Entering the Kingdom of heaven

We need to learn to enter the Kingdom of heaven in our lives, for that is the Well of Life. There is several gates through which we can enter this spiritual Kingdom according to Nehemia 3.

Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of heaven into all our lives…Mat 4:¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near.”

This Kingdom is for all nations and people groups…Rev 5:⁹ And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

They are called to reign on earth… ^{Rev 5:10} You have made them to be a Kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign^[a] on the earth.”

 

The gate can be shut by those who think they know but really don’t…^{Mat 23:13} “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the Kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

 

We need to learn to enter the Kingdom of heaven in our lives for that is the Well of Life. There is several gates through which we can enter this spiritual Kingdom according to Nehemia 3. This was the gates to Jerusalem in that time but it has a spiritually significant meaning.

 

The gates to the Kingdom of heaven from Nehemia 3

 

We are going to look at the different gates there was to enter the city of Jerusalem. This I believe refers to the Kingdom of heaven each one of us must restore in front of our own houses. Each one has a different calling and a different focus as they restore the Kingdom of heaven on earth as they bring heaven to their souls and those around them.

 

Gate 1: The sheep gate

 

Nehemia 3:1 Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.

 

David was a shepherd. He looked after the sheep. This refers to people who take care of God’s sheep. It is people with a heart to see others prosper and to look after others. This is people that have the love of God.

They themselves find the Kingdom of God and they start sharing it with others and have a shepherd’s heart. This can be a mother looking after her kids. It can be a father leading his family into the worldview of the Scripture submitted to the Holy Spirit. Everywhere we take the Kingdom with us and those that are entering through the shepherd gate takes this Kingdom also to others and guards and help people around them.

 

Around the sheep gate was the Tower of a hundred. This can refer to the parable where Jesus says that if you have 99 and you lost 1 sheep leave the 99 and go and search after the 1. A tower many times refers to having a life of prayer and watching in the night that the wolf doesn’t steal. It can refer also to the pastoral that are called for about a hundred people. Scripturally it may be good to have 1 pastor for every 100 people in a church.

 

Gate 2: The fish gate

 

³ The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.

 

When Jesus called the disciples, he said: “I will make you fishers of men.”

 

Sheep walk around on earth and are not the smartest animals. They are the normal people on the earth trapped mostly by desires.

 

Fish swim in the sea. This can refer to nations that are trapped by worldviews. They are swimming in the deep philosophies of life. Those that repair the fish gate might be those that has discovered obedience to Jesus as the healthiest worldview in the world. They are sitting next to the waters and can catch fish that has been caught by the liar in this world. Ultimately the Christian worldview will win over all other worldviews as the most constructive and the best to prosper nations because it is the truth.

 

Gate 3: The Jehsanah (old) gate

 

^{Neh 3:6} The Jeshanah^[b] Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place.

 

The old gate might refer to those that search for wisdom in their life. It can be those that have lived life, have suffered, and found Jesus when they were older. They teach out of the wells of wisdom and leads the younger ones to the wisdom of the cross. They are the ones that have taken life on, lived and through the years discovered the cross as the compass of life and they teach it to others.

 

In that section the broad wall was found. The broad wall might refer to the clear distinguishing between what is right and wrong, what is from the flesh and from the Spirit, what is constructive and what is destructive, what is from the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of darkness. These people of wisdom understood how to sow on the Spirit to reap a good harvest.

 

Gate 4: The valley gate

 

^{Neh 3:13} The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. They also repaired a thousand cubits^[c] of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.

 

The valley gate can refer to those who were poor and lowly and those that have been brought low by life. They have lost their work, maybe got a serious illness, were born into poverty or maybe went through a divorce. Amid the valley of darkness, they call out and are saved and enter the Kingdom of heaven.

 

These people also must repair till the dung gate meaning they need to repent for what brought them to the valley.

