An
Open Heaven/Part Three
The
“Red Letter” Words of Jesus
Day
Thirteen
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)
Did you hear about the
guy who fell off a cliff but managed to grab hold of a branch jutting out of
the cliff’s side? Hanging there he cried out to the Lord, “Please help me,
God!” In response to his plea, the Lord replied, “Let go of the branch. Trust Me
to catch you.” The guy thought for a moment and then replied, “Is anyone else
up there?”
If the Lord said He’d catch
him, then that’s exactly what the Lord would do. Too bad the man couldn’t see
with his spiritual eyes. He’d have seen angels doing God’s bidding working on
his behalf.
Jacob saw this spiritual
realm in a vision (see Genesis 28). The experience overwhelmed him. “How
awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven!” Jacob’s reaction in Genesis 28:17 showed his excitement because
the vision revealed the one true God.
Jesus, in John 1:51,
revealed the same true God…Himself. Declaring an open heaven with angels of God
ascending and descending upon Him, He was saying, “I am the house of God. I am
the gate of heaven.” What a bold statement He made.
On numerous occasions,
Jesus enraged the Jewish religious leaders of His time with His declarations of deity. He began with John 1:51 and continued to reveal Himself throughout the
Gospel of John. Every time He said “I Am,” He declared Himself to be God. (It
all goes back to Exodus, chapter three, but we’ll leave that for future devotions.)
Every time he healed, raised folks from the dead, forgave sin…it was a clear
indication of Who He was…
…And is. Even now heaven is open to us as a result of Jesus' death and resurrection. We can freely approach His throne of grace with confidence (see Hebrews 4:13). We can experience His miracles, healing, forgiveness, deliverance, compassion and grace as we walk intimately with Him.
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