The Beautiful Gate

The Beautiful GATE copyright © 2022 Vance Royal Olson

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-9955141-6-4

Published by:

The Blacksmith Arms Publishing House

Edinburgh, Scotland

Print design and cover layout:

Simona Meloni

email:

[email protected]

Table of Contents

The Healing at the Beautiful Gate

I. The Beautiful Gate

A. Beautiful Power

B. Tragic Trading

C. The Origin of the Four Loveless Powers of the Earth

D. A Question of Honour

II. The Ascension and the Mantle of Jesus

A. The Ascension

B. Yesterday, Today and Forever

C. Clothing with Power

D. Peter’s Hard Lesson

III. The Ascension and Mantle of Elijah

A. Gilgal

B. Bethel

C. Jericho

D. Jordan

IV. What Elisha Saw and Received

A. My Father, My Father

B. The Chariots of Israel and its Horsemen

V. The Mantle of Elijah on Elisha

A. Jordan

B. Jericho

C. Bethel

D. Gilgal

VI. Elisha: The Deep End

A. Introduction

B. The Battle of Four Kings (2 Kings 3:1-27)

C. The Widow and the Oil Jars

D. The Shunammite Woman and Her Son

E. Naaman the Syrian

F. Recovery of the Lost Axe Head

G. Battles with the Syrians

VII. Elisha’s Last Words: Lessons in Prayer

A. My Father, My Father

B. The Chariots of Israel and its Horsemen

C. Direction of Aim

D. Wholehearted Determination

The Bones of Elisha

The Healing at the Beautiful Gate

‘Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms of those who entered the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, with John, and said, Look at us. And he fixed his attention upon them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s, astounded. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people, "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.’ (Acts 3:1-16)

I

The Beautiful Gate

A.

Beautiful Power

In every superhero story there comes that satisfying moment when the good guy, after vanquishing the bad guy in mortal combat, and at great personal hazard, celebrates his or her victory, by facing that now defeated and humiliated foe.

As spectators we look for that moment when things have been put right, and the bad guy knows he’s wrong and is forced to admit it. We want to see hope fade from his eyes as the consequences of being wrong begins to sink in. And of course, we can then share in that glory of being the ones who are right and good... and powerful enough to enforce it.

The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection has all the elements of the good guy winning at great personal cost, but when it comes to the moment of glory, where the bad guy is totally humiliated and forced to admit it—that moment we love in the movies... well it just doesn’t seem to come.

Perhaps we were hoping for something like this: A few days after the resurrection, Jesus walks into the temple and shows his living self to everyone. He makes a short victory speech before rebuking and dismissing the high priest from his little throne. He then turns a ‘really guys?’ gaze toward the Sanhedrin who look down and sign their resignation letters. Imagine them walking out of their offices, each with his little box of personal belongings, and head hung in shame. No light of that hideous religious superiority in their eyes now! Gotcha!

And, to finish the scene off, a clever summing up quip from Jesus: ‘Well boys, I did give you the heads up on the whole weeping and gnashing of teeth thing...’ (Of course, his smile would have to be just humble, sad, and wise enough not to look too much like arrogance or gloating.)

Then Jesus could have put Peter in the high priest’s vacant seat and filled the Sanhedrin council chamber with his 120 or so followers... including women and other marginalised people according to the local demographic... And they all could have lived happily ever after!

I’m afraid it didn’t happen like that. And even if it had, no one would have been happy for long. History, both ancient and modern, is littered with revolutions and emancipations and ‘victim to victor’ stories. They never seem to bring more than short term change before the old power and abuse issues surface again.

Worldly humanistic power—every shade of politics, man-made religion, military, and finance—is the problem. This is not going to be a book shoe-horning the ‘politics’ of Jesus into a left or right-wing agenda, or his ‘economics’ into capitalist or socialist camps; it’s about a different kind of power completely.

Jesus did not behave as all other revolutionaries have; he laid down power to the point of allowing himself to be killed. And even in that he did not take up the kind of power that those who play the victim, and the martyr are so keen to acquire. Indeed, he did not seek to occupy any of the old seats of power at all.

