Oh that thou would rend the heavens Isaiah 64:1-3
2021 Theme: REVELATION OF THE SONS OF GOD
FIREBRAND PRAYER FAMILY
*Tearing Open Your Heavens “Oh that thou would rend the heavens Isaiah 64:1-3”
(Genesis 7:10-12, Deuteronomy 28:12, Deuteronomy 28:22-24, Job 38:22-23, Isaiah 64:1-2, 2 Kings 7) *
Genesis 7:11-12 King James Version
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights
An interesting question that comes up for debate every now and then is the question of open heavens. Is there such a thing as opened heavens or closed heavens for that matter?
What then would be the meaning of open heavens or closed heavens? The scriptures tell us in Gen 7:11-12 that God opened the windows of heaven and the rain came down upon the earth.
When you read in 1 Kings 17:1 it mentions something interesting about the heavens.
1 Kings 17:1-2 King James Version
17 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
Elijah released a decree over the land that shut up the heavens that there were no rains. So we see in Genesis that God opened the floodgates of heaven and rain poured upon the earth for 40 days until the whole earth was flooded. And on the other hand, we see Elisha who releases a decree and the heavens are closed and there is no rain for 1095 days or 3 years.
Clearly we see that the heaven above us can be opened or closed allowing for an abundance of rain which brings fertility and production upon the earth or drought, famine, and death. My Prayer for you is that anywhere your heavens have been closed, over any areas of your life you are experiencing closed heavens, let the God who opens the floodgates of heaven tear them open again for you In Jesus’ Name.
Now the next question we must answer is what is responsible for closing the heavens over a people. What brings about this closed heavens over the life of a person, family, city or nation (as with the Israelites in the days of Elijah).
According to scriptures, the main cause of closed heavens is sin and iniquity. In 1 Kings 17, it was because of the sin of idolatry that crept into the lives of the Israelites that cause God to shut up their heavens. They began to engage in idol worship to Baal and Ashtoreth. This can be clearly seen as Elijah challenges the people to get an answer from their god Baal in chapter 18.
This is also clearly corroborated in Deut 28 the later part where God begins to outline the curses for going astray and engaging in idolatry and sexual immorality with strange nations.
Deuteronomy 28:23-24 King James Version
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
Here we clearly see that God says that the heavens will become like brass, like metal, no prayers going through and no blessings come down. In fact, He says the rain of the land will be like dust. This reminds me of the dust bowl that happened in the US in the 1930s. For a period of almost 6 years, there was utter dryness and famine. You could see dust storms as high as story buildings.
These kinds of signs should alert us that there is a need for cleansing purity and holiness before God. And we thank God indeed we serve a merciful God because after Israel had sinned multiple times and went through famine, drought, and destruction, God offered a way out of this closed heavens to Solomon.
2 Chronicles 7:13-16 King James Version
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there forever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
God told Solomon that if the people of Israel sin and go astray and because of that their heavens are shut up and there is no rain. If they begin to pray and repent and turn from their wicked ways, I, God will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land. Not only that but my eyes and ears will be attentive to the prayer offered in this place meaning that he will consistently look down from heaven upon the land of Israel and the temple of Solomon. This directly implies that the heavens over the people would have been reopened.
We also see this in Isaiah’s prayer to rend and tear open the heavens that have been closed up. Again in vs 6, 7, and 8 shown, this is as a result of sin and iniquity.
Isaiah 64 King James Version
64 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, 2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! 3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. 4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. 9 Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity forever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. 12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Lord? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
So we clearly see that sins and iniquities, no matter the source, can close up our heavens. It could be from generations past, from parents grandparents etc. But when the people begin to pray and repent and rectify the wrong foundations, God comes down to heal a land that had been stricken with famine, He opens the heavens again and turns the barren land to be fruitful. This is the reason we must do everything to strive to maintain Holiness and purity before our God. We must ensure that we walk in the light circumspectly aware of His constant presence with us. Let His presence constantly cleanse and purify and sanctify us. When we live our lives with the consciousness of His presence over us, there will be a constant flow of His glory over us sanctifying us and maintaining His Holiness in our lives. When we begin to walk consistently in such realms we begin to enter the dimensions of glory that the prophets of old walked in. They could speak a word and the heavens were shut up. But they could also speak a word and the heavens would be opened up again as we see in Elisha in 2 Kings 7 shown below. May God the father bring us into these realms in the name of Jesus.
In summary, what we have looked at is the fact that the heavens can either be open or closed. Opened or closed heavens can be over a person, a family, a city, or a nation. The heavens over Elijah was opened even though the heavens over the whole nation was closed. In Gen 26 Isaac experienced opened heavens when the heavens over the whole Philistine nation was closed. Usually, sin and iniquity is responsible for closing the heavens, but if the people realize themselves and humble themselves before God in repentance God is faithful to forgive them and heal their land and open again the heavens. Ultimately, God doesn't want us to live and life of sin and forgiveness, but to go from one level of glory to another until we enter realms of Glory where we can speak to the heavens and command them to be closed or opened. We can speak a word over a city and tell them if they don’t repent there is a coming drought and famine. And when the people humble themselves before God in repentance we release a word to open the heavens that there be rain and abundance again.
I decree over your life that in the name of Jesus as you rise in the Spirit you will perpetually walk in open heavens. And your heavens will get wider and wider so that because of you in a community, city, or nation, the people will enjoy the rain of revival and abundance in Jesus’ Name.
Amen
Ps. John Shu
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