What is this place: Bethel.... and why did Jacob say it is a dreadful place? And it is the house of God? And the gate of heaven?

Genesis 28:10-19 KJV | And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 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. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

After reading that scripture today, describing Jacob's dream, I opened up Google Maps, and searched for this place where Jacob slept. It does not look like today, there is a place called Bethel in Israel, but it is called Beit El (literally means House of God). I "accidentally" clicked on the map, and happened upon a street by the name "Jacob's Ladder"!



I am praying the Lord would show me more. What did Jacob mean? Was he calling the land where he slept and had the dream: a dreadful place, the house of God, and the gate to heaven? Is there a spiritual portal there? Was he describing a physical place, and not a spiritual place only?

Jesus made it sound like He Himself is the ladder.

John 1:51 KJV | And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

---

Link to Google Maps: Jacob's Ladder