Edwin Posted January 16, 2014 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 35 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 147 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 28 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/02/2014 Status: Offline Share Posted January 16, 2014 My thoughts on Jacob's ladder are as follows Jacob dreamed of a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Jesus explains it this way, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you all, you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man!" John 1:51, were addressed to Nathanael, as can be seen from my comments on this passage of Scripture below. Subject: The rapid conversion of Nathanael. Jhn 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."Jhn 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."Jhn 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"Jhn 1:48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."Jhn 1:49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"Jhn 1:50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these."Jhn 1:51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter[fn9] you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." This is the only time that Jesus ever referred to anyone as an, "Israelite", or used the word, "deceit", translated, "guile", in the King James Bible. The expression, "under the fig tree", is an Hebraic euphemism for, "out door Bible study", or "out door teaching", as the fig tree has the largest leaves of any tree in that part of the world, and, therefore, under it's leaves was the best place to be for contemplation/meditation of Scripture, if you wished to do so out doors, and at the same time be protected from the sun which can be very hot at certain times of the day in Israel. It is clear that this is where Nathanael was at the time when Philip called him, and that he had been thinking about Jacob who's name means, deceitful 4, deceitfully 3, deceit 2, slothful 2, false 1, guile 1, idle 1, slack 1, but as we know this man had his name changed, see. Gen 32:28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel;[fn2] for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." Footnote: 32:28 Literally Prince with God Nathanael was undoubtedly impressed by Jesus words, when He said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!", he would no doubt ask himself, "does this man really know that when Philip called me, I was thinking about Jacob?", and, therefore, he asks, "How do You know me?", to which Jesus replies, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Is it any wonder that Nathanael then said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jhn 1:50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these."Jhn 1:51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, [fn] you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." ESV Footnotes: (1:51) The Greek for you is plural; twice in this verse Our Lords words in verses 50 - 51, are in fact saying, "Not only do I know that you were thinking about Jacob, but I actually know exactly which passage of Scripture it was you had in mind.. The passage of Scripture that we now know today as Genesis Ch 28. Every blessing. Edwin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted January 16, 2014 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.76 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.97 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Interesting. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts