Scripture: Luke 3 v 21 - 22: "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."
When Jesus came to be baptized in water, as He came up out of the water He prayed and the heaven was opened and then the Holy Spirit in bodily form descended upon Him like a dove landing on Him.
A prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 25 says He will break the covering that is over all people and the veil over all nations then wipe away every tear from their eyes. Isaiah 25 v 7 - 8: "And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it."
In Daniel 10 v 12 - 14: "Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days."
When the pre-incarnate Jesus appears to Daniel, He says to him that the first day Daniel started fasting for 3 weeks that He responded, but that a demonic force called "the prince of Persia" withstood Him for 21 days until Michael the Archangel came to help Him break through.
There is a demonic covering over the Earth aimed at blocking Jesus out! The only way through was for Jesus to be born on Earth as a man. When He was baptized in water it broke the covering over Him so that the Holy Spirit could come in response to His prayer. It was a very powerful victory.
Satan has the legal leasehold over Earth given to him by Adam in Eden when Adam submitted to him and plunged every new human ever born into a Pandora's Box of misery. God had to set things in motion to make legal precedents starting with Abraham.
Abraham's son, Isaac, was taken up a mountain to be sacrificed. At the last moment, God stopped that sacrifice and substituted a ram. Abraham's obedience was the legal precedent for the sacrifice of Jesus. In other words, our God cannot gatecrash Earth. Jesus could not arrive as a man, He had to be born in a human body and die as a man to break the Satanic bondage over the human race.
Note that Abraham took Isaac up a mountain, and Jesus was crucified on top of a mountain, and the prophecy in Isaiah says God will destroy on this mountain the covering over the nations - the Satanic covering - and He will have victory over death for us. How can we ignore the love and plan of our God?
Satan fights more against water baptism than against salvation and now we know why. The heaven gets opened over us as it did when Jesus was baptized and we receive power from on high. The demonic covering is shredded every time a believer gets baptized! The veil over our hearts is removed so we can understand the scriptures.
This is why Jesus said that the veil remains unbroken over the hearts of His Jewish people who have not believed that He is their Messiah and Bridegroom. John the Baptist knew and declared in John 3 v 29 that he was the friend of the Bridegroom who stood and heard Him and rejoiced greatly at the Bridegroom's voice because He that has the Bride is the Bridegroom.
The Heaven is Open is a translation of the Hebrew words Rosh Hashanah, a feast the Jews celebrate in their September New Year. I believe this is also the time of year that Jesus was born as a baby on Earth because surely the heaven would be opened for such an event as the shepherds testified while out all night with their sheep.
They saw the angelic host rejoicing in the birth of the King of Kings!! I doubt that shepherds would be out with sheep in the dead of winter in December in Israel! So that could not be the birth of Jesus. Likewise His baptism would have taken place on Rosh Hashanah when the heaven was opened for the fullness of the Holy Spirit to arrive upon Him.
All the things John the Baptist said about Jesus were true. He said Jesus was the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world; and that Jesus was the one who would baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. He called Him the Bridegroom and so He is, and Israel is His Bride.
In Ephesians it is written that Jesus is the Head of the Church which is His body. The Head (Jesus) plus His body (us) - which will join up together in the Rapture - become the completed Bridegroom, who then will come to rescue the finally believing Bride, Israel, at the battle of Armageddon.
Back to Daniel and the Prince of Persia demonic force which blocked Jesus from him. A spiritual prince is a ruling spirit in high places. Persia is now called Iran but that same demon prince still hates Israel and causes the Ayatollahs who rule that nation to declare perpetual war until she is totally destroyed.
They finance and arm Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza to fire missiles at her. When Israel fires back the whole world complains!! They refuse to even recognise the existence of Israel. Israel the Bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21 v 9 - 12) and the apple of God's eye! Israel with whom God made eternal covenants as His Chosen people. Israel to whom Jesus was born to manifest God's love, compassion and glory!
The nations who reject her will be put to a perpetual shame. People that side with the enemies of Israel are not God's people. Jesus in our hearts cannot hate the Bride He loves and died for.
So rejoice that you are a baptized believer and the heaven is open above you to receive the abundant blessings of Almighty God who sent the Holy Spirit to make Jesus Christ real to us and to give us revelation knowledge out of His Word.
Prayer: Heavenly Father we appreciate You for Your thoughts which are toward us continually for our good. You made provision for every eventuality so that we, the Body of Your Son Jesus, could be kept from harm. We must adhere to Your rescue plan for us and follow Your Word to escape harm. We love You Father and ask for wisdom to understand all things. In Jesus' name. Amen.
