Judges 16:2-3
When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.” And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
I believe these verses to be prophetic for today. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that Samson took hold of the gates of his enemies in the middle of the night and took them to the top of the hill facing Hebron, the place Abraham had moved to after separating from Lot and where he built an altar to the Lord (Genesis 13:18). Why were the gates moved to this particular location? I believe it is because the Holy Spirit wants us to have a mountain top experience
Isaiah 2:2-3:
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The Old Testament (OT) has many references to gates, especially as gates to cities, towns and the temple. However, in the New Testament, there are not many references. Certainly, Jesus alluded to gates, doors and such on several occasions when with his disciples/apostles. But when Paul wrote to the believers in his letters, he made virtually no mention of them. This suggests to me that we need to have an apostolic mindset to have revelations about gates, especially given that cities no longer have physical gates as in the OT. So where have the gates moved to? This is the key to understanding gates in this day and age.
First, let us meditate on Genesis 28:17, when Jacob saw angels descending from and ascending to heaven:
And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
We know (or should know by now) that the house of God has been moved to our body
1 Corinthians 6:19)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
So has, in a likewise manner, the gate of heaven been moved to our body by the power of the Holy Spirit? The following scriptures suggest this was so.
When we open the doors of our hearts to receive Jesus into our lives –
Revelations 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.
And Psalm 24:7-10
Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah
When we receive Jesus and make Him not only Saviour but also Lord and King, we enter the kingdom of God. Heaven is within us –
Luke 17:20-21
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
When we receive the Holy Spirit, we become the gates through which the Holy Spirit can impact on the lives of others around us.
John 4:14
but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 7:38
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Just as Samson took hold of the door of the gate of the unrighteous city, we had taken hold of the doors of our unrighteous hearts and taken them to the top of the hill and given them to Jesus who makes them righteous through His free gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17). So we become the gates of righteousness and also gatekeepers guarding over these spiritual gates, so that unrighteousness cannot enter in. We open these gates and, through our mouths, establish and extend His kingdom by preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and speaking with new tongues and, through our hands, healing the sick (Mark 16:17-18).
The gate of heaven has been moved to a far better place! We have become the awesome place!
Because of this amazing work of the Holy Spirit, we can advance the Kingdom of God to transform cultures of cities, towns and nations in all seven spheres of influence (Arts/Entertainment/Sports, Business/Finance, Church/Religion, Distribution/Media/ Communications, Education, Family, and Government/Law).
How do we do this? We respond to Jesus’ instructions as given to his 12 disciples (Luke 9:1-6), that Is, while always looking unto the Lord who saved us, redeemed us and reconciled us to Abba Father
- We affirm we are the called and chosen for this work we see the Father doing,
- Ensure we are empowered to unction, function and minister in the power of the Holy Spirit,
- We preach the Gospel of the Kingdom according to Jesus’s mandates.
Then we send out the anointed and empowered disciples into the marketplaces (Luke 10:5-9), and
- We bless the people with the shalom from the Prince of Peace, Jesus,
- We fellowship the people in acceptance with the love of Abba Father,
- We care for them with ministry and solutions with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
- We proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come.