# 36 - Jacob's Ladder - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein, Jacob, fleeing from his past, encounters a divine vision of a stairway to heaven. This episode explores the profound spiritual moment where Jacob realizes God's presence is with him, transforming an ordinary place into the sacred Bethel, and marking the beginning of his deeper connection with God.
Episode 36 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
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Today's opening prayer is inspired by Genesis 28:17, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”
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Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People.
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Speaker 2: No games, Jacob, tell me what you've been scheming.
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Speaker 3: I don't scheme, I prepare. Scheming makes me sound so villainous.
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Speaker 3: I love this family and I would never jeopardize it
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Speaker 3: for my own game.
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Speaker 2: When you go in there, do not play like a child.
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Speaker 2: Be a man and seize what's yours. And when you
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Speaker 2: finally have it, except whatever comes after.
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Speaker 4: With courage, he saw, Yes, I have done, and you
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Speaker 4: told me and killed deer, eat my game and bless me.
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Speaker 3: May God give you the doom of heaven, the fatness
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Speaker 3: of the earth, and plenty of.
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Speaker 4: Grain and wine. May people and nations bow down to
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Speaker 4: you and serve you. You will be.
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Speaker 1: Lord over your your brothers, and your mother's son will
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Speaker 1: bend a knee to you. The words were a final seal,
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Speaker 1: a decisive declaration that Jacob was now the inheritor of
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Speaker 1: Isaac's promise, passed down from Abraham through Jacob, the blessing
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Speaker 1: of God most I would endure.
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Speaker 4: I will hunt him to kill. In my first.
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Speaker 1: Esau stormed out of the tent and looked around, his
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Speaker 1: eyes narrowed with a hunter's intensity. He grabbed his bow
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Speaker 1: and arrow, searching frantically for his twin panic jabbed at
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Speaker 1: Jacob's legs. He was shaking, agitated, ready to run.
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Speaker 5: What do I do?
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Speaker 4: Mother? What do I do? Mother?
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Speaker 3: What do I do?
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Speaker 4: Mother?
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Speaker 3: Tell me what to do?
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Speaker 2: My brother in heron. You can stay with him until
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Speaker 2: your brother's fury.
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Speaker 4: Don't.
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Speaker 2: Maybe with time he'll forget what you've done to you.
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Speaker 6: In a barren land with just a stone for a pillow,
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Speaker 6: Jacob's eyes opened on a stairway to heaven shell. Oh
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Speaker 6: my friends, from here in the holy Land of Israel.
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Speaker 6: I'm l Exstein with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,
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Speaker 6: and welcome to the Chosen People. In each episode, we'll
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Speaker 6: hear dramatic stories inspired by the Bible, stories filled with
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Speaker 6: timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life.
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Speaker 6: Through Israel's story, we find this truth that we are
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Speaker 6: all chosen for something great. Has this podcast blessed you?
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Speaker 6: I want to ask you a favor to follow this
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Speaker 6: podcast so that you never miss an episode and if
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Speaker 6: your interests and hearing how the Fellowship is impacting millions
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Speaker 6: of people around the world, saving lives, helping to bring
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Speaker 6: Biblical prophecy to fruition, visit IFCJ dot Org. Now let's begin.
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Speaker 6: Have you ever found yourself lost in the wilderness of life?
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Speaker 6: Wandering searching for something real, something profound, something divine? Today
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Speaker 6: will meet such a wanderer and a searcher, A man
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Speaker 6: on the run, his heart pounding, his destiny unclear. He
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Speaker 6: lays down his head on Earth's rocky ground and dreams
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Speaker 6: of heaven. What does it mean to encounter the divine
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Speaker 6: in the middle of everyday life? Can a single night,
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Speaker 6: a single dream alter the course of history? Jacob's story
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Speaker 6: in Genesis twenty eight one to twenty two explores exactly
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Speaker 6: these questions. It's a tale of running from the past
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Speaker 6: and into the future, where the ordinary stone becomes an altar,
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Speaker 6: and a fugitive finds himself in the very presence of
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Speaker 6: his father in heaven. As we say in Hebrew, a
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Speaker 6: veno shepashemime.
