Sid Roth - I Saw Heaven Prepared For Jesus' Return
Sid Roth: Welcome, Holy Spirit! Go and flow. My guest, Alejandro Arias, was born into a Catholic family. His father, sadly, was an alcoholic. His father owned a bar. At age five, Alejandro was preaching to his friends, and wanted to be a priest. I mean, he's Catholic, that's natural. His parents were in the process of divorce. Then, God showed up. What happened?
Alejandro Arias: My parents, their home, their marriage, it was a battlefield. They were not happy. They were going through a lot of issues. My parents wanted to file for a divorce, and my mom, actually, was very desperate. She was very depressed. And my dad was addicted to alcohol. My dad was financially successful, you know? He had two bars and he had a grocery store. And he had made it in life, like he was doing well. But deep on the inside, he was empty. He was, you know, he was empty-hearted. And he needed a touch from God. And my mom, who had become really depressed, she didn't know, at that point she was struggling, and she didn't know that there was any hope left. And so she was becoming very suicidal. There was one point where she attempted to commit suicide. She went into her living room, nobody was in the house, and she wanted to commit suicide. She had the pills and she had a glass of water. Her idea was to take these pills and go to sleep, that was her idea. Nobody was in the house, she obviously planned it. And she later on told us what happened. And she was listening, you know, she was looking for a secular radio station, and she tells me that a hand, a much bigger hand, took over her hand and redirected her to a Christian radio station. As she was listening to this preacher, the power of God invaded the room. The presence of Jesus Himself walked into the room, and she felt this wave of love, this overwhelming presence. So she got on her knees, she was overwhelmed. She was crying for over an hour, and she gave her life to Jesus. At that point, she had an encounter with Jesus. Now, two weeks later, we started going to this Church of God across the street, and I remember going to the meetings and listening to the pastor and seeing the power of God at work, and seeing his passion and his knowledge for the Scriptures. And there was a camp meeting happening in our neighborhood. And it was an outdoors camp meeting. I remember going to this camp meeting and sitting in the first row. I didn't want to miss out on anything he said. And I was listening, I was waiting for him to do an altar call, and I remember the moment he finished the message and he had an altar call. I ran forward, and I raised my hands, and I said, "I want to receive Jesus as my personal Savior". And so from that point, I just had this supernatural experience I, like, I wanted to become a servant of the Lord. I didn't want to become a priest anymore, I wanted to become a pastor. So I told my parents, I said, "I'm going to become a pastor one day". And my parents were both very supportive, though my dad didn't meet Jesus until years later.
Sid Roth: And at age eight, you literally were dying.
Alejandro Arias: That's right. The enemy wanted to take me out, because he knew that I was going to preach the gospel to the world. And that's what I'm doing, preaching the gospel. Literally, we've been to 57 nations, and I've been doing this for 26 years. Back then, the Lord gave me a promise. And all of these preachers would come to my church and prophesy. They would pull me out of the crowd, lay hands on me and prophesy. "One day, you will preach the gospel". "One day you will travel the world". "One day, you will be on airplanes," and all of these prophetic words that were given to me as a child have come to pass. And so the enemy knew that I carried this destiny, this calling upon my life. And the enemy wanted to take me out. I was a very sick child, I had asthma, bronchitis, and different other issues. But I remember, I went in for something else, I had appendicitis. And they had to remove my appendix. And while they were testing me, they found this mast, this tumor located between my lungs and my heart. It was inoperable, it was incurable. And I remember they left me behind. They didn't discharge me two days later like they normally do. They didn't discharge me, but doctors would come around my bed, take notes and check on me and examine me. And they would talk among themselves. And they were using all of these medical terms, and my mom was growing very concerned every single day, because she didn't know what was going on. The doctors were just keeping me in the hospital, examining me, and not letting me go. Finally, my mom had enough, and she pulled one of the doctors by the side and said, "You need to tell me what's going on with my child, because it's been seven days, and he's being hospitalized, and you're not telling me what's going on". So the doctor basically explained to my mom, "This is what's happening. He was diagnosed with this kind of tumor. We are keeping him under observation. We're going to tell you what's going to happen later on". This was a rare tumor, by the way. It was a rare tumor between my heart and my lungs. And so I remember that day later, it was the eighth day, and I was still in hospital. And my mom came to me and she had tears. She was trying to be strong, and she didn't want me to see her crying. But she held my hands and she began to pray for me. And she kind of explained to me what was going on in kid's language. You know, a day later, I was discharged, and I went home, and I knew that I had to rely on God. I knew that I had to rely all the promises God had given me, because it didn't make sense in my mind that God was prophesying and telling me all these words, and telling me that I was going to preach the gospel and travel around the world, and yet He was going to call me home so soon. So every night for three months, I was praying in my room and asking the Lord, reminding Him of His promises, and telling Him, "You told me you were going to use me. You told me You were going to help me preach the gospel around the world". But I knew God was going to heal me. I just had this deep sense of faith and understanding that God was going to heal me. My mom, though, she was very depressed, and she quit going to church altogether. My dad, you know, he turned to alcohol. He was drinking even more. And our family was being tested. We were being shaken. Yet while we were going through this time, which was a very critical time, I kept on praying, I kept on waiting upon the Lord. And I remember...
