That Eastern Gate

EASTERN GATE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!

Around 575 B.C. Ezekiel prophesied of the Jewish temple gate in  Jerusalem being closed.  The Eastern Gate of the temple in Jerusalem was first sealed in 810 by Muslims.  It was reopened in 1102 for a short time by the Crusaders.  It was walled up again by Ottoman leader Saladin 1187 when  he captured the city.  Later Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the walls and the gate remains closed to the present day.

Thinking the Messiah would not walk through a cemetery because he would be defiled the Muslims have placed a grave yard in front of the gate to stop any such thing.  Jesus is the resurrection however and he is not likely much  concerned with such trivia.

Augustine spiritualized Ezekiel 44:2 and applied it to the perpetual virginity of Mary to support Catholic tradition.  Some reformers have endorsed this questionable theory as well.  Augustine also promoted the replacement idea that God had replaced Israel with the church.  That was a popular theory until it was debunked by God in 1948 when Israel became a nation again against all odds.

While the word Palestine does not appear in the New Testament it does appear four times in the Old Testament, but only in the King James.  It is actually a poor translation which is corrected in new versions.  The land of the Philistines, where the word originated, was always considered to be the enemy of the Jews.  In Isaiah 14:29-31 Philistia is judged by God.

Jerusalem...a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples
(Zechariah 12:2)

Using the Devil's Sword

I went out to meet the Philistines, and he cursed me by his idols.  But I drew his own sword; I beheaded him, and took away disgrace from the people of Israel.  (Psalm 151:6-7)

A common method of debate in Christian apologetics is to use a cultists own literature against them. It is akin to David taking Goliath's own sword and slaying him with it.  But the average Christian is limited to quoting the Bible because to learn the cultists material requires an extra step of study and discipline.

Apostle Paul, trained in the traditions of the Pharisees knew his tradition well, and when he became a follower of Christ his mind was illuminated beyond that tradition.  In Athens we see a further understanding revealed that would have taken study of a different kind, when he referred to some of the poets known to the locals, "For we also are His offspring" he was quoting Cleanthese, the "Hymn to Zeus" (Acts 17:28).  This would not have been literature read in Rabbic school or among Christians but Paul used his understanding of secular tradition to bridge a communication barrier.