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Speaker 1: Jacob trudged through the wilderness, the weight of his past
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Speaker 1: sins heavy upon his shoulders. The sun dipped below the horizon,
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Speaker 1: casting long shadows that stretched like fingers across the barren landscape.
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Speaker 1: He was alone, save for the quiet whispers of the
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Speaker 1: wind and the occasional rustle of leaves. Underfoot. Each step
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Speaker 1: seemed to echo the turmoil in his heart.
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Speaker 3: I have the birthright, yet no tint to dwell in
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Speaker 3: or food.
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Speaker 4: In my belly.
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Speaker 3: I have the blessing, but I'm trampling on dirt instead
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Speaker 3: of lying in bed.
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Speaker 1: Each step was a rhythmic reminder of the betrayal that
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Speaker 1: had driven him from his father's house. Jacob didn't blame
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Speaker 1: Esore for his anger. However, he refused to let the
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Speaker 1: threat of death stall his ascent. Jacob may not have
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Speaker 1: been the bear his brother was, but he was no pushover.
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Speaker 1: His legs were sturdy. As he traversed the desert path
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Speaker 1: to Haran, he walked with defiant force, murmuring under his
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Speaker 1: breath intensions for greatness.
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Speaker 3: I refuse to let this break me. I will thrive
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Speaker 3: in Laban's household. I return richer and wiser, ready to
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Speaker 3: take back what's mine for my brother.
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Speaker 1: As night fell, the air grew cold and the sky darkened,
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Speaker 1: a velvet blanket strewn with stars. Jacob's weary eyes scanned
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Speaker 1: the horizon, seeking a place of rest. His journey had
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Speaker 1: been long, and his body ached with exhaustion. There wasn't
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Speaker 1: a torchlight for miles no town or city set upon
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Speaker 1: a hill to seek refuge. He was alone, wholly and
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Speaker 1: utterly alone. Wolves howled in the distance, causing Jacob's legs
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Speaker 1: to tingle with unrest. He shook his head and gripped
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Speaker 1: his auburn curls tightly.
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Speaker 3: What am I doing here? Is this even the right
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Speaker 3: thing to do? Have I messed all this up before
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Speaker 3: it even had a chance to begin.
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Speaker 1: There was no response from the skies or whispers of
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Speaker 1: comfort in the wind. Jacob shook his head in resignation.
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Speaker 1: He was weary from the journey, eyes heavy with melancholy
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Speaker 1: and physical exhaustion. The sky overhead was a vast, unending
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Speaker 1: expanse of deep indigo, flecked with countless stars that glittered
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Speaker 1: like shards of ice. Her crescent moon hung low in
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Speaker 1: the sky, its pale light casting eerie shadows upon the ground,
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Speaker 1: illuminating the jagged silhouettes of the distant mountains that framed
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Speaker 1: the horizon. Jacob looked out from the dimly lit hill
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Speaker 1: on which he stood. His grandfather called this place loose.
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Speaker 1: It was a sight that bore the scars of time
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Speaker 1: and conflict, its stones weathered and worn by centuries of wind,
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Speaker 1: and rain. The history of Lews was edged into the
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Speaker 1: very landscape, a silent record of the peoples who had
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Speaker 1: passed through, each leaving their mark in the form of
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Speaker 1: scattered cairns and ancient, weather beaten carvings. In the days
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Speaker 1: of Jacob's ancestors, this land had been across roads for
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Speaker 1: traders and nomads alike. The ancient paths that wound through
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Speaker 1: the hills were once traveled by caravans laden with goods
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Speaker 1: from far off lands, spices from the east, precious metals
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Speaker 1: from the south, and grains from the north. The trade
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Speaker 1: roots brought commerce, stories, and traditions, weaving a rich tapestry
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Speaker 1: of cultural heritage that lingered in the air like an
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Speaker 1: unseen mist. But despite its storied past, Lows had fallen
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Speaker 1: into relative obscurity by Jacob's time, overshadowed and forgotten. Jacob
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Speaker 1: wondered if Abraham's promise had fallen to the same fate.
