The Gift of Faith for Translations
Translation by faith is supernaturally traveling across spacetime and realms for the Kingdom of God
I heard a man that once preach about people being able to travel spiritually to the heavens like the prophets Ezekiel, Elisha, and Elijah; Apostles John and Paul…he made it look like it was such a far-fetched reality. I laugh in silence, saying in my heart, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”(Hebrews 13:8).
Translation by faith is supernaturally traveling across spacetime and realms for the Kingdom of God. It is a very real supernatural experience, just as real as dreams and visions. To translate means to be “caught away.” Many call it translocation or transportation. But to make things clear and to distinguish these spiritual phenomena from the natural, we will refer to the spiritual catching away as translation and the physical catching away as translocation.
To be translated is what John writes, “I was in the Spirit…”, this expression (“in the Spirit”) is used four times in the book of Revelations (Rev. 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10), and each time it is used, John is carried away to a new vision. Revelations 17:3 says that the angel “carried me away in the Spirit.” This seems to imply that he was taken away inclusive of his body. This fits the account of Paul of seeing the third heaven, where he writes, “Whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows”(2 Cor. 12:2). Truly, engaging the realm of the spirit in this way, the space-time continuum can often feel disorienting. It is very hard to tell whether you are experiencing things solely in the spirit or if your body is also involved. The overwhelming power and awareness of your spirit man can make it seem as if you are still functioning in your physical body even if you are not.
“By faith, Enoch was translated not to see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him up. For before the translation, he was commended to have pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5
God reached down and translated Enoch in answer to his faith; By faith, Ezekiel was translated into the visions of God to Jerusalem (Ezek. 8:2–3); By faith, John was translated into visions of God to see the end time events; By faith, Elijah was translated to heaven, with a chariot and horses of fire (2 Kings 2:11).
Does God still translate people today?
Yes. Translations exist because of God’s sovereignty as the creator of heaven and earth(Colossians 1:16–17)…His creation expresses His glory.
Truly, it only takes the gift of faith — an extraordinary level of faith that God can use — to enable you to tap into His power in ways unimaginable to men. The spiritual gift of faith is not the same as the saving faith in Christ that is the foundation of the Christian life. It is in many ways an unwavering conviction given by God that He is going to act supernaturally in a given situation. In this case to believe God to be caught up in the Spirit; to ascend to the third heaven like Paul and John.
