The Lord laid on my heart the phrase ‘the gate of Heaven’. So as usual I went to the scripture and in Genesis 28 Jacob has a dream after laying down a stone to sleep on. He was travelling from beersheba which means ‘well of promise’ and was going towards ‘Haran’ (meaning a very dry place). So he went out from a well watered place of promise and was going towards a type of wilderness. This is where he has a dream of angels ascending and descending on the earth. If you feel in a dry place take heart, the word ‘wilderness’ in Hebrew means ‘Speaking place’. God spoke to Jacob, Moses and Abraham in such a place! Jacob had been running away from his brother Easu due to falsely receiving his birthright and so he was in a desparate situation. Be on the look out for God speaking to you if you are going through such a time.
Some time ago when our pastor was reading through the story of Jacobs Ladder for some weeks in meditation of it, I had multiple visions of a ladder going up to heaven on my head every day as I walked (especially when I was amongst Gods people in church). I was reminded of John 1:51 where Jesus said:
“I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” (ESV)
When we have Jesus within us by His Spirit, we become a new creation, a brand new person. We are made in His image and therefore in the spirit, we can have angels ascending and descending on our lives like Jesus. He used the words ‘son of man’, indicating his ‘human-ness’ rather than his ‘son of God-ness!’ I believe this is why he used this phrase, partly to show us that this is also for us: to be a gateway, a 'stairway to heaven'. Of course, it is Jesus in us which is the stairway between heaven and earth! It is all because of Him, His sacrifice. He is our righteousness.
There is an old teaching that our heads are like gates and this psalm seems to indicate this:
Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in!
(psalm 24:7)
Our lives can be a Gateway for heaven to invade Earth when we are filled with The Spirit of the Lord. The Angels of heaven ascend from earth to heaven and come back again – going out to answer the prayers of the saints.
Fill us now Lord with your glory, may your angel armies go out to do your bidding through us! May we be continually filled with your glory! May our lives be a habitation for you, dwell within and fall upon us. May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. Amen.
