April 16th, 2018

Possessing the Gates

“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;…” Gen. 22:17

God told Abraham that there would be many blessings, innumerable generations of his family, who would take control of the places where their enemies were located.  Beloved, this is true for us today!  There remain great blessings through the spiritual seed of Abraham.  Keep in mind that Abraham was the father of the seed, the seed being Isaac.  There also remain generations of that spiritual seed, the children of promise.  Is it not out of reach to control the gate of our enemies?  Absolutely not.

The phrase shall possess is “yarash” (#3423 Strong’s) and means: to seize; take possession of; to inherit; occupy; or to drive away.  Legally it refers to receiving an inheritance.  In a military sense, it refers to invading a land to occupy it.  We have an inheritance as well through the work of Jesus Christ.

As we presented earlier in this course, gates refer to those places that are entrance points.  Gates were symbolic of authority, governing, and power.  They were meeting places for people of prominence, either to engage in commerce, settle disputes, or conduct governmental matters. 

The seed of Abraham possessing the gate of his enemies is a powerful statement.  It reminds us that because of Jesus Christ, we have His power and authority to invade enemy territory and seize the gates, thereby taking control over that territory.  We partake of that inheritance.

On a spiritual level, this is a crucial aspect of intercession – known as spiritual warfare.  We are not advised in Scripture to go looking for enemies to conquer (stay out of the second heaven).  However, when a power of darkness is revealed to us by a manifestation and is interfering with God’s plan here, we have every right to rid it, in the name of Jesus.  We invade, storm the gates, and seize control of the gates through prayer!  Once the gates are secured, the place of entrance, authority, and ownership has become the Lord’s.  It is His battle, after all.  Our work is the praying.  His work is the releasing of the victory in response to our intercession.