Spiritual Ascension in Christianity With the Holy Spirit

A true walk in the Spirit of God will eventually lead a believer in Christ to a higher level of spiritual manifestations called ascension. Ascension is a way of climbing the spiritual ladder as our human spirit connects with that of the Holy Spirit and is taken into the Spirit realm of God. While the human spirit ascends by taking a trip into the spirit realm, the human physical body in most cases is left behind. In a parallel ascension, the human spirit stays on the earthly realm and move across physical locations. Vertical ascension takes a believer into a higher upwards projection beyond the stars, and entering the realms of Heaven with angels in the presence of God. Some people refer to this location as the fifth or sixth dimension. Regardless to the number associated with this higher level of ascension, supernatural events tend to take place at this high existence representing the presence of God. People having this experience may perceive the soul coming out of the physical body and ascending to heavenly realms. Those who went through near death experience have reports of similar manifestations of spiritual ascension. Other people have experienced ascension without near death experience. The ascensions just described are temporary ascensions because the human spirit with the encasement of human soul eventually returns and reenters the physical body. The human soul travels inside the human spirit which represents the transporting vessel into the invisible world. Permanent ascension of the soul takes place when the human spirit ascends at the time the silver cord is broken off from the physical body. The human soul encased inside the human spirit, accompanied by the Holy Spirit, does not return to the body resulting into a physical death. The human spirit can live without the physical body, but the physical body cannot live without human spirit. When the spirit is out of the body, the physical body dies.

Many Christians have been searching for the experience of spiritual ascension because it takes them to higher Heavens in the presence of God. However, the church today has been very short in helping people achieve such ascension because the church is stuck and partying in the flesh. Some Christians today do not know what it means to walk in the Spirit of God in a closer relationship with Jesus, let alone understand the process of spiritual ascension. Christians are therefore left with false doctrine of the New Age about ascension in the human spirit devoid of the Spirit of God. People who worship the devil experience ascension in the spirit of Satan involving demonic practices. Spiritual ascension in Christianity is very different from what happens with other false religions.

The purpose of spiritual ascension in Christianity is very important and critical. The Lord Jesus equips each of his messengers to access the Gates of Heaven, or the Portals of Heaven based on each messenger’s ministry assignment, and the mantle allocation. This allows a messenger to ascend into the heavenly realms and gain access to the things of Heaven, and bring the supernatural things of God, down to the earthly realm. While Jesus was on earth, he tended to do this with so much ease because he was always walking in the Spirit of the Holiness of God. Suddenly, Jesus would pray and bring thousands of bread and thousands of pieces of fish from the Spirit dimension into the earthly dimension; from the invisible to the visible. Because we do not know how he did it, we call it miracles. Once we understand how Jesus can easily enter the Spirit realm bringing Heaven down to the earth, we too may be able to bring certain things from the invisible realm of God to the physical realm on earth. This can be accomplished through the power of relentless prayer and fasting leading to the opening of the Gates of Heaven giving us access to enter the Spirit realm of God. Timing is very important when it comes to opening of the Portals of Heaven. There are some portals that open all the time; other portals also open at designated time for special purpose. For example, Jesus tends to visit each messenger at the time and place unannounced through the opening of some portals. Special anointing tends to come at a moment a messenger is unaware. This is the more reason why we should walk more in the Spirit of God than playing too much in the flesh and missing divine visitations.

Jesus Discusses Spiritual Ascension

The first thing Jesus introduced to his disciples was the invisible world of God at the beginning of his ministry. When Nathanael first came to Jesus, he said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel" (St. John 1:49).

Jesus responded and said, "Most assuredly I say to you, hereafter you shall see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (St. John 1:51).

Jesus used this message to introduce his disciples to the invisible realm of God. He was telling Nathanael that he and other disciples would experience the opening of the Portals of Heaven into the earthly realms and they would witness the glory of God coming down.

Jesus also said to Peter, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" (St. Matthew 16:19).

By this one verse, Jesus described Holy ascension and the purpose of ascension. He told Peter he would give him access to the Portal Gates of Heaven. Peter would then be able to influence the events on earth by bringing Heaven down to the earth, and whatever he would do on earth would also affects the mysteries of Heaven.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus prayed, "May thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" (St. Matthew 6:10).

Again, Jesus was asking his disciples to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as we allow Heaven to impact the things of the earthly realm. However, before we bring Heaven down to the earth, we must first ascend in the realm of God.

Jesus also asked us to pray to God while in Spirit ascension. He said, "God is a Spirit, those who worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth" (St. John 4:24).

Our prayer is more effective when we pray to God while in Spirit ascension. All our prayers should be said while we are in the spirit because we cannot effectively reach God while we are in the flesh. This is one critical key to God answering prayers. Sadly, we tend to say many of our prayers in the flesh, and later wondered why nothing happened. Every believer must have a quiet time daily to spend alone with the Lord in prayer, reading the Word, and in meditation.

