The Gates of Heaven
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Cities of antiquity were often walled for purposes of security and protection. Entrance and exit would be through fortified gates which were usually closed at night and locked with a massive crossbar. Because anyone entering or leaving the city would pass through the gate, it became a common place to meet. So characteristic of a city were its gates that the latter might be used to refer to the city itself. Hence, a more fondly revered application of this is to speak of the Gates of Heaven. There, as of old, we anticipate a meeting of the redeemed of all time. In his 1920 hymn “Just a Few More Days,” Charles Gabriel wrote of Heaven as a place “where the gates swing outward never.” They who enter do not push the gates open to leave, nor will they ever want to.
Written and voiced by David Hayes Prophater