Being in the Know
The beginning of the intervention of God into the lives of humanity is often viewed as the Garden of Eden. The Godhead created his Creation by the spoken Word. God desired to fellowship with his creation and therefore created Adam and Eve, the first two human beings. They were created in God’s image (Gen.5: 1), and provided a perfect home or habitat with the abundance of pleasant trees with edible fruit for survival (Gen.2: 16-17). The first man was a vegetarian.
After Creation’s disobedience, which the Father identifies as sin, the man and woman were removed from the garden to live outside the direct fellowship with the Creator, resulting in the acquisition of spiritual blindness while having to survive painful experiences on a planet that God cursed (Gen. 3: 17).
The Father would not forget his creation, however, in its perilous status of eternal separation for disobedience (Rom 6: 23). Even when God’s creation had regressed so far from his obedience, God chose a man named Noah to rescue creation (Gen. 6: 8). Fast forward through time ten generations ahead to one man living in a godless country called Ur who alone believed in one God and thus found favor with the Almighty (Gen.12). Abraham, born through the lineage of Shem, Noah’s son, would be told by God to “get thee out of thy country unto a land that I will show unto you”. Abraham’s faith was so strong (Gen. 12: 1-3) that God declared that he would bless those people who blessed Abraham and would curse those who would curse Abraham. Abraham would become the father of many nations and the spiritual leader of God’s Church of believers called Christians meaning Christ-like. Descendants of Abraham over the centuries would experience many hardships and periods of suffering for their unfaithfulness to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Forty-two generations after Abraham, the Heavenly Father would send his Son, Jesus the Christ (Greek) or Messiah (Jewish or Hebrew), to redeem creation back to the Father (John 3: 16). The choice of acceptance for redemption lay on the individual responses of Creation (Rom 6: 23) to accept the Father’s payment for redemption on the Cross of Christ over 2000 years ago on a hill called Calvary, place of the skull. After Christ’s death, he was resurrected, seen by over 500 people (1Cor. 15: 6), and ascended back to Heaven in the presence of his disciples on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem within view of the Eastern Gate of the city. When Jesus left planet earth after his resurrection, he proclaimed at some future date in time he would return to gather his Church taking them to a prepared place (John 14: 1-6). This brings us to the present time.
Second Coming of the Lord
The Second Coming of Christ is mentioned over 300 times in the New Testament and over 1500 times in the Old Testament. His return is mentioned in 24 of the 27 New Testament books. The books of Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John do not mention Christ’s Second Coming. These books speak of interpersonal relationships, hospitality, and church leadership. The book of Zechariah 14: 4 states that Jesus the Christ will return to earth by descending onto the Mount of Olives after appearing in the clouds (Matt. 24: 30) (Rev. 1: 7). The Bible states in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 at the time of Christ’s return, all people shall view his return. When one is standing upon the Mount of Olives, the immediate view before him is that of the Eastern Gate or Golden Gate, the Gate of Mercy. Prophesy indicates that upon Jesus’ return to the Mount of Olives, he will enter Jerusalem through this Eastern Gate.
Ottoman Empire
In the year 1541 the Ottoman Empire under the leader Sultan Suleiman, the Magnificent conquered the city of Jerusalem prompting the Ottoman Empire ruling this region for 401 years. After becoming aware of prophesies of Jesus’ return someday, and to prohibit its fulfillment, the Sultan sealed the Eastern gate with concrete. He added a Muslim cemetery nearby to seal and block entrance to this gateway. This gate has therefore been closed for over 500 years with no signs of change, until now.
Preparations for Christ
Israel today, is an especially popular tourist destination because of many of the biblical attractions. Although Tel Aviv is its capital, Jerusalem with its walls from ancient historical times still intact, is the most visited city in the country with roughly 3.5 million people annually. The major attractions are the Old City, Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Mount of Olives. Directly opposite of the Mount of Olives in clear view is the Eastern Gate or Golden Gate. There are eight major gates in the Old City part of Jerusalem constructed around 1537-1542, by Suleiman the Magnificent. Of the eight gates in the Old City part, only seven are open to the public. The walls of this old part of the city extend for 2.5 miles, rising about 40 feet high, and are about 8 feet in thickness. The Eastern Gate or the Gate of Mercy was sealed in 1541 by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in fear of the prophetic claim of the return of King of Israel and had been forgotten about until recently.
Check the Signs (Matt. 16: 2-3) (Matt. 24: 32-33)
Much attention in recent weeks has been focused in the region of the Eastern Gate. Reports of minute bits of crumbling cement from the gate itself and the shifting of nearby stones within the wall have been verified. Several observers have witnessed an unidentifiable groaning or moaning sound from around, near, or inside the wall. There is an accelerating effort in Israel today to rebuild the Temple, which is one requirement necessary for Christ’s prophetic return. Regardless of all events occurring in the Middle East at this time, news commentaries and several television broadcasts have increase coverage and information due to the increased interest in Bible history, occurrences mentioned in the Scriptures, prophesies in Revelations, and key people who are focal points throughout the entire book. It is noted that the Bible is the number one most published book of all times and 18 million Bibles were sold in the United States in 2025 alone.
What Do We Do with Jesus?
If this is your first association in seeking knowledge about the Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, you may want to put off some of your work plans for today. Purchase a large print Bible, find someplace alone and quiet, and sincerely explore a conversation with “Someone” not visible to you and will not necessarily answer your questions aloud. However, I know of two individuals who God, Himself, spoke unto them aloud, for they shared with me what he said.
You can, however, expect Him to make Himself aware of His presence in some way, if you are sincere. That is a promise (John 6: 37). Don’t get in a hurry and keep your mind clear of “things needing to be done later”. He’ll not be in a hurry. You don’t need to take notes for He will remember you and remind you at a later time what you and He discussed (Heb. 9: 27).
Sower's Field by L. Michael Schoonover 