The Well of the Dragon and Nehemiah –

This article was taken in part from Men of Renown, Part XX. 

    Let’s now follow the thread of dragon. The first mention of dragon is found in a very unusual book and place. The book of Nehemiah 2:13, And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. (The study of the book of Nehemiah would be a library of history and prophecy, and I am not going there, but for now, for those who do not have a background in biblical history, nor maybe not even secular history, allow me to briefly sum up the time and place of Nehemiah in a few words. During the age of the captivity of Israel in the land of Babylon, Nehemiah was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia. (Artaxerxes I was of the Achaemenid Empire, known as the First Persian Empire, an ancient Iranian empire from 465 to 424 BC.) Nehemiah was financed and charged by Artaxerxes I with the assignment to rebuild and restore Jerusalem in what is called the Second Temple period in Jewish history.)

So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. (Nehemiah 2:11)

And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. (Nehemiah 2:12)

And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. (Nehemiah 2:13)

Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. (Nehemiah 2:14)

Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. (Nehemiah 2:15)

And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. (Nehemiah 2:16)

   Now read how the Spirit of God draws this all altogether through His message built on man’s unification with Satan, a great red dragon. In a secret mission to discover for himself the true condition of the walls of the city of Jerusalem, Nehemiah went by NIGHT, by the GATE OF THE VALLEY. Notice the first two areas immediately outside of the walls was the dragon well, and to the dung port. The walls were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

   We will discover much about the VALLEY of the GATE OF THE VALLEY. First, this valley was called the valley of the son of Hinnom . . . AND the valley of Hinnom connected to the valley of the giants . . . . AND the valley of Hinnom was where thousands and thousands of babies and infants were murdered . . . AND the valley of Hinnom was also called the VALLEY OF SLAUGHTER. This valley, through a series of other interconnected valley’s, completely circled the city of Jerusalem: the valley of Hinnom westward and southward and eastward, and the valley of the giants northward of Jerusalem, And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same [is] Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that [lieth] before the valley of Hinnom westward, which [is] at the end of the valley of the giants northward: (Joshua 15:8) . . . AND this valley of Hinnom was also called the VALLEY OF SLAUGHTER. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which [is] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded [them] not, neither came it into my heart. (Jeremiah 7:31) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. (Jeremiah 7:32) . . . . AND this VALLEY of the son of Hinnom was by the entrance of the EAST GATE. And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which [is] by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, (Jeremiah 19:2). . . . . AND guess who was worshiped in the VALLEY of the son of Hinnom . . . BAAL. And they built the high places of Baal, which [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through [the fire] unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. (Jeremiah 32:35)

    The first thing that Nehemiah came to when he ventured out of Jerusalem by the gate of the valley was the dragon well and the dung port which perfectly describes what waited for those who journeyed in the valley of death.  The well of the dragon was stagnant and contaminated, even dumb animals know not to drink of stagnant water. The beginning of a descent, the beginning of GOING DOWN into the valley of the shadow of death described the physical and spiritual condition of Lucifer’s/Satan’s realm. And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Spiritually and physically Satan completely encircled the physical place of the city of God’s throne on earth . . . or so he thought that he had accomplished this encirclement. So, you should see through biblical history how Satan’s coup against his Creator played out in the overthrow of the nation of Israel. And how this connects historically and prophetically to Revelation Chapter 12 and Satan’s war against God’s people, His nation.

   In order to claim victory, every war must have a goal. Satan’s goal was to claim victory over God’s throne in His heavenly spiritual realm, but having lost that battle, Satan’s next best accomplishment is to claim victory over God’s throne on earth. But it will not be Satan who claims Jerusalem, it will be God’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psalm 2:6) O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift [it] up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! (Isaiah 40:9) Satan cannot bear the thought that God will fulfill His promise to dwell in Zion, in His holy mountain. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD [will be] the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16) So shall ye know that I [am] the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. (Joel 3:17)

    BUT we are not through yet with a great red dragon, or the dragon well in the book of Nehemiah. This gate that Nehemiah traveled through to begin his survey wasn’t just any gate. We have two points of attack by Satan: first, to overcome the city of Jerusalem which was a gated city; secondly to overcome the Temple of God which also has doors (not gates). (Oops, made an error, there was only two times in Scripture when a gate was connected to the Temple and it was called the Beautiful Gate and that was documented in the New Testament in Acts 3:2,10. I’ll leave that piece of information for you to consider the spiritual connection.) The book of Nehemiah deals with the city walls and the condition of their ruin. The book of Ezra deals with the Temple and the condition and state of its outward and inward ruin. We are dealing right now with the walls of the city and its gates. This particular gate that Nehemiah went through was the EAST GATE. And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which [is] by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee. (Jeremiah 19:2)

Side Note: The East Gate. This verse in Ezekiel 10:19 is about the east gate of the LORD’S house where we have the connection to  and the glory of the God of Israel. The east in Scripture usually points to God’s glory. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also [were] beside them, and [every one] stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel [was] over them above. Let’s follow this thread of east and God’s glory, for instance, each tribe of Israel while they camped in the wilderness were all given a specific geographically location to base camp. The tribe of Judah was assigned the east side toward the rising of the sun. And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab [shall be] captain of the children of Judah. (Numbers 2:3) The Lord Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. (Hebrews 7:14) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5)

   The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was first announced by men from the east. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. (Matthew 2:2) So, as His birth announcement first came from the east, so also, the announcement of His judgment on the earth will also be seen in the east when Christ visibly comes to the earth to reign. As He was first rejected as King of Israel, He will come again to rule over the earth as King, and He will appear from the east. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:27)

   The East Gate was specifically dedicated to God’s entrance into His city, and into His Temple was prophesied in the book of Ezekiel Chapter 43. So, this future gate was not just any gate. The prophecy in Ezekiel Chapter 43, verses 1-5 speaks of this special gate that leads to the inner court of the Temple yet to come.

Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: (Ezekiel 43:1)

And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:2)

And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. (Ezekiel 43:3)

And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. (Ezekiel 43:4)

So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. (Ezekiel 43:5)

   The following verses are both historical and prophetical. Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. (Ezekiel 44:1) Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. (Ezekiel 44:2) There is, of course, much more that can be written about the east gate, but we will end here. ♦ End of Side Note: The East Gate. (I suggest that you CLICK ON THIS LINK because there is much more to learn about the word EAST in relationship with its connection to the glory of God.) 

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