NOTES for Joh 1:51

These words, spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ to Nathanael, mean that "from now on," from the moment of Christ's coming into the world, a radical change is taking place in the universe. The fall of man led to the fact that heaven became closed to us, that between the world above and the world below there is an abyss. In Jacob's vision (Gen. 28:12) this abyss is spanned by a mysterious ladder on which angels can ascend and descend, but this is in a dream; in waking reality there is no ladder, and the appearance of angels in this world is an exceptional event. Traditionally Christians considered Jacob's ladder a symbol, a type of the most pure Virgin, through whom Christ passes.

Here, however, the Lord Jesus says that this ladder has become reality. Heaven is opened, and the manifestation of God's will and power in the earthly world becomes the norm. This "ladder," this "bridge" joining God and His creation, is Christ Himself, the God-man. He is the Son of God who descended from heaven, and He is also the Son of Man who ascends to the Father. And when His ascent, the Ascension, is accomplished, the two-way movement between Heaven and Earth will be opened, and the Holy Spirit will descend at Pentecost upon the apostles into this world as into His own possession. The vision of the open heaven is truly given to people. John the Baptist sees it during the Baptism of the Lord; three apostles see it during the Transfiguration; the protodeacon Stephen sees it before his execution; the apostle Paul sees it during prayer; the apostle John the Theologian sees it in Revelation; and many other saints see it. It may be possible for us too, but more important is what the Lord Jesus also says: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."