 

In this way we don’t need to be afraid of the valleys of life. If our pain leads to life, we will be ok. We need to manage the valleys in our life and drink from the rivers of the Holy Spirit flowing in the valleys. Those that find the Kingdom of heaven in the valley and drink from the waters of life then has the chance to scale the highest mountains of success if they want. Or they can just camp next to the river of life enjoying the comfort and the training of the Holy Spirit while showing others the river as well.

 

Gate 5: The dung gate

 

^{Nehemia 3:14} The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Rekab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place.

 

The dung gate refers to those that have sinned a lot. They were maybe involved in wars and stole and killed and raped until they grew sick of themselves. It can refer to students that were immoral, drank a lot, impregnated others or were guilty of abortion. One day they woke up and felt like dung because they lived in the dung.

 

They then turn to God and ask for forgiveness. As they ask for forgiveness they are forgiven and can enter the rule of holiness and life. They need to bolt the doors shut to sin and make sure they never go there again for we will reap what we sow. As they then learn to sow in the Spirit they don't need to live in the dung anymore but can enter the fountain gate.

 

Gate 6: The fountain gate

 

^{Neh 3:15} The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Kol-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting its doors and bolts and bars in place. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam,^[d] by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David. 

 

The fountain gate is those that enters the Kingdom through the Holy Spirit. Some people enter the Kingdom through repentance, others through evangelism, others through Scripture and repentance and still others through an encounter with the Holy Spirit.

 

^{John 4:14} but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

 

The fountain gate has three significant places.

1)    The Pool of Siloam:

 

^{John 9:7} “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

The Holy Spirit gives us truly open eyes. It also emboldens us to preach to others.

 

2)    The king’s garden refers to the Tree of Life in paradise.

 

^{Rev 2:7} Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Even on this earth we can eat from the tree of life. This tree is Jesus Himself. We can have a Living relationship with the person of Jesus and hear his voice in our life.

 

3)    The city of David

 

Those who entered through this gate also had the right to bring the city of David or the heavenly Jerusalem. It means that they ate from the tree of life daily, is truly sent by God and has the right to bring others staying in their city to the tree of life.

 

Gate 7: The water gate

 

^{Neh 3:26} and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower.

 

The water gate also refers to the Holy Spirit as water is often a parable of the Holy Spirit in the Scripture.

 

^{John 4:14} but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

 

This is those that comes to the Presence of God and find refreshment from the Holy Spirit. When they get quiet sitting on a chair or lying on the bed they can easily enter the refreshment of their soul by focusing on the Presence of God.

 

Gate 8: The inspection gate

 

 Neh 3:³¹ Next to him, Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the room above the corner; 

 

The inspection gate is when the Holy Spirit is looking at you up and down for the motives of the heart. Where the dung gate is repentance from clear sin the inspection gate is the gate where we need to repent of wrong motives. It was a goldsmith that had to repair this gate. This can refer to those that has a lot of money or work with a lot of money. Their hearts could easily stray towards the worship of money. Such people could not enter the Kingdom before they were thoroughly searched by the Holy Spirit for wrong motives.

 

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things  and beyond cure.     Who can understand it? ¹⁰ “I the Lord search the heart, and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

 

God tests our hearts and we need to allow him to purify our motives that we can live in peace and not be thrown like waves because we are focused on desires of the flesh for happiness in our lives.

 

Which part (gate) are you called to repair?

 

^{Neh 3:17} Next to him, the repairs were made by the Levites under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. ¹⁸ Next to him, the repairs were made by their fellow Levites under Binnui^[f] son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah. 

 

Many people had the call to repair the wall in front of their house. What is the gate you enter the Kingdom of God through? What part of the Kingdom are you repairing through what you do, who you are and according to your sphere of influence?

 

Each person on planet earth is called to restore the Kingdom of heaven in their lives. Each family is called, each tribe is called, and each nation is called.

 

Are you restoring the Kingdom of heaven in your life, that all of us can live in heaven - making life heaven for each other ? While we are on earth let us enter the Kingdom of heaven so that we can all be ruled by heaven. Then maybe we can make life heaven for each other!

Message by Wikus Vorster  

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