We have seen from examination of Christ’s life that He enjoyed a wealth of angelic intervention and visitations while He walked upon the earth. This fact begs the question, why? As we have learned the Lord was a man with a nature just like ours. Christ was divine, but He was also fully man. So how can we explain the abundance of angelic activity in the Lord’s earthly life?
The answer to this question is found in Luke chapter 3. Look at verse 21, and 22: When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
What a powerful portrait of the love of the Father, and the freedom that Christ had to enter into the realms of heaven, or the spirit. This incident marks the first time that all three parts of the God Head were together in unity upon the earth since creation, or the Garden of Eden. Therefore this incident has a very important and substantial parabolic significance. In Eden mankind walked under an open heaven on a continuous basis, and there was no interruption in the communion that Adam and Eve had with the God Head. They saw God clearly. They heard God clearly. In February 2010 Kathy had a vision that further illustrates this point.
Vision of the Garden of Eden
Vision of the Garden of Eden; ‘I was in a beautiful garden of trees and shrubs which were lush and a beautiful green. The leaves of the trees were big and very healthy. There was no dying trees or brown leaves like we see here on earth, everything was breathtakingly beautiful. The garden was dark, like nighttime, but still the garden was pristine and lovely. I also noticed a beautiful warm light illuminating around where I was standing and looked over to my right and saw an enormous shaft or portal of light coming down from heaven. It was then I realized I was in the Garden of Eden.’
‘I was so amazed at the portal of light that I went over and stood directly under it and looked up. It was truly beautiful. It shimmered with a white light that we do not see here on earth. It glimmered with shimmering gold, pearl and diamond rays of light with very light, soft colors of red, blue, and green, like colors of a rainbow, and the light was very dense or thick with the Glory of God. It glistened and looked alive and active. The portal was very close to the ground, about 15 feet above my head, and I saw a ring of God’s Glory fire around the opening of the portal. I realized that the light contained God and was God.’
‘Everything of God was in the light and it was so spectacular that I could not take my eyes off of it. The light was very bright but it did not hurt my eyes as I gazed up into it and I could see eternally forever. There was incredible love, peace, joy and rest in there, and I knew that God and His angels descended and ascended back up into heaven in the portal. I knew that the Garden of Eden and Heaven were one, just like God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are 3 persons but they are one. The light that came down from Heaven was Holy, Righteous and Pure I did not see any activity though.’
‘I kept looking to see if God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit would come down. I kept looking for a while but saw no one and I was very sad and my heart was grieved. As a result of this vision I believe that we can actually live out the Lord’s prayer on earth today. ‘Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.’
‘I believe this prayer. I believe we can have God’s Kingdom here on earth. I believe that Heaven and earth can be one on this earth, that we can have all of Heaven here on earth. I believe we can walk blamelessly here on earth before the Lord, just as Jesus walked here on earth, but in my vision the Garden of Eden was dark. There was not any activity in the portal. I believe that aspect of the vision represents this time. The church does not believe the Lord’s prayer. The Church does not believe that His Kingdom and His will can be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Much of the church does not believe that angels are for today, nor the fullness of His power, miracles, healings and the gifts of the Spirit are for today.’
WE CAN STILL HAVE IT
‘In the vision, the Garden was dark, but still beautiful, lush and green, healthy and strong, which means WE CAN STILL HAVE IT!! God is waiting for us, but we need to become like Him through the open heavens!!! The Bible says that after the fall of Adam and Eve, we were born with a sin nature, we are all sinful, but Jesus was born of a woman (of sinful nature) yet He did not sin and walked blamelessly before His Father with no sin!, which means we can do the same. Jesus life on earth was an example for us here on earth to follow. How can we do this? We need to walk like Jesus, we need to be like Jesus in every way. Just as Jesus was like His Father, we need to be like Him!!!’
Garden of Eden represents communion and intimacy with God and a daily basis, every hour, minute and second of the day, being just like Jesus in every way. Darkness in the Garden represents unbelief, no communion or intimacy Portal represents Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven (in our hearts). No activity in portal or open heaven is parabolic of the fact that most of us do not accept the things of God or heavenly things like angels, gifts of the Spirit, the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. However, God wants to restore these heavenly treasures to us at this hour.
Adam and Eve had uninterrupted communion or fellowship with God eternally in Eden. They lived under an open heaven. Christ came to restore mankind to his rightful place of living under an open heaven in constant communion and friendship with God. This was one of Christ’s primary missions. Jesus Christ came to reinstate this dynamic of perpetual relationship between God and man. This process will accelerate because the Lord is opening heavens for His children at this hour. Jesus modeled how we can access or open the heavens over our lives.
