An Open Heaven/Part Two
The “Red Letter” Words of Jesus
Day Twelve
And
He said to him, “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.”
John 1:51 (NKJV)
In
the last devotion, I referenced Genesis 28:10-22 where in a dream Jacob saw
angels ascending and descending from heaven on a ladder. Some translations
reference it as a staircase.
During
this time in Mesopotamia, *ziggurats, tall towers with terraced steps, were part
of the polytheism culture (the worship of more than one god). Ziggurats were
built because people believed their gods existed in the sky and they desired to
get closer to them. Temples were built on top of the towers to honor the gods.
They would even name them. **The ziggurat at Eridu was called “Eunir” meaning
“House Temple-Tower.” At Nippur it was called “Eduranki”, meaning “House Binding
Heaven and Earth.”
The
ziggurats could have influenced Jacob’s ladder dream. One of the important
factors in these verses, though, was Who stood at the top of the ladder. It was
the Lord Himself.
He
declared He was the one true God. “I am the Lord God of Abraham your
father and the God of Isaac…” (See Genesis 28:13.) Jacob, moved by his
encounter with God, renamed the place Bethel. “How awesome is this place! This
is none other than the house of God (Bethel), and this is the gate of
heaven!” (See Genesis 28:17; italics mine.) He clearly understood the
implication. His ancestors worshiped the one true God and, in a dream, this
same God called Jacob to be the father of a particular people.
In
Genesis 28, the Lord stood at the top of the ladder while the angels fulfilled His
purposes and plans between heaven and earth. In John 1:51, Jesus said angels would ascend
and descend…where? Upon the Son of Man. Do you understand the “I am the
Lord God” of the Old Testament is the reincarnated “Son of Man” of the New
Testament?
Powerful truth,
for sure. Next, we'll learn how through Jesus, the Lord God of the O.T. and N.T, we have access to the open heaven of Genesis 28 and John 1:51.
https://biblesutdytools.com/bible-stories/jacob-s-ladder-bible-story.html
*https://www.google.com/search?q=ziggurat (from Oxford)
https://.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/stariway-heaven-story-jacobs-ladder-006173
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