Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

and bring a reproach to the name of the Lord by sinning in his latter years. When he died, the assumption was, “God must have seen something coming that was bad and spared him from the trouble.” This is possible. However, I would prefer to live long and believe that God can keep and preserve me, for Jude wrote:

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. —J UDE 24

At times there will be no visible reason why events play out as they do. It has been suggested that since God knows the future, He can allow some to arrive in heaven at an earlier age to prevent them from experiencing future trouble that could cost them their eternal destiny. I recall when a noted television minister lost his daughter and son-in-law in a plane crash, leaving three children behind. This was an international minister who was the president of a leading university. He was known for seeing answered prayer, and prior to the crash he had taught the body of Christ about forming a prayer hedge around their families. I still have many of this minister’s older magazines, and in the issue prior to the departing of his daughter, he wrote a powerful article articulating the spiritual principles of the prayers of protection. Then,