The Ishtar Gate in Babylon (reconstructed in Berlin after First World War); the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; Temple Bar Gate in London; Delhi Gate in India; The Burgtor in Vienna – more than mere monuments, gates are fascinating structures and hold great symbolism.
Gates in the Bible were not just an entrance to the city or a place to pass through. All the action happened in the city gates. Today we have courtrooms and city halls; in Biblical times the city gates were the place where witnesses gathered, justice was served, negotiations were made, and contracts were created. The city gates were a place where civic leaders and kings worked.
In Genesis, God’s blessing to Abraham states that Abraham’s offspring “shall possess the gate of his enemies;” (Gen. 22:17). Because in ancient times city walls were so tall, the way to victory in battle was by taking the city gates. Whoever could do this would ultimately win the city. Many of the Old Testament battles make reference to the city gates.
In addition to battles, the city gates also help us to understand details about different generations throughout the Old Testament. When we read about the “camp” of the children of Israel, our minds may limit us to thinking of nothing more than a bunch of tents set up in the wilderness. The reality is much different, as a read-through of Exodus helps us understand that their “camp” was more of a city, consisting of gates on either end with many large structures in between. One such structure was the tabernacle, a massive building of incredible significance, so substantial in size that it had its own set of gates. The exact measurements of the gates of the court of the tabernacle are located in Exodus 27. Gates in the Bible often signify something bigger than what we may think.
In His sermon on the Mount, Jesus used the illustration of gates when He said “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction… Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14). Large city gates in Biblical times contained a smaller gate, called a wicket. Wickets reduced the risk of unwanted exposure and access to the city because they were only wide enough for one person to enter at a time. Guards used wickets as a way to control access to the city. This is also where Christian enters the King’s Highway in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Jesus also talked about gates when He said to Peter that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church (Matt. 16:18): “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
The city gates were places where deals were made and policies were crafted, and Jesus’s promise serves as a reminder that no plan or policy or scheme of Satan’s will ever prevail. No matter how bad things in our world may look, in the end, Christ wins. And, as C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, “The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.”
When we read of gates in the Bible, we should be reminded that gates are a place where the battle is lost or won, and gates have a way of helping us keep things in perspective. As Spurgeon said, “Hell has many gates, though Heaven has but one.”