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Speaker 1: Would the greatness of Abraham's lineage end with him? Finding
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Speaker 1: a smooth flat stone, he placed it beneath his head
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Speaker 1: and lay down to rest. As he lay upon the hard,
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Speaker 1: unforgiving ground, Jacob's mind was a tumult of thoughts and fears.
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Speaker 1: The stone beneath his head was cold and unyielding, but
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Speaker 1: it was also strangely comforting, grounding him in the reality
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Speaker 1: of his journey and the trials yet to come. He
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Speaker 1: was caught between past and future, between the weight of
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Speaker 1: his sins and the promise of redemption. In this liminal space,
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Speaker 1: he drifted into a deep, dream laden sleep, the world
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Speaker 1: around him fading into the background. As the vision unfolded,
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Speaker 1: the night around Jacob seemed to thicken, the shadows deepening
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Speaker 1: until they were almost tangible. The air grew still, an
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Speaker 1: expectant hush falling over the landscape, broken only by the soft,
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Speaker 1: rhythmic suceration of the wind through the rocky crags and
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Speaker 1: the distant hoot of an owl. Jacob opened his eyes
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Speaker 1: to a vision. He found himself standing at the base
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Speaker 1: of a monumental staircase that stretched upwards into the infinite
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Speaker 1: expanse of the heavens. The staircase was constructed of a
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Speaker 1: stone so smooth and luminous that it seemed to glow
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Speaker 1: from within. Each step bathed in a soft golden light
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Speaker 1: that shimmered like the surface of a tranquil sea Under
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Speaker 1: the moonlight, the steps, though solid, appeared almost ethereal, as
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Speaker 1: if they were fashioned from pure light and divine essence.
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Speaker 3: Ah ah, oh, what is this?
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Speaker 1: Jacob stepped forward, drawn to the light of the staircase
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Speaker 1: and the holy glow that emanated from the top. Jacob
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Speaker 1: knew very little about what he was seeing, but he
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Speaker 1: knew he wanted to be at the top of that staircase.
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Speaker 1: He inched forward, only to be drawn back by a
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Speaker 1: holy procession of angels. A faint celestial music, like the
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Speaker 1: sound of distant bells or the harmonious chords of a liar,
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Speaker 1: filled the air, mingling with the faint whisper of angelic
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Speaker 1: voices that spoke in a language beyond human understanding. The
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Speaker 1: air itself seemed to hum with a sacred energy, vibrating
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Speaker 1: with the resonance of countless prayers and ancient hymns. Angels
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Speaker 1: moved gracefully along the staircase, ascending and descending with a
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Speaker 1: serene purpose. Their forms were radiant, clothed in robes of
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Speaker 1: light that flowed like liquid silver. Each angel bore a
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Speaker 1: unique visage, their expressions a blend of serenity and wisdom.
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Speaker 1: Their eyes aglow with an inner fire that bespoke their
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Speaker 1: celestial origin. They moved with an effortless grace, their wings
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Speaker 1: barely stirring the air, leaving trails of luminescent sparks in
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Speaker 1: their wake. The light pulsed, and wisps of living color
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Speaker 1: descended down with the angels. Its brilliance nearly blinded Jacob.
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Speaker 1: As he beheld this wondrous sight, a profound awe and
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Speaker 1: humility swept over him. His heart pounded in his chest,
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Speaker 1: not from fear, but from the overwhelming sense of being
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Speaker 1: in the presence of God Most High. His legs trembled,
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Speaker 1: and he felt the urge to fall to his knees. Fear, awe,
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Speaker 1: and anticipation welled within him. He turned to the ground,
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Speaker 1: hiding his face from the light, and wonder, Am I.
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Speaker 3: Going to die? Or turn to gold? It seems like
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Speaker 3: each is possible at this point.
