I think that encountering God on this plane (like Moses and the burning bush) is not the same as coming before Him at His throne of grace.
I've been pondering this most of today (I'm in my office, sooo I've got "distractions"), and thinking about all of the encounters we (humans) have had with the Living God over the millenia, and there does seem to be a little difference when it's down here (unlike Isaiah is ch. 6 or John in Revelation) - Jesus speaking to Saul on that Damascus Road, etc.
"r9etb", I want to take some time to study this, how and why it is different - thanks for the exchange and for giving me to ponder.
Have a blessed day.
I'd just leave you with something I've learned the hard way over the past couple of years.
Scripture is a wonderful thing, and discussing and defending Scripture is often necessary. There really are people whose actions must be countered through its use; and whose understanding of Scripture needs to be corrected.
But sometimes we can get so wrapped up in our defense and arguments that we forget the basic difference between Scripture and God. Jesus spells it out in John 5: You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
I'm not accusing you of that sin; rather, I'm recounting the lesson that I had to learn, which was that when defending Scripture and debating theology, it is all too easy to lose sight of the real point, which is nothing more or less than God's love for us. It has to be accounted for -- and it changes the logical and theological basis of a lot of the arguments one commonly sees, sometimes to the point of making us change our position on a matter.
To win the argument at the expense of losing sight of God's love (and that's how religious controversy always seems to end up...) is no victory at all. The image of Christianity we present to the world in such fights is one of ugliness and conflict -- precisely the opposite of image of Christianity that we would want to convey.
I think the distinction between prophetic encounters (and in that I count the sorts of personal contact you and I might have with the Holy Spirit) is really only a matter of degree, rather than kind, from the type of contact described in these experiences.
That's why I reacted to your initial post ... it seemed to raise Scriptural argument over a phenomenon which I think is probably real, and amazingly hopeful not just to those who have the experience, but also to those of us who hear their stories.