Physical Ascension

Just as we can ascend in the spirit while our body remains in the earthly realm, some people have ascended with the physical body as well. Jesus and his disciples ascended into the cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration when God embraced his Son. The Bible said they were taken into the cloud with Jesus, and they came back down (St. Luke 9:33-36). Elijah the prophet was physically taken into Heaven with the chariots of fire. Jesus on the Day of Ascension after resurrection was taken up to Heaven as his disciples watched him. However, physical ascension is not as common today as spiritual ascension till the day of rapture.

On the Day of Pentecost, the Portals of Heavens opened up, and the Spirit of God descended and baptized the disciples and all that were present. This is a critical evidence of Heaven coming down to earth influencing miraculous changes in the earthly realm. The disciples were anointed and were able to speak in different tongues. Similarly, when Moses was on Mount Sinai, God took him into the cleft of a rock and opened a portal before him. God came down, and made an imprint on the face of Moses causing Moses face to glow like the face of the sun. Again, the supernatural realm of God came down making a remarkable alteration in the earthly realm.

Essence of Spiritual Ascension

One of the objectives of spiritual ascension is to enter into the Portals of Heaven, and bring the mystery of God to impact the physical realm on earth. When John was in the Spirit of God, he ascended into Heaven and met with Jesus. While John was in the Spirit, Jesus revealed many mysteries of Heaven and future events to him. He was able to write about the beauty of the Disneyland of Heaven based on these revelations. The Book of Revelation is filled with the events John experienced as he ascended into Heaven while his body was on earth. He uncovered the riddled of the end time as revealed to him by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Similarly, Prophet Isaiah said he had a voice that said, "Who shall we send or who shall go for us? I said, here I am, send me!" (Isaiah 6:8). Here again is another evidence of ascension and the bringing down to earth what was already in the invisible world of God. Like John, prophet Isaiah brought down God’s messages to the earthly realm for the people. Other prophets in the Bible like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, or Daniel, experienced the spiritual ascension entering into the Portals of Heaven, and bringing down messages from God’s invisible world to the earth’s physical realm.

Preparation for Ascension

Spiritual ascension does not take place just because a person is reading the Bible or singing inside the church. From personal experience, it takes a lot of dedication to serve the Lord before the Portal Gates of Heaven open up. Some people may be lucky. As soon as the anointing of the Holy Spirit hits them, the Portal Gates of Heaven are opened before them. I believe any Christian can ascend into a higher spiritual dimension of God. However, entering into higher Heavens, and bringing Heaven down to the earthly realm is reserved for those people, called and assigned to serve in the ministry for the Lord. Every messenger is granted access based on their assignment and the missions placed before them. For most people it takes time and dedication to walk in the Spirit of God before experiencing the presence of God. Consequently, we must prepare for an intimate spiritual encounter with God through our relationship with Christ. Both Psalms 24 and 15 describe the preparation for ascension into the Spirit of God.

"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in his Holy place. He who has a clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3-4).

When God asked Moses to bring the children of Israel to him, he asked Moses to prepare the people before approaching God. God gave Moses specific instructions to prepare the people to meet with him. They were to wash their clothes and for the men to stay away from their wives.

"Be ready for the third day, do not come near your wives" (Exodus 19:15).

The worst thing a person can do before coming to the house of God is to be involved in physical intimacy. It is like rubbing the face of God in the sewer. If you are a pastor and preparing to lead the congregation in Sunday worship, preparation for such should start early on Saturday morning. This will allow time for the fleshly desires to shut down and for the Spirit of God to rise and take control of the human spirit before leading the congregation into a spiritual worship. If the flesh is in control, a pastor should allow somebody else in the Spirit, or his associate, to lead the worship service, otherwise the congregation is at a disadvantage. A preacher roasting in fleshly desire cannot lead the people in a spiritual ascension before God. Similarly, church members coming to worship should start preparing themselves for a spiritual worship latest by Saturday evening. They should wash themselves clean, put on clean clothes, and purify their souls with the word of God. Coming to church service on Sunday while still drunk, after a sexual encounter, or just getting out of the bar on Sunday morning, constitute an act of insult and disobedience to God. This was why St. Paul said that we could not please God in the flesh. Entertaining human fleshly desires while ready for worship service easily leads us away from the Spirit of God. In spite of all these, God can still reach anybody anytime and anywhere.

