Genesis 28:12-17 tells of a remarkable experience that Jacob had, which is also relevant to us today:

 

     And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth

     with its top reaching to heaven; and behold,

     the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
 

     And behold, the LORD stood above it and said,

     "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac;

     the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.
 

     Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth,

     and you shall spread out to the west and to the east

     and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants

     shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
 

     And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go,

     and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you

     until I have done what I have promised you."
 

     Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,

     "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

     And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place!

     This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

 

 

The first point that we should observe here is that to Jacob the dream was real. Dreams can be a window into the heavenly realm. For this reason dreams have been one of the primary ways the Lord has spoken to His people from the beginning. In Acts 2, we see it will continue to be one of the primary ways that He speaks to us at the end. It is becoming increasingly crucial as we proceed toward the end of this age that we understand dreams, be ableto discern those that are from the Lord from those that are not, and be able to interpret them.

 

The second point is that Jacob saw a gate into heaven, and when he saw into heaven he was given a revelation of his purpose on earth. The purpose of all true prophetic revelations is so His kingdom will come to earth, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. True prophetic revelation will always be practical.

 

The third point is that the word translated "angel" in the text above is the Hebrew word mal'ak (mal-awk'), which Strong's defines as: "from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher): KJV—ambassador, angel, king, messenger." The point is the messengers that are to ascend and descend upon this ladder are not just angelic beings, but God's messengers, which we are called to be.

 

The fourth point is that the messengers of God are called to ascend and descend upon this ladder. A primary purpose of prophetic revelation is to call the church to rise above the earth and to dwell in the heavenly realm now. Just as the revelation to Jacob spoke of the land he was lying on, the purpose of our entering into the heavenly realm is to bring the blessings and benefits of that realm to earth.

 

For the next point we need to read John 1:49-51:

 

     Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God;

     You are the King of Israel."
 

     Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you

     that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?

     You shall see greater things than these."

     And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened,

     and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

 

 

Here we see that Jesus is Jacob's ladder. The rungs on the ladder are the progressive revelations of Jesus. When we come to know Him as our Savior we take a step. When we come to know Him as our Lord we take another. When we come to know Him as the Lord above all lords we go higher. When we see Him as the One through whom and for whom all things were made, we take another step, etc.

 

The purpose of our study is to see our step-by-step progression to spiritual maturity. Understanding Jacob's ladder is the center-piece of our study, and our calling. It is the calling of every Christian to be a messenger of God, to continually enter into the heavenly realm—where we get our message or blessing for the earth. We do this by increasing our knowledge and understanding of Jesus, who He is and where He now sits—above all rule, authority, and power.

 

We must become more than comfortable in the heavenly realm; it must be our home—where we are more at home there than we are on this earth. I saw a sign by a church that said, "We are just a waiting room for heaven." That is not what we are called to be. We are called to be a gateway to heaven through which people can enter into and begin to experience heaven now! Every time we ascend we will descend with a blessing for the earth. The blessing we come back with is a piece of heaven—evidence of its existence.

 

In this way, we should be turning every place where we are called—our churches, jobs, and homes, even the places where we shop into an outpost of heaven. The way we do this is the Way, Jesus. Even heaven would not be heaven without Him. The Lord is what makes it heaven. As we ascend by the progressive revelation of who He is, we will see more glory, and we will carry that glory with us. This is the call of Revelation 4:1-2:

 

     After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven,

     and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet

     speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you

     what must take place after these things." Immediately I was in the Spirit;

     and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.

 

 

That same door is open for you right now. The Lord is calling us to come up to where He sits. Just as there seems to be no limit to the expanding universe that we can see, neither is there a limit to the one we can only see with the eyes of our hearts. He has not limited how far we can go, even to sitting with Him on His throne. What could we possibly have better to do?

 

You can find additional Scriptures regarding this teaching in Ephesians 1:18-23 and 2:4-7.