The Real Jacob's Ladder By: SK Robert Johnson Waukegan Lodge 78 RAM Chapter 41 Council 121 Bethel Commandery

36 Jacobss ladder is said to have come to Jacob in a dream, by which he saw the way to heaven. Angels ascending a ladder with rungs named faith, hope and charity. And as we are told charity being the greatest of these, for it extends into the boundless realms of eternity. Let us break this down into simple concepts. First Jacob is a character from the Holy Bible. Second that we are talking about heaven, that spiritual place to where all Masons hope to have a home. Next, realize that heaven as it is written of in the King James version of the Bible is a word that is not the correct translation per se. Its original meaning meant the sky or openness. In King James' wisdom he sought to keep those that were of un-royal blood in the dark by the most common of ways, the same way in which whites kept Africans in the days of slavery. Illiterate. King James therefore commissioned the use of more elegant words, like heaven in place of sky. This doesn't seem to do much, but over time you all now think of heaven as some mythical place like Valhalla where your every wish is your command. Well, like Jacob, you'll need to wake up. The next thing we need to look at is what exactly is meant by heaven? Well, we know it should be a place of serenity, a place of good things, a place that feels like paradise. What do you do when it is discovered that heaven is here, on Earth? When we find ourselves so comfortable, so content and can easily see the beauty of the day or night and in the nature of everything around you, this is Heaven. The ladder represents something else. The ladder is a metaphor for what you must accomplish in your life in order for your mind to be elevated to the point of revealing heaven unto thine eyes. You must have faith that it is within your power, and yet faith is lost in the revelation. You must have Hope that you will achieve the Christ like state, which is then lost in fruition. And finally Charity which as stated above moves forward throughout all time, similar to the butterfly effect. You see, Charity is the greatest of these things. Your ability to give up all things for the potential easing of someone else's life is a not only a gift unto them, but one unto you. The constant practice frees you of the superfluities of the mind and necessarily sets ablaze the indented tessel. You need not these things any longer. This is even written in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the parchments that which were deemed unworthy (by the Nicene Council) in the Gospel of Thomas: #17. No matter what your personal religion is, we can agree that Jesus was a teacher at least. And Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart." Meaning that you need to look in the last place to find heaven, in your self. Again from the

Gospel of Thomas : #3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you." This Kingdom is heaven. Is it not? I will leave you on this, Jacob's ladder is but a revelation unto Jacob, a how to guide that happened upon his sleepy mind. It's lesson is well learned but not understood in whole by anyone. Many have come to this revelation and its name in other religions and spiritual views are different and the stories that surround it are also different. However the idea remains the same. You are not your possessions or even your body. You are something else, a soul, a chakra, a blazing star, that has yet to be awakened. Rev. Kirby Hensley once told a story about how he had "had enough" of these different churches. He sought the advice of mystics and yogis. They told him a story which was loosely this. The sages took mans awakened immortal being away (Heaven). One of them asked where they should hide it? The first responded, "At the bottom of the ocean." "No." the others thought, for man will surely find it there and easily. The second suggested that they hide it (heaven) on another world. They again quickly said "No." for man will surely venture into the stars and find it. "Well, then where should we hide it?" the second asked. The third and wisest said "we shall hide in the last place man will look, for he is too unwilling to look there. We will hide it within man." We as Freemasons learn the lessons, we talk the talk and now its time to walk the walk. We are making the world better everyday by giving all we can, we are teaching brothers the great absolutes of our minds, consciousness and the nature of the world around us. Let us not let the common man fall behind. Let us lift them up so that they too will become inspired and perhaps join in the fellowship we hold so dear. Freemasonry.