The critical issue of walking in the Spirit of God and ascending into the Portal Gates of Heaven is based on the spirit that is driving each person. The only spirit that can guide a Christian into the Spirit dimension of God is the Holy Spirit. Human spirit cannot take us into the realm of God because he does not know the way. To enter into the Portals of God, the human spirit must be attached to the Holy Spirit. People involved with all kinds of demonic worship can enter into the spirit realm, but they will never enter the Spirit realm of God. There are human spirit dimension, demonic spirit dimension, perverted human spirit dimension and the Holy Spirit dimension. The Eternal Spirit of God is the only one capable of taking us to the presence of God. People have entered into the human spirit realm and confuse this realm with that of the Holy Spirit. People engaged in Yoga are not entering the Spirit realm of God. They are either entering their own human spirit realm, another person’s spirit realm, or the demonic spirit realm. All these realms in the absence of the Holy Spirit carry enormous danger including the possibility of sudden death. Human spirit in the spirit realm unguarded by the Holy Spirit is in enormous danger. Spirit predators can easily snatch people’s spirit, even while we are asleep. Spirit predators can snatch and turn a vulnerable human spirit into a spirit slave. The Holy Spirit remains the guardian of our soul while we sleep and in the spirit realm.

Once the devil fully possesses a vessel, the person’s soul can still be delivered. Even a believer may be subjected to torture as the person’s spirit is surrounded by demons. The devil can still destroy that physical body, but the person’s soul is rescued and safe with Jesus. When the body dies, the soul comes out of the body. The devil can destroy that body, but Jesus rescues the soul of anybody who has accepted him. Sadly, sometimes, it is better for a person to die for the soul to be rescued instead of a life of continuous torture by the devil. There are stories of people who had to die to come out of the physical body because the devil has completely taken over that physical body. The process of death will then set their souls free. However, a person should not do this on his or her own term. If a person has professed Jesus and for whatever reason the person is constantly being tortured by demons, the Lord is the one who makes the final decision for a believer to come out of the body. When Steven was surrounded by human demons that were persecuting him. Jesus made the decision for Steven to come out of his body. Jesus could have rescued Steven if he wanted to, but for unknown reasons, Jesus led him out of his body. At the moment of death when Steven was coming out of his body, he asked Jesus to receive his soul. The Portal Gates of Heaven opened up and Steven saw Jesus standing in the right hand of God accepting his spirit to Heaven (Acts 7:54-60). Wow!

Danger of Spiritual Ascension

Most people given access to the Portals of Heaven are called to serve the Lord in the ministry. This is a great privilege that should not be abused. God is a very patient God. His patience may sometimes runs out. Consequently, if you keep doing those bad things, he will warn you like a father warns his children. After a period of time, God will resort to chastening of a messenger, and may include bringing you to public shame. The same angel God sent to accompany you on the mission field carries a whipping stick. If you frustrate the angel, God has given him the permission to whip you to submission so you can act right. Sometimes, some preachers receive public flogging by an angel.

"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in all your way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him" (Exodus 23:20-21).

In the worst scenario if you keep acting bad despite the chastening of the angels, God himself can take you home. At such moment your ministry will end on earth and you will be called home to God, so you can stop making a fool of yourself and mockery of the name of God. Watch our preachers!

Opening of Heavenly Portals During Church Services

The critical job of a worship leader is to lead the entire congregation into the presence of God. This is the critical experience many Christians are looking for inside the church. Our inability to attain such a higher level of spiritual ascension has traded theatrical entertainment for a spiritual experience of God during worship. Such experience is very difficult when preachers and church members are focused on the physical materials of prosperity in the earthly realm. The Book of Acts in the New Testament gave us many instances when the Portal Gates of Heaven opened up and miracles happened. It is very vital to watch the events leading to the opening of the Portals of Heaven in response to human activities on earth. On the Day of Pentecost, it was reported that they were all in one accord praying. Their prayers blasted open the Portal Gates of Heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended and baptized all of them (Acts 2: 1-4). On the second Pentecost, the disciples were being persecuted. They raised up their voices to the Lord praying for boldness to preach the word of God. After the prayer, another miracle happened. "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31). Similarly, when Herod seized Peter after killing James the brother of John, he placed him in prison while constant prayers were offered for him to God by the church. While Peter was chained in prison, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and all the chains fell off. The angel led him out of the prison into the street, and departed (Acts 12:1-16). When Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Macedonia, instead of being angry, in the middle of the night they were singing and praying to God. A miracle happened, there was an earthquake, whole place trembled, doors were opened, and the prisoners’ chains were loosed (Acts 16:25-28).

The important factor in all these cases cited was the constant prayers offered during difficult times busting the Portal Gates of Heaven. The prayers go up, the Portal Gates of Heaven open, and miracles come down from Heaven. This formula has been used by many churches in developing countries with the results of supernatural occurrences during worship services. As long as some churches remain in the flesh and worshipping God in the flesh, preaching psychology instead of preaching the Word, their prayers may not rise beyond the ceiling of the building.

As Christians, we should continue to seek the presence of God. We should learn to walk more in the Spirit of God than in the flesh. We should be led by the Holy Spirit to do the will of God. The Lord has given us power to ascend in the Spirit realm and bring the mystery of God in Heaven down to the earthly realm.

By Yinka Vidal, author, Closer Walk With Jesus.