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Speaker 1: Then a warmth spread through him, starting from his core
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Speaker 1: and radiating outward, filling him with a sense of peace
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Speaker 1: and an unshakable certainty that he was not alone. Jacob
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Speaker 1: peered up. There, standing right beside him stood a vision
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Speaker 1: of God Most High. He spoke to Jacob. His voice
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Speaker 1: was unlike any Jacob had ever heard. It was a
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Speaker 1: voice encompassing the roar of the ocean and the whisper
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Speaker 1: of the wind, the crackle of a mighty fire, and
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Speaker 1: the gentle rustling of leaves. It resonated through the very
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Speaker 1: marrow of Jacob's bones, a sound that was once thunderous
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Speaker 1: and soothing, now commanding and comforting.
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Speaker 4: I am the existing one, the God of Abraham, your father,
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Speaker 4: and the God of Isaac.
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Speaker 3: You here, he, You're really here.
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Speaker 4: Look around, you, son of Isaac. Behold the splendor of
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Speaker 4: this land.
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Speaker 1: Jacob surveyed the Starlit landscape. The radiance of the staircase
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Speaker 1: illuminated its rich and vibrant valleys cut with rushing rivers
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Speaker 1: and lush forests.
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Speaker 4: The land on which you lie I will give to
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Speaker 4: you and your descendants, your offspring shall be like the
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Speaker 4: dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to
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Speaker 4: the west and to the east, and to the north
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Speaker 4: and to the south.
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Speaker 5: Through you and your.
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Speaker 4: Descendants, all families of the earth will be blessed.
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Speaker 3: So you have blessed me. I didn't know if I
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Speaker 3: wasn't sure if you.
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Speaker 1: Jacob's words were caught in his throat. He wrestled with
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Speaker 1: feelings of assurance in God and doubt in himself. Deep down,
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Speaker 1: he knew he was a deceiver, a trickster who stole
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Speaker 1: his blessing in some ways. In surprise Jacob to receive
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Speaker 1: such a blessing from God himself.
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Speaker 4: Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you
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Speaker 4: wherever you go. Though you leave, I will bring you
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Speaker 4: back to this land, or I will love to leave
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Speaker 4: you until I have done what I have promised.
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Speaker 1: Just then, Jacob awoke with a start, his breath coming
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Speaker 1: in short, sharp gasps. The memory of the vision lingered
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Speaker 1: in his mind. He looked around him, surveying the land
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Speaker 1: God promised him him, not just his father and grandfather,
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Speaker 1: not his brother Esau, or his sons. Him, Jacob, God,
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Speaker 1: most I was here in this place, and I didn't
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Speaker 1: even know it. He's been working, moving and dwelling here
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Speaker 1: right under my nose. He rose to his feet and
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Speaker 1: ran his hand over the smooth stone he used as
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Speaker 1: a pillow.
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Speaker 3: How amazing is this place. This is the house of God,
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Speaker 3: the gate of Heaven itself.
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Speaker 1: Early that morning, before the rays of light painted the valley,
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Speaker 1: Jacob arose with fervor. He took the stone and set
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Speaker 1: it up as a pillar. He poured oil over the
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Speaker 1: stone and consecrated it as a holy place.
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Speaker 3: This place will no longer be called Luz. That is
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Speaker 3: the name my grandfather's people gave it. It's no longer
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Speaker 3: there to name. As a keeper of the promise, I
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Speaker 3: rename it Bethel, the House of God.
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Speaker 1: Jacob turned his cheek to the rising sun, basking in
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Speaker 1: its warmth. He raised his hands in the air.
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Speaker 7: Hear me, existing one, the God of Abraham and Isaac.
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Speaker 7: If you will be with me, keep me wherever I go,
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Speaker 7: and give me enough bread and clothing to survive so
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Speaker 7: I can depart in peace, then you shall be.
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Speaker 3: My God too.
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Speaker 7: Let this monument stand as a testament between us that
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Speaker 7: you are not just the God of my forefathers.
