Saturday, May 21, 2016

Illuminating The Great Controversy 4: Hallucination


This blog is a continuation of my previous blogs titled, The Great Controversy (http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2016/02/title-illuminating-great-controversy.html), Illuminating Great Controversy 2: Telepathy Evil (link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2016/03/illuminating-great-controversy-2.html), and Illuminating The Great Controversy 3: Mind Control Evil (link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2016/04/illuminating-great-controversy-3-mind.html). Please take note that during this blog, the noun satan will be deliberately spelt in lowercase alphabetical letters since I choose to do so! This blog is formatted in a question and answer format-questionnaire format, for the sake of simplicity for any eight grader to understand. Straight to the point-no bit around the bush! The intension of the blogger is not for the reader to enjoy some so called “fancy” complicated words or eye catching pictures, but to understand what the author is trying communicate to you-general audience. Please take time to go through the sources of information provided in the bibliography and reference section of this blog, situated at the end of the blog. Also, please read the Bible texts stated within this blog with your own Bible to better understand the blog and for the credibility of the blog. So without further “delays”, let’s get straight into it…


Let’s start by defining some psychological terms in which we’re going to come across in this blog;
  • ·        Mindfulness- involves intentionally bringing one’s attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment.
  • ·        Stimuli or Stimulus- is something that causes a psychological response. Or in other words simply speaking, stimulus or stimuli are the data from the external world entering into our brain’s sensory nervous system.


  • ·        Hallucination- is a perception in the absence of external stimulus that has qualities of real perception.
  • ·        An Illusion- is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Though illusion distort reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may occur with any of the human senses, but visual illusions (optical illusions), are the most well-known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occur because vision often dominates the other senses. Some illusions are based on general assumptions the brain makes during perception.
  • ·        Perception- is the organization, identification and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of sense organs.
  • ·        Sensory nervous system- is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consist of sensory receptors, neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved in sensory perception. Commonly recognized sensory systems are these for vision, auditory (hearing), somatic sensation (touch/ feel), gustatory (taste), olfaction (smell), and vestibular (balance/ movement). In short, senses are converted from the physical world to the realm of the mind where we interpret the information, creating our perception of the world around us.




Hallucination


Question: Is the term Hallucination found within The Holy Bible?
Answer: No! The “term” hallucination is “NOT” found within The Holy Bible from Genesis right up to Revelation!


Question: So where did we get the term hallucination?
Answer: The word “hallucination” itself was introduced into the English language by the seventeenth century by the physician Sir Thomas Browne in 1646 from the derivation of the Latin word “alucinari” meaning to wander in the mind. All in all generally speaking, the term hallucination like all other psychological terms were derived from the study of Psychology.



Question: So is vision a form of hallucination?
Answer: Yes, according to the definition of the term itself. The term hallucination is not found within The Holy Bible but examples of the definition of the term hallucination according to the definition of the term are found within The Holy Bible. A vision is an example of the definition of the term hallucination since what the individual is experiencing does not come from external stimulus which becomes the person’s perception. For instance, In 1 Samuel 3:4 – 8 Samuel thought he heard Eli calling him. Now this is an illusion since Samuel misinterpreted the internal stimulus which came directly from God. It is an internal stimulus since only Samuel heard the voice calling him and not anyone around-including Eli. If both Samuel and Eli heard the voice calling Samuel, but the voice did not came from the people, objects or things around them, then it is also an internal stimulus. If Eli had called Samuel then it would be an external stimulus since the stimulus came from Eli’s mouth.



Question: Give some examples of the definition of the term hallucination found within The Holy Bible?
Answer:  Let’s take a look at some examples of the definition of the term hallucinations found within The Holy Bible;

