Lions' Gate

When I started painting the Lions' Gate in July 2023, I obviously had no idea of the tragedy that was about to befall Israel on 7 October.

Sadly, I believe this painting is a prophetic picture of that fateful day when about 1 200 innocent people were brutally murdered, 4834 injured and 240 abducted, including children under the age of 5.

I did not intend to include people in this painting, but figures formed unintentionally in the archway of the Gate. Later, I saw these as representing the hostages held captive in a dark and terrifying place. It reminded me of Daniel's three friends in the lions' den.

Sometimes, we do things without realizing why God is leading us in a certain direction...this was the case with my painting of the Lions' Gate.

I have included an article written by a dear friend of mine, Rene Kirstein, which expands on the historical and biblical meaning behind the painting. Hope you are blessed by it.

Leigh

"The Lions’ Gate is situated in the north-eastern corner of the Old City and is the only gate in the eastern wall. It faces out of the Old City, towards the Mount of Olives and the Kidron Valley, providing access to the Temple Mount from the Kidron Valley, and opens directly into the Muslim Quarter.

The gate is also known as:

• The Gate of Jehoshaphat - According to the prophecy of Joel, Israel’s enemies will be judged by God in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which is in the channel of the Kidron Valley at the foot of the gate.

• St. Steven’s Gate or Stephen’s Gate, after Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

• The Gate of Lady Miriam, after Jesus’ mother.

It was only in the middle of the nineteenth century that the Jewish people began referring to the gate as the Lions’ Gate — and that because of the two pairs of lions located on each side of the gate’s opening.

The lions are said to represent the Mamluk ruler Baibars (1223–1277), known as the Lion of Egypt and Syria, who ruled the land of Israel from 1260.

However, the gate was only built around 260 years after his death (c.1538). The lions were included in the gate when the walls of Jerusalem were restored at the command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, of the Ottoman Empire.

Apparently, Sultan Suleiman dreamt the lions were about to devour him because he had not defended Jerusalem as a holy and important city. One version of the story about the sultan’s dream speaks of an interpreter telling the sultan that the lions in his dream represented the lions that guarded Solomon’s Temple. The interpreter advised the sultan that if he treated Jerusalem with respect, he would be blessed.

Sultan Suleiman then went to Jerusalem, saw that the walls were in ruins, and ordered that they be rebuilt. It was at this time that the two pairs of lions were included on either side of the gate’s opening.

The road within the gate is called the Lions’ Gate Road. It runs in a westerly direction, passing the north side of the Temple Mount and becomes the Via Dolorosa.

It is through this gate that the Israeli troopers broke into the Old City during the Six-Day War. From here they continued to the Temple Mount. The gate’s doors were destroyed in that war and were restored two years later in 1969.

It is interesting to note that the Lions’ Gate replaced what was previously called the Sheep Gate. It was through this gate that the sheep would be brought into Jerusalem for the sin offerings. Jesus (Yeshua) would also have been brought through this gate, from the Mount of Olives and into Jerusalem for His trial.

After His sentencing He would have then been brought back out through the Sheep Gate, via the Via Dolorosa, to be crucified at Golgotha.

This is particularly significant considering that the prophet John (Yochanan) the Baptist identified Jesus as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’

Jesus came into the world as the sacrificial Lamb to shed His blood for our sin and to reconcile us to Almighty God. Jesus was then raised from the dead and He is soon to return— this time not as The Sacrificial Lamb, but as The Lion of Judah, to rule from Mount Zion, forever."

Rene Kirstein