Isaiah
26:2
2 Open [pathach] ye the gates [sha`ar], that the righteous [tsaddiyq] nation [gowy] which keepeth
[shamar] the truth ['emuwn] may enter in [bow'].
KJV-Interlinear
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation
that keeps faith may enter in. ESV
This is prophetic,
but not what you are thinking.
The statement here
is for the gates, not of the city, but of heaven. It is opening the gates for an entire nation
to enter.
No nation can
enter into a city, no city or nation on this earth has gates that allow
entrance within.
Throughout the Old
Testament, people who believed in the Savior, the Son of God, even though they
did not have a formal name as we have today, were saved nonetheless.
But when they
died, they did depart from this earth to be face to face with the Lord in
heaven.
They went to a
compartment in the underworld called Paradise.
This is one of the four compartments in the underworld.
And there they
awaited the actual event of the cross in order to have their salvation finalized
and the promise of salvation fulfilled.
Before the Cross, salvation was only a promise. And as far as Satan was
concerned, salvation was only a possibility.
But of course from Gods point of view the promise was as good as the
actual fulfilment of the promise.
But we know from
the many studies of Satan, that he challenged everything and was contentions
with everything that God put forward.
So, believers went
to Paradise, which in itself was a perfect place, but not the permanent place
as Heaven is permanent.
They were in
effect, prisoners in Paradise. Captives
as a result of Satan’s complaint, but under the protection of God until the
promise could be fulfilled.
And so, after the
Cross occurred, then Christ went to Paradise and led the captives, out of
Paradise and into heaven in a victory parade.
Paradise is now
empty and no longer of any use.
Here is the
announcement of that victory. The gates of
heaven are opened, and the entire nation of believers will enter into heaven.
During our
dispensation, when we die, we go directly to heaven. There would obviously be a steady stream of
people entering into heaven over the course of these last 2000 plus years. We do not all go there at the same time.
During the Tribulation,
the Christians who will die during those seven years, will go directly to
heaven. During the Millennium, the
believers who die will go directly to heaven.
Then, at the end
of time, at the end of the Millennium, then all believers, after all of the
resurrections have been completed, will enter into the new universe. That will not be a gate opening entrance, but
a universe combined with heaven creation that will occur all around us.
Faith is the basis
for salvation, and membership in the family and nation of God.
