Topical Bible: Gates: Religious Services Held At

◄ Gates: Religious Services Held At ►

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In biblical times, city gates were not merely entry and exit points but served as significant communal and religious centers. The gates of ancient cities were places of gathering, judgment, and worship, reflecting their importance in the social and spiritual life of the community.

Biblical Significance of Gates

City gates were central to the life of the community in ancient Israel. They were places where leaders and elders sat to administer justice, where prophets delivered messages, and where people gathered for various communal activities, including religious services. The gates symbolized authority and governance, as well as a place of refuge and protection.

Religious Activities at the Gates

1. Judicial and Civic Functions: The gates were often the site of judicial proceedings and civic administration. In Deuteronomy 16:18, the Israelites are instructed to appoint judges and officials for each of their tribes in every town, who would presumably sit at the gates to render judgments. This judicial function often intertwined with religious observance, as justice was seen as a divine mandate.

2. Prophetic Declarations: Prophets frequently delivered their messages at the gates, using the location's prominence to reach a wide audience. For example, Jeremiah was instructed to stand at the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim God's message (Jeremiah 7:2: "Stand in the gate of the house of the LORD and proclaim this message: 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the LORD.'").

3. Public Worship and Reading of the Law: The gates were also places where the law was read and taught to the people. In Nehemiah 8:1-3, Ezra the scribe read the Book of the Law to the assembly at the Water Gate, demonstrating the gate's role as a venue for public worship and instruction. The passage states, "All the people gathered as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel."

4. Sacrificial Offerings and Rituals: While the primary location for sacrifices was the temple, certain rituals and offerings were associated with the gates. Deuteronomy 12:15-18 discusses the consumption of meat from offerings within the gates, indicating that some religious activities extended beyond the temple precincts.

5. Community Gatherings and Celebrations: Gates were also venues for community gatherings and celebrations, which often had religious overtones. The communal aspect of these gatherings reinforced the spiritual and social cohesion of the people.

Symbolic and Eschatological Implications

The gates held symbolic significance in biblical literature, often representing the threshold between the sacred and the secular. In eschatological visions, gates are depicted as places of divine judgment and blessing. For instance, in Revelation 21:12-13, the New Jerusalem is described as having twelve gates, each named after one of the tribes of Israel, symbolizing the fulfillment of God's promises and the gathering of His people.

In summary, the gates of ancient cities were multifaceted in their function, serving as places of justice, prophecy, teaching, and worship. They were integral to the religious and communal life of the Israelites, reflecting the intertwining of civic and spiritual responsibilities.

Nave's Topical Index

Acts 14:13
Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

A Plymouth Usher
... The strangers within its gates usually outnumbered the ... to all visitors to the various
religious services, as well as to the social gatherings that were held. ...
/.../griswold/sixty years with plymouth church/a plymouth usher.htm

Sermon at the Opening Services of the General Convention, October ...
... Christ, and has His promise that the gates of hell ... they went to church, where the
services were conducted ... were made on account of the religious differences of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/whipple/five sermons/i sermon at the opening.htm

Church Fabrics and Services.
... inferior and even wicked people, at the gates of the ... thus a good deal of half-religious,
half-political ... moderate among them, who attended other services of the ...
/.../the english church in the eighteenth century/chapter x church fabrics and.htm

Nehemiah, the Praying Builder
... the walls were broken down, the gates were burned ... was favorably moved toward Esther
and held out to ... should be opened to all religious services, and appointed ...
/.../bounds/prayer and praying men/viii nehemiah the praying builder.htm

Knox's Writings from Abroad: Beginning of the Scottish Revolution ...
... the generation following, while James 6. held to Knox's ... paper to be affixed upon
the gates and posts ... and against such disturbances of religious services as the ...
/.../lang/john knox and the reformation/chapter viii knoxs writings from.htm

Protest of the Princes.
... the prohibition, thousands flocked to the services held in the ... which he can control
to destroy religious liberty. ... had built on Christ, and the gates of hell ...
/.../the great controversy between christ and satan /11 protest of the princes.htm

Protest of the Princes
... the prohibition, thousands flocked to the services held in the ... which he can control
to destroy religious liberty. ... had built on Christ, and the gates of hell ...
/.../white/the great controversy/chapter 11 protest of the.htm

Concerning Things Accomplished in the Synaxis.
... Leitourgoi, some stand near the closed gates of the ... as absolute, and not to be held
in check ... not invite them to the next religious services and contemplations ...
/.../dionysius/ecclesiastical hierarchy/caput iii i concerning things.htm

The Church of Rome in the Third Century.
... to him in succession, [345:5] held unsound views ... will build my church, and the gates
of hell ... Its religious services were now conducted with increasing splendour ...
//christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter v the church of.htm

On Reconciling Religious Dissensions among Christians
... certain destruction of those who are held in bondage ... Church may be preserved: and
these religious acts are ... These services, when thus performed, cannot fail of ...
/.../the works of james arminius vol 1/oration v on reconciling religious.htm