You’re Called to Command Angels! Walk in Authority Over the Spirit Realm

The goal of the Church is to occupy the heavenly places. We have now been giving total supremacy in the spirit world.

When Jesus ascended, He turned over the governing of that realm to the Church. We are the rulers. Not only were we brought into this position of superiority for the purposes of defeating and overthrowing satan and his kingdom, but we were also brought into this dimension to release the activity of God over the earth realm. When the Scripture says that the manifold wisdom of God was made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places by the Church, the Scripture is also referring to the angelic realm. They really had no idea what God was working as well.

Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into (1 Peter 1:9-12 KJV).

Peter explains there are aspects of salvation and redemption that even angels were curious about. And can you imagine their surprise also when the new creation was revealed and seated with Christ in heavenly places. It was a spiritual invasion in the spirit world. These new sons and daughters of God had been brought into a place of great rule. And now according to Hebrews 1, they are now our servants: “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?” (Hebrews 1:13 KJV). In other words, the angels assist Him until His enemies are captured under His feet. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14 KJV). I will revisit this verse a little later in this chapter, but while I was reading over these verses one day, it dawned on me just how active angels were throughout the Bible and are in our lives.

I have to confess that I have never seen an angel. Many people have expressed that they have, but that has just not been my experience. However, I don’t need to see them to know that they are here. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that they have been active in my life on a daily basis. It is a privilege given to those of us who are in Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places. They move and minister at our command as long as we are moving and speaking with Jesus’s authority. John 1:44-51 gives us an astonishing ascension revelation of the activity of angels:

Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:44-51 KJV).

When Jesus saw Nathanael, He greeted him with the recognition that he was an Israelite in which there was no guile. Nathanael was surprised that Jesus could discern him spiritually before He met him naturally. That’s why Nathanael answered back to Jesus, “You are the Son of God.” Jesus was able to look into his spiritual disposition and see his purity.

But the next statement by Jesus is the one we want to focus on. Jesus told Nathanael in essence, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” Of course, I’m paraphrasing. But Jesus said in essence, “If you think Me discerning your spirit is something, wait until you see what’s next.” He told Nathanael that he was about to see even greater things.

Jesus went on to tell Nathanael that from this moment forth, he would see Heaven opened and angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. No one had ever experienced a man on earth living under an open heaven. Jesus intimated that angels would be very active between Heaven and earth through His life and ministry. They would be ascending and descending. There would be constant spiritual activity in the heavenly places from Heaven to earth and earth to Heaven. This also means angels have assignments on earth, and God would use Jesus to become the highway in which spiritual traffic would be traveling between Heaven and earth. This is actually a prophetic fulfillment of Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28:

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:

And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee (Genesis 28:10-22 KJV).

Jacob’s dream was a perfect revelation of Jesus. Jesus is the ladder that connects earth to Heaven. Jacob said that he saw Heaven opened in his dream. This was the same scene Jesus described to Nathanael. Jacob had declared the place, the physical location where the heavens opened, to be the house of God and the gate of Heaven, so he built an altar and named it Bethel which means “House of God.” He believed that the physical location was a gateway between Heaven and earth.

Even though that was an amazing and supernatural experience that marked Jacob forever, in reality, what Jacob was seeing in his dream was a revelation of the One, the Messiah, who was to come. The ladder he saw providing an access to Heaven was symbolic of Jesus. When Jesus came on the scene, He was the personification of Bethel, the “House” in which God dwelled, the gate of Heaven that would be opened to us. Jesus declared boldly that the Father was in Him and He was in the Father. Jesus used the same terminology that Jacob did because He was the fulfillment of Jacob’s prophetic dream. He, Jesus, descended from Heaven and revealed Himself as the Son of Man sent to make His home in the heart of men so they could ascend to Heaven and be seated with Jesus.

Everywhere Jesus went, the abiding presence of God was with Him, in Him, and through Him. Bethel was no longer only a physical location, it was God’s residence in physical man. The Bible declares in Colossians 2:9 (KJV), “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily.” Jesus came to earth to open up a portal between Heaven and earth. Luke tells us these angels were even present at Jesus’s birth, and they accompanied His entrance into the earth realm.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us (Luke 2:10-15 KJV).

Angels had always been present and active throughout the Bible. They first appeared in Genesis 3:24 and then all throughout the Old Testament. But with Jesus coming into the earth realm, He would not only be ministered to by angels, He also would have the authority from the Father to summon them because the Lord of hosts had become a man. And, for this reason, angelic activity would constantly be coming and going at His command or need on earth. These angels were at His disposal. Remember that Jesus declared to the chief priest and multitudes (and also Judas who accompanied them) when they came to arrest Him, that He, Jesus, could have prayed to the Father and the Father would have sent twelve legions of angels to deliver Him:

And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus and took him.

And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.

Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:47-53 KJV)

That was the kind of power and authority that Jesus represented in the earth realm as it relates to the angelic realm. But after the ascension of Jesus, a seismic shift happened in the realm of the spirit because of a spiritual transition that happened concerning angels. Let’s look again at Hebrews 1:13-14 (KJV): “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

The case was being made in the text that Jesus was so much better and higher than even angels, and angels were never given the rank and authority that Jesus had. But then an incredible statement was made, “Angels are sent to minister or serve, those of us who are heirs of salvation.” That statement means angels now serve us in the same way they served Jesus. This means we are now the ladders upon which angels ascend and descend. We are now the ones responsible for carrying out Jesus’s plans and purposes in the earth realm. You and I live under an open heaven. It is Jesus’s authority over the angelic kingdom that we now occupy. We have this freedom to exercise this power whenever we need it for our lives or a Kingdom purpose.

Whether you realize it or not, all day and night angels are ascending and descending according to your words and prayers. This is one of the great privileges the ascension and seating of Jesus brought us into. I encourage you to live your life from this moment forward with the awareness that while you are on earth, you are also causing spiritual activity in the heavenly places on a moment-by-moment basis. This is a great responsibility. Angels are waiting!