As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it. … He was afraid and said, What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God—the gateway to heaven!” (Genesis 28:12, 17 NLT).
• Wherever God's presence manifests there is a gateway to the heavenly realm with an angelic traffic bringing God's rule or intervention into situations and needs. The 'gateway to heaven' is also the 'house of God' where His presence stays.
• God assured Jacob that His presence would be with him to benefit him (verse 15). Under an open heaven, the adversities that he faced in the next twenty years had worked out for his benefit (see also Romans 8:28).
At where Christians are operating in the Holy Spirit there is a gateway to heaven.
• Christ is the Head of the House of God on earth, with 'angels of God going up and down upon Him' (see Ephesians 4:15b-16; John 1:49-51). And the Holy Spirit releases spiritual gifts as He is manifesting His presence (see Ephesians 2:19-22).
• A spiritual gateway is there to let what is on earth ascend into heaven, and what is in heaven to descend on earth.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10 NKJV).
• Through us, God's rule or kingdom comes on earth and His will is done here as it is in heaven. We stand in between the natural world and the spiritual realm to let God's kingdom crash on earthly afflictions to give breakthroughs and miracles. Our faith ascends to heaven and the angels of God descend to give grace, peace, the harvest of souls, revival, and many more things.
A. Under an open heaven
An open heaven is at where there is a connection to God's spiritual world, with angels bringing His rule into situations and needs.
Then he said, “The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51 NLT).
• Jesus prophesied that Nathanael would experience an 'open heaven', which is the manifestation of God's presence with 'angels of God going up and down'.
• Angels ascend to deliver our prayers to God and descend when they are on their way to carry out a supernatural task.
A chief duty of angels is to bring God's rule into situations that afflict and torment us.
All the angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation (Hebrews 1:14 NCV).
• As you carry out spiritual activities like preaching, mentoring disciples, healing, and deliverance, the angels of the Lord are there to enforce God's authority and power.
• A lifestyle without the exercising of faith to the point of 'risk taking' and completely relying on God has little need for angelic assistance.
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them (Psalm 34:7 NKJV).
• Angelic protection is a reward for those who revere God to give Him the highest respect.
He has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you wherever you go (Psalm 91:11 NCV).
• You will enjoy constant angelic protection if you always stay in God's presence (see also verse 1).
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:7-8a NKJV).
• As you function under an open heaven, the demonic realm ceases to oppress you. There is clarity between the realm of God's dominion and the environment around you. There is only angelic traffic between the two realms.
B. As the house of God
Under an open heaven, you are the house of God bringing His rule into situations and needs to give breakthroughs and miracles.
Then he said, “The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51 NLT).
• Jesus Christ was the House of God on earth, an open heaven with 'angels of God going up and down upon Him'.
Speaking the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head. The whole body depends on Christ, and all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love (Ephesians 4:15b-16 NCV).
• Now, Christ is the Head of the Church. Christians doing God's work together with their own spiritual gifts make up the Body of Christ—the Church.
• All churches are given angels ministering to the members (see Revelations 2, 3).
After Christ has returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit came on the earth to stay with us to empower us to take the world (see Acts 2:1-4; John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8).
Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT).
• Christians doing God's work together on the earth is a temple or dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (see also 2 Corinthians 6:16).
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV).
• The indwelling Holy Spirit loves to manifest His presence through us to benefit others supernaturally.
• As you minister to people's felt needs, the Holy Spirit will manifest His presence in various spiritual gifts like a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, discerning of spirits, prophecy, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues (see 1 Corinthians 12:8-10).
• From the newest Christians to the most mature, each of us is part of the temple or house of the Holy Spirit. There is an open heaven over every one of us when we stay connected in our affection and love with Christ (see John 14:21, 23). Angels are there ascending and descending on assignments. We are ministering under an open heaven, asserting the authority of Christ at the right side of God's throne (see Ephesians 2:6) on situations, needs, and affliction. Demons will now discontinue oppressing people and stop hindering the works of God. Salvation, restoration, renewal, healing, deliverance, and prosperity will take place (see Luke 4:18-19).
C. As the gate of heaven
With a renewed mind, you can cross the spiritual gate to access the spiritual world.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17-19 NKJV).
• Your belief that Christ is the Son of God puts you on the offensive against 'the gates of Hades'. That demonic gate will stop prevailing against the Church. And you have gained the authority to stop on the earth what is not permitted in heaven and to release or allow on earth what is free to operate in heaven.
From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that he had to go to Jerusalem, and he told them what would happen to him there. He would suffer at the hands of the leaders and the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and he would be raised on the third day. But Peter took him aside and corrected him. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God's” (Matthew 16:21-23 NLT).
• The gates of Hades or hell are set up in people's minds anytime when they agree with the enemy to contradict God and His Word (see also Ephesians 2:1-3).
• A mind that is conditioned to see things from God's perspective becomes a gate of heaven.
Those who live following their sinful selves think only about things that their sinful selves want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about the things the Spirit wants them to do. If people's thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6 NCV).
• 'Life' (Gk. zoe) and 'peace' of God flow from heaven through a mind that is yielded to the control of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, a mind that keeps on contradicting God and His Word allows the devil to cause 'death' or destruction.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2 NKJV).
• At the gateway to heaven, when your mind can see things from God's perspective, you can prove the will of God to demonstrate the Spirit and His power (see also 1 Corinthians 2:4).
• And you can minister under an open heaven and assert the authority of Christ at the right hand of the Father over earthly situations and needs. You are exercising spiritual authority to stop on earth what is not permitted in heaven and to release on earth what is free to operate in heaven. Angels are ascending and descending on service and assignment. Demons discontinue oppressing you and hindering the works of God. Salvation, restoration, renewal, healing, deliverance, and prosperity will take place.