Sid Roth: Hold that thought. When we return, you're going to find out how this young boy had a visitation to heaven, and heaven was imprinted on him, and miracles are released. Be right back.
Sid Roth: Wow, what a cliffhanger! Alejandro, eight years of age, the doctors said he would not live. What was wrong with you?
Alejandro Arias: I was diagnosed with a tumor between my lungs and my heart, and I was given one year to live. So I was home, and I was reminding myself of all the prophetic words God had given me. And I remember my mom called one of the top specialists in San Jose, Costa Rica, where I'm originally from. And she found this doctor, and this doctor said, "Well, I haven't checked his medical file yet, I've heard about this case," because it was a rare kind of tumor. And he said, "Bring him tomorrow". Now this is three months into this, right? So that day, I remember there was a healing meeting happening across the street in the same church that I was attending. And I went and told my parents, "I want to go that healing meeting, because I know the Lord, Jesus, is going to heal me tonight". And so I remember, I was getting ready to go to bed, and I kept hearing the music and the noise. And I went to my mom and I said, "I really want to go to this healing meeting". She refused. And then I went back into the bedroom, I got on my knees as a child, and I was praying. And I said, "Lord, if You want me to go to that healing meeting, you'd better talk to her, because she is not wanting to take me to this meeting". So five minutes later, she knocks on the door, she has a blanket, and she's, like, "Well, Alejandro, if you keep this blanket on, I will take you to the healing meeting". And sure enough, I kept the blanket on, because, you know, it was rainy, it was cold. Anyway, we went across the street, and I walked into the church building, and the pastor looked at me, he was preaching, but he stopped preaching and he began to flow in the prophetic gift. And this is what he said, I'll never forget. This is what he told my mom, he says, "The Lord says that what I'm going to do in your son's life is going to be a testimony for the whole world. The whole world is going to hear about this miracle". In that moment, the power of God came on me. I began to weep. My mom was weeping, too. We were both on the floor, weeping. And under the power of God, I knew Jesus was healing me. That night when I went back home, I told my mom, I said, "I don't need to go and see the doctor. I'm already healed"! My mom, though, insisted, and she's, like, "We need to go and see this doctor". We went to see him, they did some x-rays. A couple of hours later, this doctor comes out of his office and he called us into his office, and he goes, "Look, I've gone through the files. I've gone through the previous files and I'm looking at the new file. And I don't know what happened. I've been a physician here for 25 years, and I'm going to show you the x-rays, there is no trace of tumor. It's gone".
Sid Roth: Oh, goodness! And the Lord replaced that tumor with this burning desire to preach the gospel and tell people about Jesus. But then, you were taken in a vision form to heaven.
Alejandro Arias: Yes.
Sid Roth: How old were you at that time?
Alejandro Arias: I was eleven. I wasn't preaching, this happened actually two weeks before I was called to public ministry. I was doing a lot of home meetings, I was doing a lot of stuff...
Sid Roth: Called to public ministry at 11?