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Speaker 5: You are the God of Jacob.
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Speaker 6: When my Abba, my father a bytheil Exstein, embarked on
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Speaker 6: the journey to build the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,
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Speaker 6: many people of faith judged him, Many misjudged him. They
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Speaker 6: questioned his motives, and they doubted his mission. But my
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Speaker 6: Abba pressed on, his head bowed, and his faith steadfast,
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Speaker 6: and the calling he knew was from God. He continued on.
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Speaker 6: In those early years the criticism was often very sharp,
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Speaker 6: and the words hurt him deeply. But even as the
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Speaker 6: fellowship flourished and respect began to pour in from all corners,
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Speaker 6: what I saw was that my father never lost his
00:17:49
Speaker 6: profound humility. Those trying times in the beginning taught him
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Speaker 6: that success was not of his own doing, It was
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Speaker 6: a blessing from God. In this week's cinematic Bible story,
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Speaker 6: we encounter Jacob's dream. He dreams of a ladder. It's
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Speaker 6: base firm upon the earth, its summit touching the heavens.
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Speaker 6: Many interpretations arise from this vision, but one stands clear.
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Speaker 6: God revealed to Jacob that the way to heaven begins
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Speaker 6: with being grounded on earth. Yeah, you heard that right.
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Speaker 6: How do we touch heaven? To be humble? We must
00:18:29
Speaker 6: be humble. This principle is echoed throughout the Chosen People's tradition.
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Speaker 6: In Psalm thirty seven, David wants a humble shepherd boy
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Speaker 6: himself says, and I quote, but the meek will inherit
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Speaker 6: the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. The Sage has
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Speaker 6: taught us, and I quote, he who is small is
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Speaker 6: actually great. So today is God's Chosen People. Let us
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Speaker 6: all ask ourselves, how might we walk more humbly with him.
00:19:00
Speaker 6: This story doesn't just instruct us to be humble, it
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Speaker 6: instructs us how to be more godly. Verse twelve describes
00:19:09
Speaker 6: the scene he had a dream in which he saw
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Speaker 6: a stairway resting on the earth with it stop reaching
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Speaker 6: the heaven. But Jewish tradition teaches that this also describes
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Speaker 6: a godly person, someone who is grounded on the earth,
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Speaker 6: but whose thoughts and prayers are in the heavens with God.
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Speaker 6: We have our feet on the ground and our soul
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Speaker 6: in the sky, and we have our prayers and our
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Speaker 6: words and our heart to bridge it. A godly person
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Speaker 6: doesn't have to be separated from this earthly reality. In fact,
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Speaker 6: what we see from the scriptures.
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Speaker 3: Is that it's the opposite.
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Speaker 6: A godly person stands firmly on the earth pursuing their
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Speaker 6: earthly life, but that life is guided by their head,
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Speaker 6: which is in the heavens with God. Now let's talk
00:19:58
Speaker 6: about Bethel, an actual place here in the Holy Land
00:20:01
Speaker 6: of Israel still today. In Hebrew, Bethel means house of God.
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Speaker 6: Jacob's encounter at Bethel was a reminder that God's present
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Speaker 6: isn't confined to temples or holy places.
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Speaker 1: No, we are.
00:20:14
Speaker 6: Reminded that God can meet us anywhere and everywhere, even
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Speaker 6: in the middle of nowhere, even when we're running away,
00:20:22
Speaker 6: even when we're uncertain and scared and feel alone. We
00:20:26
Speaker 6: live in a world where the sacred and the secular
00:20:29
Speaker 6: are often seen as separate. We might go to church
00:20:33
Speaker 6: or synagogue each weekend, but the rest of the week
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Speaker 6: belongs to us. We do what we want. But here's
00:20:39
Speaker 6: the thing that the scriptures teach us. Every situation has
00:20:43
Speaker 6: the potential to be a bethel, a house of God,
00:20:48
Speaker 6: and every moment has the potential to be a divine encounter.
