Editing Jacob's Ladder (section)

==Christianity==
[[File:Blake jacobsladder.jpg|thumb|upright|''Jacob's Dream'' by [[William Blake]] ({{Circa|1805}}, [[British Museum]], London)<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/object.xq?objectid=but438.1.wc.01&vg=biblicalwc&vcontext=biblicalwc&landing=object&titles=short&java=no&mode=vcopy| title =Jacob's Dream, object 1 (Butlin 438) "Jacob's Dream"| editor-first1= Morris | editor-last1= Eaves| editor-first2=  Robert N. | editor-last2= Essick| editor-first3= Joseph | editor-last3= Viscomi| access-date = September 25, 2013|publisher = [[William Blake Archive]]}}</ref>]]
[[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]] said in [[John 1:51]], "And he saith unto him, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see [[Heaven in Christianity|Heaven]] open, and the [[Christian angelology|angels]] of [[God in Christianity|God]] ascending and descending upon the [[Son of man (Christianity)|Son of man]].'" This statement has been interpreted as associating Jesus with the ladder in that Jesus bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth. Jesus presents himself as the direction to which the ladder points. As Jacob saw the reunion of Heaven and Earth in a dream, Jesus brought this reunion—metaphorically the ladder—into reality. [[Adam Clarke]], an early 19th-century [[Methodism|Methodist]] theologian and Bible scholar, elaborates:

{{Quote|That by the angels of God ascending and descending, is to be understood, that a perpetual intercourse should now be opened between heaven and earth, through the medium of Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh. Our blessed Lord is represented in his mediatorial capacity as the ambassador of God to men; and the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, is a metaphor taken from the custom of dispatching couriers or messengers from the prince to his ambassador in a foreign court, and from the ambassador back to the prince.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clarke|first=Adam|title=The holy Bible, from the authorized tr., with a comm. and critical notes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I6kGAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PT494| year=1817}}</ref>}}

The theme of a ladder to Heaven is often used by the [[Church Fathers]]. [[Irenaeus]], in the second century, describes the [[Christian Church]] as the "ladder of ascent to God".<ref>Irenaeus, ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Adversus haereses]]'', III,24,1</ref>

In the third century, [[Origen]]<ref>Origen, ''Homily n. 27 on Numbers'', about Numbers 33:1–2</ref> explains that there are two ladders in the life of a [[Christians|Christian]]: the [[Asceticism|ascetic]] ladder that the [[Soul#Christianity|soul]] climbs on Earth, by way of—and resulting in—an increase in virtue, and the soul's travel after death, climbing up the heavens toward the light of God.

In the fourth century, [[Gregory of Nazianzus]]<ref>Gregory of Nazianzus, ''Homily n. 43 (Funeral Oration on the Great S. Basil)'', 71</ref> wrote of ascending Jacob's ladder by successive steps toward excellence, interpreting the ladder as an ascetic path. At the same time, [[Gregory of Nyssa]] narrated<ref>Gregory of Nyssa, ''Life of Moses'', pp. 224–227</ref> that [[Moses]] climbed l Jacob's ladder to reach the heavens, where he entered a remade [[tabernacle]]; thus giving the ladder an apparent [[Mysticism|mystical]] meaning. The ascetic interpretation is found also in [[John Chrysostom]], who wrote:

{{Quote|And so mounting as it were by steps, let us get to heaven by a Jacob's ladder. For the ladder seems to me to signify in a riddle by that vision the gradual ascent by means of virtue, by which it is possible for us to ascend from earth to heaven, not using material steps, but improvement and correction of manners.<ref>{{cite book| first= John |last= Chrysostom| title= The Homilies on the Gospel of St. John| chapter= n. 83,5| url= http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lxxxv.html| via= CCEL.org}}</ref>}}

[[File:Himnastigi.jpg|thumb|upright=0.20|The angels climb Jacob's Ladder on the west front of [[Bath Abbey]].]]
Jacob's ladder as an [[analogy]] for a spiritually ascetic life enjoyed wide influence thanks to the classical work ''[[The Ladder of Divine Ascent]]'' by [[John Climacus]]. As such, the [[Carthusians|Carthusian]] monk [[Guigo II]] used it as inspiration for his description of the steps of the ''[[Lectio Divina]]'', and the contemporary philosopher [[Peter Kreeft]] used it in his [[Christian apologetics|apologetics]].<ref name="Higgins">{{cite book |last1=Higgins |first1=Gregory C. |title=A Revitalization of Images: Theology and Human Creativity |date=5 March 2019 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-4982-2450-5 |pages=58–77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guaPDwAAQBAJ |access-date=7 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

Jacob's ladder is depicted on the facade of [[Bath Abbey]] in England, with angels climbing up and down ladders on either side of the main window on the west front.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:JacobsLaddertoHeaven.jpg|Jacob's Ladder, {{Circa|1925}}, illustration in an American book of Bible stories for children
File:ACU Jacobs Dream artwork.JPG|''Jacob's Dream'' artwork on the campus of [[Abilene Christian University]]
</gallery>