Eastern Gate 1

The Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount retaining wall is closed today. In the time of Solomon and the kings of Judea, the gate was "reserved for the prince," a phrase that came to be synonymous with Messianic prophecies. Zechariah and Ezekiel both saw this gate as being important for prophetic events. As you search through videos on the Mt. of Olives, you'll certainly notice the thousands of graves on the slopes of the hill. Many Jewish people have read these passages and believe the Messiah will arrive and go through the Eastern Gate. Many Arab graves have been positioned in front of the gate for the purpose of keeping the Jewish Messiah from going through the gate. If a Jewish person touches the bones of a dead person, he or she is unclean for seven days and forbidden from going into the Temple (Ezekiel 44:25-26). And in Ezekiel's teaching, the Spirit of God left the Temple grounds by way of the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 10:18-19). When Jesus taught his disciples about future events (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus did so from the Mt. of Olives, just after the disciples had spoken in awe of the temple. From that location, they would have had a clear view of the Eastern Gate. It provided a perfect visual background for the prophetic message Jesus brought.