The East Gate, also known as the Golden Gate, is the only gate to be found on the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. The Gate was closed up for the first time in 810, opened by the Crusaders in 1102, only to be closed again in 1187 by Saladin after reconquering Jerusalem. It has been permanently sealed since 1540 on the orders of the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent. 

The reason for the sealing of the East Gate, is to stop the false Messiah/Antichrist, from entering the city. Jews believe that the Anointed One, Jewish Messiah, will pass through the Gate when he comes to rule. Christians and Muslims believe that Jesus will enter the Gate during the Second Coming. Just to make sure no pretender could enter, Muslims built a graveyard outside to stop any kohen priest from stepping on the land. 

Christian tradition teaches that Jesus entered Jerusalem through this Gate on the back of a donkey during Palm Sunday. They also believe that Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary, and grandparents of Jesus, met at the Gate. It is a symbol of the Immaculate Conception of Mother Mary, and represents chastity in conjugal relations within marriage. 

Jews believe that the Divine Shekhinah will appear through the Gate when the Anointed One comes to rule. Only the High Priest was allowed to use this Gate, and only once a year because it was so sacred and directly linked to the Divine Light of God in the form of Shekhinah. 

Shekhinah is feminine word in Hebrew and is connected to the divine feminine principle in Judaism. It translates as dwelling, settling, to inhabit a space with the divine presence of God. It was most directly associated with the Ark of the Covenant and Holy of Holies. 

Ezekiel 9v3
Then the dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel rose up from the winged creatures, where it had been, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. 

Also referred to as the Sabbath Bride, the word does not appear in the Bible but in rabbinic literature. Shekhinah plays an important role in Kabbalah and has been interpreted as representing the Holy Spirit in Christianity. More often than not, the Presence of God is directly connected to light. This association is even more apparent when spoken of in relation to the Golden Gate on the Temple Mount. The light of Shekhinah entered the Temple through the East Gate. 

In Christian eschatology, sunrise in the East symbolizes both Christ’s resurrection at dawn on Easter Sunday and the direction of the Second Coming. Churches are constructed so that during the celebration of the morning liturgy, the priest and congregation face towards the morning sun. 

The sun is generally associated with the masculine aspect of God. The question we need to ask, which stellar body is associated with the feminine aspect of the divine in Judaism and Christianity? 

In the previous post it was made clear that the Dome of the Rock does not align with the East Gate. This fact completely undermines the belief that the Dome needs to be destroyed in order to build a Third Temple. There is enough space on the Temple Mount for both Muslims and Jews to worship the Divine.