If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; II Chronicles 7:13
We should note that if the Bible teaches that the heavens can be opened, it means they can also be closed. Does the Bible mention closed heavens? And when the heavens are closed, what are the conditions among men that caused this?
There are many scriptures in the Bible that speak of the heavens being closed as; a “covering” over the nations is mentioned in Isaiah 25:7. Ezekiel 32:7-8 says the Lord sometimes darkens the heavens over the land, Isaiah 59:2 says the Lord will hide His face from us, and lastly in 2 Chronicles 7:13, God says, “When I shut up the heavens that there be no rain command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people.”
The scriptures show the God, in fact, sometimes does close the heavens; and when He does, evil floods into the land. Darkness thrives. The devil then comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
Are We Experiencing Open or Closed Heavens?
I. The Consequences of Closed Heavens
• No rain: Israel was an agricultural society and the depended upon the rain to harvest their crops. Without the rain there was an economic downturn. Are we experiencing an economic collapse?
• An Upheaval of nature: Are we, today, experiencing floods, hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes?
• Darkness Flooding the land: Do we see violence increasing and the corruption of moral and family values? What about the flood of pornography from the internet and our children’s purity and faith being eaten away by the world system?
• What about the impotence of the church: Are we experiencing a poor harvest among the work of God, starvation for God’s presence, the inundation of wickedness in the church? Is the church seen by the world as irrelevant by the world and therefore God is being pushed out of virtually every segment of society?
If we are experiencing these things, men and brethren what must we do?
We should note that if the Bible teaches that the heavens can be opened, it means they can also be closed. Does the Bible mention closed heavens? And when the heavens are closed, what are the conditions among men that caused this?
There are many scriptures in the Bible that speak of the heavens being closed as; a “covering” over the nations is mentioned in Isaiah 25:7. Ezekiel 32:7-8 says the Lord sometimes darkens the heavens over the land, Isaiah 59:2 says the Lord will hide His face from us, and lastly in 2 Chronicles 7:13, God says, “When I shut up the heavens that there be no rain command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people.”
The scriptures show the God, in fact, sometimes does close the heavens; and when He does, evil floods into the land. Darkness thrives. The devil then comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
Are We Experiencing Open or Closed Heavens?
I. The Consequences of Closed Heavens
• No rain: Israel was an agricultural society and the depended upon the rain to harvest their crops. Without the rain there was an economic downturn. Are we experiencing an economic collapse?
• An Upheaval of nature: Are we, today, experiencing floods, hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes?
• Darkness Flooding the land: Do we see violence increasing and the corruption of moral and family values? What about the flood of pornography from the internet and our children’s purity and faith being eaten away by the world system?
• What about the impotence of the church: Are we experiencing a poor harvest among the work of God, starvation for God’s presence, the inundation of wickedness in the church? Is the church seen by the world as irrelevant by the world and therefore God is being pushed out of virtually every segment of society?
If we are experiencing these things, men and brethren what must we do?
