“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 the noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. ” “And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.”
Ezekiel 43: 1-2, 4
At the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, He will come down from Heaven and defeat the anti-christ and false prophet at the Battle of Armageddon throwing them into Hell for eternity. He will also bind Satan and throw him into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. This 1,000 year time period coincides with His Millennium reign upon the earth and during this time He will reign out of Jerusalem. I know there are some who would love to debate when Jesus Returns, does He first meet up with His Saints (the Believers) in the clouds at the Rapture prior to the beginning of the last 7 year Tribulation time period, OR does He snatch them up on His way down to Armageddon at His Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation. I have written a number of articles on this subject and if you are interested, I would suggest reviewing some of them. The Rapture – UPDATED, When will the Rapture Occur – Pre, Mid or Post Tribulation and The Rapture – God’s Promise. While I personally believe the Biblical evidence is irrefutable for a pre-Tribulation Rapture, today we are only going to discuss what happens when Jesus at His Second Coming physically touches down on the earth at the end of the Tribulation.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he (Jesus) that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And the armies which were in heaven (the Believers who ALREADY were in Heaven) followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
Revelation 19:11, 14-15
Here we see Jesus coming at Armageddon to defeat the nations of the world who have risen up against Israel. But, did you notice He comes down from Heaven and smites the nations of the world and defeats the anti-christ, the false prophet and Satan WITHOUT His feet touching the ground? This is important because the Bible says He first actually touches the ground upon His Return when He descends upon the Mount of Olives on the east side of Jerusalem and when He touches the earth, the Mount shall be split in two!
“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 the east and towards the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
Zechariah 14:3-4
Why is this important? I have personally been to Israel and seen (from a distance) the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. On the north, south, west and EAST sides of the Temple Mount are eight gates into the Old City where the two Jewish Temples (and the soon coming 3rd Holy Jewish Temple) once stood. But, ONLY the EAST gate (also known as the Golden Gate or the Beautiful Gate) faces the Mount of Olives to the east. But it is now sealed shut, the only “permanently” closed gate in Jerusalem! Why is that? After all, the Eastern gate gives the only direct path to the site where the Jewish Temple once stood and while this gate was built in the 6th or 7th century A.D., it is believed Jesus first actually entered the Old City of Jerusalem through an Eastern gate that preceded this one.
The Eastern gate was eventually sealed by order of Suleiman the Magnificent, a sultan of the Islamic Ottoman Empire in 1540-41 AD to ensure the Jewish Messiah COULD NOT enter Jerusalem EXACTLY as the Bible had prophesied He would!
“Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of 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 the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.”
Ezekiel 43:1-2, 4
What continually amazes me is the accuracy of Biblical prophecy! The Book of Ezekiel was written in approximately 593-571 B.C. This was almost 600 years before Jesus was even born. Yet it prophesizes that Jesus will not only re-enter Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate but that the gate will be SEALED before His Return and then opened for Him.
“Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east: and it was shut. 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. 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.”
Ezekiel 44:1-3
“Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the Lord, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offering, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth, and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.”
Ezekiel 46:12
When you look at the picture at the very top of this post you see a gate sealed with cement 16 feet thick. In addition, knowing Jewish religious tradition says walking through a cemetery causes one to become “unclean”, the Ottoman rulers also put a cemetery right in front of the gate to ensure anyone, including the Messiah, would become “unclean” by going through the Eastern Gate. Do you see the headstones in front of the gate? To be fair, some may argue since the gate was rebuilt long after Jesus died for our sins at Calvary, the “new” gate is actually not in the same place as the “old” gate. However, recently an archeological expert actually went underground at the Eastern gate and discovered the “new” gate is DIRECTLY above the “old” gate. They are located in the exact same spot!
All of this tells us when Jesus Returns, after defeating the anti-christ, false prophet and Satan at Armageddon, He will touch His feet upon the Mount of Olives which is DIRECTLY east of the Eastern Gate. The Mount of Olives will split into two halves. The Eastern Gate will then re-open and He will enter into the Temple Mount where all three of the Jewish Holy Temples have stood. From there He will Reign with righteousness on the entire earth for 1,000 years. What about us who have Believed in His Promise, were Raptured and returned with Him?
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection (the Rapture): on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
Revelation 20:6
How reassuring is it to see, in essence, a sin free, perfect world like the original Garden of Eden where there was no sin until Satan tempted Adam and Eve, brought back and now ruled perfectly by Jesus Christ in righteousness, love and justice? Not only that but we who have Believed in Him will have a role in His 1,000 Reign! That is indeed comforting, knowing He will do EXACTLY as the Holy Bible, the Word of God, has said He would do. We need to tell as many others as possible about God’s Promise to us and we can do this easily to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” Don’t be afraid, be aware! Do this and great rewards await us in Heaven!.
May God Bless you!