Luke 1:5-25 – A PRIEST & DESCENDING ANGELS

Providence Community Church

Genesis 28:12 “...behold there was a ladder set up on the earth, & the top of it reached to heaven, and behold angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” Throughout Old Covenant history there are events from time to time which correspond with Jacob's prophetic dream – glimpses of Heaven's ladder escorting angels to further the purposes of God as redemptive history unfolds. However, none of these instances remotely approach the miraculous events in the era of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of Jacob's dream. Jesus Himself announces to His disciple Nathaniel in John 1:51 “...Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Jesus proclaims His incarnation as the ladder itself. Through Him the promise of reconciliation with God would be realized. True to Jesus' words, glorious revelatory and angelic activity signal heaven's staircase touching ground throughout his ministry as His disciples witness miracle after miracle. The heavens open with the voice of the Father and the descending Holy Spirit followed by ministering angels attending the Messiah at His baptism and probation. The heavens open to reveal His glory and His departure to the cross on the mount of transfiguration even as angels announce He is risen from the tomb days later confirming His death & resurrection. Finally the heavens open to receive the victorious Son of Man as angels assure Nathaniel and his fellow disciples that Jesus will return just as He ascended. Yet even before any of these events, angels were descending Jacob's ladder from the earliest moments of the Gospels, occasioned by the incarnation countdown and announcement as history's red carpet is unfurled for the coming of the 2nd person of the Trinity in Bethlehem's manger...