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jazzy · (This post was last modified: 06-05-2010 06:29 PM by jazzy.)

(05-17-2009 02:25 PM)Vic Wrote: Many believe that during the time of the First Temple the Eastern Gate, which is also called Shushan or HaKohan gate, was the main entrance into the Temple area. Many believe that it was the gate that Jesus entered on donkey in His triumphal entry.

Matthew 21:2-11 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an a-s-s tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an a-s-s, and a colt the foal of an a-s-s. 6. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7. And brought the a-s-s, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11. And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. **a-s-s is spelled this way due to spam prevention-otherwise it will be blocked out with ****.

If one were to stand on the Mount of Olives he could look over this Eastern Gate into the huge area presently north of the Dome of the Rock and see all the gates (at different levels) in a perfect line: the East Gate --Outer Court Gate --Inner Court Gate --Temple Entrance.

According to prophecy the Messiah would enter Jerusalem from the east. The eastern gate holds a special holiness for Jews, who believe that the Sheckinah or Divine Presence used to appear through this gate and will appear again In the meantime it is believed it must be left untouched.

The Arab Muslims call this gate The Mercy Gate and according to the Koran, the just will pass through this gate on the Day of Judgment.

This eastern gate is the only one of the eight gates in Jerusalem that is sealed. The Arabs believe that because the Jews expect their Messiah to come through this gate, they would prevent any possibility of His return. It was sealed up in 1530 AD, by the Ottoman Turks. A cemetary was planted in front of it, with the thinking being that the Jewish Messiah could not set foot into a cemetary, and therefore wouldn't arrive.

Many believe that the gate was shut to prevent the entrance of the Messiah as foretold by Old Testament Prophecies. However, we see that Ezekeiel prophecied the shutting of the gate around 600 BC

Ezekiel 44:1-3 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. 2. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 3. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

It is believed by some that Jesus entered Jerusalem through the East gate around 30 A.D.as He came down from the Mount of Olives and entered the temple according to Luke 19:28-48. The belief is that He would have entered through the original gate in the wall which was destroyed with the city by the Romans in 70 A.D. Ezekiel speaks of the closed gate that the "Prince", which is another name for the Messiah in the Old Testament and New Testament, entered. We know Jesus is the prophesied Messiah

Since Jesus is the prophesied Messiah, and fulfillment of Messianic prophecies, has He already entered through the gate? and did He come out again through that gate to be crucified?

Will He ever go through that sealed gate again?

I found an interesting passage in Ezekiel about an east gate. Read:

Ezekiel 43:4