The incense

1. The incense is a symbol of prayer as well as propitiation. The fact that incense was also used as a symbol of prayer is found in Psalm 141:2; Hebrews 13:15; Revelation 5:8; 8:3.

2. Therefore incense represents the intercessory prayer of Jesus Christ as high priest — Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25.

3. The prayers of all the believers which were processed through Christ at the right hand of the Father are also represented by the incense.

4. The composition of the incense portrays the strategic victory of Jesus Christ in the angelic conflict. According to Exodus 30:34 the incense was composed of four ingredients: stachte, onycha, galbanum, frankincense.

5. Stachte means to distil. It is so called because of the drops of gum which exuded from the tree producing it. Stachte refers to the uniqueness of the person of Christ in His first advent — the hypostatic union, the God-Man. He was different from God in that He is man, different from Man in that He is Man, different from man in that He is impeccable, perfect, qualified to bear the sins of the world — no personal sin, no imputed sin from Adam, and no old sin nature. Therefore, stachte speaks of the merit and the nobility of the life of Christ.

6. Onycha refers to scale or shell. It is derived from a shell fish which yields this perfume. It refers to the ministry of Christ on the cross in His two deaths.

7. Galbanum means fat or fertile. It is a resinous gum which adds strength and persistence to the other ingredients used in mixing. It is a reference to the resurrection of Christ.

8. Frankincense means to be white or white incense. It receives its name from the pure whiteness of the gum from which it was extracted. When it burns it also burns with a very pure white flame. it is a reference to the ascension and session of Christ as the completion of His glorification.

So, stachte: the ability of His life on earth; onycha: the courage and nobility of His death; galbanum: the greatness of His resurrection; frankincense: the greatness and nobility of His ascension and session. The incense goes up, just as Christ went up into the presence of God the Father.