The Stairway to Heaven

UV 3476/10000 The Stairway to Heaven
He dreamed that there was a ladder (stairway) placed on the earth, and the top of it reached (out of sight) toward heaven; and (he saw) the angels of God ascending and descending on it ( going to and from heaven).
Genesis 28 v 12

The compassion of God overlooked the flaws and cunning of Jacob and favoured him with a heavenly vision. In all our ups and downs, the Lord sends His angels to help us. Whether we are ascending the ladder of success or descending, His presence is with us. Jacob was fleeing from his incensed brother Esau who plotted to kill him after their father Jacob’s imminent death. The Lord chooses that moment to encourage him with a dream. The angels ascending are carrying our petitions, prayers, praise to the Lord even as the angels descending are carrying the answers, the blessings of the Lord. Jacob had left home. He was travelling through the wilderness. His doting mother was no longer with him. He was alone and through the dream, the Lord conveyed to him that he was not alone. Indeed, we are never alone as long as we hold onto our faith. The Lord God was above Jacob and around him. Likewise, the Lord is above our situations in life and He surrounds us in 360 degrees. The perspective the Lord has of Jacob, and indeed of our lives, is total, complete not partial or fractured. The Lord’s eye view is far better than a bird’s eye view.

Jacob had an uneasy conscience having duped his brother and his father. Yet, he could fall asleep even on the hard pillow of a stone, under the starry sky. The prophet Daniel also speaks of the vision of the Servant Leader, the Son of Man coming on the clouds. He has supreme authority for He manifested supreme love. Here is one instance, where absolute authority or power does not corrupt. Jesus Himself spoke to Nathaniel and prophesied that he would see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. The vision was a sign that Jacob like his grandfather Abraham was also anointed as a prophet.

Jacob in addition to the Messianic vision, also received the promises of the Lord that he would receive the land on which he was lying as his inheritance, that his descendants would be countless and that they would spread in all directions, that the families of the whole earth would be blessed through him, that he would be watched over and guarded by the Lord, that He would not leave him, that he would be brought back to this land. Jacob on waking up realized that the presence of the Lord was strong in that place and he re-named the place as Bethel or the House of God. He raised a stone pillar at that place as a monument to the vision. He also vowed to tithe whatever he earned or received as a sign of his gratitude and dependence on Jehovah. Like Jacob, we should cherish and honour the vision we receive from the Lord. The Servant Leader, Jesus lay down His life as a bridge between God and man, a stairway to heaven. As Jacob consecrated a stone, we should consecrate our hearts and minds as Bethel, the house or place where God resides. Our hearts and homes are the very gateway to heaven. It will give people an insight into what heaven is like, who God is like and what the Servant Leader has done for all humanity.