Heaven Open and Angels Ascending and Descending - John 1:51

John the apostle wrote how “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael said unto him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto you, I saw you under the fig tree, you believe? you shall see greater things than these”, and in chapter one and verse fifty-one of his book, John shared how Jesus told Nathanael, “Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” where we read:

And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

The verse reads, “And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ...” John began with the words, “and he said unto him” which means “and Jesus uttered, declared and proclaimed to Nathanael”, “Verily, verily” which means “truly, truly or surely, surely”, “I say unto you” or “I, Jesus, utter, declare and proclaim to you, Nathanael” the following words. John shared how Jesus began to affirm to “Nathanael” with certainty the following words.

The verse continues, “... Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” John added the words, “Hereafter you shall see” which means “just now, at this very time and from this moment you, Nathanael, will perceive, notice and discover” “heaven open” or “the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings opened up”, “and the angels of God” which refers to “the messengers and envoys of the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “ascending” or “going, rising and mounting up” “and descending” which means “and coming down” “upon the Son of man” or “on God's Son Jesus”. John shared how Jesus told Nathanael he would “observe” “heaven” exposed where “God's angels” would be “rising up and coming down” upon Him.

When we consider John's words in this verse, we should remember a story from the Old Testament in the book of Genesis where Jacob fell asleep on a stone and saw “angels ascending and descending” upon a ladder. (See Genesis 28:12 ) This ladder was the bridge between “heaven and earth” and becomes a type of Jesus Christ who is the “bridge” between God and man. Jesus Christ came into the world to save people from the penalty for sins which is death (See Romans 6:23), and anyone who believes and trusts in Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” will be forgiven of their sins and inherit everlasting life with God. Those who are wise will “observe” “heaven open” and the “angels” of God “ascending and descending” upon Jesus who is mankind's only true “bridge” to Almighty God.

Next time we begin a new chapter where John wrote about, “a marriage in Cana of Galilee”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".