Alejandro Arias: To public ministry, at 11. That's right. I just had this growing passion and desire to preach the gospel. And one day, I was in my room, I had been praying for a couple of hours. And I was laying on the ground, and the Spirit of God came upon me. And I had this out-of-body experience. My spirit left my body. I looked down and I saw my body lying on the floor, I looked around and I see this beautiful, tall angel wearing a white tunic with a gold sash across his chest. He grabbed my hand and we proceeded to walk together. We went through the wall. I looked up, and we both took off. And before I knew it, I was in this beautiful city. I was walking down this beautiful road covered in gold. I saw this giant wall made of white marble. And I kept walking with the angel. The amazing thing, Sid is, I didn't actually hear the angel. Like, he never used words. He would speak to me in the Spirit, and I could hear him in the Spirit, but he never utter words. So we came across this ancient door. It was a giant gate; you know the ones that you see at an English castle?
Sid Roth: Mm-hmm.
Alejandro Arias: And I was standing there, and I just felt this mighty rushing wind push past us, and the door opened by itself. What I saw was amazing. I saw this long, rectangular table, Sid, like it was ready and set for a gala dinner. I saw this white linen on the table. I saw giant trays covered in gold with fruits and vegetables. I saw gold cups, I saw silver. I saw gold forks and knives. I saw this beautiful, elegant, magnificent table set up and ready for a big gala dinner. And I looked up and I saw giant chandeliers. But what surprised me is, in heaven there is no electricity. Everything is lit up by the glory of the Lord. And I saw diamonds, I saw precious stones, you know? The walls were basically decorated with different patterns of precious stones and diamonds. And then I saw, and I couldn't see the other end of the table because it was so long. Yet the angel grabbed my hand and we were both translated in the Spirit to the other end of the table. I'm standing there, and I see this huge throne. And in my spirit, I know that this is the place where Jesus is going to sit one day and celebrate with us the supper of, Supper of the Lamb. And the angel confirmed it. He looked at me and he said, "This is the place where the Supper of the Lamb will take place". At that moment, he grabbed my hand, and we were both translated to the main road. Again, we kept walking. And then we come across this ancient door, the second door. It opened by itself because of this mighty, rushing wind. What I saw was unbelievable. I saw an amphitheater of thousands of angels standing up, worshipping in unison. They were organized in different rows. They had different instruments, and they were worshipping in one accord. I was standing on top of this amphitheater looking down, the angel was grabbing my hand, and before I knew it, I was standing before this tall angel who looked at me and smiled, and he said, "What is your name"? And I said, "My name is Alejandro". He went to the side room, checked this book, and he goes, "Welcome in". I saw this giant platform covered in gold. There was a river running right through the middle. I went up the steps, and I saw three thrones. I actually didn't see curtains, I just saw a living screen of green meadows. And I saw a giant rainbow all around it. And I just saw the glory of the Lord, huge clouds full of light. I saw thunder and lightning, I saw three thrones. One was His throne, Jesus' throne. I saw the Father's thrown, but I couldn't see Him because He was covered in a huge cloud of lightning and power. And then I saw this empty throne, which I believe was the Holy Spirit's throne. And so I'm standing near Jesus, and in heaven, I was a lot younger. I was not 11 years old. I was a lot younger...
Sid Roth: You couldn't be a whole lot younger.
Alejandro Arias: Yeah. He grabbed me and picked me up and sat me on His lap.
Sid Roth: Hmm.
Alejandro Arias: And he pulled my head against His chest, and he began to scratch my hair. It was such an overwhelming experience, His Shekinah glory was all over me. And I could hear the angels singing. And then all of a sudden, the angels go quiet, He stretches out His hand, and a giant screen appears, and then I looked up and I saw myself preaching to thousands of people of different nationalities, different races, different nations. They were all standing there, and the Lord spoke to me in an audible voice, and He said, "This shall be your ministry". And I was holding onto Jesus. I didn't want to let Him go. I heard the angel beckoning me, calling me from the outside. And he's saying, "It's time to go". So the angel basically called me outside. We kept walking. We went into this third room, and what I saw in this third room was amazing. I saw a giant shelf, a bookshelf, I saw an army of angels. They were working very hard. They were taking notes, writing, you know, basically keeping record of everything that was going on. And I looked down and I saw a screen. They could see planet earth, and they could see what was happening: salvations, revivals, you know? World events, prophetic events. And these angels were writing everything down, and they were just taking note of everything that was happening here on earth. Before I knew it, I was standing before planet earth, then I was standing before my body, and then I woke up. And then two weeks later, the Lord gave me the opportunity to preach the gospel in public for the first time.
