Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered what we think are unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.” Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?
It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were too lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.
Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.
We should note that there is more than one way to interpret doctrine, more than one way to think about the faith, and more than one way to read the Scriptures. We would not suggest that our way is the only way, or the right way; we are not Bible scholars. But we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to rightly divide the Word of God.
----------------------It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were too lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.
Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.
We should note that there is more than one way to interpret doctrine, more than one way to think about the faith, and more than one way to read the Scriptures. We would not suggest that our way is the only way, or the right way; we are not Bible scholars. But we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to rightly divide the Word of God.
Ps. 24:7-10 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty — he is the King of glory. Selah
Introduction: The Gates to Where?
The gates, the ancient doors, give us a picture of what might be called part of the structures that exist in heaven. We don't know if such things are metaphorical, spiritual, or physical, but we believe they exist. The Bible is full of descriptions of these structures. For example, with all due respect to Indiana Jones, we know where the ark of the covenant is:
Re. 11:19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant.
It's in God's temple in heaven. So God has a temple there as well, a more perfect tabernacle (He. 9:11) with a Most Holy Place (He. 10:19). The temple has pillars (Re. 3:12), God's throne (Re. 7:15), an altar (Re. 6:9), and foundations.
And, it has gates (Re. 21:13).
We think there is a lot of activity through these gates, with angels, visitors, and the Lord Himself passing through. We also think that the gates/doors are the entryway into heaven itself. Heaven is connected to the holy city (Re. 21:10) and the bride (Re. 21:9),. It is the place where the Glory of God and of the Lamb resides (Re. 21:22). There is a stairway used by angels (Ge. 28:12).
The Psalmist proclaims that he would rather stand guard at the entrance to heaven than be comfortable in a wicked man's home:
Ps. 84:10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Being a doorkeeper must must be a lowly place for the Psalmist to make such a comparison. He'd rather have this low place in heaven than anything else. Doorkeepers collected the offerings to the temple (2Kg. 22:4). There were doorkeepers for the ark (1Ch. 15:23). Some of the were stationed at the temple to keep out the unclean (2Ch. 23:19).
It appears they were somewhere below the priests:
2Kg. 23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts.
So when the psalmist states his preference to being a doorkeeper, he seems to be saying that the doorkeeper is important but unrecognized. He doesn't aspire to even be a priest.
Lastly, we note that these gates will never be be shut (Re. 21:25), but our subject verse tells us the command is for them to be opened.
The Call to the Heads
The use of the word "heads" has always aroused our curiosity. What did David mean when he used this word? How do gates have heads? Why does David tell these gates to lift up their heads for the King of Glory to enter?
"Head" is rosh, which simply means head. However, Strong's expands the scope of the word depending on context:
the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.) -- band, beginning, captain, chapiter, chief(-est place, man, things), company, end, X every (man), excellent, first, forefront, ((be-))head, height, (on) high(-est part, (priest)), X lead, X poor, principal, ruler, sum, top.
Sometimes we can get a sense of the word from its other usages in the Bible, for example:
Ge. 2:10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
Ge. 8:5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
Ex. 12:2 This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
Is. 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. (Micah 4:1)
Some commentaries suggest the lifted heads are a reference to discouragement, or that the gates to the holy city were built too low for the majesty to be admitted. Others connect this passage with the return of the Ark of the Covenant to the holy city.
In any case, the word most certainly refers to something primary or the highest location of something.
So heads at the gate are primary, or something or someone of importance for the gates.
The Watchmen
We think the heads are watchmen on the wall who have grown weary. Their critical job was to be the first notice. They were to be on vigilant guard, either for the enemy coming on attack, or for the victorious King returning from battle. It is the latter we think is in operation here. The watchmen would cry out when the King was sighted: The King is coming!
The watchmen would call down to the gatekeeper:
2Sa. 18:26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look, another man running alone!”
And the gatekeepers would shout out to the people:
2Kg. 7:11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
Preparations need to be made. The city would prepare by cleansing everything and get ready for a great feast.
Beyond the preparation within the city, the road itself would be cleared and leveled:
Is 60:3-5 A voice of one calling in the desert: “Prepare the way for the LORD make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
We can imagine the sight of all the stones being cleared away, roads being straightened, mountains being leveled, and every obstruction being moved aside. Isaiah exaggerates the magnitude of the clearing of the way for the King because this King is unlike any other. The King of kings is coming - - let the Church cry out!
