Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

There was only one location on earth set apart from ages past where God placed His name (Deut. 12:5, 11, 21). That place was Jerusalem (Salem), which was also the place where Melchizedek, the first king and priest of righteousness, lived (Gen. 14:18–24). In Jacob’s time there was no holy temple set aside for worshiping God that we know of, just altars that were built by Abraham from natural stones, where special sacrifices were offered (Gen. 8:20; 12:7; 13:18; 22:9). The man Melchizedek was personally known to Abraham. According to Jewish tradition recorded in a religious Jewish writing called the Book of Jasher (mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18), Melchizedek was still alive in the time of Isaac and during the early years of Jacob’s life (Jasher 26:5, 10; 28:18). 3 In the city of Jerusalem (called “Salem” in Genesis 14:18 and Psalm 76:2), there was a sacred mountain called Mount Moriah . It was this mountain to which God Himself led Abraham to test him by commanding him to offer his covenant son, Isaac, on an altar (Gen. 22:2). It was upon this same mountain, Mount Moriah, that Solomon constructed the elaborate and expensive temple, one of the most expensive buildings in world history (2 Chron. 3:1). For many years I believed that Jacob was at or near Mount Moriah when he experienced his dream, for he called the place the “gate of heaven.” From Jacob’s family history, he understood that Moriah was the place where his grandfather Abraham had paid tithes to Melchizedek