East Gate: The House of His Glory
In the beginning God spoke, and created the heavens and the earth. With nothing but His word, He brought order and life to creation. When God speaks, all of creation moves to the sound of His voice. When God said let there be light, the darkness fled. When God spoke the heavens into being, the waters of the cosmos divided themselves. When God called forth dry land, those very same waters gathered themselves together. God spoke and plants and animals sprung forth from the waters, skies, and land. When Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together called forth mankind, Adam rose from the dust of the Earth and breathed in the very breath that uttered his name. All of creation rests upon the echoes of God’s voice.
Every time God chose a man, woman, or child, to partner with His will, He called them by name. At times, God chose to change the names of His partners in order to call them out of what was and into what would be. The first was Abram, a childless man almost a century old whose name means, as if a cruel joke was played on him, exalted father. God called Abram out of his father’s land as Abram, but into the promised land as Abraham, a name which means father of a multitude. Abraham's wife Sarai, or princess, was also given a new name. She would enter into the promises of God as Sarah, or noblewoman. The same God who created everything from nothing was the same God who called Abraham and Sarah by their new names.
Upon hearing their new names every atom in their bodies recognized the voice of their master. Dying cells took on new life and sorrow turned into joy. The barren ones became fruitful at the sound and call of their Master’s voice. This is the power of a God given name. Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel. When God changes a name, just like in the beginning, He is calling things into existence that did not, and could not exist without Him.
For anyone who doesn’t know, my wife and I have the honor of serving our local church community, Bethlehem Community Fellowship, as senior pastors. Over the last two years we have seen God heal, deliver, set free, restore, and save lives, marriages, and families. It has been, and is, one of the greatest honors of our lives.
One of the things that Raquel and I are most passionate about (honestly, it’s THE thing we are most passionate about) is teaching people how to hear and connect with God for themselves. There is no greater feeling than being present when someone connects with, and hears God for the first time. The look on their face when they realize that they can have a REAL and SATISFYING relationship with the King of the Universe makes me cry like a baby.
A little over a year ago, Holy Spirit spoke to me through a dream, and told me that He didn’t call our local church Bethlehem Community Fellowship. I woke up from this dream a little confused (at first, I wasn’t sure if it was Holy Spirit speaking or a late-night snack lol), but I immediately woke Raquel up and told her about my dream. After a good night’s sleep the two of us began to pray together and ask God for clarity and confirmation.
After a few weeks of prayer Raquel and I felt like it was time to tell our church board about my dream and asked them what they thought. Their responses surprised us as they had sensed that God wanted to change our name before we even spoke with them. We continued to pray together as a board, and eventually we brought our district Bishop into what we believed the Lord was speaking to us. As only a spiritual father can, Bishop Jim affirmed both Raquel and I, and our ability to hear the voice of God. He recognized the change that had taken place within the body since he became our bishop and we became the senior pastors here at Bethlehem Community Fellowship. Bishop Jim sensed that Holy Spirit wanted to change our name to reflect the new work God had begun in our church community.
Having all of our leadership united gave Raquel and me a deep sense of peace, however, we still wanted prophetic confirmation. We believed a name change was too significant a change to make without Holy Spirit’s direct prophetic confirmation. Last summer during one of our prophetic presbytery services, a man of God approached Pastor Raquel and myself with a few prophetic words from the Lord. One in particular stood out, “Father God calls you by a different name.”
At this point Raquel and I recognized that Holy Spirit was clearly speaking to us. He wanted to change our name, we just didn’t know to what. After more than a year, Holy Spirit finally spoke to us our new name.
No longer shall our name be called Bethlehem Community Fellowship, but our name shall be East Gate, for we are established as the House of His Glory, the place where Heaven touches Earth (for some background and context for the language, “Established as the House of His Glory,” click here to read the sermon notes or here to watch the video).
If you’re anything like Joshua and me, you might be wondering, why East Gate?
TESTIMONY TIME!!!
The first way Holy Spirit confirmed His desire to change our name to East Gate came when we discovered that 1417 Marvine St., our church’s current address, is located along the actual East Gate of Bethlehem.
Joshua and I believe and teach that every prophetic word should be tested by, and established in, scripture. As we began to search scripture we only felt further confirmed and affirmed as East Gate.
Scripturally, the East Gate of the Temple in Jerusalem is the place where the Glory of God leaves and enters the temple.
Ezekiel 10:19 New King James Version
19 And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
Ezekiel 43:1-3 New King James Version
43 Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. 2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. 3 It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when [a]I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.
The East Gate is also where the River of Life flows from the temple, through the wilderness, and into the Dead Sea, bringing life to whatever it touches.
Ezekiel 47:1-5 New King James Version
47 Then he brought me back to the door of the [a]temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.
3 And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. 4 Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.
The East gate in Jerusalem is one of the literal places where Heaven touched Earth and where the Glory of God was experienced. This was a powerful confirmation of both our vision, “to elevate and empower, sons and daughters, to be the place where Heaven touches Earth,” and the word of the Lord over our local body for this year, “established as the House of His Glory.” (Again, more on the word of the Lord over our church in 2022 here.)
As a local church we have five unique characteristics that set us apart. (You can learn more about our local church here.)
We are Presence Driven
We are People of the Word
We are a House of Prayer
We Await the Return of Christ
We Stand with Israel
The East Gate of the Temple in Jerusalem is the place where our Messiah, Jesus Christ, is prophesied to return.
Ezekiel 44:1-3 New King James Version
44 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
Two of our unique characteristics as a local body is that we Await the Return of Christ, and that we Stand with Israel. How fitting that we should stand with Israel at the East Gate of Bethlehem as they await the Messiah at the East Gate of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Once Joshua and I recognized the hand and peace of God in the name East Gate, we presented everything to Bishop Jim, and the board. We prayed together, felt His peace, and sensed the pleasure of the Lord as we accepted His new name for our local body.
To anyone wondering, this is a GOOD thing. When God changes a name, He does so to bring about His will, and to demonstrate His faithfulness to His people and promises. When Jacob wrestled with and was eventually blessed by God, his name was changed to Israel. Remember two things, God blessed Jacob with a new name, and even though Jacob went forward as Israel, God was still recognized as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the very same way, Father God will always be the God of Bethlehem Community Fellowship. All of the memories, breakthroughs, and miracles that took place in Bethlehem Community Fellowship will go with us as we continue forward as East Gate.
SAVE THE DATE!!!!
The weekend of Friday, September 16th we will be hosting an East Gate Launch Party Weekend here at 1417 Marvine St. with services on Friday, September 16th at 7pm, Saturday, September 17th at 10am and 6pm, and Sunday, September 18th at 9:30am. We would love to see you, your friends and family for a weekend of prayer, worship, and prophecy as we celebrate everything Holy Spirit has done, and is doing, in our local body. We’re also excited to announce that we will have brand new East Gate merch available that weekend. We hope to see you there..
Blessings,
Joshua and Raquel
We Are Ecclesia
