Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

Every human from every nation has been given an imagination, which is the ability to picture in your mind things that are not present visibly in front of you. We begin using this as children. Boys use a stick as an imaginary gun and fight invisible wars, concocted only in their own minds. It is the same with a little girl and her dolls; she is the momma taking care of her sick children. When we become teens, the imaginations change to young men who sees themselves riding in the latest sports cars and young girls who see themselves as nurses or teachers even before they attend college. It is true for us as adults also. For example, no church was ever organized before a minister first saw in his spirit the invisible made visible! Let’s compare mental pictures. When I say “God,” what do you see? Do you see a bright light, a glowing form on a throne, or an aged figure with a long white beard? I see the images painted by the prophets in Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4. What is your mental impression when someone says “heaven”? Does your mind carry you into the clouds, into starry outer-space realms, or perhaps to the beautiful images from the Hubble telescope? In my mind I attempt to combine all of the pictures painted by the prophets in both Testaments and lay them upon layers with my finite mind to paint a complete picture of heavenly realities. Believers all see something different when a minister says, “Jesus the Messiah.” The minds of some travel back to the city of Bethlehem to a babe in a manger.