Sid Roth: Where did you preach?
Alejandro Arias: So I was invited to preach at this public rally that was happening in our city. My dad wasn't a believer then. He didn't come to Christ until I was 12. I actually led him to Christ in one of my campaign meetings. And so I remember my dad and my mom went together. They went into this bookstore, they saw a pile of tracks, because that was one of my hobbies, giving out tracks and telling people about Jesus. My dad then begins to talk to this guy, who happens to be the owner of the bookstore, a missionary, and who was actually running this outreach. And so my dad was telling him about my story and about how God was using me, how Jesus healed me. And this missionary was very, very interested. And he's, like, "You know what? I want you to bring him next Saturday. I want to support him. I want to give him a chance. I want him to help me with the outreach". And so he signed a New Testament, gave it to my dad, my dad came home. And he's, like, "Well, Alejandro, this is your first gig," you know? He was so excited. He gave me that New Testament. All that week I was praying and asking the Lord, "Will You use me? Will You use me"? But when that missionary met me, he felt the presence of God. I felt the presence of God. And he's, like, "Son, are you ready to preach this morning"? Boy, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! When I got to that meeting, it wasn't a small outreach, it was actually a kind of a nice size outreach, 150 people spread out, and they're all listening. And when I grabbed the mic, I was trembling. I was so nervous. I had no idea what I was going to say. Remember, I had never reached in public before. But then I looked up, and I said, "Holy Spirit, help me". And the Lord spoke to me and said, "I want you to preach about the two ways, one way that leads to heaven, and the other way that leads to eternal condemnation". So I preached that sermon. The power of God came on me. I felt like a lightning bolt hit me. And I preached for 40 minutes, nonstop. The boldness of God came on me. So when I had the opportunity to have an altar call, seven souls came to Jesus that Saturday, and the revival broke out. Every Saturday, I was invited to the same rally.
Sid Roth: I want you to look into the camera and I want you to explain the gospel and give the viewers an opportunity to know Jesus the way you know Him.
Alejandro Arias: Jesus loves you. He died on the cross for you. He paid this price so that you can have this relationship with Him. In this world, there is nothing that will fill the emptiness, the void in your heart. The only One who can fill that emptiness in your heart is Jesus. No alcohol, no parties, no addictions, nothing. No social media will be able to fill the emptiness in your heart. So if you would like to have an encounter with Jesus today, if you would like to open your heart, I'm not talking about religion, I'm talking about relationship with God. If you would like to open your heart wherever you are, I want you to say this prayer with me. I want you to say this prayer and accept Him as your personal Savior. Say with me, "Lord Jesus, I acknowledge I'm a sinner. And I need a Savior. Today I surrender before You. And I give you my life. Forgive all my sins. Thank You for dying for me on the cross and for the price You paid. Thank You for the gift of salvation. I love You and I surrender my life today. Amen".
Sid Roth: You have what I perceive a deep, deep friendship with the Holy Spirit. Could you pray for those that want that same deep, deep intimacy, deep, deep friendship with the Holy Spirit, to receive that right now?
Alejandro Arias: Holy Spirit, I pray that everyone who is watching right now that they will receive this revelation, this knowledge that they will build this bond with you Holy Spirit, that they will walk from glory to glory, that they will experience the supernatural. Lord, God, I pray that You will show them Your glory, that they will receive and experience the mighty presence of God, that their intimacy with the Holy Spirit will grow to a new level, their understanding of Scripture will grow to a new level, and their faith will grow to a new level in the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray for a baptism of fire! Name of Jesus, I pray for a baptism of fire!
Sid Roth: Thank you, Lord, for Your fire!