Section 10
first with the Lord Jesus. Learn to be the sec ond. If you attempt to be the first, you will miss the mark. Everyone likes to be first. However, if you are willing to be second, the Lord will do something to you. Simon was second, and the Lord revealed to him the matter of being a stone. Nathanael also was second, and the Lord unveiled to him the house of God.
For the Building of the House of God
"And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (1:51). The ancient Jews knew that this was a reference to Jacob's dream (Gen. 28:10-22). When Jacob was fleeing from his brother, he slept one night in the open air, using a stone for a pillow. He dreamed that he saw heaven opened and a ladder set up on the earth which reached to heaven and on which angels were ascending and descending. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Gen. 28:17). He then poured oil upon the stone which he had used for a pillow and called the name of it Bethel. The Lord's word to Nathanael was the fulfillment of Jacob's dream.