When we move from hazon to mara it begins to affect our physical body. It will have a supernatural effect on the natural realm. One of the reasons why Enoch was translated was because he moved so much into Mara. You cannot move into Mara too long because your physical body cannot take it anymore. It will either have to be renewed or your physical body will either have to die or be transformed. Our physical bodies are not made to sustain mara. It is too powerful for our physical frame. Our mortal bodies cannot take on this immortal experience. Which is why I can see that people like Enoch moved so much into mara until his physical body was virtually transformed and he was translated. The spirit world is materialized In Hazon even the angels you see are spiritual but not in the Mara level, when you are having a Mara kind of vision and you try to walk you will bump into that angel. At the mara stage, the spiritual has materialized into the natural realm. There is a small degree of Hazon having materialization Optazia and Horas are encounters in the New Testament and Mareh is a manifestation of the highest degree. So great that it is impossible to come out of the Mara vision the same. When you come out of Mara vision something physically takes place on your natural body. Let me illustrate also with the New Testament. In the New Testament, there are two Greek words for visions. One is the word optasia, which means an apparition and the other is horasis, which means to see. In the New Testament, there are different places where optasia takes place and where horasis takes place. Let’s look at some incidents in the book of Acts 10:3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision (horasis) an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius”. So he saw a horasis kind of vision. Look over at the book of Acts 26:19 Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision (optasia). Suddenly, there is a change. Paul says that he calls his horasis as optasia. To compare it to the Hebrew Hazon vision is like horasis. Mareh kind of vision is like Optasia. Paul was talking about his vision in Acts chapter 9 when he met the Lord Jesus Christ on his way to Damascus. It was a mareh or an optasia kind of vision. As we said when you have a mareh or optasia vision something physically happens. Paul was riding on his donkey, as he came near suddenly the windows of heaven opened. He not only saw Jesus. I mean later on he saw Jesus and there was no such happening. We are told that Jesus appeared to him after he has been in prison and said Paul be of good cheer.
PS: We will be in Europe this week, starting with Rome! We come bringing help and support to all believers and those who don’t yet believe, as led by the Holy Spirit. No matter your situation or condition at the moment, we offer a hand of help and fellowship Kindly send a DM, if you are led to do so.
Thank you.