JACOB'S LADDER

Go To The Father

The other day I was reading the Gospel of John chapter 14 and I really wanted to share, verse by verse the way I see what is written there. It really is one of my favorite chapters in the New Testament, but there is a difference between the way it is taught and the way I understand this chapter to be. The best way to get into this essay, is not for me to go on and on and try to make a point but to simply address each line of scripture, and below it write what comes to mind and what it means to me. I hope it is an encouragement to all of you, Jacob

John 14
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Notice the very first words that are spoken here. “LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED”. That’s sort of like telling someone, “you better sit down for this one.” What Jesus is clearing doing here is preparing people for what he is about to say. Sort of like stating, “I don’t want you to get upset when I tell you this.”

It is clear by those words, that Jesus is concerned that what he is about to share may trouble the hearts of those who hear it.

Now the next words are the reason… “You believe in God, believe ALSO in ME.” – That statement alone was considered quiet blasphemous. A man saying, hey if you believe in God, you should also believe in me.

Was Jesus stating that he himself is God? Was he saying he was as important as God? Or was Jesus saying, there only is GOD?

The rest of this chapter in John will help clear this up. Those words, “believe also IN me” also tell us that Jesus really wants his audience to believe what he is about to say is true. He wants them to know that he is trustworthy.

Then he goes on to say…

2In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

This second verse many people have taught wrong for years. They make it seem like Jesus is making each of us a literal mansion up in a far away galaxy known as heaven. But that isn’t even close to what is being said here. And to find out, all one needs to do is FIND OUT what the FATHER’S HOUSE is.

Matthew 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves

When Jesus entered the TEMPLE and called it the House of God, the father’s house, “my” house, it was clear it was the TEMPLE of God that was the HOUSE. So that changes the entire meaning of that 2nd verse.

The Father’s House is the TEMPLE of God. And WE are that Temple. This is why there are found many “mansions/dwelling places/tabernacles” in this house. There are MANY PEOPLE that make up the Temple of God, the ONE BODY of Christ.

So much for God rewarding us with a literal mansion in the clouds. What Jesus was telling them was that, HE WAS NOT THE ONLY VESSEL! He starts off by saying if you believe in God, believe also IN Me, then he says (You are all part of God, God dwells in each of you.)

So what does it means “I go to prepare a place for you”… well once again, we must consider “WHERE” Jesus is saying he is going. Well he is speaking of the father’s house, and we all are the Father’s House. It is clear to me that the place he is going to prepare is “His” heart.

2 Chronicles 30:19
That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

It is all about the HEART being prepared, this is the ONLY PLACE that needs to be prepared. Going within, to prepare a place for everyone. This is all about love, it is all about the change of heart that is taking place inside each of us. And Jesus was going where those with him had not yet been. So he had to “Go” there FOR THEM.

An unexplored land must first be explored and documented before others can travel where that first explorer went. And this is the same spiritually. Each of us have a part to play, some go places spiritually that others have not yet been, and then after they have “gone there” and understood what they needed to understand, they return and share it with others. This is exactly what is meant here. Look at the next line:

3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

It’s sort of like understanding you MUST LOVE EVERYONE, accept everyone, forgive everyone… If we do this, then truly there will always be a place prepared for everyone IN us. We will see every one as an extension of ourselves. We will embrace others, sharing what we have learned with others, bringing others to the same understanding we have. So where we are, they may be also. It’s all about blazing a trail for others. It is doing first so others may do the same.

4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Here Jesus said, where I am going YOU KNOW, and how to get there YOU KNOW… but the disciples had no idea what he was talking about. And the same is true for many people today. They don’t THINK they know how to GO WHERE JESUS WAS GOING. They don’t believe they are worthy to do what Jesus did, think as he thought, go where he went. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. WE ARE MEANT TO DO EXACTLY EVERYTHING JESUS DID. He WENT to PREPARE THE PLACE for us. So where he went, (which is where the truth is found) we can go and find as well.

Thomas didn’t understand this. Thomas questioned, “How can we possibly know what you know, go where you go, do what you do?”

Ironically, many of you feel the same way. As if somehow Jesus is more than simply being the pattern for us to follow, more than just the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Religion perpetuates this lie by leading the world to believe that you can never be “as jesus is in the world”. That Jesus is somehow special, greater, and more important than you and me.

Like Thomas many don’t understand how to get to the FATHER. And when Jesus explains people twist it to mean something it doesn’t mean at all.

6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Notice Jesus didn’t say, You are NOT THE WAY, I AM the ONLY WAY…

He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the FATHER but BY ME.

Now many people believe Jesus is saying that He alone is the way to the Father. Meaning you must believe in someone outside of yourself named Jesus to know the Father.

But is that really what Jesus is saying?

