is Jerusalem's sealed gate about to open is Jesus about to return there's a gate in Jerusalem that's been sealed shut for nearly 500 years most people walk past it tourists snap photos locals barely look but now something's changed videos are spreading whispers are growing louder and one question is echoing across the internet is the Eastern Gate about to open and if it is does that mean Jesus is coming back some say it's just drama others say it's prophecy fulfilled but the truth it's deeper and more unsettling than either side thinks today we uncover the history the prophecy and the controversy behind Jerusalem's sealed gate and what we find might just change how you see the end times forever jerusalem is an ancient city wrapped in prophecy and surrounded by stone walls along those walls are eight gates herod's Gate Damascus Gate New Gate Jaffa Gate Zion Gate Dung Gate Lion's Gate and then there's the Eastern Gate also called the Golden Gate or the Gate of Mercy this one is different it faces the Mount of Olives looking across the Kiddran Valley and it's the closest gate to where the Jewish temple once stood that's important because if someone were to pass through the eastern gate they'd be just steps away from God's holy place and that's why this gate matters so much in Matthew 21 Jesus approaches Jerusalem and when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem then sent Jesus two disciples saying "Ye shall find an ass tied and a colt with her." Matthew 21 this is the triumphal entry the moment Jesus enters Jerusalem as the humble king and he rides down from the Mount of Olives through a gate on the eastern side of the city but here's the twist the eastern gate we see today wasn't built yet that's right the current gate the one that's sealed was built hundreds of years after Jesus walked the earth so the gate he entered was beneath the current one older old buried by time but the location it's the same and that's why many believe the Eastern Gate carries a connection to Jesus's return let's fast forward from Bible times to the year 1541 the ruler of the Ottoman Empire Sullean the Magnificent stood in control of Jerusalem he wasn't a Jewish king he wasn't a Christian emperor he was a Muslim sultan and yet what he did next still has people talking nearly 500 years later he ordered that the eastern gate the one facing the Mount of Olives be completely sealed shut not blocked by guards not watched from a distance but sealed stone by stone foot after foot until the entrance was filled with nearly 16 ft of cement why because of a prophecy jewish tradition said that when the Messiah comes he will enter Jerusalem through the eastern gate the gate closest to the temple mount and Sullean wanted to stop that from ever happening this wasn't just politics it was spiritual resistance he didn't seal the western gate he didn't block the southern entrances he sealed the one gate connected to the Messiah but it didn't stop there he also ordered that a Muslim cemetery be placed directly in front of the sealed gate another move intended to prevent any Jewish priest or holy figure from walking across it according to Jewish law walking through a cemetery would make someone ceremonially unclean so between the concrete wall and the graves Sullean thought he had locked the prophecy down but in trying to stop the plan of God he may have actually fulfilled it this gate is to remain shut because the Lord the God of Israel has entered through it ezekiel 44:2 isn't that amazing what man tried to stop God had already written into the story why would a ruler try to block the Messiah because even the enemies of God recognize his power and that brings us to something deep it's not just that the eastern gate was sealed it's why it was sealed because one man thought he could stop prophecy with cement but here's the truth you can't brick in the plans of heaven you can try to block the Messiah but no gate no ruler no nation can stop what God has set in motion the prophetic echoes are getting louder that sealed gate silent closed unmoving stands like a witness to prophecy it tells us that the world knows something is coming it tells us that the world has tried to resist it and it reminds us of one simple truth you can seal a gate but you can't seal the sky and when Jesus comes back he's not coming with permission he's not waiting for cement to be cleared he's coming in power and every wall will fall before him lift up your heads oh ye gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in psalm 24:7 the prophet Ezekiel saw something extraordinary he watched as the glory of the Lord left the temple then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the mountain east of it ezekiel 10 18 to 19 that's the Mount of Olives but later Ezekiel saw the glory return then the man brought me to the gate facing east and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east ezekiel 43:es 1:2 and then God tells him something strange this gate is to remain shut it must not be opened because the Lord the God of Israel has entered through it ezekiel 44:2 and yet in Ezekiel 46:12 we're told that a prince will one day enter through this gate when the prince provides a free will offering the gate facing east is to be opened for him ezekiel 46 some say it's Jesus the prince of peace returning to reclaim his throne others say it's a human ruler serving under Jesus during the future millennial kingdom and that debate