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"Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." (John 1:51)
John is the only gospel writer to mention the apostle Nathanael, but tradition considers him to be the “Bartholomew” of the other gospels. His name means “son of Tolmai” and could have been Nathanael’s surname. Another clue to his identity lies in the fact that Bartholomew is always listed beside the name of Philip, the one who John tells us introduced Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:45-46). Popular traditions and legends say that Nathanael preached in some of the most hostile countries of the East—India, Ethiopia, and Persia—and eventually died in Armenia, where he was flayed alive, then beheaded or possibly crucified.
When Philip shared his belief that Jesus of Nazareth might well be the Messiah, Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Rabbinical thinking held that the Messiah would come from Judea, the land of David—most…
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