Ooh, I really enjoyed this morning’s reading! ^_^ I hope y’all find it just as interesting as I did. Today I realized something really cool. Ironically, I wasn’t reading from Genesis at all; I was reading from 2 Nephi 3 when I started drifting back through old childhood memories.
As a kid, my parents gave me a children’s Bible with watercolor images on every page. And I really loved that book. It was basically a treasure of mine. This book didn’t have the full Bible in it, though, just the “main” stories. A lot of the grosser details were also left out… Basically, it was censored for kids. But I loved it still. XD
Anyway. Reading about Joseph in 2 Nephi, for some reason I thought back to Jacob, grandson of Abraham. Joseph descended from Jacob; maybe that’s what did it. Either way. Do you remember how Jacob had a vision of God and angels, while out in some desert? In that vision, I’ve always wondered why the angels were going up and down a ladder (or stairs, depends who you ask). Now I know why. And it’s an awesome example of premortal life being hinted at in the Bible.
Genesis 28 tells us that Jacob was traveling between Beer-Sheba and Haran when he decided to crash for the night. Poor guy must not have had anything comfortable to sleep on, because he apparently used rocks for pillows. Just got some rocks to prop his head up, and flopped down on the ground to sleep.
Ugh. My neck aches just thinking about it.
Point is, while Jacob was asleep that night, he had a vision. Verse 12 tells us:
“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 on it.” (Genesis 28:12)
At the top of that ladder was God on his throne, and God basically told him what he’d promised to Abraham as well: “In thy seed shall all the Earth be blessed.” He also told him a few other things, like how he’d give that land to Jacob and his children. That part’s pretty straightforward. But even as a kid, I always wondered, why are there angels going up and down the whole time?
When you think about it, it seems like such a random detail. Angels going up and down a ladder. Or stairs, depending who you ask. Either way, they’re going up and down. Why? It doesn’t say anything besides that. Are they running errands? Running laps? Seriously, what are they doing?
The answer finally hit me this morning. Why else would angels go down to Earth and then back up to Heaven? Jacob was seeing us. He was seeing angels come to Earth – i.e., being born as mortals, as human beings – then returning to Heaven again – i.e., returning to God after they die. It’s laying out the preexistence! The entire point of our creation!
Those angels fit into the vision by demonstrating what God was promising Jacob: Many children would come through his bloodline, and they would live on and bless the Earth. Often in the scriptures, angels represent saints, or disciples of God sent on His errands. Everyone starts up in Heaven. We all lived there first. The ladder is how we come to Earth – by being born – and how we return to Heaven – through physical death. That’s why they were going up and down!
This was such a cool revelation for me, I just had to share it. Isn’t that neat? The Bible hints about premortal life here and there, and ties into the Plan of Happiness and all, but those lost doctrines are often hard to detect. There are still clues, though, if you’re watching for them… This is one of them. Jacob’s Vision is one of those clues.
Pretty neat, huh? 😛
Thanks for reading, y’all. Hope you enjoyed reading this! If you did, go ahead and hit that little Like Button just below, so I can know you actually did enjoy it XD Any thoughts of you own to add? I’d love to hear them. Honestly, I’ve always wanted this blog to be something people can exchange ideas and insights on. So, if you have something to add, go ahead and share it! And if you don’t, well, maybe you can share this post with someone who does. 😉 Thanks again, y’all. And don’t forget to keep up your reading! You never know when the scriptures will surprise you…
Your Daily Dose Of Scripture 