After his resurrection Jesus did not even go to the temple. Nor did he present himself to Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas the high priest, or any members of the Sanhedrin. As far as we can see from the text of scripture, he only appeared to his followers.

We humans—even when we rise to being lofty freedom fighters, noble human rights activists, or fervent eco-warriors—are often vying for the same old thrones, just as ‘new money’ always seeks the accolades and luxuries of the old. But Jesus is building a new and fundamentally different kingdom from scratch.

And so, when Jesus finally did go into the temple after his resurrection, he went in a very different way. He entered shortly after Pentecost, clothed in a couple of fishermen called Peter and John, and through a gate called beautiful. And the words that Peter spoke to a lame man, who sat begging there, reveal something about Jesus’ power that we often fail to see, and perhaps don’t really want to see. ‘I have no silver or gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ (Acts 3:6)

Do we want to see that the power that healed the lame man is specifically contrasted with silver and gold—the essence of worldly power? Jesus did not enter the temple by the ugly gate of worldly power, pride, and arrogance—nor even in a beggar’s mantle as a demanding victim—but by the beautiful gate of God’s humble, healing and serving power.

Our motives and inner desires are very much the crux of the matter. There is no dawn for that line of thinking that sees the power of God as an opportunity for worldly success and prosperity. The two powers serve two opposing kingdoms that perpetually war against each other: the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. We must choose which one we will serve; to serve both has never been an option. In the words of Jesus: ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.’ (Matthew 6:24b)

B.

Tragic Trading

In biblical poetic and prophetic imagery ‘gate’ is a metonym for authority and government because the elders and governors of ancient cities met at the gates and from there all that came into and out of the city was managed and regulated. Something like ‘city hall’ in modern parlance—including the enforcement mechanism.

It is surely no coincidence that the first recorded miracle by Jesus’ disciples after the resurrection was at a place called ‘The Beautiful Gate’. This is the great example for all Jesus’ disciples through all the ages. Many people in the church throughout history, and right up to the present day—including some who began well—have ended up trading the beautiful gate of Jesus for the ugly gate of worldly power.

This issue becomes ever more crucial as the age reaches its climax. Ultimately every worldly power will fail and betray those who trust in it. By contrast, those who have made the Lord their dwelling place and security will stand through the coming storms. The Lord Jesus himself is the rock upon which a secure house can be built; humanistic ‘sands’ will be an increasingly failing foundation as the age draws to a close. (Ref: Psalm 91, Matthew 7:24-27)

It is essential that we understand the times and receive the equipping and encouragement needed to take up the mantles of true authority and power that Jesus has made available and earnestly desires to give us. It is a time and season both of great darkness and great light. Greater heavenly power and anointing are needed; old methods and systems and ‘wine skins’ will not be equal to the challenge we face. Yesterday’s manna is already stale.

The darkness of our times is the same as darkness always is; it is the clamour of men and women for more worldly power (most obviously money) while inevitably rejecting God’s presence and power at the same time. It’s the same fatal and ugly dynamic that Adam and Eve chose at the beginning. Tragically, even in the church, so many things that masquerade as noble pursuits are the same old tiresome demand for power. So soon we forget the words of Jesus that he who would be greatest must be the greatest servant, and that many now first will in the end be last, and other similar warnings.

I said ‘tragically’ but at the same time there is cause for hope. If there are power struggles within the church, it serves to expose the kind of power that was there in the first place, and in that sense, it is the beginning of Jesus cleansing his temple. So much of church structure is a worldly power structure, which, like the Sanhedrin of Jesus day is largely based on money and honour from men (the root of all worldly power) ... with lip-service paid to God.

There’s a story told, sometimes of Dominic and Pope Honorius III and sometimes of Aquinas and Pope Innocent II (in either case, a Dominican friar, and a Pope, in the early 13th century), where the Pope was showing the friar around the Vatican with all its treasures. The Pope commented: ‘No longer can St Peter say: Silver and gold have I none.’ To which the astute friar replied: ‘… and neither can he say to the lame man: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’

Somewhere along the way the Church had traded the power of God, for worldly power; the beautiful gate exchanged for the ugly gate. What an unspeakable tragedy! Even more so that this is not just confined to the medieval church. Many ministries to this very day, begin well, but with success gradually start to function in the power of money as it flows in alongside the success.

