THE TWELVE GATES WERE TWELVE PEARLS, REV. 21:21
“TO-DAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.” LUKE 23:43
FRANK HAMILTON, 1853 – 1947, RESTING
CARRIE HAMILTON, 1852 – 1908, RESTING
ELBERTINE R. HAMILTON, 1862 – 1958, DEVOTED DISCIPLE
Two monuments, one in the Rock Creek Cemetery at Washington D.C. and the other in Cave Hill Cemetery at Louisville, Kentucky, depict an opening or gateway with a rock rolled away from the opening.
The Hamilton Tomb has two Bible verses carved into the face of it that indicate that the opening of that monument is meant to portray Jesus’s entry into Heaven, “To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The second Bible verse, Revelation 21:21, goes on to describe the destination, “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
The second monument, that of Zachariah Madison Sherley, a prominent riverboat fleet owner and pilot and his wife Susan Wallace Cromwell Sherley, also depicts a rock next to an entryway. This one, too, depicts the Resurrection of Jesus.
Many places in the Bible describe the Holy event, as does John 20:1 – 2, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. 2. Then she runneth and cometh Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them. They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.”
SHERLEY
Z. M. SHERLEY, 1811 – 1879
SUSAN W. CROMWELL, HIS WIFE, 1831 – 1928
However, the Bork Family monument in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Tiffin, Ohio, depicts Jesus’s ascension to Heaven. Here Jesus leaves the Earthly realm for the Heavenly realm—this is the Resurrection of Christ.
Gravely Speaking 
These are great, and the Bork fantastic! You are better traveled than I, since you’ve been to see Cave Hill, but I will contribute three more: one of the Marys coming out of the empty tomb with a statue by Gutzon Borglum for the Ffoulkes in Rock Creek, the Bates monument in Druid Ridge in Pikesville, MD, a vast rough boulder with (besides names and dates) “They rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre,” and the Rementer stained-glass window in West Laurel Hill with the angel in the empty tomb giving the good news. I published pictures of all three here: http://syngrammata.com/2019/10/22/a-delightful-tomb-with-a-religious-theme/
I have photographed the Ffoulkes monument but never written about it. I love it though because of the drama of it. Your other two photos are dramatic, too. Your site is terrific.
Sorry to comment on an old post but I really enjoyed this collection of Bible verses and Christian monuments. You tied them together very well. I think this is a cool resource to use for Sunday School and churches, so I’m excited to read even more of your website!