As Jesus prayed on the day that He was baptized the heavens opened over His life. The result was that Christ began His ministry under an open heaven, and operated under an open heaven from that day forward. Verse 23 tells us that; Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age. So we understand that there was a God ordained moment of time that the Father had predetermined to open the heavens over Jesus and consequently re-opened the heavens over His creation, mankind. This was the beginning of ministry in His life. Jesus benefited from the open heavens over His life throughout His earthly ministry. It was the open heavens that Jesus ministered under that helped prepare Him, and also helped empower Him to manifest the Kingdom of God at various times and places. We also need to understand that God is the one who is responsible for opening the heavens over a person’s life today. Living under an open heaven is not only possible but it is imperative.
Open Heavens
Today God is still the one who is responsible for open heavens. This is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. Remember, we have learned that Jesus is indeed our role model and that He has given us an example to follow. (See John 13:15, Philippians 2:5, 1Peter 2:21, and 1John 2:6). Jesus came to earth to ‘break open the heavenly realms’ for us all. That was a critical aspect of Christ’s call and mission. He came to give you and I power and authority. Let me encourage you that one of the most important things that Jesus gave you and I all power and authority to accomplish was to open the heavens over our lives and over our spheres of influence. We can accomplish this just like Jesus did with our prayers and acts of repentance. We all need Christ’s total salvation in every aspect of our lives. This includes the restoration of the open heavens over our lives.
So, looking at this passage of scripture we see some important keys to opening the heavens. We see that the heavens opened over Jesus as He was baptized and while He prayed. Therefore, we should also seek to be baptized and to also to pray like Christ. Baptism is symbolic of repentance of sin. The scriptures do not tell us what kind of prayer that Jesus prayed as He was baptized. However, I am certain that He prayed for the heavens to be opened. This is perhaps the most important key to opening the heavens over your life. Prayer. Jesus gave us the authority to ask the Father for open heavens in His name. (See John 16:23).
We also see that Jesus began His ministry after the heavens opened over His life. When the heavens opened over the Lord we see that there was immediate fruit, or manifestations of Gods Kingdom. The first thing that is apparent in the open heaven that is now over Christ’s life is the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit descending in the bodily form of a dove. Miracles, signs and wonders abounded in the open heaven that opened over Jesus that day. What is really being described in this passage is this; the corporate anointing to see into the spiritual realm was released and people saw the Holy Spirit manifest in a tangible form as a dove. Later in this book we will look at a modern day testimony of the heaven opening in a similar manner where the Holy Spirit actually descended into a church in the form of a dove in 2005.
Actually, when the heavens opened over Jesus the gift of discerning of spirits was activated and the people saw into the spiritual realm. This is the fruit of an open heaven. We also see that the people had their spiritual ears open to hear the Father speak in an audible voice, saying; “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” You will note that the Father was speaking to Jesus, but because of the open heaven that was over Christ at that moment many of the people present both saw and heard into and from the spiritual realm. They entered into the spirit by proximity. They heard God. They saw God just like in the Garden of Eden. It is critical that we hear God clearly in this season. And that is why it is absolutely necessary that we seek to open the heavens over our lives and sphere of influence. We need to hear God clearly. We need to see what God is doing clearly. These two things are imperative, and we can accomplish them in a much more effective way when we get the heavens open over our lives. Remember that Jesus only did those things that He saw His Father doing. (See John 5:19).
Entering into the Open Heaven by Proximity
Peter, James, and John witnessed this event. They also witnessed the fruit of the open heaven that was continuously over Jesus on several other occasions. In Acts 4: 20 they told the religious leaders that could have well crucified them this; “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” One of the things that they had seen and heard was the voice of the Father, and also the appearance of the Holy Spirit. It is important that we understand that there are certain characteristics of an open heaven that we can still benefit from today. Primarily these include the ability to recognize heavenly things, and to both see and hear from the realms of heaven or the spirit. Both of these benefits are absolutely critical if we are to fulfill the mandate of Matthew 6:10, and pray like Jesus prays; Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. We can also experience the supernatural unction of the Holy Spirit when we live under open heavens. (See 1John 2:20). Open heavens give us the ability to see, hear, and to receive supernatural revelations from the Kingdom of Heaven. We need all of these in the hour in which we live. Of course, the gifting to ‘see’ angels is also the fruit of an open heaven.
In order for us to release God’s Kingdom upon the earth in the same manner that the Kingdom exists in heaven it is absolutely necessary for us to both see and hear from heaven clearly. We need to have the unction of the Holy Spirit and supernatural revelation of all things. These three things were absolutely necessary for Jesus too. That is why He did not begin His ministry until the heavens were opened over Him. Jesus operated under an open heaven for the remainder of His earthly life. We will see from a careful study of the scriptures that there were many times that other people were impacted by the open heaven that was manifest that day when Jesus began His ministry at the age of about 30. Let’s begin to look at a few examples where the open heaven that was upon or over Jesus impacted other people.
