Let’s move from ladders and houses to gates, which are also mentioned in Genesis 28 and relate to our calling as the House of God. You will recall that Jacob said:

“This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” (Gen. 28:17).

Let’s clarify from the outset that when we speak of gates, we are not referring to a new way to salvation. Jesus referred to Himself elsewhere in the Gospels as the gate (see John 10:9). He is the only gate to salvation, there is no other way. But in this context and elsewhere in the Bible, “gate” seems to signify a place of transition and access.

In nature, you can pass through a gate to go from your front yard to the sidewalk or from your backyard to your driveway. Similarly, when we talk about the Church as the gate of heaven, we are referring to the place where the reality of His reign becomes accessible to all humanity, where His world invades ours! Jesus spoke of gates in Matthew 16:18–19:

“… on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The Church is the gate of heaven (another way of saying the House of God). Now, Jesus introduced the concept of the gate of hell. When I was younger, I somehow misread this and thought it meant that “the gates of heaven will prevail against the assault of the enemy.” That better suited my theology at the time.

I saw the Church as a group of people locked inside a fortress, with their shoulders against the gate, trying to hold the fort while the devil and his mighty minions pounded against it. I saw the Church in a posture of fear and weakness, trying to protect what we had until God rushed in to save us from the big bad devil.

But Jesus gave us the opposite picture. He said, “The gates of hell will not prevail.” Has it ever occurred to you that we are on the attack, not on the defense? The principalities and powers that establish dominions or “gates” over the earth will not prevail against us! We are advancing and winning, and Jesus promises that in the end, no gate of hell will stand. Wow!

So, where exactly are the gates of hell? Where is the devil seated in power? You will recall our discussion on the renewal of the mind, which I called the mind the gatekeeper of the Kingdom of God. It is the place of access, transition, and power. It follows that the gates of hell are erected in the minds of people. Jesus made this clear:

“From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’” (Matthew 16:21–23).

He didn’t say, “Peter, worshiper of the devil!” He didn’t say, “You are filled with all kinds of occult practices and deceit.” He said, “Your mind is filled with the things of men.” One key thing to remember is that the devil is empowered by human agreement! This mental posture was a gate through which Satan was released to bring destruction. Saying, “I’m only human,” is like saying, “I’m only satanic.”

“Humanity without Christ at the center is satanic in nature. Once you’ve received the Spirit of God, you lose the privilege of saying, ‘I’m just human.’ You are much more than that! In fact, Paul rebukes the church in Corinth for behaving like mere men.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 confirms the location of the gate of hell when it says, “… bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

The gate of hell is in our minds whenever we agree with the enemy. I empower him every time I agree with a man-centered perspective or natural wisdom that does not know God. I strengthen demonic forces and become a gate to release his power to kill, steal, and destroy in my life. It’s frightening, but the Bible indicates it’s a fact…

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind” written by Bill Johnson.

We invite you to read the next article, “IN SEARCH OF REVELATION”.