Bible Study
Jesus - Bridge between Heaven and Earth
One of the most remarkable prayers of intercession recorded in the Bible is found in Isaiah 64 where the prophet calls upon the Lord, saying, “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at Your presence – as fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil – to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!” (Isaiah 64:1-2 NASB).
The word “rend” literally means to tear or to tear open. Isaiah was crying out to God that He would “tear open” the heavens and show Himself to the world that the world might see Him as Isaiah had seen Him!
In this prayer for God to “rend the heavens and come down,” I believe that Isaiah was reflecting upon a previous experience in his life, recorded in Isaiah 6:1-8, in which he had been caught up into heaven and received the commission and anointing for his life and prophetic ministry. He recalls it, saying, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).
Isaiah continued in the following verses to describe his experience in God’s presence. He spoke of angelic beings about the throne crying out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (v.3). He spoke of the visible manifestation of God’s glory. He described his sudden and overwhelming awareness of sin when he stood in the magnificent presence of the holiness of God. He thought he would surely die in such a holy place where he had suddenly found himself! But he also found grace there, and his sin was purged with holy fire. It was in this place that his life and destiny were forever changed. He would never be the same again!
The Whole Earth…
Pay careful attention to what the angels were crying to one another. Notice, they did not say, “heaven is full of His glory.” Rather, they said, “The earth is full of His glory.” This was a prophetic insight into a time that is coming of which Scripture says, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).
When Isaiah prayed for God to rend the heavens and come down, he was asking for the fulfillment of the prophetic promise he had received in his vision many years earlier. He was saying in essence, “Lord, if the earth is going to be filled with Your glory, You must rend the heavens and come down!” Isaiah realized that this “rending of the heavens” would be necessary for God to fulfill His plan for this world.
The Open Heaven
Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man
John 1:51 NASB
Jesus declared Himself to be more than a prophet, more than a Rabbi, more than a political deliverer, and more than a king. He declared Himself to be the bridge between heaven and earth, the link between God and man, the portal that God has opened on earth, giving us direct access to heavenly realms.
Isaiah’s Prayer Answered
Many people still pray Isaiah’s prayer for God to rend the heavens and come down, pleading despondently like a beggar dejectedly crying for a piece of bread. But my friends, the good news is that the prayer of Isaiah was answered 2,000 years ago! God truly did rend the heavens and came down through Jesus Christ. Could there be a more dramatic rending than the one that happened at Calvary? The earth was split, the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom, and the precious body of Jesus Christ was broken in order that heaven might invade the earth.
On Him the angels of God ascend and descend for us. Through Him all the resources of God are poured out and the needs of humankind can be met. By Him, man can be reconciled unto God and the wrath of God has been appeased.
God has rent the heavens and has come down. He has destroyed that ancient barrier between heaven and earth, and today all the riches and resources of God are available to the one who will take them by faith through prayer.
Access to the Father
Hebrews 10:19-22 says: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
God wants us to approach Him in prayer with assurance and confidence in His all-sufficient provision. Today we can march boldly into the presence of God with a pure conscience and a heart full of faith, knowing that God has already destroyed everything that stands between Him and us by the blood of Jesus Christ. He truly has given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Through prayer we put this incredible power into action. Someone once said, “Prayer is the lifelong opportunity of a lifetime.” The prayer of Isaiah has been answered. God has rent the heavens. Now let’s bring heaven to earth!
We’ve found Him!
(John 1:45)
We’ve found Him:
The way, the truth, the life
The bread of life
The light of the world
The door
The good shepherd
The resurrection
The vine
The great I AM
He is the Passover lamb.
He is the Ark of Noah’s salvation.
He is the brass serpent lifted up in the wilderness.
He is the rock of Horeb.
He is the city of refuge.
He is the veil in the tabernacle and the tabernacle itself.
He is the unleavened bread and the manna from heaven.
He is our Melchezideck.
He is our kinsman-redeemer.
He is our high Priest.
He is the tree of life.
He is the stairway to heaven.
He is the second Adam.
He is Isaac going to get a bride.
He is the warrior standing before Joshua with a drawn sword.
He is Jonah three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
He is in every way the fullest and most complete
fulfillment and source of every promise,
every type,
every shadow,
every epiphany,
and every theophony.
He is the end of all theology.
He is the reason for every genealogy.
He is at the heart of every prophecy.
His coming has split history in two and has changed absolutely everything!
Daniel Kolenda
