The Golden Gate on the east wall of the Temple Mount dates back to 1541 AD and is the oldest of the eight gates of Jerusalem today. During the time of the First Temple (10th century BCE to 586 BCE) the eastern Gate was the main entrance into the Temple area. The rebuilt eastern Gate of Jerusalem was the main entrance to the Second Temple area, and the same gate that Jesus entered on a humble donkey in His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.

This eastern Gate of the Second Temple which Jesus entered may have had only one archway. The original gate of the Second Temple that Nehemiah built was maybe 1000 feet south of where the eastern Gate is today and is underground, as documented by archaeologist James Fleming in 1969. It was through the lower gate (now underground) that Jesus would have entered Jerusalem in 30 AD.

The eight gates of the Old City of Jerusalem – Golden Gate, Lion’s Gate, Herod’s Gate, Damascus Gate, New Gate, Jaffa Gate, Zion Gate and Dung Gate

 

The destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE, included the destruction of the the wall of Jerusalem and the burning down of the gates.

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The Second Temple
516 BCE to 70 AD
Cyrus II of Persia or Cyrus the Great (600 – 530 BCE) reigned for 30 years. According to the Bible, when the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem following a decree from Cyrus the Great, construction of the Second Temple started at the original site of Solomon’s Temple. It took 46 years to complete.

In 444 BC the King of Persia, Artaxerxes I, authorized a rebuilding project of the City of Jerusalem including its wall and gates at the request of Nehemiah, whom he appointed as governor of Persian Judea. Nehemiah traveled to Jerusalem as governor and ruled with justice and righteousness for 12 years.

Nehemiah rebuilt the walls within 52 days, from the Sheep Gate in the North, the Hananeel Tower at the North West corner, the Fish Gate in the West, the Furnaces Tower at the Temple Mount’s South West Corner, the Dung Gate in the South, the East Gate and the gate beneath the Golden Gate in the East.

Jerusalem’s Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is on the eastern side of the Temple Mount and the closest gate to the Temple site. It is on the eastern wall of the Old City, facing the Mount of Olives and the Jewish cemetery.

The Golden Gate is also called the Gate of Mercy and the Gate of Eternal Life. The gate has two doorways. The southern part is known as the Gate of Mercy, and the northern part as the Gate of Repentance.

Centuries ago Jews prayed opposite this gate, facing the Temple. They began praying at the Gate of Repentance before proceeding to the Gate of Mercy to ask God for mercy.

The Christians later called this gate the Golden Gate. The Arabs in the Middle Ages named it as the Gate of Eternal Life. They also called this gate the Mercy Gate. According to the Islamic Koran, the just will pass through this gate on the Day of Judgment.

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Sealing of Jerusalem’s Golden Gate
The East Gate was closed by the Muslims in 810 AD, reopened in 1102 AD by the Crusaders, and then it was walled up by Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt, after regaining Jerusalem in 1137 AD.

The Muslim conquerors (the Ottoman Turks) added great stones to the Golden Gate in 1530 AD and a cemetery was planted in front of it thinking that the Jewish Messiah would not set foot in a cemetery. Many believe this was done to prevent the entrance of the Jewish Messiah through that gate as was foretold by known Old Testament prophecies. However, Ezekiel prophesied the shutting of this gate itself around 600 BCE: that it would be shut “because the LORD (Jehovah or Yahweh), the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.”

In 1535 AD Suleiman the Magnificent, longest reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ordered the ruined walls of the City of Jerusalem to be rebuilt including the East Gate. In 1541 AD, in the process of rebuilding, Suleiman had the new gate walled up and it has stayed that way until today.

It is interesting that this gate is the only one of the eight gates in Jerusalem that is sealed. The Arabs believe that since the Jews expect the Messiah to come through this gate they tried to prevent any possibility of His return. 
Isn't it interesting to think about, that the muslims believe in the teachings of the Old Prophets of the Bible but they want to stop the return of the Messiah who is what the Old Prophets teach us about, not to mention how ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND could think they could stop God from going to or doing anything he would like to do?