Can You Look at God's Face and Live?
How Heaven Shaped My "Little 'Ole Me" View
I’ve been hesitant to share some of what I’ve learned, especially when I was in heaven, because I know how easily these things can be misunderstood or dismissed. It’s not uncommon to hear something like, “Well, God says no one knows, so there,” as if that closes the conversation. In fact, someone recently responded to one of my posts by saying, “You must be very special. He says no one sees God,” as a way to discount the whole experience.
Ouch.
Those who follow and read know I didn’t see God—I heard Him, and by Him, I mean Jesus. Yes, I knew it was my Jesus. Although we recognize the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one here (and they are), in Heaven, souls often view them as three separate entities. So yes, you can see Jesus or experience the wind of the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit in another form, and not see God the Father. In heaven, they not only transform however they want to, but can also become one. I would like to tell that commentator this, but as not to instill a spirit of debate, I’ve chosen not to answer him, and share with all of you instead.
I have met many who saw Jesus (often His face) during their heaven visit, and some who saw God with an obscured face (most often as light - 1 Timothy 6:15–16) or just a portion of Him, like His feet. By the way, God the Father is enormous. I’ve confirmed this with four trustworthy people who saw a bit of Him. And I’m talking 40-60 feet tall. And we thought angels were mighty big!
After wrestling with a mysterious figure all night, Jacob was asked to let him go. But Jacob refused, saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Why? Because Jacob knew this wasn’t just any man. Deep down, he recognized he was grappling with someone divine—an encounter with a messenger from God. Marked forever by the intensity of that personal, sacred moment, Jacob clung to it with everything he had. He wouldn’t let go without receiving something lasting from the One who had met him there.
For“little ‘ole him”.
Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared” (Genesis 32:30, NIV).
Peniel means “the face of God.” But was Jacob claiming to have seen God in His full glory? Not quite. He was marking the moment as a turning point—a place of profound encounter. Through grappling with the divine messenger, Jacob was forever changed. He had experienced God in a tangible, earthbound way, and it left a lasting imprint on his soul. He walked away limping—but transformed.
Let’s look at two verses that seem to contradict each other:
Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.1
But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”2
Looking at the original Bible interpretations, it becomes clear that the key word in these passages is “live”.
“No one can look directly at the Creator of Genesis 1 and simply call it a nice experience. In other words, no one can see the face of God and simply chayay – continue as if everything was normal.
Looking into the face of God can change us in such dramatic ways that our previous life is destroyed.”3
And I might add, hearing from Jesus and/or being there does the same. :-)
To “little ‘ole me”.
I certainly do not have all the answers, nor will I speak beyond what He allows. But I do believe God sometimes shares glimpses, prompts reflection, and uses our stories to stir deeper understanding. That’s the spirit in which I offer my experiences—not as dogma, but as testimony.
I ache to share with you all I’ve been learning. My hope is that most of you can receive it in the spirit it’s offered: as the experience He gave me, for His purposes. While He’s entrusted me with certain gifts, just as He’s given each of you your own, none of us sees the whole picture.
I can’t wait to learn the rest alongside you someday.
I’m so very grateful to the professional acquaintance, John, who contacted me in my early days of posting here. He said, “You will get people who don’t believe you and want to criticize your experience. KEEP WRITING. God has called you to this. You must proceed.”
At the time, I shrugged a bit. I hadn’t had any controversy yet. But I printed the email and hung it near my desk—just as a reminder. Not a week later, the first one came in the form of a real-life friend. I know that God prepped John to contact me with that message. It helped hold me up, and it helped me not quit.
I will continue to research, listen to Him (and you), and pass on what He calls me to say. I no longer have a choice, having joined a club I never sought entrance to.
Let’s look at these prolific words that happened at Pentecost - the coming of the Holy Spirit. My friends, these days are happening now. We will talk more about that in a later post.
Peter addresses the crowd after the spectacular entrance of the Holy Spirit. 4
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.5
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Can I get a HALLELUJA?
Struggling to keep your focus on heaven? I’ve added some songs to my Heaven Songs playlist. I pray it helps you. And I am here, if you need me.
Please forgive my delay in posting this. I was on book deadline and finishing book 3 in my fiction series like a caffeinated octopus juggling flaming plot twists. (line courtesy of Cherie from “Innocent Souls”, releases June 20.)
Exodus 33: 10-11a, NIV
Exodus 33:20, NIV
Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries, No Man Can See My Face and Live: Seeing God’s Face.
Acts 2:14-24
Ladies, this passage does not preclude you.
Hey, my friend, please be encouraged, the individual who wrote "You must be very special. He says no one sees God” is ignorant of the subject. Shoot, many whole denominations are. The scriptures used are John 1:18 and 1 John 4:12, which are taken out of context. The times that Christ said this were an era when no one did. Again, shoot, God did not even talk to His people for four hundred years until John the Baptist.
In the OT, we had multiple people who saw God, which was rare, but it happened. What people could NOT see and live was the face of the Almighty God. They were not even born again. How much more after being adopted as His children? And that was just those that were recorded, for example, for us today.
I know it hurt when the person wrote that. Once again, they can not believe in the supernaturalness of the Great I Am that I am--because of what they have been taught. They need to be taught by the Holy Teacher to understand.
Many Bible Teachers and scholars would argue that some of Jesus' most powerful teachings came during the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:8, we have "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God."
A person who loves the Judeo-Christian God with their whole heart and has been made pure can see God, but not His face, if He reveals Himself to that person. Who is going to stop Him?
The keys are: has Jesus made the person pure? Do they love God with their whole heart? Do they JUST KNOW that it is impossible? And, finally, if God the Father chose to do it according to His will to show Himself, that is His business--period.
Then again, my sister, many fools say there is no God--and they too will see God face to face.
Be encouraged, write, teach, and preach what God's called you to do.
Mark from NH
PS: Remember, many people saw Jesus in person and never "saw" Him as God's Son.
This is all very compelling. I am perplexed at how someone can tell another person what they did or did not encounter/see/hear from God. Since my husband died, I’ve been told by some well-meaning Christians that there are no such things like “signs” from my husband and/or God, that my husband doesn’t know what’s happening with me, that he didn’t come to me in two dreams after he died (he DID), etc. god is majesty and mystery and wonder. I don’t know if He sends the messages or if He allows my husband to but I know what I know. I am so intrigued by your story! Looking forward to reading more.