a.     The Book of Revelation within The Holy Bible was the Word of God given to John in a vision. Or in other words, what was stated in the book of Revelation was given to the prophet John in a vision. Revelation 1:1-2 reads, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants-things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.” To cut the long story short, our key word here in the above texts, is at the end of verse two-the word “saw”. Thus proving that Prophet John had or saw a vision from God. Or in other words within today’s psychological terms, Prophet John was hallucinating –visual hallucination (see the definition of hallucination above if you can’t remember).
b.     Let’s take a sneak preview at our second example. Jeremiah 1: 4-5 reads, Then the words of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Here within this texts, our key word is in verse four-the word “saying.” Using this Modern Era’s psychological terms, we would say that prophet Jeremiah was hallucinating- auditory hallucinations.
c.      Let’s take a look at our third example. Jeremiah 2:1-2 reads, Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says The Lord: I remember you , The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first fruit of His increase. All that devour him will offend; disasters will come upon them,’ says the Lord.” Here within this texts, our key word is in verse one-the word “saying.” Using this Modern Era’s psychological terms, we would say that prophet Jeremiah was hallucinating- auditory hallucination.
d.     Let’s take a sneak preview at our fourth example. Isaiah 1:1 reads, ‘The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.’  I think this verse is very clear. For the key words we have the word “vision” and “saw”. Thus saying using today’s psychological terms, prophet Isaiah was hallucinating-visual hallucination.
e.      Let’s have a look at our fifth example. Our fifth example is based on 1 Samuel 3. From 1 Samuel 3:4 – 8 describes how Samuel was having auditory illusions (that Eli was calling him, unfortunately that stimulus came from another entity as an internal stimulus-from God). From 1 Samuel 3:10-15 according to today’s psychological terms, we can see that Samuel was hallucinating-having auditory and visual hallucinations. To make it more clearer, 1 Samuel 3:10 reads, Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” Here within this verse, our key words are “came, stood, and call.” Thus making it both a auditory and visual hallucinations in which Samuel was experiencing, according to today’s psychological terms.  




Question: Since the term hallucination is associated with the field of psychology, what is psychology and when did psychology evolved?
Answer: Psychology is the study of behavior and mind, embracing all aspects of conscious and unconscious experience as well as thought. It is an academic discipline and an applied science which seeks to understand individuals and groups by establishing general principles and researching specific cases. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist and can be classified as a social, behavioral, or cognitive scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the mental functions in individuals and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and biological processes that underlie cognitive functions and behavior.

History… The ancient civilization of Egypt, Greece, China, India, and Persia all engaged in the philosophical study of psychology. Meaning only “IDEAS” of what is now known as psychology were present back then. Let’s take a brief look at these “Ideas” which led to the development and establishment of the field of psychology in our current day and age. Historians noted that;

·        Greek-philosophers, including Plato, Thales and Aristotle addressed the working of the mind. As early as the 4th century BC, Greek physician Hippocrates theorized that mental disorders had physical rather than supernatural causes.
·        China- psychological understanding grew from the philosophical works of Laozi and Confucius, and later from the doctrine of Buddhism. Chinese scholars focused on the brain advanced in the Qing Dynasty with the work of Western educated Fang Yizhi (1611-1671), Liu Zhi (1660-1730), and Wang Qingren emphasized the importance of the brain as the center of the nervous system, linked mental disorder with brain diseases, investigated the causes of dreams and insomnia, and advanced a theory of hemispheric lateralization in brain function.
·        India-Distinctions in types of awareness appear in the ancient thought of India, influenced by Hinduism. A central idea of the Upanishads is the distinction between a person’s transient mundane self and their unchanging soul. Divergent Hindu doctrines, and Buddhism, have challenged this hierarchy of selves, but have all emphasized the importance of reaching higher awareness.
·        Europe- Psychology was a popular topic in the Enlightenment period in Europe. In Germany, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) applied his principles of calculus to the mind, arguing that mental activity took place on an invisible continuum-most notably, that among an infinity of human perceptions and desires, the difference between conscious and unconscious awareness is only a matter of degree. Christian Wolff identified psychology as its own science, writing Psychologia emirica in 1732 and Psychologia rationalis in 1734. This notion advanced further under Immanuel Kant, who established the idea of anthropology, with psychology as an important subdivision. Having consulted philosophers Hegel and Herbart, in 1825 the Prussian state (a State in Germany) established psychology as a mandatory discipline in its rapidly expanding and highly influential educational system.

As we can see from the brief history of psychology above, psychology was established as a mandatory discipline and into the educational system.



