Do you know anything concerning the eastern gate in reference to heaven?
Question:
Do you have any information concerning "the eastern gate" with reference to heaven?
The reason I ask is that a couple of years ago I heard a preacher say as he was closing out a gospel meeting, "If I don't see you before I'll meet you at the eastern gate."
I wonder if it is safe to say that his comment was an illusionary reference to the eastern gate of Jerusalem (with heaven being, of course, the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21).
Answer:
The eastern gate in Jerusalem is the one closest to the temple and also the gate nearest to the Mount of Olives from which Jesus ascended. It appears some have taken the angel's statement to the disciples that Jesus would return as he left (Acts 1:11) as indicating that he would come down to the same spot. Obviously, this ignores the statement that when Jesus returns we will meet our Lord in the air. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:17).
I've also found people referencing the gates in the descriptions in Ezekiel and in Revelation, but they ignore the fact that both of these describe gates in all four compass directions.
