“Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.’” — John 1:51 (NLT)
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Keon Johnson is a shooting guard for the Brooklyn Nets. Currently, he has the highest vertical leap of any active player. His official vertical leap at the 2021 NBA Combine was 48 inches. It’s incredible to watch somebody jump four feet in the air. It almost looks like Keon is walking on air when he goes up for a rebound or dunk — but even Keon couldn’t jump all the way to Heaven.
We’ve seen images of what Heaven might be like through the imaginations of many creators via books, TV shows and movies. In our minds, we can try to look up through the clouds to a peaceful paradise. The Bible tells us about gates of pearl, golden streets and a crystal river. In the Book of Revelation, we see Christ dressed in a white robe and shining brighter than the sun at noon. And we know many angels and believers are up in Heaven with Jesus. Though we know we want to go there some day, many aspects of Heaven are still a mystery to us.
As Jacob traveled one day, he was troubled and afraid. He knew he wronged his brother, Esau, and his mother, Rebekah, sent him away to allow Esau time to cool down from his anger. In the midst of his distress, Jacob stopped along the way to sleep for the night with a rock for a pillow. When he fell asleep, God gave him an interesting and life-changing dream. He saw something he’d never seen. “He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” (Genesis 28:12). The vision startled and amazed him.
At the end of the dream, God assured Jacob of His constant presence with him. “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28:15). When Jacob woke up, he knew God appeared to him and he felt overwhelmed. “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven'” (Genesis 28:16-17).
In the New Testament, Jesus explained this incredible visit Jacob had with God in His encounter with Nathaniel. As Philip invited Nathaniel to meet Jesus, Jesus showed them His divine nature by speaking about what Nathaniel was doing from a distance. “‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’ Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that'” (John 1:48-50). When Jesus made that statement, He was referring to the many events and miracles of His earthly life.
However, the main point He would make to them was that Jacob saw Christ as the long ladder from earth to Heaven in his dream long ago. Since Philip and Nathaniel were very familiar with the Old Testament, Jesus used the Book of Genesis as a platform to frame who He is — Savior of the world — for these men to understand. “Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth'” (John 1:51, NLT).
We should follow Christ’s example and remind people about the dear Savior who sacrificed everything to bring salvation to everyone who believes. He is the only way we’ll ever get to experience Heaven and see all He has in store for us. That is worth sharing about!
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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