“The Eastern Gate Message 11”
The Spiritual Application of the Gates
Ezekiel 43:1-5; Nehemiah 3:1-31 Monte T. Brown
September 28, 2014 Sunday Morning
Stapp Zoe Baptist
Prelude
As we approach the last two gates of “The Spiritual Application of the Gates” we come to “The Eastern Gate,”
It seems that the events that surround us today we see more and more of the Word of God unveiling before us.
Jesus spoke to us through parables and object teaching, which unveils the Word of God, which is constantly speaking words of wisdom to us.
We are living in the end times and one can’t help but see the importance of the Promise Land and “The Blessed City of God.”
One cannot see Jerusalem in the headlines of the news.
What is so unique about Jerusalem is the wall that surrounds the city.
Within the wall are the gates that outline the premature of the city.
Each one of these gate sends us a message that applies to us today.
The book of Nehemiah list ten of the twelve gates that needed repaired.
We have just looked at ten of the twelve gates and gleam insight from each of these gates.
Each one of the gates is unique and gives us a specific message about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now we will take a look at one of the twelve gates that did not need repair, The Eastern Gate.
Scripture
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. Ezekiel 43:1-5 (KJV)
On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. John 12:12-13 (KJV)
Prayer
Introduction
The Eastern Gate also called The Golden Gate.
It is the gate Jesus road through on the Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem.
It is the gate through which Christ is expected to come at His return. (See Ezekiel 43:1-5; John 12:12-19; Psalms 118:25, 26)
In 1517 AD the Turks conquered Jerusalem under the leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent.
The story goes that he commanded that the city's ancient walls be re-built.
Suleiman the Magnificent heard rumors beginning to sweep through Jerusalem that the Messiah was coming.
Suleiman called together some Jewish rabbis and asked them to tell him about the Messiah.
They described the Messiah as a great military leader who would be sent by God from the east.
He would enter The Eastern Gate and liberate the city from foreign control.
Suleiman then decided to put an end to Jewish hopes by ordering The Eastern Gate sealed.
He also put a Muslim cemetery in front of the Gate, believing that no Jewish holy man would defile himself by walking through a Muslim cemetery.
This act reveals a spirit of blocking, a spirit of hindrance, and a spirit of death against Israel and the Christian Church.
The Eastern Gate has remained sealed since that time. The Muslim cemetery still blocks the entrance and The Eastern Gate is still sealed just as prophesied in Ezekiel 44.
Ezekiel 44:1-3 says; the gate that looked toward the east and it was shut. The Lord said to me, ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it.’
The east gate opens and looks toward the Mount of Olives and we know that when Jesus returns He will return to this mount.
In Zechariah 14:4 is says; He will then enter Jerusalem by the east gate. The east gate then speaks of the return of Jesus Christ.
For our Christian life it shows us of our need to live with this hope and too long for His return. A specific crown is even given to those who do this 2 Timothy 4:8
The sealing of The Eastern Gate is proof that the Bible is the Word of God and that we are living in the end times.
The Glorious Appearing
Just as the two angels testified following the ascension of Jesus, the Lord will one day return just as He left.
When He does, He will come as a conqueror, the Commander of Heaven’s Armies.
His feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives, and He will go out to fight against God’s enemies:
“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley;
And half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains;
For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah:
And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” Zechariah 14:3-5 (KJV)
Zechariah 14 further describes what this day will look like, the day when Christ will establish His Kingdom on earth, a kingdom which will never be destroyed:
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” Zechariah 14:6-9 (KJV)
When speaking to His disciples, Jesus confirmed that He will one day fulfill the prophecies of Zechariah:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:29-30 (KJV)
He will also fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah:
“For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.” Isaiah 13:10 (KJV)
And the prophecies of Joel:
“The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” Joel 2:10-11(KJV)
As well as John:
“And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood” Revelation 6:12 (KJV)
This is why Jesus came – and why He will come again. For as Jesus said Himself:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17-18 (KJV)
Even the smallest detail of God’s law will remain until its purpose is achieved.
Some would view the sealed Eastern Gate as a small detail in the course of human events.
But God has a great purpose for it. One day soon it will play host to the greatest event in human history, the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ.
And the result will be further fulfillment of the law and the prophets:
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.” Isaiah 24:21-23 (KJV)
And, finally, God will dwell among His people.
Because The Eastern Gate awaits the return of the Messiah and only then, will it be opened.
The Opening of the Eastern Gate
According to Ezekiel, in chapters 44-47 of his Book, an anointed chief priest & Prince of Israel will appear from the east in the last days in association with the Messiah and make his entrance to the Temple Mount.
His coming has also been noted in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Who will unseal the blocked Eastern Gate?
Scriptures tell us that the "anointed one" will. So who is "anointed one?"
It is the angel of the LORD the "anointed one," Michael the Archangel. (See Ezekiel 44:1-3; also Daniel 10:13-14, etc.)
Zechariah 12:8 (KJV) says that in that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
The Messiah Lord Jesus has already passed through, The Eastern Gate, on Palm Sunday, in 30 AD.
He entered The Eastern Gate riding on a donkey as He was crowned King for a day, but he will ride again through The Eastern Gate, but this time on a white horses as the conquering King of Kings.
Just listen to what Psalms 24 says:
Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle . . . The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.
Jesus is coming again!
Conclusion/Invitation
I wonder how many people are really keeping their eyes on The Eastern Gate.
Have they made a true commitment to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
There is a phrase that should be embossed across the hearts of all Christians; “You are not your own, you are bought with a price.”
When you became a Christian you gave up control of your life, because it is not your own anymore, it belongs to Christ.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that; “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
The first step in having any relationship with God is by coming through the Blood of the Perfect Lamb.
John saw that Perfect Lamb in Revelation 13:8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Are you keeping your eyes on The Eastern Gate?