When the heavens opened over Jesus people saw and heard into the spirit. At times these ordinary people saw and heard angels. This dynamic of open heavens is still true today. When you find an individual or a geographic location where the heavens are open you will often discover angelic activity and movement. Again, a simple prayer in these places and circumstances can activate the ‘eyes of your heart’ or spirit to perceive that angelic activity that is unfolding around you.
We see this principle unfold in the lives of Peter, James and John in Matthew 17:1-7. Look at this passage that is commonly referred to as the Mount of Transfiguration; 1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”
Let’s look at several aspects of this powerful event. First, what we are actually see is the three disciples of Christ stepping into the spirit because of the open heaven that was upon Jesus. So what this passage really describes is an open heaven encounter. Notice that it was a specific time. This dynamic was also in operation in the first instance of an open heaven that we saw in Luke 3. Timing is critical to opening the heavens over your life. When the disciples saw Christ transfigured they were really seeing into the spiritual realm. Of course this was a supernatural event, but we could also accurately define this experience by saying that the disciples had the gift of discerning of spirits activated in their lives. Also note that Jesus took the three disciples to a specific geographic location at a fixed or appointed time. Again, these are important keys to opening the heavens over your life. The disciples entered into the spirit by proximity yet again.
Activation or Impartation
The activation or impartation of the gift of discerning of spirits is often the fruit or outcome that unfolds in a person’s life when they enter into or experience an open heaven. Remember what we have learned in my first book; Dancing With Angels1 ; How To Work With The Angels In Your Life. The gift of discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability and gift of the Holy Spirit to see, touch, smell, hear, and touch spiritual beings; both angelic beings and demonic beings. The gift of discerning of spirits is also the ability to recognize elements or aspects of the spirit or heavenly places. That is what is happening here with Peter, James, and John, they see into the spirit and hear the voice of God. This is the second time that they hear the Father. Only this time there is a significant difference. The Father speaks directly to the disciples and tells them to listen to Jesus! When you rip open the heavens over your life the Father will speak directly to you too. Most likely He will tell you the same thing! ‘Hear Him’!
The disciples also see Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus. Did you ever wonder how the three disciples knew that they were seeing Moses and Elijah? Obviously they had never met them, nor seen their portraits, or searched out their likeness on the internet. So again we see that this supernatural revelation was the fruit of experiencing the open heaven that was upon the Lord. The disciples began to operate in the unction of the Holy Spirit and they knew all things. This is the manifestation of the spirit of wisdom and revelation. (See Isaiah 11: 2, 1John 2:20). That is another great benefit to opening the heavens over your life. Now let’s take this a step further. We know from the scriptures that Elijah was transported into the very presence of God, or heaven. (See 2Kings 2:11). So therefore, it is very plausible that the three men were seeing into the realms of heaven at that moment. Again, this is the fruit of an open heaven.
Open Heavens and the Seer Realms
The disciples also saw Moses who was carrying on a conversation with Jesus. Briefly let me say that the three were discussing Christ’s divine destiny upon the tree of Calvary, but that is really the material of another book. I only suggest it to you here for your edification and further study. Now we know that Moses died at the age of 120. (See Deuteronomy 34:5-7). Therefore, the disciples saw Jesus speaking to Moses who was dead. Was Christ communing with the dead or practicing necromancy? Of course not! However, this biblical example of the Lord speaking to a dead man begs some explanation.
We can rightly say that Moses was at that moment of time receiving the answer to his prayer found in Exodus 33:18 when He asked God this question; “Please, show me Your glory.” On the other hand Moses was dead. We know that Moses body was buried. (See Deuteronomy 34:6). So was it really Moses that was speaking to Christ, or was it Moses spirit man? Yes, it was Moses and Elijah who the disciples saw taking council with Christ. So we could accurately say that Moses was at that at the moment of this conversation a member of the great cloud of witnesses. (See Hebrews 12:1). So once again we find that the disciples had their spiritual senses activated to see into the realm of the spirit. And a case could be made to say that Peter, James, and John saw the spirit, or angel of Moses. I submit this theory to you for your study. It is not important to our quest, however it does confirm the point that under the open heaven that was upon Jesus the men saw spiritual beings, or saw into the spirit. Again, this is one of the primary benefit of open heavens. Often when you are in a place where the heavens are open you will see angels. Let’s look a few more examples in scripture.
Luke 24 provides a great example of bumping into angels in a place where the heavens had opened. Look at verses 1-8; Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 “He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 “saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'” 8 And they remembered His words.
