The expression, "pearly gates", does not occur in scripture; nor is Peter, the Apostle, associated with them, in scripture. What John saw in vision and recorded in the Apocalypse - the Book of the Revelation - was that the twelve gates to the visionary city, named New Jerusalem, were, each one - a pearl. Each gate was not made of the substance : pearl. Each gate is a single pearl. Pearl is not - as is commonly said - formed by a grain of sand causing irritation to the oyster. The process is started by an infection - either viral or bacterial. It is the presence of another kind of life - within - that begins, and continues, the process. And what results is a laminated structure, laid down layer by layer, of both living tissue and chitinous substance. The compound is stronger than bone - as strong as tooth enamel. The interaction of another kind of life, with the creature's own life, internally, produces something that is structurally strong, desirably beautiful and so exceedingly precious that a discerning merchant would sell everything else, just to possess a prime example of such an item. This is how to enter the kingdom of heaven, now; and this is how to enter the heavenly city, for ever. | The Gates of Pearl  |
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