The Ladder
By Mike Bibb
"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." — Genesis 28:10. (28:12 in some editions)
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The Beat's article "Stairway to Heaven," Genesis 28:10, by Dan Stewart, (April 12, 2026) got me thinking the ladder analogy is a fitting description of a technique we can use when exiting our current Earthly assignment.
A ladder to climb to the next adventure.
We know ladders were designed millennia ago to assist people in reaching higher to perform certain tasks.
Ladders have multiple rungs to climb to the intended goal. Normally, it takes at least one rung, and as many as several dozen to accomplish what we're trying to achieve.
In the Genesis illustration, God used a ladder to provide angels a "stairway" for transiting to Heaven.
Each rung would bring an angel closer to — or further away — from God, depending upon if the angel was ascending or descending.
Remember, not all angels are climbing up the ladder. For whatever reasons, a few have to climb back down or have chosen not to make the trip.
Now, wait a minute, Mike, who are you to preach who uses the ladder and who doesn't?
No preaching, just an observation.
If we accept the premise a ladder, consisting of several rungs, is a tool to be used to achieve certain aspects of our lives, either physically or spiritually, then it stands to reason a person must scale as many rungs as it takes to arrive at his/her destination.
Secondly, ladders come in all sizes, lengths and conditions. Some are easier to climb than others, made of wood or metal, and may even extend further to help us in accomplishing the task.
At times, multiple ladders may be necessary when one won't do.
Then, there are several variants of a ladder; motorized elevators and escalators are the most common. Same principle, just a different approach.
Indicating a person may have many choices when deciding what kind of ladder is best suited for a particular chore.
Likewise, it might take several attempts to achieve the mission, using available ladders and a person's ambition and ingenuity.
Which could explain why some people seem to be more determined than others.
Or, maybe it's as simple as realizing the higher up the ladder a person climbs, the further he/she is from the safety of the ground, but closer to the imagined satisfaction of a loftier aspiration.
If, as Genesis reports, God provided a ladder to use, then it's up to us to take advantage of the opportunity, postpone the climb or ignore it completely.
The choice is ours. As is the decision to climb as many times as it takes to reach the top.
But, no one will reach the top without at least trying.
There's another theological alternative getting a lot of publicity lately: Islam and its doctrine — "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet."
I don't believe that particular brand of religion and belief offers a ladder to climb. In fact, a person could get executed for violating its tenets.
We've recently seen three young Iranian men arrested, convicted and publicly hung for "waging war against God." One was an Olympic wrestler.
Thousands of others, supposedly, were also murdered because they disagreed with the ruling elite.
Apparently, dissention against the government of Iran is considered the same as "waging war against God."
As we approach the United States 250th Anniversary, every one of us should humbly bow our heads and thank our divinely inspired ancestors for the wisdom, knowledge and bravery they sought when composing a Declaration of Independence — and later, a Constitution — that not only rebuffed the antics of a foreign king, but of religious fanatics as well.
