Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

early to seek God (Gen. 19:27), as did Jacob (Gen. 28:18), Moses (Exod. 24:4–7; 34:4–5), Joshua (Josh. 3:1), and Job (Job 1:5). In the New Testament, Christ is found rising a great while before daybreak for prayer, and on one occasion we read where He was awake during the fourth watch, which was between three to six in the morning (Mark 1:35; Matt. 14:25). Thus Christ, founder of the church, set the same pattern as the patriarchs and prophets had done during nearly two thousand years of prayer. Upon conversion, a Christian is baptized in water in the same manner that John baptized at the Jordan River those who repented in his day (Matt. 3:6). The act of submerging in water was not new in John’s day, as every Jewish man entering the temple in Jerusalem was required to briefly disrobe and plunge himself in a mikvah, which was a ritual purification bath area cut out of the limestone with stonecarved steps descending into the water. It wasn’t called baptism but was called purification . These two incidents—water baptism and ritual purification—are two separate and distinct acts, but they are similar in their application: submerging under water for spiritual purification or separation. Many Gentile Christians do not understand the seven feasts, and some are totally unaware that at the return of Christ, those living on the earth during the one-thousand year reign (Rev. 20:4) will be worshiping on the original Sabbath day, celebrating new moon cycles at the new