Open Heavens

Have you ever had a Jacob’s ladder moment when heaven opened up above you?

In Genesis 28, Jacob fell asleep, and in his dream-like state, he saw what he could not see during his distracted waking hours. He saw angels ascending and descending on a giant stairway that stretched between heaven and earth. Then, as if a vision of angels was not awesome enough, he actually saw the Lord Himself, calling out to Jacob and promising to bless his life.

When Jacob awoke from his dream-filled sleep he exclaimed, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

God wants that house to be your house too. That was not a one-time, for-Jacob-only Bible story—it was a picture of God’s intentions for you.

He wants you to increasingly live under an open heaven in 2020.

Jesus, modeling God’s heart and intention for us, began and ended His ministry under open heavens (see His baptism and ascension in Luke 3:21; 24:51). And at the apex of His ministry, after His work on the cross was completed, God Himself reached down from Jacob’s ladder and ripped apart the Temple veil that separated people from God’s presence (Matthew 27:51).

The message of the Gospel is that heaven wants to draw near, and the bridge that brings it near is Jesus. Jesus said that explicitly when He invited Nathanael to be His follower. He told Nathanael, “You will see heaven open, and the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51).

Jesus’ invitation to Nathanael is extended to you and me too. He wants us to pitch the tent of our life at the base of Jacob’s ladder where everything changes and where heaven draws near.