Question: So, is psychology right or The Holy Bible right?
Answer: As believing Christians,  people who believe in the existence of our Trinity God The Creator Whose Character and Principality is Love  according to 1 John 4:7-10 and Jesus as The Christ or God The Son, I would say “The Holy Bible” is always correct and right (against psychology and everything under psychology-mankind’s views and ideas)! Let’s not forget the fact that The Holy Bible is God’s Word to us, mankind: the Word of God intervene and inspired the servants of God, man of God, or prophets in the past, in which were later written down as The Holy Scriptures-which later combined into a single book, “The Holy Bible.” Remember, The Word was in the beginning according to John 1:1-5 and is our Creator according to John 1:10 and Genesis 1:1. Let’s not forget that psychology was recently established by “man” or mankind in the recent years-1825 to be exact, but The Word of God was in the beginning, present today, and still will be in the future!



Question: So who is The Word of God?
Answer: Jesus Christ… The Word of God is Jesus Christ! 1 John 5:7 reads, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” Here we see the Word is used to represent God the Son or Jesus Christ-remember our God is a Trinity God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  1 Peter 3:5 reads, “For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water,” Here we see Peter emphasized that the Word of God, God the Son, or Jesus Christ created the heavens, the earth standing above the water, and in the water. John 1:1-3 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” Here we see that Jesus Christ, God the Son, or the Word of God existed in the beginning-is eternal. The Word of God was with God, meaning the Word is a different God head, God the Son within our Trinity God-which is Jesus Christ or God the Son. The Word was God meaning, our Trinity God heads (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) are united as one according to 1 John 5:7, united in their Principality and Character of Love according to 1 John 4:7-10. Furthermore, the Word, God the Son, or Jesus Christ created us during creation-created our planet earth according to Genesis 1:1.


Question: Well avoiding psychology, focusing on The Word of God through The Holy Bible, why is hallucination present (why do we as human beings experience hallucinations)?
Answer: Never forget that we are in this Great War, The Great Controversy according to Revelation 12:7-9. This Great Controversy is not between flesh and blood but between principalities according to Ephesians 6:12-God’s Principality and Character of Love, according to 1 John 4:7-10, and satan’s principality and character of selfishness according to Isaiah 14:13, 14. Once again, the term hallucination is not found within The Holy Bible.  Examples of the definition of the term hallucination, like visons, are found within The Holy Bible. First of all we have to understand that every hallucination that a human being experiences is either from God or satan since there is no middle ground within This Great Controversy.  Or in other words simply speaking, we can either be influence by God or satan-whether through visual hallucinations or auditory hallucinations, etc... Hallucinations from satan and his evil angels include;

 Remember, we are in this Great Controversy-satan’s principality is selfishness that is why he forces his principality through his stimulus in the form of hallucinations or others, telepathically to force or persuade us to choose his principality within this Great Controversy. However, let us not forget that since The Holy Bible is God’s Word to us mankind or humanity, so called forms of hallucinations according to the term’s definition (not the term hallucination itself), like visions “from God” are found within The Holy Bible. I mean, why would The Holy Bible state forms of satan’s hallucinations (not the term hallucination itself) when it’s God’s Word to us mankind or humanity and not satan’s? Right, now you get it… That is why visions included in The Holy Bible are mostly from God to His servants or prophets, and about His Will.  



Question: Well, so how do we human beings know that a particular hallucination is from God or satan?
Answer: Our answer is found in 1 John 4:1-6. Please take time to read these verses… Let’s look at verse one. 1 John 4:1 reads, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God: because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  So we are to test every spirit that influences us in order to know whether they are from God or satan. Meaning, if we as human beings are experiencing hallucinations, it is wise of us to test the spirits invisibly behind the scene influencing us in which we create our perception, in order to figure out whether they are from God or satan.


Question: Then, how do we test every spirit in order to know whether they are from God or satan (mind you, there’s no middle ground within this Great Controversy)?
Answer: Well, our answer is found in 1 John 4:2, and it reads, “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” One word that stands out from the above passage is “confess”, define it using your own dictionary! So here we see that “testing” within this scenario is in fact “observing”, which leads to our conclusion that the spirit is in fact of God or satan-satan the original Anti-Christ who first rebelled and fought against Jesus Christ in heaven-in which he and his one third angels were cast down to earth, according to Revelation 12:7-12. Or in other words, the passages from 1 John 4 verse 1 to 6 explains that one who has God’s Spirit will speak the truth about Jesus. Many claim to be guided by The Holy Spirit when in reality the spirit that guides them is not of God-  also refer to 1 Timothy 4:1.



