A moment the veil grew thin
Jesus, the Open Heaven
Every parting of the veil in Scripture was a signpost, and here they all arrive. Jesus tells Nathanael that he will see heaven opened, and reveals that He Himself is the ladder, the gate, the open heaven where God and man meet.
“And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”John 1:51
What happened
What happened. In John 1, Jesus calls Nathanael, who marvels that Jesus saw him under the fig tree before Philip called him. Nathanael confesses, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answers that he will see greater things than these, and then says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. The words deliberately echo Jacob's dream at Bethel, where angels ascended and descended on the ladder set up to heaven, and Jacob called the place the gate of heaven. Now Jesus takes that image and applies it to Himself. He is the true ladder, the true Bethel, the true gate. Where Jacob saw a stairway in a dream, the disciples will see the reality standing before them in flesh. This word gathers up every open heaven in Scripture, from Bethel to the baptism, from Ezekiel to Patmos, and locates their meaning in one Person, the Son of man, in whom heaven and earth are joined.
What it opened
What it opened. This word opens the great truth toward which all the others were pointing: the meeting of heaven and earth is not a place or an event but a Person. Jacob's ladder, the glory in the temple, the opened heavens of Ezekiel and John, the voice at the Jordan, the ascension, all found their fulfillment here. Jesus declares that the traffic between God and men runs through Him. He is where God comes down and where man is brought up. This is not a rare glimpse granted for a moment and then withdrawn; it is a standing reality for all who are in Him. The purpose of every earlier opening, whether comfort, commission, warning, or worship, is gathered and secured in Christ, who does not merely show us an open heaven but is the open heaven. Because of Him, the access that patriarchs and prophets tasted briefly is now the settled possession of every believer. The veil is not lifted for an instant; in Christ it is torn, and the way stands open for good.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. This is where the whole cluster resolves, for the sign and the substance are one. Jesus is Himself the fulfillment of His word, ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51). He is the ladder Jacob saw, the gate of heaven, the one Mediator between God and men, for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. By His death the deepest opening was made, for we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20). The torn veil of the temple, rent from top to bottom at His death, declared it: the way into the presence of God is open, and it is open through Him. Every earlier glimpse was a promise. Christ crucified, risen, and ascended is the fulfillment, the open heaven who says, I am the way, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
Questions people ask
How is Jesus Himself the open heaven?
In Him, God and man are joined in one Person, so that He is the true meeting place between heaven and earth. He is the ladder of Jacob's dream and the gate of heaven, the one Mediator through whom we come to God. Every parting of the veil in Scripture pointed to Him.
Why does Jesus connect Himself to Jacob's ladder?
His words in John 1:51 deliberately echo Genesis 28, where angels ascended and descended on the ladder to heaven. By applying that image to the Son of man, Jesus reveals that the ladder was always a picture of Him. He is the living way between God and mankind that Jacob only saw in a dream.
What does it mean that we enter through the veil of His flesh?
Hebrews 10:19-20 says that by the blood of Jesus we have boldness to enter the holiest, through the veil, that is His flesh. His death tore open the way to God, as the temple veil was rent at His crucifixion. We now draw near to the Father not through ceremony but through the crucified and risen Christ Himself.