Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

storms on Galilee; Mark 4:37–41), and miracles that defy nature (the sun standing still; Josh. 10:13). There is the example of Christ walking on the water in Matthew 14:25–26. The resurrection of Lazarus was a miracle defeating death, a rung at a much higher level on the ladder of miracles (John 11). Prayer involves words, but not all prayers are the same. Our example is taken from the golden altar, which was positioned before the veil in the tabernacle and the temple (Exod. 40:26–27). One of the rituals of the priest was to enter into the holy place and mingle two fistfuls of holy incense with the coals from the brass altar, burning the incense in a golden bowl that fit in the golden altar situated before the veil. This daily ritual represented the prayers of the high priest, the Levites (priests), and the Israelites going up from the holy place to the heavenly temple (Ps. 141:2). I am friends with several rabbis at the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, a Jewish organization researching the history of the Jewish temples, and have visited there. The institute used Jewish artisans to re-create the sacred vessels from the past for possible use in the third temple. On display at the institute are the different spices that were used in the compound mixture for the priest to burn on the golden altar. Incense in the temple was made from eleven different ingredients, four of which are mentioned in the Bible (Exod. 30:34). The first is stacte, a fragrant sap gum from a tree on Mount Gilead. Some suggest this may have been