He just said, in my Father’s house are MANY DWELLING PLACES. Meaning God doesn’t just exist in Jesus the man, but EVERYONE.

I see this scripture very differently. Let me explain it in a way to make the meaning more clear.

If you want to be AN EAGLE SCOUT, (which I am not lol), and you find an Eagle Scout and ask “how do I become an Eagle Scout too?” – that Eagle Scout will say to become an EAGLE SCOUT you must be as I AM.

Meaning there is no other way to be an EAGLE SCOUT but to do what the Eagle Scout does, to understand what the Eagle Scout understands, to speak as the Eagle Scout speaks, and to have the same fancy badges!

What Jesus is saying here, and you will find the rest of the chapter backs this up, IS… If you want to know the FATHER YOU MUST BE AS I AM because there is no other way to know the FATHER unless you are ME (THE SAME AS ME).

Now before you go and LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED, remember Jesus first said “Don’t let that happen.”

Now if Jesus was saying to you, that YOU CANNOT BE AS HE IS, most of you reading this would not be troubled by that notion at all.

However, to say that you MUST BE JESUS YOURSELF (exactly as he is) to truly know God, that would trouble many of you.

The reason is, you have been conditioned to think that BEING WHO YOU REALLY ARE IS NOT ONLY unattainable, it is blasphemous to even consider. AND YOU WONDER WHY MANY STILL SUFFER?

You will NEVER KNOW GOD, you will NEVER BE FREE, Jesus is saying, UNLESS YOU ARE ME!

And IF YOU ARE JESUS (the very same as He is) then you WOULD KNOW GOD. But to TRULY KNOW GOD you MUST BE AS JESUS, because that is the ONLY WAY, THE ONLY TRUTH THERE IS, AND THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW LIFE!

Let me also point out ALL THE SCRIPTURES that state, You are the LIGHTS of the world, You are the Living Epistles to be read of all men, “as JESUS IS so are YOU in this world”

Jesus prayed this for all of us… He begged the Father that everyone would understand that THEY and the FATHER are one… “That they would be one, as you and I are one”

Now this is one of the most important and most profound teachings there is.

Think about it, IF the only way to be free is to be as Jesus is, to understand that the answers LIE WITHIN YOU, and the only way to be as jesus is, is to LOVE, AND to be bold enough to go where Jesus went, to (the Father) = which means to understand who GOD IS, then you are preparing a place for OTHERS. Not just in your heart where you accept everyone and love everyone, but you are also SHOWING THOSE TRAPPED in their ignorance THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIGHT.

Now the rest of this chapter really illustrates that.

7If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Here Jesus is saying, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW GOD YOU NEED NOT GO ANY FARTHER than to TRULY KNOW WHO I AM. And if you REALLY KNOW ME, than you KNOW GOD.

Now that would trouble some hearts. Imagine one of your friends at your bible study saying, HEY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW GOD all you need to do is KNOW ME. And that is EXACTLY what Jesus is saying. He is making a valuable point, he is saying IF YOU WANT TO KNOW GOD all one really needs to do is TRULY KNOW THEMSELVES. Not who they think they are, but who they HAVE FORGOTTEN they were.

For we know ALL there is REALLY IS GOD.

Ephesians 4
2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Read that again. THERE IS ONLY GOD!

And God is IN ALL, ABOVE ALL (more powerful, and important than our egos, and through all, and IN YOU ALL)

You are the FATHER’S HOUSE, and IN YOU, is GOD, which is LIFE, TRUTH, LOVE, and the ONLY WAY to know this, is to be as Jesus.

In fact, Jesus is no greater than you and I. He simply went before us to this understanding. And now he is sharing this great revelation with his disciples.

8Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

But they still didn’t get it, and in fact, most still don’t and won’t. They still say, show us the father. And Jesus says, DON’T YOU GET IT, if you have UNDERSTOOD AS I UNDERSTAND you would KNOW THE FATHER, because that is all there is.

A Father is someone who gives the SEED to others to give birth to a child, who has the same genetic makeup as the FATHER. The son/daughter is no less, no different from the Father, the child simply hasn’t become a Father yet. But one day, when they mature THEY TOO will do as a Father does. And here Jesus is teaching us that. His words, his understanding that he was sharing is the very TRUTH that helps one to be WHO THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. A child doesn’t know that he or she is exactly the same as their Father, but they are. They are in fact ONE.

10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Notice what is said here. Let me put it in human terms. As my Parents SEED is in me, I am the same as them, and as my children have my Seed in them, they are the same as me. I am in them, they are in me, because the SOURCE of who I am is in them, and the SOURCE of who I am is IN ME. We are all ONE, we are all children of God with the very same attributes and LIFE in us. But as Children we don’t understand that we too will become the FATHER. Yet, that is exactly what children become when they mature. And when we mature spiritually we TOO will understand that we are in God, and God in us, ONE, this is the UNITY OF THE FAITH. THIS IS WHAT EVERYONE MUST UNDERSTAND.