Perhaps our measures and definitions of success are askew? Do we recognise worldly power in the church? Can we hear the subtle hiss of the serpent in the winds of ‘progress’? Can we see that coarse grey bristle poking through the lamb’s wool?

The problem with making the tragic trade of Godly for worldly power, is that along with it, we trade sight for blindness. That is: we believe that we have become wiser and clearer sighted about good and evil (just as Adam and Eve did) when in truth we are blind and foolish. We might even start writing ‘clever’ books about how wonderful it is to have financial, political, and religious influence in society: climbing to the top of every sphere of worldly power. We might even start to think that the ‘mantle of Shinar’ is a beautiful thing. (More on that later.)

Much that I have to say addresses the difference between true Godly power and worldly power. Many people are unaware of the difference, very fuzzy in their thinking about it, or even completely blind. Worldly power, be it money or status in some nation or organization, has a way of confusing, silencing and marginalizing its dissenters. The guy with the office, the building and the cash who can call the police if it comes to that, will always look like the one who is right... at least to those who are blinded by such powers... ‘Might is right’, as the old saying goes.

Why then clamour for a bigger slice of that worldly pie? Consider the words of Jesus to the man who said: ‘"Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man who made me a judge or divider over you? And he said to them, Take heed and beware of all covetousness..."’ (Luke 12:13-15) Jesus does not take the position of arbiter between those clamouring for worldly power. He has already told us not to seek that power: Why then would he help us get it?

The church was never called to be another political or financial power in the world. The coming troubles and upheavals and shakings in the nations will bring much of that to an end in any case, because when God shakes worldly powers, every church that is built upon them will also be shaken until only the unshakable power of God remains.

Thankfully, our heavenly Father will not leave us stranded in the shaken rubble, but as always, knows exactly what he will do. The best thing any of us can do is wait on him and hear what he has for us and allow him to lead us on the path of ever-increasing brightness and seeing. This book is written to help you along that path; to awaken and broaden your expectations and increase both knowledge and faith for new things to come.

When Jesus was taken up into Heaven after his resurrection, he commissioned his disciples to continue the Kingdom work that he had begun, which is exactly what Peter and John were doing that day at the beautiful gate.

Today, we who live in these times, have received the baton to run the same race those early disciples ran. Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit, and he has promised us the Holy Spirit; the same anointing or ‘mantle’ that he himself had. Our commission is to continue the works that Jesus did—indeed even greater works are promised.

After a brief review of Jesus ascension and the promises of the Holy Spirit, we’ll look at the iconic Old Testament story of the passing of authority to the next generation: the story of Elijah passing his mantle to Elisha. In this story and connected scripture, we will glimpse the deep counsels of God about power and the receiving of mantles.

The key that Elisha was given was not the thing we often default to in our hearts—that somehow, we must be more diligent and disciplined and fervently religious… and then feel hopeless and condemned about it. Rather the key given by his mentor Elijah was seeing. ‘If you see me as I am taken up’, he said, ‘then you’ll receive a double portion of the power I have’. For us this means that the key is to see Jesus as he is taken up to heaven and seated at the right hand of God the Father. We must be cured of the endemic blindness of worldly power, and have our eyes opened to the true nature of God’s power. And that is a hard thing, as Elijah had said.

The story of Elisha’s successful accomplishment of that hard thing—yes, he got the sight and the power—contains the insights and keys that we need to succeed as well. This is not about some rigorous Pharisaic keeping of laws and rules, but about changing our perspectives, about being willing to look where we haven’t dared look before and think down paths that we haven’t previously considered. It’s about repenting, which means ‘mind shifting’… changing our thinking about God and receiving the truth that blind eyes have refused see. If we will allow ourselves to see what Jesus wants to show us, then we will receive the mantles of true Godly power that we desire.

The people of God, the true church, have come to the moment to receive; an axial transitional moment when new mantles are about to be released