Psalm 24:7
7 Lift up [nasa'] your heads, [ro'sh] O ye gates; [sha`ar] and be
ye lift up, [nasa'] ye everlasting [`owlam] doors; [pethach] and the
King [melek] of glory [kabowd] shall come in. [bow']KJV-Interlinear
7 Lift
up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of
glory may come in! NASB
When Adam and Eve were in
the Garden, they walked and talked with God everyday, and thus they had a
relationship with God prior to their fall.
This was Jesus Christ with whom they associated while in the garden.
After their sin, they lost
that personal relationship, which was replaced with what is known as the
shechinah (sha-ki-na) or shechinah glory.
This is the visible presence or manifestation of God, but not the person
Himself.
This first revealing of
the shechinah, or visible glory came when they were evicted out of the garden
and the glory in the form of a flaming sword turning in every direction, and
positioned between to angels, stood guard over the entrance of the garden which
was to say standing guard over the tree of life, which is eternal life.
Man cannot gain access to
the tree of life except through Christ, the flaming sword. He is the only means of salvation and eternal
life. Man cannot ever nor is he capable
of, gaining eternal life on his own.
And here we have gates or
doors that lead to eternity.
Gates or doors are the
means of entry into something. Typically
they are used by cities, or homes and when they are closed then those on the
outside are denied entry unless they are opened.
This same shechinah was manifested
during the exodus, when the Israelites were led by a pillar of fire by night and
a cloud by day. The Egyptians saw this manifestation
and were afraid. The Israelites saw it
and were comforted by it.
The Shechinah, a bright
light, at times appeared usually within a cloud which shielded the light. It appeared between the angels on the mercy
seat of the Ark of the Covenant, which was located in the inner room of the
tabernacle. That room was called the
Holy of Holies.
It was shielded by a huge
veil or curtain, which prevented anyone from approaching God on their own.
Only when the work of the
cross was completed and the way of salvation secured, and likewise the barrier
was removed, then did the huge earthquake tear down that curtain, thus opening
up the way of salvation for everyone, making direct access to God now possible. Christ’s work on the cross was that work.
Christ is that gate, that
door, and your faith is the opening wide that access to eternal life.
The cross threw open
wide, all barriers, making way for the Lord to enter in, and for eternal life
to enter in, to something that was otherwise inaccessible. You were inaccessible prior to
salvation. God made you accessible.
You did not make yourself
accessible to eternal life.
Likwsie, this
accessibility is everlasting. That means
that once the gates and doors have been thrown wide open, and you have passed
through in faith, then they can never be closed again. That is eternal security. You can never lose your salvation. You can
never lose your eternal life. No matter
how evil you might become or might think that you are, once saved, always
saved.
Christ did the work and
Christ did not make any mistakes, did not leave anything out, did not overlook
anything or anyone. And that is addressed in the next verse.
