Jacob's Ladder is a ladder to heaven, described in the Book of Genesis, which the biblical patriarch Jacob envisions during his flight from his brother Esau.
Genesis 28:11-16 (King James Version) 11And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
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LoginJewish interpretationsAccording to the Midrash, the ladder signified the exiles which the Jewish people would suffer before the coming of the Messiah
Another interpretation of the ladder keys into the fact that the angels first "ascended" and then "descended."
The ladder therefore signifies the "bridge" between Heaven and earth
Christian interpretationIn the Gospel of John 1:51 there is a clear reference to Jacob's dream (Genesis 28:12) and it points towards Jesus Christ who is called with his title of Son of Man:
"And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
The theme of the ladder to heaven is often used by in the Early Church Fathers: Saint Irenaeus in the 2nd century describes the Christian Church as the ladder of ascent to God[1].
In the 3rd century Origen[2] explains that two are the ladders in the Christian life: (1) the ascetic ladder that the soul climbs on the earth increasing the virtues, and (2) the travel that the soul does after the death, climbing the heavens up to the light of God.
In the 4th century Saint Gregory of Nazianzus[3] speaks of ascending Jacob's Ladder by successive steps towards excellence, interpreting thus the ladder as an ascetic path, while Saint Gregory of Nyssa narrates[4] that Moses climbed on Jacob's Ladder to reach the heavens where he entered the tabernacle not made with hands, thus giving to the Ladder a clear mystical meaning. The ascetic interpretation is found also in Saint John Chrysostom who writes:
"And so mounting as it were by steps, let us get to heaven by a Jacob’s ladder. For the ladder seems to me to signify in a riddle by that vision the gradual ascent by means of virtue, by which it is possible for us to ascend from earth to heaven, not using material steps, but improvement and correction of manners."[5]
The account of Jacob's Ladder as an analogy for the spiritual ascetic of life had a large diffusion through the classical work Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus.
Furthermore, Jesus can be seen as being the ladder in that he bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth. Jesus presents himself as the reality to which the stairway points; Jacob saw in a dream the reunion of Heaven and Earth and Jesus brought this reunion, metaphorically the ladder, into reality. Adam Clarke, an early 19th century Methodist theologian and Bible scholar, elaborates:
"That by the angels of God ascending and descending, is to be understood, that a perpetual intercourse should now be opened between heaven and earth, through the medium of Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh. Our blessed Lord is represented in his mediatorial capacity as the ambassador of God to men; and the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, is a metaphor taken from the custom of dispatching couriers or messengers from the prince to his ambassador in a foreign court, and from the ambassador back to the prince."
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LoginJacob's LadderSummary: The story of Jacob's ladder gives us an example of how Jesus became the mediator between God and man.
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. Genesis 28:12
Jacob must have been really tired. I don't think I could fall asleep on stones for a pillow. What an unusual dream he had! He saw a ladder so tall that it reached to heaven. The angels of heaven went up and down on the ladder. God was at the top of the ladder and He promised Jacob he would give him the land he slept on.
Many people try to find their own way to God. Remember the Tower of Babel? The people thought they could build a way to heaven. These attempts that start on earth all end in failure. Only God can provide a way to heaven.
God sent Jesus, His only Son, to be our way to Him. Jesus became Jacob's ladder, the pathway to God. Jesus said in John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. The only way to heaven is by faith in Jesus. He is the ladder that comes down from heaven to mankind and gives us a path to God.
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