GATE OF HEAVEN - JACOB'S LADDER

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 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. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. - Genesis 28:10-17 Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 150b

Jacob then said: THIS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE OF GOD , implying: This is not to remain idle; its covenant is not meant to exist in isolation. It is in sooth a godly abode, to be used for the promotion of fecundity and for receiving blessing from all the bodily organs. For indeed this is THE GATE OF HEAVEN , or, in other words, the gate of the Body, the gate assuredly through which pass the blessings downwards, so that it is attached both on high and below: on high, as being the gate of heaven, and below, as being none other than the house of God."

Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 150a -

AND BEHOLD, THE LORD STOOD (nitsab) UPON IT, ETC. Here Jacob discerned the essential unity of the object of faith. This is implied in the term nitsab (firmly knit), which implies that Jacob saw all grades stationed as one on that ladder so as to be knit into one whole. And inasmuch as that ladder is situated between two sides, God said to him: I AM THE LORD, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM THY FATHER, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC , these two being respectively of the two sides, one of the right and the other of the left.

Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 48b - R

Simeon discoursed on the verse: Now I beheld the living creatures (Hayoth), and behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces (Ezek. I, 15). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘we can explain as follows. The Holy One reveals His dominion and power in all things, a power which shall never be shaken. He manifested His power in the Patriarchs, and particularly in Jacob. Now Jacob is united with the Tree of Life, over which death has no dominion, since in it all life is contained, emanating from it unto all those who are in perfect union with it. For this reason Jacob did not really die. He died in a physical sense when “he gathered up his feet into the bed” (Gen. XLIX, 33), which bed is mysteriously called “the bed of Solomon” (S.S. III, 7), the bed of the “strange woman” whose “feet go down to death” (Prov. v, 5). But of all the Fathers the Holy One chose Jacob to be the center of perfection and fulfillment, as it is written: “Jacob whom I have chosen” (Isa. XLI, . Mark also this! All the supernal hosts with their cohorts and lightful chariots of celestial speed are joined one to another, grade to grade, the lower to the higher, each to its counterpart; and above them all a holy “Living being” (Hayah) (cf. Ezek. I) is set, and all those myriads of armies move and rest according to its will and direction. This is that Living Creature to which all Hayoth are linked, as each is also to each, all moving and swimming in the sea, concerning which it is written: “This is the great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts”

1 Enoch 71:7 -

And round about were Seraphin, Cherubic, and Ophannin: And these are they who sleep not And guard the throne of His glory.

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INTERPRETATION Jacob's ladder represents the tree of life. We have three columns, two pillars of the ladder, wherein the grades stationed to Abraham and Isaac represent - right and left and down the center column is Jacob. Where from the top of the ladder there are four heavenly realms; Supernal (Hayah), Seraphin (son of Yah), Cherubic (hayoth) and Ophaninn. This is also referred to in the chariot of Ezekiel and represented by the four letters contained in God's name YHWH (Yod-Hay-Vav-Hay). 1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV:

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” - Luke 17:21 Shvetoshvatara Upanishad 1:9

Conscious spirit and unconscious matter both have existed since the dawn of time with Maya appearing to connect them, misrepresenting joy as outside us. When all these three are seen as one, the Self reveals His universal form and serves as an instrument of divine will.

Chandogya Upanishad 1:1-3

1 Let us meditate on OM the imperishable, the beginning of prayer 2 For as the earth comes from the waters, plants from earth, and man from plants, so man is speech and speech is OM. Of all speech the essence is the Rig Veda; but Sama is the essence of Rig, and of Sama the essence is OM, the Udgitha. 3 This is the essense of essences, the highest and eighth rung, venerated above all that human beings hold holy. OM is the self of all. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

INTERPRETATION The vision of Jacob's ladder is a look within. The LORD is within us all and so God's Kingdom comes from within. As the visible - matter comes out of the invisible - spirit being the consciousness; with an inner world and an outer world. The Veda's go on to explain, God - full of eternity, knowledge and bliss - corresponds to three main features of the Supreme: residing everywhere, residing within, residing outside, beyond.

With four stages from water to man four essences from speech to OM there being four heavenly realms, then the scripture suggests one must become aligned and in-tuned with the Holy of Holies. Please note: Veda (Knowledge), Rig (Verse), Sama (Song).