is where everything gets tense because if this prince is Jesus then maybe the sealed eastern gate in Jerusalem today is more than just a wall maybe it's a countdown clock maybe it's the very door that Jesus will walk through at his return but if the prince is someone else a human leader in the millennial temple then Ezekiel might not be talking about the current gate at all and that raises a powerful question could both things be true could the sealed gate today be a sign for us even if Ezekiel's prophecy points to a future temple let's keep going because what happens next takes this mystery to a whole new level if Jesus entered through the eastern gate once could he do it again and if the gate is sealed shut because of his glory could its opening be a sign that the return of Christ is near this is the question that has Christians around the world holding their breath but not everything fits as perfectly as it seems and in a moment we're going to explore the reasons this prophecy might not refer to the current gate at all but before we do that let's take a closer look at where the gate leads and what's buried underneath it the eastern gate seen today was built in the 6th or 7th century AD but in 1969 archaeologist James Fleming made a discovery while walking near the eastern gate after a rainstorm he fell into a hole and found himself standing in front of a much older gate buried below the modern one it was sealed covered in ancient stone and located directly beneath today's Eastern Gate this would have been the gate standing in Jesus's day this is the gate he would have passed through when he entered the city on Palm Sunday but it's also underground and not part of the wall that surrounds the modern old city so when Ezekiel talks about the gate facing east was he talking about this one or a completely different one still to come let's find out ezekiel doesn't just describe a gate he describes an entire temple and the city around it and it's not the Jerusalem we know today ezekiel's temple is massive far larger than Solomon's temple or the one from Jesus's time he describes detailed measurements courtyards chambers and laws that never existed in the previous temples and the Jerusalem in Ezekiel's vision it has 12 gates not eight ezekiel 48:30-35 this isn't a rebuilt version of the old city it's a future city a millennial city part of the kingdom that Jesus will rule after his return so what does that mean if Ezekiel's vision is pointing to the millennial kingdom then the gate facing east isn't the one sealed today it's a future gate in a future temple in a future Jerusalem in this new temple the glory of the Lord never leaves the east gate stays shut as a symbol god is here to stay and when the prince comes to worship the gate opens only for him and then shuts again now here's the key this prince isn't Jesus the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land ezekiel 45:22 Jesus never needed a sin offering so this prince is human a ruler under Jesus not above him that tells us that Ezekiel's gate is not the gate we see today it's something still to come even with all that said there's something undeniable about the current sealed gate it may not be the gate in Ezekiel but it represents something powerful a place where prophecy politics and faith collide a gate that foreign rulers sealed out of fear of the Messiah a gate that faces the Mount of Olives the very place Jesus will stand when he returns and his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives zechariah 14:4 that's not symbolism that's future reality jesus is coming again and whether he enters through that sealed gate or through a new one we haven't seen yet he will return to Jerusalem and nothing will stop him think about it a man tried to stop the Messiah with concrete and tombstones he thought he could block the Lord of glory with stone and mortar but you can't seal shut the plans of God not with bricks not with politics not with fear the truth is Jesus has already come once he already broke open the grave and when he returns every gate will fall before him the sealed gate of Jerusalem is a reminder you can try to shut him out but one day every eye will see him that's the question isn't it will the eastern gate physically open maybe but even if it doesn't Jesus doesn't need a gate to walk into Jerusalem he made the mountains he built the city he formed the earth and when he returns nothing will stand in his way the sealed gate in Jerusalem is a mystery but the return of Jesus that's a guarantee for as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be matthew 24:27 don't wait for a gate to open open your heart now because the King is coming here's the truth most people miss jesus explained the four signs will take place before the second coming of Christ so let's look at Matthew chap 24 where the disciples asked him "What will be the signs or signals of your return what would we do if we don't know when it's going to happen?" To their inquiry Jesus gave a direct and unambiguous answer we can thank God that he responded in such a straightforward manner in the book of Revelation he gives a much more detailed and comprehensive response but here he gives a rundown of the signs that will precede his arrival the disciples approached Jesus secretly as he was seated on the Mount of Olives later Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives his disciples came to him privately and said "Tell us