00:20:52
Speaker 6: God's presence isn't limited. God is everywhere, always, and we
00:20:57
Speaker 6: have to remember this. When Jacob set up that stone
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Speaker 6: and named the place Bethel, he was saying, God is here.
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Speaker 6: So I want to ask you, where are your bethels?
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Speaker 6: Where are those places where you've encountered God in a
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Speaker 6: way that left you changed that you can say this
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Speaker 6: is the house of the Lord. Let's all of like Jacob,
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Speaker 6: recognizing God's presence in our everyday lives, wherever we are.
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Speaker 6: Let's go even deeper into Jacob's heavenly encounter with our
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Speaker 6: good friend Bishop Paulinier.
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Speaker 5: Thank you, yeah, Earl. I'm sitting here looking at my Bible. Well,
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Speaker 5: actually I've got two Bibles in front of me, and
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Speaker 5: specifically I'm staring at this Genesis champ the twenty eight.
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Speaker 5: And then we moved to this part of Jacob going
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Speaker 5: to Bethel is such a significant city. It's mentioned in
00:21:55
Speaker 5: your Bible more than any other city except Jerusalem. And
00:21:59
Speaker 5: there is going to engage the angels. It's not his
00:22:03
Speaker 5: only time. Actually, we'll see it again in Genesis thirty two,
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Speaker 5: verse two and Genesis thirty five, verse one. And in
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Speaker 5: this particular story was getting dangerous because he was traveling
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Speaker 5: at night, and so he stopped to rest for a while.
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Speaker 5: Bible says, if he took a stone, Oh, here we go.
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Speaker 5: Took a stone a rock and placed it in that space,
00:22:27
Speaker 5: and he used it as a pillow. And when he
00:22:31
Speaker 5: put his head down and went to sleep, the eyes
00:22:35
Speaker 5: of his spirit man were opened, and he could see
00:22:39
Speaker 5: things that normally his eyes would not have seen if
00:22:42
Speaker 5: they were open. You know that God caused Adam to
00:22:48
Speaker 5: sleep a special sleep so that God could remove from
00:22:51
Speaker 5: his side his bride Christians would even say that in
00:22:56
Speaker 5: Jesus he slept a special sleep and that his bride,
00:23:01
Speaker 5: the Church, came from his side. You know that Abraham
00:23:06
Speaker 5: was made to sleep a special sleep where God could
00:23:09
Speaker 5: prophesy into him and to say to him that from
00:23:15
Speaker 5: your nursery is coming a nation and they're going to
00:23:18
Speaker 5: be enslaved, but I'm going to deliver them. And all
00:23:21
Speaker 5: of that prophetic word. In the Christian scriptures, we find
00:23:25
Speaker 5: something really incredible. It's pivotal, it's consequential. Between Jesus and Peter.
00:23:35
Speaker 5: It's interesting. There was a moment when Jesus took his
00:23:39
Speaker 5: disciples to a filthy place and it's called Cesarea Philippi,
00:23:44
Speaker 5: and Jesus asked his disciples. He basically said, look, you've
00:23:47
Speaker 5: spent time with the crowds. You've heard what they're saying,
00:23:50
Speaker 5: So you tell me who do the people say that
00:23:53
Speaker 5: I am. Well, of course, Peter spoke up and he said, well,
00:23:57
Speaker 5: some say your Jeremiah of the same, you're perhaps Elijah
00:24:02
Speaker 5: or the prophet. And what that means, As in the
00:24:06
Speaker 5: Gospel of John, the prophet Moses was so renowned and
00:24:10
Speaker 5: revered you didn't even have to say his name you
00:24:13
Speaker 5: could just say the prophet and everyone knew what you
00:24:18
Speaker 5: were talking about. Jesus looked at Peter said, but Peter, who.
00:24:23
Speaker 4: Do you say that I am?