Certainly, on that resurrection morn the heavens were open at the tomb of Christ. The women were the beneficiaries of an angelic visitation. Again we see the characteristics of open heavens manifest in this instance. These are just ordinary women, but when they step into the geographic area where the open heaven that was upon the Lord was still lingering they both saw and heard into the spiritual realm. The result was that they saw the angels that were present. They also were given a prophesy or message by the two angelic beings. This of course is the very definition of an angel. Angels bring or relating messages or revelations from the Lord. Finally the end result was that they had the unction of the Holy Spirit manifest and they were given a supernatural knowledge or revelation of Christ as the Messiah.
The Ascension
The Ascension is another powerful example of how the open heavens that were upon Christ impacted those who were in the same geographic area. We will look at this illustration of open heavens in a subsequent chapter. Again, it is important to remember that the Lord can send you to a geographic area or specific place where the heavens are already open to help activate or open the heavens over your life. We have seen this dynamic unfold in my testimony and life. Perhaps the Lord will use a similar pattern in your life. So allow me to encourage you to be obedient to the leadings of the Holy Spirit when you are asked to travel to a new place.
Perhaps the Lord has a purpose for such a trip, and it could be something that God requires of you. Your obedience to take such a trip could turn out to be your Mount of Transfiguration experience. We have called these prophetic acts of obedience. Search for places or geographic areas that are under an open heaven. There are lots of places like this on the earth today. I call these areas a Mahanaim. That simply means a place where God is present. Genesis 32:2 illustrates this concept; When Jacob saw them, (angels),he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim. Jacob found himself in a place where he experienced an angelic visitation. These places are still around today, and you can find them. Let me encourage you to search them out.
The disciples of Jesus were present when the heavens initially opened over the Lord on the day He was baptized in Luke 3:22. They saw and heard from the spiritual realm because of the open heaven that was upon Jesus. They experienced Christ’s open heaven at the Mount of Transfiguration. They were also present when the heavens opened over Christ as His ascension. Jesus carried an open heaven within or upon Himself. That can be true of friends of God today too.
We should remember that the heavens can be open over an individual as well as a specific geographical area or location. Again, Jesus is our scriptural example for this principle concerning the dynamic of open heavens and how to enter into them by proxy. So the Lord may lead you to submit to the ministry of a specific individual that is operating in or under an open heaven. So we need to understand that certain Individuals carry open heavens with them everywhere they go. You could say the fragrance of heaven is attached to a person who is living under an open heaven. You may learn from them or from their teaching materials. You may wish to consider attending events where these folks are ministering. If possible seek opportunities to interact with them on a personal basis and ask them questions. People call this discipleship, but I prefer to call this kind of interaction friendship. I have shared how the Lord used Kenneth E. Hagin to encourage and help disciple me in my early walk in the supernatural. Although I was not able to have a personal friendship with him, I was able to learn from Hagin’s books and audio teachings. The Lord also used the ministry of Benny Hinn in a similar way in my life. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you direction in this area.
When the heavens are open over a person or place people will often see and hear from the realms of heaven the or the spirit by proximity. You will garner supernatural revelations in such a place. We have seen this from our scriptural examples. This dynamic or characteristic of open heavens is still in effect today. So I encourage you to find a place, individual, or ministry that is moving under an open heaven and then seek to invest as much time as you can in that environment. When you enter into proximity of an open heaven you will at times begin to see and hear angels. At this point you are in a position to begin to exercise your spiritual senses. We need to build spiritual senses up according to the principle of Hebrew 5:14; Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. There are some folks who will not stay too long in Moravian Falls because they get too much revelation and are not able to sleep properly.
In conclusion let me encourage to seek the Lord for direction and guidance. The Holy Spirit will guide you and teach you the best methods and manner to rend the heavens over your life. You should not be in a hurry nor should you be fixated on any one avenue to ‘rip’ or ‘rend’ the heavens over your life. Allow the Lord to guide your steps. Some folks are not interested in traveling or ministry. God is so wonderful and kind that He gives each of us a choice of how we live out our lives. You can choose to live a ‘normal life’ without the miracles, signs, wonders, and angelic interaction that manifest in an open heaven.
However, you will benefit immensely from living your life under an open heaven as the blessings of Abraham will manifest in your life. The fruit of an open heaven over your life is favor, blessing, revelation, and the release of the power, gifting and the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon you and all that you put your hand to. You will just prosper! So I want to encourage to rend the heavens over your life. Let’s investigate several supernatural events that helped open the heavens over my life through the guidance and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the next chapter. These testimonies will illustrate what it might look like when the Lord leads you to open the heavens over your life. Finally we need to remember that it is only through the finished work of Jesus Christ that we can ‘rend’ or ‘rip open’ the heavens over our lives. Christ came to ‘rend’ or open the heavens for all of mankind. Jesus accomplished this by His finished work on the cross of Calvary. Therefore, we can all live under an open heaven today.
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