Question: Well, how is it possible that hallucination is a result of spirits influencing human beings (has to be from God or satan)?
Answer: Well, we all are spiritual beings because we were previously created by God who is also a Spirit. Genesis 1:1, 2 reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Here we see that the Spirit of God was present before the earth was created. Secondly, a living soul or alive human being (man: male or female) is made up of dust and God’s breath of Life- simple formula, “soul = dust + God’s breath of Life. Genesis 2: 7 reads, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”  Remember, there is no middle ground within this Great Controversy. Revelation 12:7-9 reads, “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” This Great Controversy is not between flesh and blood but between principalities and spiritual hosts according to Ephesians 6:12-God’s Principality and Character of Love, according to 1 John 4:7-10, and satan’s principality and character of selfishness according to Isaiah 14:13, 14. Since the Great Controversy is still taking place in planet earth today, every hallucination has to be from God or satan.



Question: As Christians, give the solution in being protected against satan’s deceptions through his hallucinations?
Answer: First of all, we must test the spirit according to 1 John 4: 1-6. If the spirit behind the particular hallucination is not of God, than we must have or wear the whole armor of God. “It is wise to wear the whole armor of God at all times, so when such deceptions from satan, like his hallucinations come our way, we may be protected against his attacks and withstand our ground in Jesus Christ’s side, within this Great Controversy and will not be deceived by him!”  Ephesians 6:11-17 reads, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against Flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to with stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God;” Let’s briefly simply explain the whole armor of God according to the above text in Ephesians 6:11-17;
1.     Helmet= Salvation.
2.     Sword of the Spirit= The Word of God-The Holy Bible.
3.     Shield= Faith.
4.     Girded waist/belt= Truth.
5.     Breastplate= Righteousness.
6.     Shod feet, shoe= Peace.
We can wear the whole armor of God-have Salvation, The Word of God, Faith, Truth, Righteousness and Peace in our lives by willingly accepting Jesus Christ into our lives. By opening the doors of our minds and our hearts to God: God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit. By having being infilled and baptized with The Holy Spirit. That is how we can wear and have the whole armor of God…




Remember, the Word according to The Holy Bible is Jesus Christ according to John 1:1-3. The Word or Jesus Christ was our Creator according to John 1:1-6 and Genesis 1:1-2. God’s Word to us man (both male and female) or humanity is “The Holy Bible.” Which means The Holy Bible is above any books, text books, or words by mankind alone! “In our case, The Holy Bible is above the field of psychology! Do not trust what men say but trust what God say.” Yes, this is “The Great Controversy.” But thankfully Love, God’s principality is already victorious within this Great Controversy through Jesus Christ our Lord, according to Mathew 27:24-54. Yes, Jesus Christ was born into this sinfully earth a mere human being, but he was found without sin from the moment he was born into this earth, reached adulthood, baptized, did His Father’s will, died on Calvary, resurrected and ascended and went up to heaven. Or in other words, he overcame sin, selfishness, and was victorious against selfishness throughout his life here on planet earth-Love prevailed in Him, that is why Love (God is Love according to 1 John 4:7-10) is victorious within this Great Controversy. That is why we need Him to overcome selfishness since; He is The Only True Way that leads to Life according to John 14:6, and The True Vine according to John 15, especially John 15:5. It’s really simple, “WE NEED JESUS CHRIST.” Without Him, we’re nothing-we cannot overcome sin and selfishness on our own, and we cannot have life-that eternal life that was promised to us by Jesus Christ in John 3:16 without “Jesus Christ”: accepting Him, following Him, and having Him in our lives today. We need Christ within us through The Comforter, The Holy Spirit (see my previous blog why we need the Holy Spirit: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2015/07/when-we-have-holy-spirit.html) which He had previously promised us before he ascended up to heaven. Remember, when we have The Holy Spirit within us, we have Jesus Christ within us-since The Holy Spirit is part of our Trinity God: God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit. When we are infilled or baptized with The Holy Spirit, we can be able to choose God’s principality of Love within this Great Controversy as our choice. Remember, “JESUS CHRIST IS COMING SOON, TIME IS SOMETHING WE ALL DON’T HAVE, AND THE POWER OF CHOICE IS YOURS.”






REFERENCE AND BIBLIOGRAPHY;




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