00:24:27
Speaker 5: I don't know. I wasn't there, but I wouldn't be
00:24:30
Speaker 5: surprised if it didn't. If it didn't, you know, just
00:24:33
Speaker 5: kind of move around a little bit and wrestling with
00:24:37
Speaker 5: that moment until he blurted it out. He said, I perceive,
00:24:41
Speaker 5: I believe you are the Christ. Well that's the Greek
00:24:46
Speaker 5: word for Messiah. You are Mushia. Oh my goodness, we've
00:24:52
Speaker 5: become so comfortable with these words as Christians. We don't
00:24:54
Speaker 5: even know how revolutionary, even absurd blasphe famous these words were.
00:25:02
Speaker 5: If those words had been heard by the wrong people,
00:25:05
Speaker 5: Rome would have crucified Peter with Jesus that day. Now
00:25:11
Speaker 5: we know that later wrong Peter is crucified upside down.
00:25:15
Speaker 5: But it's interesting. It's interesting that Peter was first of all,
00:25:20
Speaker 5: Peter was not the only one to make such a
00:25:21
Speaker 5: confession compassion about about you are the Messiah, you are
00:25:25
Speaker 5: the son of a living God. Nathaniel did this, and
00:25:29
Speaker 5: we'll see that in just a moment, and actually in
00:25:31
Speaker 5: John Chump the eleven Lazarus sister said basically the same thing,
00:25:38
Speaker 5: and Peter speaks this profound word in Jesus say, is
00:25:41
Speaker 5: let me tell you something, Peter, you didn't get this
00:25:45
Speaker 5: revelation by studying harder or listening to the conversations of
00:25:50
Speaker 5: people are looking on social media. Now what you just said.
00:25:56
Speaker 5: It's a direct download from the throne room of Heaven.
00:26:01
Speaker 5: It's revelation. I'm just information, and i want you to
00:26:05
Speaker 5: know something. I've had the Garden, I've had Noah's Ark.
00:26:10
Speaker 5: I've had that, the people of Israel, the nation of Israel,
00:26:15
Speaker 5: and the tent of Meeting, and he ultimately the Temple
00:26:19
Speaker 5: to temples. But I'm telling you I'm going to build
00:26:24
Speaker 5: something else called the Church, not to replace, but to join,
00:26:28
Speaker 5: and it will be the final vehicle through which I
00:26:31
Speaker 5: will release the Kingdom of God. And it will be
00:26:34
Speaker 5: he said, upon this, Wow, listen, upon this rock of revelation.
00:26:41
Speaker 5: M what did Jacob have he put his head on
00:26:45
Speaker 5: a rock. Here, Jesus says to Peter, upon this rock
00:26:49
Speaker 5: of revelation, I'm going to build my church, and he
00:26:52
Speaker 5: says the gates of hero Well, that's a unique phrase
00:26:56
Speaker 5: there that you find up in Cesa of Philippine. I'm
00:26:59
Speaker 5: not going into that right now, but Jesus says that
00:27:01
Speaker 5: the gates of Hell will not survive the onslaught of
00:27:05
Speaker 5: this extraordinary offensive church who engages the glory of the
00:27:11
Speaker 5: Most High God. Well, let's get back to what was
00:27:16
Speaker 5: in Jacob's dream. In Genesis chapter twenty eight, verse twelve,
00:27:20
Speaker 5: it says that as Jacob slept, the eyes of his
00:27:23
Speaker 5: spirit Man were open, and he saw a ladder, probably
00:27:28
Speaker 5: a stone stairway, ascending and descending, much like we would
00:27:33
Speaker 5: see later in the temple. And upon this ladder or
00:27:37
Speaker 5: staircase you see angels ascending and descending. Now again, I
00:27:44
Speaker 5: want to talk about messianic implications for Christians here from
00:27:48
Speaker 5: the New Testament. In John chapter one, now this is heavy.