when will all this happen what sign will signal your return and the end of the world jesus told them "Don't let anyone mislead you for many will come in my name claiming I am the Messiah." They will deceive many and you will hear of wars and threats of wars but don't panic yes these things must take place but the end won't follow immediately nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world but all this is only the first of the birth pains with more to come then you will be arrested persecuted and killed you will be hated all over the world because you are my followers and many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold but the one who endures to the end will be saved and the good news about the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world so that all nations will hear it and then the end will come now in that passage he gave four distinct signs of his coming one of the four signs is already there while the other three are not that is why I say we are in the beginning of the end times so what exactly are these four signs he gave us the first is clearly disasters in the world and he mentions for example wars famines and earthquakes these are certainly happening but they have been happening for over 2,000 years they are getting more intense so we certainly are in this first sign there are already wars rumors of wars earthquakes and famine jesus says "Don't be deceived." He says that again and again all the way through as we get nearer to the end the danger is deception both inside and outside the church in this case he says from false Christs false messiahs people who will take advantage of the turmoil of natural disasters to present themselves as saviors there are well-known examples of people who pretended to be saviors and led people into desert locations only to end in tragedy however there are many false Christs false saviors who claim to be the promised deliverer from all our troubles the more problems there are the more false deliverers there would be but as Jesus advises us don't be alarmed don't be worried when you learn of a new war a new tragedy or a new famine breaking out he said something astonishing these are painful events but they are not pangs of death they are birth pains so when you read of disasters in the media these are the pains that mean something new is about to be born this should completely change our attitude we know what the world is coming to we should not be alarmed or dismayed not as worried as the world will be about these things disasters in the world are the pain of birth in a new world that is to be born therefore we are very different we have sympathy for those who are suffering disasters and hopefully we express it in help but in our hearts we are not alarmed we are hopeful we are looking for a new birth of a new world and therefore we are not dismayed or depressed by all the problems in the world in short Jesus's advice to us would be not to panic not to be disturbed but even to rejoice and say "These are all signs of something new happening." The second sign the second sign of his coming is not in the world but in the church disasters in the world are the first sign the church not the world is the second sign of his coming the just as he divided the first sign into three parts wars earthquakes and famines he divides the second sign into three parts all of which occur within the church the first is persecution that we will be hated in every nation the second aspect of this sign would be a significant reduction in the church's size most people's love will grow cold when the whole church is under strain many nominal Christians if not all true Christians would leave under the burdens of universal persecution their love would grow cold that's a very depressing sign the big surprise in the third part of the sign is that the gospel will be preached to every racial group the third part of the sign is that the gospel will be proclaimed a smaller purified church would have a greater impact on the planet that is exactly what Jesus is implying false prophets can be a source of deceit in all of this we are aware of the teachings of false prophets when there is no peace they teach peace rather than being a source of challenge their message is one of comfort it's all right it won't happen they'll say "All is fine everything is fantastic the church is in good hands." That is a false prediction they may be to blame for the large number of people who would leave the church at that time now Jesus's advice is to keep going don't give in to these false prophets whoever perseveres to the end will be saved when that sign occurs when all aspects of the church are despised by the world that is Jesus's advice to all Christians why should that be the case the answer is that wheat and tears grow together and the closer they get to full maturity the more tension there will be between them so it's only natural that Christians will be under a lot of pressure in the end christians are social misfits so there would be hatred this world does not belong to us our citizenship is in the heavenly realms we are unique and it is because of our uniqueness that hate can arise since Jesus was so different from everyone else he drew hate against himself john 15: If you were of the world it would love you as its own instead the world hates you because you are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world it's not fun to be despised third