This is the gate of Heaven
(Genesis 28:17)!
The
second letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
Beth
(b) means house,
dwelling
place.
The
house symbolizes the creation and our body (2. Cor. 5:1). Jacob
called the place where God revealed himself Bethel,
House of God. Our body shall be the house of God. The Hebrew word for
Heart, Leb
means the authority of the house. Beth is also a symbol for the Son
of God, the Word (Logos) who became flesh and dwelt
among uns (John 1:14). The
word (Logos) of Christ shall dwell
richly in us and we shall make music for him in
our hearts
(Col. 3:16). Psalm,
in greek psalmos, comes from the word psallo. Psallo means to make
music on the strings of a harp. The harp on the picture symbolizes
our heart, the center of our being, which was created to praise God.
Aleph
(a) stands for the beginning, for eternity, for God, his strength and
rulership. After he had created everything God gave the eternity in
our hearts
(Ecc. 3:11). This is the alphabet (in Greek) or alephbet (in Hebrew).
When
Jacob was with his family on his way back to home, there he met
angels of God. And
when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's
host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim,
that
means two
hosts, double host
(Genesis
32:2-3). The
host of God joined the host of Jacob to protect him when he met
his brother Esau. Before the conquest of Jericho the prince/captain
of the host of the Lord (Sar Tseva Adonai) appeared to Joshua
(Josh. 5:13-15). The Hebrew pictographic meaning of Prince, Sar, is
warrior. This was the Prince/Warrior of Peace
(Sar Shalom), who fought for peace between Jacob and Esau with his
angelic hosts. Jesus
denoted himself as the prince/captain of the host of God when he
said: Do
you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my
disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew
26:53) Shofars
were used at the battle for Jericho and the Hebrew word picture of
shofar
means the
mouth of the prince/warrior.
The
army of the Lord is a heavenly force which battles for Israel (2.
Kings 6: 16-17, Judges 5:20). Jacob
saw in Bethel a ladder between Heaven and Earth and angels were
ascending and descending on it. The
ladder is a picture for Jesus. Jesus said: Hereafter
ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51). Angels
are ministering spirits, sent
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Hebrews
1:14).
In
the Song of Songs we can read about the Shulamite, a picture of
the Bride of Christ, who dances the dance
of Mahanaim,
the
dance of the two hosts
(SOS 7:1). This
is a prophecy of
the awesome glory
of the two hosts,
two armies
of God united in one purpose. The Dance of Mahanaim
is the coming together of the Armies of God in Heaven and the Armies
of God on Earth, moving
in unison—two
armies with one purpose and divine
mission
– to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus is the Lord
of Hosts,
the Lord of Armies!
Angels are about to be released en
masse
to restore, to protect, to heal, to guard God’s purposes and to
minister to the saints, however the Armies of Heaven are also sent to
war, to defeat the enemies of God. 
Mahanaim
was a levitical
city
on the tribal area of Gad.
The Levites served the Lord as priests. Gad was the seventh son of
Jacob. The name Gad means fortune. Jacob prophesized about Gad: Gad
will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at
their heels (Gen.
49:19).
When
we dance for the glory of the Lord then we are joining ourselves to
the heavenly hosts, who battle against the demons, the enemies of
God. Then
we find ourselves in Mahanaim, the double host in the land of
fortune. This
is a land which will be continually attacked by raiders. Jesus
said: All
who have come before me are thieves and robbers. (…) The thief
comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may
have life, and have it to the full (John 10:8 and 10).
The
enemy deprived the church of dance for centuries, because he knows
that dance is a powerful weapon. Because of this the devil wants to
keep dance in his toolbox, as we can see it on demonic dances in
pagan rites.
He
wants to let dance be hidden In our toolbox. Because of this we
experience much resistance against praise dance. Moses
compared Gad to a lioness (Deu. 33). As
the Israelites captured the land of Canaan the tribe of Gad went
ahead of the people. Gad carried out the Lord‘s righteous will.
Because
of this Gad received the land which was conquered first and took his
inheritance in possession as the first. Through
dancing for God we honour him as priests like the Levites and we
battle like Gad, expel the raiders and take our inheritance in Christ
in possession; we
are in Mahanaim, the double host of the earthly and heavenly armies
in the land of fortune.