00:27:53
Speaker 5: John chapter one, verse fifty one, Jesus says to one
00:27:56
Speaker 5: of his disciples, namely Nathaniel. Nathaniel, You're going to see
00:28:02
Speaker 5: something supernatural. The eyes of your spirit are going to
00:28:05
Speaker 5: be opened, and you're going to see the angels of
00:28:10
Speaker 5: God ascending and descending upon the son of Man whoa
00:28:18
Speaker 5: this This is huge. Jesus is saying, I am the
00:28:25
Speaker 5: latter that Jacob saw, and the angels are ascending and
00:28:31
Speaker 5: descending upon me. What does that mean? He is saying,
00:28:35
Speaker 5: I am the mediator between heaven and humanity. You know,
00:28:42
Speaker 5: we're going to spend some more time later talking about portals,
00:28:46
Speaker 5: portal persons and peoples and places and points of time.
00:28:50
Speaker 5: We just don't have time to go there right now.
00:28:52
Speaker 5: But the thing that's so important to me and significant
00:28:55
Speaker 5: here is Jacob took that stone upon which he had
00:28:59
Speaker 5: received this revelation. He discerned the presence and the power
00:29:04
Speaker 5: of God and said, you know what, I've been in
00:29:05
Speaker 5: the presence of the Lord, and I didn't even realize it. Well,
00:29:08
Speaker 5: that's happened to me before, probably to yourself. But he
00:29:12
Speaker 5: was intentionally took that rock and he established it. He
00:29:16
Speaker 5: said it as important to himself, and he poured oil
00:29:21
Speaker 5: upon it. And in chapter twenty seven, when he's talking
00:29:28
Speaker 5: to his father Isaac, Jacob refers to God. He says
00:29:34
Speaker 5: to his father Isaac, he says, your God, your God Father.
00:29:44
Speaker 5: But when we get to this chapter twenty eight, verse twenty, Jacob,
00:29:50
Speaker 5: in this really traumatic encounter with God, makes a promise
00:29:56
Speaker 5: and he says, he makes this vowel really and says, God,
00:30:01
Speaker 5: if you will God me and protect me and provide
00:30:06
Speaker 5: for me and sustain me. And if you will bring
00:30:09
Speaker 5: me back to this space again, life, I will tithe
00:30:18
Speaker 5: unto you everything I have. I told you this chump
00:30:24
Speaker 5: to twenty eight is fascinating, and I just pray the
00:30:27
Speaker 5: blessing of the Lord upon this word.
00:30:31
Speaker 6: Jacob, alone and afraid, found God in his wilderness moment,
00:30:36
Speaker 6: and in that encounter, an ordinary place became extraordinary. When
00:30:41
Speaker 6: we feel lost and alone.
00:30:42
Speaker 7: God shows up.
00:30:43
Speaker 6: He doesn't wait for us to find our way to him.
00:30:46
Speaker 6: He comes to us right where we are. That's the
00:30:50
Speaker 6: beauty of our journey with God as his chosen people.
00:30:55
Speaker 6: Do you feel it that He transforms our everyday paths
00:30:59
Speaker 6: into sacred journeys. Every step, no matter how uncertain, is
00:31:04
Speaker 6: part of his divine plan, and each moment, no matter
00:31:08
Speaker 6: how mundane, has the potential to become a divine encounter.
00:31:13
Speaker 6: So today, let's seek God's presence in every circumstance, every situation,
00:31:19
Speaker 6: every step we take. Let's look for Him in the
00:31:22
Speaker 6: midst of our struggles and our joys, in our highs
00:31:26
Speaker 6: and our lows, in the ordinary and the extraordinary. Like Jacob,
00:31:32
Speaker 6: let's turn those ordinary places into Bethel's, into places of
00:31:36
Speaker 6: God's faithfulness, his promises, his presence, And remember, my friends,
00:31:42
Speaker 6: you are never alone, even when it feels dark, even
00:31:46
Speaker 6: when it feels hard, I promise God is with you,
00:31:50
Speaker 6: walking beside you, guiding you, transforming you, and blessing you.
00:31:57
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00:32:00
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Speaker 1: made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
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Speaker 1: Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive
00:32:17
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, Edited by
00:32:20
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
00:32:25
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
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Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
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00:32:39
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