This is what the watchmen are on the lookout for. But these particular watchmen were commanded to not rest or be silent:
Is. 62:6-7 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.
Again, this is no ordinary king. The watchmen's duty here was to ceaselessly cry out for the LORD Himself to come and establish His Kingdom on earth, just as Jesus instructed us to pray for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10).
Thus the watchmen tell the gatekeepers to open the gates. They gates open and close all day long for various reasons. But this gate opening is special, because the Lord is coming to His city.
The Gate Swings Both Ways
We know Jesus came to earth as a servant and the sacrificial lamb. He died to redeem us and wash away our sins. Then He defeated death by rising from the grave. Finally, He ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of Majesty, and promised to send the Holy Spirit (Jn. 15:26).
He uses the gates a lot.
Jesus passed one way at the incarnation, and the prophets predicted it (Micah 5:2, Isaiah 40:3; Mal. 3:1, Zec. 9:9), the Angel of Lord announced it (Lk. 2:9), the heavenly hosts celebrated it (Lk. 2:13-14), and the people witnessed it (Jn. 1:14).
Jesus passed back through at the resurrection, and the prophets predicted it (Ps. 16:10, Is. 53:10-11, Ps.40:1-3), Jesus Himself predicted it (Jn. 2:19, Mt. 12:40), the heavenly hosts celebrated it (Re. 5:9), and the apostles taught it (Ro. 4:24, 1Co. 6:14, 1Pe. 1:21).
Then at some point Jesus will go through the gates again at the second coming, and the prophets predict it (Ps. 80:14-15, Re. 19:14), Jesus Himself predicted it (Mt. 24:27, Mt. 25:13, Re. 16:15), and the apostles taught it (1Th. 4:15-16, He. 10:37, Ja. 5:7, 2Pe. 3:4, 1Jn. 2:28, Jude 14).
He will arise from His throne as the King of Glory, and will return to earth to bring the final defeat of the final enemy, death:
1Co. 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1Co. 15:54-55 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” [Isaiah 25:8] 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” [Hosea 13:14]
This victory chant may be one of the actual things the watchmen begin declaring at the sight of the returning King of Glory (...they will never be silent...) - - let the Church arise and praise the Lord!
The ancient doors became a new and living way for us to come into the Presence:
He. 10:19-20 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body...
Satan was probably cast from heaven through these gates (Lk. 10:18).
In addition, these gates are the ones that are narrow (i.e., the qualifying criteria to pass through is specific):
Mt. 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
So we as His people will use this narrow gate, this new living way, to enter heaven.
But not only are the gates descriptive of the avenue to heaven, they are descriptive of who belongs to the Shepherd. First Jesus describes being let in by a watchman (!!):
Jn. 10:3 The watchman opens the gate for him...
Then Jesus changes the metaphor:
Jn. 10:9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
And finally, He is the Good Shepherd:
Jn. 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me..
Jesus is the way, the avenue by which we draw near to God via His blood and broken body:
He. 10:19-20 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, He. 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
This means that Jesus is the gate, the highway, and also the King who travels through the gate and on the highway. Wow.
Watchmen Today
Our opinion is that there are watchmen in the Church, those who are commanded to be alert and pray:
Mt. 24:42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Mt. 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Many in the church slumber while those who are burdened to pray toil away into the night hours. The intercessors, those who are devoted to prayer, are the present-day watchmen on the wall:
Col. 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
The pressing call for the Church today is to become a house of prayer. This is the late hour, when the Church must rise up in powerful, prevailing prayer.
The Gates are Ancient - Conclusion
Our last observation is that the gates are ancient. How ancient, no one knows. We think the gates were established before creation. The ancient doors existed before there was satan, angels, rebellion, or man needing redemption. Prepared from ancient times with really no purpose if we were to judge from a human perspective.
The gates were necessary, even though they had no apparent purpose. In anticipation of what was to come, the gates, the avenue, existed. God had already prepared the avenue into His Kingdom before there was any need for it.
God in His foreknowledge constructed the gates to be opened at just the right time for the purpose of redemption:
Ps. 24:7 ...be lifted up, you ancient doors...
The ancient doors did open, and King of Glory did come in, He has entered His temple, the Church.
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