One of the most familiar accounts of a Spirit-induced trance is that of Simon Peter in the tenth chapter of Acts. In the early verses of that chapter, Cornelius, a Roman centurion who was “a devout man…who feared God” (Acts 10:2), receives a vision of an angel who instructs him to send men to Joppa to summon Peter. Cornelius immediately dispatches two servants and a devout soldier to the task.
On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky (Acts 10:9-16).
During this experience, Peter was temporarily detached from the natural reality around him and saw an open Heaven. The primary purpose of this visionary trance was to prepare Peter for his assignment of entering the home of a Gentile and preaching to the people there. Devout Jews regarded Gentiles as unclean, and Peter needed to overcome his prejudice and learn not to think of other people as unclean just because they were not Jews. He needed to understand that the Gospel of Christ was not for Jews alone, but for all people.
Paul is another apostle who received revelation from God while in a trance. Accosted by a hostile crowd of Jews in Jerusalem and rescued by a band of Roman soldiers, Paul addresses the crowd. After briefly sharing with them his common heritage as a Jew and telling them of his conversion to Christ while on the road to Damascus, Paul then relates the account of his call from God to take the Gospel to the Gentiles:
And it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, and I saw Him saying to me,
“Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.” And I said, “Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.” And He said to me, “Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles”
(Acts 22:17-21).
I find it quite significant that, in both of these cases, the revelation given to Peter and Paul while they were in trances related to their call to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Sometimes God chooses unusual and remarkable means to reveal important insights or impart a significant anointing.
There are also numerous examples in the New Testament where people were in an “ecstatic” state that was not described specifically as a trance. Here are just a few:
“Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was
twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded [ekstasis]” (Mark 5:42). Jesus raised this young girl from the dead, leaving those who witnessed it (Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents) in a state of ekstasis—
profound astonishment.
“They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment [ekstasis] had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8). Mary Magdalene; Mary, the mother of James; and Salome experienced this ecstatic state of astonishment after seeing an angel in Jesus’ tomb who told them that He had risen.
“And they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement [ekstasis] at what had happened to him” (Acts 3:10). An ecstatic state of amazement was the response of those who witnessed Peter’s healing of a man lame from birth.
“But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—”I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”
Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment [ekstasis] and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today” (Luke 5:24-26). This is the story where four men brought their paralyzed friend, dug a hole in
the roof, and lowered him down in front of Jesus so that the Lord could heal him.
Concerning this last passage, David Castro writes:
Of the people present here, some were amazed, others glorified God, and the rest were filled with fear. Those amazed were “en-tranced” into the spiritual realm where they’re yielded and inclined to visions of the Lord; although God probably didn’t impart visions to all of them. These people were havin’ church! They made an effort to come to Jesus’ meeting. They came expecting miracles and they were gonna get theirs if they had to break through the wall—and they did! (Talk about bringing down da house!) And as the power of the Lord was present, they got a hold of the realm of the Spirit and went into ecstasy. God could’ve easily communicated to them by supernatural revelation if He wanted to. Probably some of them were “slain in the spirit.”4