According to Jewish tradition, on Yom Kippur a messenger (usually a priest) took the
sacrificial lamb from the Temple through the gate to the desert. The Red Heifer
purification ceremony also involved taking the sacrifice through the eastern gate to
the Mount of Olives.
Unlike most of Jerusalem's other gates, the Golden Gate was originally built at least a
millennium before Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in 1540.
Indeed, some archeologists believe that the original gate, dating back to Herod's
construction or even Nehemiah's period (440 BCE), still exists beneath the current gate.
Perhaps because of the great religious significance of the gate to Jews and Christians as
the Messiah's route into Jerusalem, it is believed Suleiman sealed the gate and permitted
the construction of a Muslim cemetery in front of the gate.
The theory of an ancient gate received support in 1969 when an archeological student
beneath him opened and he found himself in a pit of bones looking at the top of another
gate eight feet beneath the surface. Fleming photographed his discovery. When he
returned the next day, the tomb had been sealed with a cement slab by the Islamic
custodians of the cemetery.
Perhaps the bones date back to 625 CE when a Jewish revolt supported the Persians vs the Byzantines. Led by Benjamin
of Tiberias and his army, the Jews controlled the city for several years, possibly even restoring religious practices on the
Temple ruins. The period was marked with slaughters committed by all sides.
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Thursday, February 21, 2019
Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta) Inbox x Picture a Day - The Holy Land Revealed. "The Golden Gate".
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Thanks for sharing. Blessings on your head from the Lord Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach.
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People
Charlotte, NC USA