We are the same, we know the same things, we do the same things. This is the point that is being made.

11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 12Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Jesus is saying, I GO to my FATHER, to be the FATHER, I am going to become who I truly am. So that you may do the same. And when you believe these words I say, you will do the same. BECAUSE I AM GOING TO THE FATHER (I am forsaking the idea that God is separate from me, and I am embracing and becoming one with what I now know to be true= that God is me, and that I am God, we are ALL. God in me, I in God, God in you, You in God, Me in you, You in me…. ONE)

13And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

And when you get to that place of understanding. When the great truth of this is revealed to you. ANYTHING that you ask in my NAME (which means NATURE, not a literal name) – Anything you ask in the very same NATURE and UNDERSTANDING WILL BE DONE. “ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” – God will be manifested IN YOU, as you, for you are one. The question is, HOW DO WE GET THERE?

The next line is the key!

15If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And what is that commandment? TO LOVE OTHERS! To REALLY love! And I must admit, I have not met one who has gone to the FATHER and been able to do this yet. You see, I too, must go to the FATHER to do this. You must GO TO THE FATHER (COME TO THIS UNDERSTANDING, BE ONE) TO DO THIS!

16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

There comes a time, when you must leave your teachers in this world. And trust the SPIRIT within you to teach you. This is the comforter that abides in you for ever. It is the SPIRIT (THOUGHT) OF TRUTH, which your EGO cannot receive, because who you think you are is NOT REAL it is a fabrication. But who you TRULY ARE is someone you know already, because it is the REAL YOU. And when you know the REAL YOU you will understand that you and Jesus are no different at all. The truth about Jesus, that Jesus understood will COME (be revealed) to you and you then will know as you are know. You will know the FATHER, and in turn you will reveal the FATHER to others and be able to say to others, If you have understood what I understand you would know the Father yourself. And you will know that even if those you share this great truth with don’t receive it at first, THEY WILL!

19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

For a short while the world cannot comprehend this, but those Jesus spoke to, as I am writing to you right now, WILL. Because I Live (know the truth) you shall LIVE (KNOW THE TRUTH) also. And when you do, you shall know that WE ARE ALL ONE. I am in the Father, You in me, and I in you.

REALLY CONSIDER THOSE WORDS… If all of humanity EXISTS WITHIN EACH OTHER, we are ALL ONE! There is no difference between us, we are ONE. And to know this is to know that we must LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

So what does it mean to love “me”… what it means it love what that “me” claims himself to be. THE WAY, THE TRUTH and the LIFE. And when you LOVE AND EMBRACE the way, the truth, and the life, you will know the FATHER’S LOVE because that is all there really is. And that LOVE will be revealed to you.

22Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

You may question how this will happen, how we too can be where Jesus (the truth) is. The answer is always the same, WHEN YOU LOVE, that LOVE, TRUTH, AND LIFE will be revealed within you and expressed to those in the world. You will know that, there only is God, and from that moment on that whatever you speak and do, is not really “who you thought you were” but God doing the work. At that point you understand that everything you do, is being done within you, by God, for God is all there is.

24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

This is not the word of a man, but the word of God. And when you understand that you will finally have the peace you have desired. You will stop worrying about every little thing, you will understand that even those that hate you the most are simply there to teach you to love more, and when you love no one can hurt you anymore. This is the peace that the TRUTH brings, not the peace we know from our EGOS, not conditional love but unconditional love is the key!

25These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

So let us go to the Father, let us LOVE and let our fear go. Let us embrace the truth and the life of who we are, come to the unity of the faith, seeing that God is bigger than me or you alone, God is all in all, we must expand our understanding and see the whole taking out eyes off the small piece of God that you believed was you, but see God as being bigger than who you thought you were. It is not about one man named Jesus, it is not about you, IT IS ABOUT GOD, and the WHOLE!

28Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

We have forgotten who we were in God, we have forgotten. We have gone away from this truth, but the truth is being revealed again. If you love the TRUTH, you would rejoice! The prince of this world (the anti-christ/ego of ignorant man) has nothing and no claim in TRUTH and LOVE. And this Jesus understood, he shared this great truth but knew that man’s carnal ego would rise up and would not accept it. But one day, this truth will be fully understood and we will cast off that first nature we embraced, we will die to the prince of this world, and we will be ONE!

31But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

SO LET US LOVE AND GET UP FROM WHERE WE ARE AND GO TO THE FATHER!

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Jacob
http://www.JacobIsrael.org