[11] Rabbi Eliezer, dissenting, says that it was not a causeway, but rather marble pillars over which cedar boards had been laid, used by the High Priest and his entourage.

The construction date of the present-day Golden Gate is unknown, as Muslim authorities forbid archaeological work at the Temple Mount.

Later, in the light of developing research, new arguments have been advanced by many scholars such as Hamilton, Sharon, Ben-Dov, Rozen Ayalon, Tsafrir and Wilkinson that the gate should be dated to the 7th–8th century AD, to the Umayyad period.

[14] An alternative theory holds that it was built in the later part of the 7th century by Byzantine artisans employed by the Umayyad Caliphs.

[18] Suleiman may have taken this decision purely for defensive reasons, but in Jewish tradition this is the gate through which the Anointed One (Messiah) will enter Jerusalem.

that Suleiman the Magnificent sealed off the Golden Gate to prevent a false Messiah or "Antichrist" coming through the entrance.

This second premise is not wholly correct because a Kohen is permitted to enter a cemetery in which either Jews or non-Jews are buried, such as the one outside the Golden Gate, as long as certain laws or Halakha regarding purity are followed.

The gate house, which is accessed from the Temple Mount by descending a wide flight of stairs leading into it, and where the current ground floor is built in the shape of a rectangle measuring 24 metres (79 ft) × 17 metres (56 ft) (exterior wall measurements), is surrounded by walls, the length of which space being divided by a row of columns forming two equal divisions.

[15] Access to the Golden Gate from within the Temple Mount was sealed off by Israeli authorities in 2003 because the group managing the area had ties to Hamas.

The two bays are reflected in its plan and main elevations; two doorways are followed by a double passage covered by three pairs of domes.

Architecturally, the spatial treatment of the gate is somewhat interesting; shifting the facade 2 metres out of the wall indicates a clear definition of its location.

Whatever the construction motive of Bab al-Rahmah might have been, it was built during the early Islamic period, and it is the most significant gate of the enclave.

"[37] It is also said that Jesus, riding on a donkey, passed through this gate on Palm Sunday, in fulfillment of the Jewish prophecy concerning the Messiah (Ezekiel 44:1-3).

[3] Those who believe the "Golden Gate" to be a fulfillment of a prophecy in the book of Ezekiel (44:1-3) spiritualize these words (i.e., using Typical, Figurative or Allegorical interpretation).

However, Biblical scholars using the Historical-Grammatical method of interpretation (basically, reading a book for the meaning its author intended) point out that the context of chapters 40-46 do not refer to either a city gate during the time of Jesus nor one today, but rather to a temple gate in which "the glory of the LORD filled the temple (43:5 RSV)" and "will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel for ever (43:7 RSV)".

"[40] Honoring the Jewish tradition (see above) and inspired by apocryphal accounts of the life of the Virgin Mary, medieval Christian artists depicted the relationship of Jesus' maternal grandparents Joachim and Anne Meeting at the Golden Gate.

The pious custom of a bridegroom carrying his bride across the threshold of their marital home may be based in the traditional symbolism of the Golden Gate to the faithful.

The metaphor also features heavily in the personalist phenomenology of Pope John Paul II, his Theology of the Body, a collection of reflections on this theme Crossing the Threshold of Hope were written to encourage the Roman Catholic faithful facing the challenges of materialism and increasing secularism and published on the cusp of the new millennium in 1998.

The threshold between the earthly and heavenly realms symbolized by the Golden Gate represents the Mystical Body of the Church, often viewed as the Bride of Christ.

In Christian eschatology, sunrise in the east symbolizes both Christ's resurrection at dawn on Easter Sunday and the direction of his Second Coming.

The Ostra Brama in Vilnius, Lithuania contains an icon of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, which is venerated by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox inhabitants.