This May Change Your Perspective About Your Life Here On Earth

When we think of the gateway to heaven, we most often think of the “pearly gates” and our entrance into heaven sometime after our death. But did you know that God’s Word speaks about a gateway of heaven here on earth that we can experience right now? And it’s much closer than you may think.

In Genesis 28, Jacob was on a long journey and stopped for the night to sleep. As he slept, God showed him in a dream a stairway leading to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. At the top of the stairs he saw the Lord, who spoke to him personally and confirmed to Jacob the promise He had given his grandfather, Abraham.

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” 
Genesis 28:16-17 NLT

1. The house of God is the gateway to an open heaven.

First of all, it’s interesting to note that there were no buildings in the remote location that Jacob called the house of the Lord. God’s house is wherever He dwells, and Jacob seemed surprised to find that God was actually dwelling with him in the middle of nowhere.

Secondly, Jacob referred to the house of God as a gateway to heaven. Because God was dwelling with him, Heaven, with all its supernatural resources, was so close that Jacob could see angels coming and going as they distribute the resources of heaven on earth and minister to God’s people.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; Psalm 91:11 NIV

2. You are the dwelling place of God, therefore you are also a gateway of heaven.

As a New Testament believer, you are the dwelling place of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). According to the Bible, that makes you a gateway of heaven. When Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened above Him and He continued to live under an open heaven. His words were very similar to the words of Jacob. 

He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”  John 1:51 NIV

It’s important to remember that even though Jesus is God, everything He did on earth He did as a human empowered by the Holy Spirit (Luke4:14, Acts 10:38). First and foremost, Jesus came to die for the forgiveness of our sins. But He also came to show us what we, as humans, can do when we’re in right relationship with the Father and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

3. As a gateway of heaven, you have the responsibility to make things on earth look more like heaven.

When Jesus launched His earthly ministry, He said He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to give sight to the blind, set people who were oppressed by the devil free, and to heal the broken-hearted. The gospel accounts of His life also showed that He healed people everywhere He went. But then He passed the baton to us.

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."   John 14:12 NIV

When Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray, He told them that they should ask that the will of heaven be done here on earth. In other words, we are to work in the power of the Holy Spirit to make our spot on earth look more like heaven. In Matthew 10, Jesus tells us to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. We can do very little of what Jesus asks of us unless we’re empowered by the Holy Spirit and aware that we’re a gateway of heaven.

I lived for many years as a Christian without being aware that I was living under an open heaven. Consequently, I saw very little of God’s supernatural power at work in my life. When I realized that I was actually a gateway of heaven because of my position in Christ and started stepping out in faith, I began to see amazing miracles take place in me and through me. Little by little, earth started looking more like heaven.

Hopefully you are now aware that you are a gateway of heaven, and that God wants to work powerfully in you and through you to see lives changed for His glory. It’s time to step out in faith!