“’How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’” (Gen. 28:17)
For the longest time, I did not understand the implications of the dream Jacob had about a ladder that stretched from the earth to heaven (Gen. 28:10-22). Even now I only understand a portion of it. My first experience of seeing its spiritual significance came during a service where the anointing of the Spirit was very powerful. The understanding came to me that whenever we gather in the Spirit, as the house of God (Bethel), we can experience an open heaven where the angels assist in bringing God’s blessing to us. Lately, I have come to realize another important truth about this dream.
While reading through this passage in Genesis, I recalled Tommy Hicks’ vision of the Church as a great giant who rose to the heavens in the last days. (How the Heal the Sick, by Charles and Frances Hunter, pp. 8-16). I wrote about this dream in a four-part series entitled End-Time Vision. Suddenly I realized that the giant and the ladder were the same. Jesus declared Himself to be the ladder that Jacob saw. “’Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’” (Jn. 1:51). The Church is His body on earth, but we are also seated with Him in heavenly places. We are on earth and in heaven at the same time. What if we saw ourselves that way? One body that stretches from earth to heaven!
I have always been encouraged by the vision God gave Tommy Hicks because of its promise for the last days. The giant the evangelist saw was lying on the ground, full of little hideous creatures. “Slowly this giant began to rise and as he did, his head and hands went into the clouds. As he rose to his feet he seemed to have cleansed himself from the debris and filth that was upon him, and he began to raise his hands into the heavens as though praising the Lord, and as he raised his hands, they went into the clouds.” (p. 10). What unfolded in the vision was a great outpouring of the Spirit of God. This is the latter rain that the Bible speaks about, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.” (Jas. 5:7). The early rain occurred in the days of the early Church. Before the Lord returns, the Body of Christ will experience another great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
When the giant got up, he was so tall that his head and hands reached into the clouds. There is significance to this. The head speaks of authority, but it also represents our spiritual abilities to see and to hear. If we want to experience the great outpouring of the last days, we must see and hear in the heavenly realms; we must have heavenly encounters. There is a lot being said these days about “ascension” as a spiritual experience. For me, it is not a question of whether this can be experienced, but rather how it should be pursued. There is land for us to conquer in areas that we have not been before (Josh. 3:3-5). We must sanctify ourselves and follow the presence of the Lord into this land of promise.
Jacob understood that the place he was at was also the gate of heaven. Christ is the gate and through Him, we have access to heavenly things. This is not just for when our time on earth is done; it is for now. If we can have access to heaven through spiritual encounters in Christ, should we not seek them? I am not speaking of having spiritual experiences for the sake of the experiences, but so that we can better serve God. The motives of our heart are important. Jesus told us that he who does not enter by the gate is a thief (Jn. 10:1). To enter through Christ, we must meet His conditions. “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…” (Ps. 24:3,4). To enter through the gate requires the surrender of our lives to the Shepherd.
The leaders in this movement do not all agree on how we should enter the heavenly realms. As we move forward, each person must remain true to their own conscience. For me that means I cannot use Buddhist meditation practices, like mindfulness, to experience heavenly things. I also will not do anything that sounds too “new age” like being at the right frequency. I cannot judge those who believe they have revelations about those things, but I will not participate in anything that to me has the appearance of evil (1Thess. 5:22). I am careful to enter by the gate, so I present myself there. I meditate on the Lord’s presence and His promises. As I draw near to Him, He draws near to me (Jas. 4:8). “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4). We are encouraged in Scripture to desire spiritual gifts, and to me these spiritual experiences are manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We must remember also that we have different functions in the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:4), which affect how and what we hear from the Lord. We can all appear before the throne of God to receive mercy and grace (Heb. 4:16), but what we see and hear may be different. Spiritual experiences can be edifying, but they also come with certain responsibilities which relate to our function. Paul said of his experience, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). If we maintain this attitude, we will be more concerned about being faithful than about having experiences.
Let us remember that the times we are entering in are different than the times we have already been through. In the last days, the devil and his angels will be thrown down to the earth from the second heaven (Rev. 12: 7-9). This means there will be an increase of the supernatural like we have never seen before, both good and evil. Bad because the devil will be on the earth, but good because he will no longer be in the second heaven interfering with our prayers. We must not be afraid of the supernatural. The normal Christian life is supernatural. As we go further into these last days, we can expect to do the works Jesus did, and even the “greater works” that He promised (Jn. 14:12).
Highway in the Wilderness 