As we have covered, there is a principle of biblical interpretation called “the principle of first mention.” This principle (not law) states that wherever something is mentioned the first time in Scripture, there is usually a basic revelation of its purpose. For example, the first time the word “prophet” is mentioned, it is in the same verse where the word “pray” is used. This indicates how prayer and the prophetic are linked.
The first time Scripture mentions that God has a house is in Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28. In this dream, Jacob saw ladders reaching into heaven, and the messengers of God were ascending and descending upon them. After seeing this, Jacob woke up and declared that this was “none other than the house of God.” This reveals that a basic purpose of God’s house is to be a place of access to heaven.
The ladders in this dream are also significant. When the Lord met Nathanael (see John 1:48-51), this man was so impressed that Jesus knew him that he declared Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus replied that Nathanael would see the messengers of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, indicating that He, Jesus, is “Jacob’s ladder.” It is upon Jesus that we ascend to heaven and descend with evidence of heaven—the miracles that show heaven is real and has authority over any condition on the earth.
The rungs of the Ladder are the ascending revelations of who Jesus is to us. The first is seeing Him as Savior. The next step is seeing Him as Lord. Another is seeing Him as the Alpha and Omega—the One through Whom all things were made and in Whom all things will be summed up. These rungs are so many and so great that the knowledge of Who Jesus is reaches into the heavens.
If a church is truly God’s house, it is one of the most awesome places in the whole universe. Is He present there so that we encounter Him? Do we have access to heaven there and see God’s messengers ascending and descending upon Him? There are other important elements of God’s house, but this one is first. If we obey the exhortation to seek His kingdom first, that will be what we see first—the domain where He reigns.
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts.” The word “gifts” is italicized in English Bibles because that word is not found in the original manuscripts. Literally, this verse should read, “Pursue love, yet earnestly desire the spiritual.” Pursuing spiritual gifts is one way that we do this, but we receive the gifts through the Holy Spirit and by entering the spiritual realm, which Jesus also called “the kingdom of heaven” and “the kingdom of God.” Jesus is the Door and the Ladder by which we access the kingdom.
When we are born again, our eyes are opened so that we can see His kingdom, but not all who are born again keep this vision. When we are born again, we are each born as a “new creation,” or literally a “new species.” We are no longer just physical beings, but we are now also spirit and able to grow in our spiritual natures until we are more at home in the spiritual realm than the natural. Is this true for us, or have we been beguiled by the simplicity of devotion to Christ and started growing more in our natural knowledge and abilities than the spiritual?
It is good that we grow in our natural abilities, too, as they are also given to us by God, but our devotion to them should never eclipse our devotion to the spiritual. If we are growing in our knowledge of the Lord Himself, climbing the Ladder that is Him into the heavenly realm, we have access to the power and authority of the kingdom of heaven, to which no natural gifts can compare. As we do this, we can bring heaven—God’s realm where He now rules—to the earth so His will can be done here just as it is in heaven.
As our eyes adjust to the spiritual, we will begin to see the Lord and His will more until we see Him in everything. We will see His will more for ourselves, in other people, and in congregations, ministries, cities, and nations. As we see Him and proclaim Him, He is revealed. This is why one prophetic word can change us more than many years of teaching. Just as He spoke and the creation came forth, He speaks now through His messengers, and the “new creation” comes forth.
© 2026 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
