History Main / ThePearlyGates

* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife: In "Manic Mechanic," Rocko's car dies, and is escorted by the Grim Tow Truck to FluffyCloudHeaven, and stands before St. Peterbilt [[note]] For those who don't get it, Peterbilt is the name of a truck company. [[/note]] at the "Pearly Garage Door." The garage door in question has a basketball hoop mounted over it, as did many US garage doors in The Eighties and early in TheNineties.

The Pearly Gates -- when not used as a SexualEuphemism -- is common shorthand to describe the outer walls that separate paradise from the rest of the cosmos. Despite the trope name, the gates are more often golden than pearl-colored. There is usually a [[CelestialBureaucracy book-keeper]] at the door, typically either St. Peter or a similar Heavenly bouncer, who decides who gets in, typically by reading their deeds from a large book and judging whether they've been good enough to deserve entrance into Heaven. The gates will open for those who earned their place, while everyone else will find themselves standing on a TrapDoor leading to [[{{Hell}} the less than ideal alternative]].

-> The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

!!Examples

* ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven''

* ''WesternAnimation/MakeMineMusic''

--> "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven." ([[Literature/TheFourGospels Matthew]] 16:19)
** The Bible is, however, silent on ''how'' St. Peter manages to be ''present at all twelve gates simultaneously''.

* ''VideoGame/Afterlife1996'': Naturally shows up as the game is a resource management simulator in the style of ''VideoGame/SimCity'' where you build Heaven and Hell. The gates actually come in three versions, with bigger and better gates allowing you to process a higher volume of souls. Of course, you also have their EvilCounterpart.

** In the first segment of "Treehouse Of Horror XI", Homer dies and appears at the Pearly Gates, where he's told by Saint Peter that he is unable to go to Heaven. They're shown to be electrified when Homer tries to climb over them.
* ''WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons'': The short ''Symphony in Slang'' opens with a line of deceased souls at the Pearly Gates being given halos by St. Peter and allowed into Heaven.
* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'': In ''WesternAnimation/HeavenlyPuss'', Tom gets SquashedFlat by a piano and ascends to a place where deceased cats line up to be admitted onto [[AfterlifeExpress a train bound for Heaven.]] Tom tries to sneak past the conductor, but he gets caught and is told that he'll be doomed to Hell if he doesn't make peace with Jerry before a deadline.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* During the Holy War in ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', a portal between the realm of Brittania and the Celestial Realm - home world of the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Goddess Race]] and [[TopGod the Supreme Deity]] - exists at Stigma's headquarters the Light of Grace. When the [[LegionsOfHell demon armies]] launch an attack there, it is revealed to have been nothing more than a distraction so that Melascula and [[spoiler:Gowther]] could convert the portal to the Celestial Realm into [[{{Hellgate}} a portal]] into [[{{Hell}} the Demon Realm]]. [[spoiler:Or at least that was what Melascula intended, Gowther having tricked her into creating a portal to where his creator (also named Gowther) was imprisoned.]]

* The Gates of Olympus in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' are portrayed as massive gates made of gold that keep Mt. Olympus - the FluffyCloudHeaven that [[HomeOfTheGods the gods call home]] - safe.

* At the very end of ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'', [[spoiler: Seth and Jay pass through these when they get accepted into Heaven following The Rapture.]]

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

* One strip of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' has Colonel Sanders (founder and mascot of KFC) at the Pearly Gates, thinking "Uh-oh" because the guards are chickens.

* Parodied by the renaissance writer Erasmus in ''Julius Excluded From Heaven''. Pope Julius II dies and stands in front of the pearly gates, but the angels won't let him in because [[CorruptChurch he was horribly corrupt and un-Christian]]. After arguing with Saint Peter for quite a while and trying to excommunicate him, he eventually decides to storm the gates with the army of war criminals he pardoned.

* ''VideoGame/Afterlife1996'': Naturally shows up as the game is a resource management simulator in the style of ''VideoGame/SimCity'' where you build Heaven and Hell. The gates actually come in three versions, with bigger and better gates allowing you to process a higher volume of souls. And of course you also have their EvilCounterpart.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' series has the Diamond Gates that lead to the High Heavens. In the millennia that the Diamond Gates have stood, they have withstood countless sieges by TheLegionsOfHell, but have never fallen in the entire history of the Eternal Conflict. However, in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', during the end of Act III, those gates finally fall when Diablo, who has become the Prime Evil, makes his grand entrance into Heaven, setting up Act IV, where [[HellInvadesHeaven you have to save Heaven from Hell]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "Dog of Death", while Santa's Little Helper is undergoing surgery, he sees the Pearly Gates and runs toward a doggy door that's built into it. However, he's pulled away once the operation's over and he's saved from death.

* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': Gordon Brittas shows up here after his HeroicSacrifice in "The Last Day". He is initially denied access by Saint Peter, but after they receive word of this sacrifice, let him in. They later kick him out through said gates.

* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'': In one episode, a guy named Chris accidentally stumbles upon these which resemble Twin metal doors. These doors open to reveal an ethereal realm of bluish white light.

The Pearly Gates -- when not used as a SexualEuphemism -- is common shorthand to describe the outer walls that separate paradise from the rest of the cosmos. Despite the trope name, the gates are more often golden than pearl-colored. There is usually a [[CelestialBureaucracy book-keeper]] at the door, typically either St. Peter or a similarly Heavenly bouncer, who decides who gets in, typically by reading their deeds from a large book and judging whether they've been good enough to deserve entrance into Heaven. The gates will open for those who earned their place, while everyone else will find themselves standing on a TrapDoor leading to [[{{Hell}} the less than ideal alternative]].

* In the Literature/{{Bible}}, the theological basis for Heaven having pearly gates is found in Literature/{{Revelation}}, the last book of the Bible. The detailed description of the City of Heaven, in fact, describes Heaven as having twelve gates; and each of them are made of a single pearl. Traditional thought holds that the justification for Peter the apostle being the gatekeeper of Heaven is found in the gospels, where Jesus lays a duty on Peter:

** The Bible is, however, silent on how St Peter manages to be present at all twelve gates simultaneously.

* In the Literature/{{Bible}}, the theological basis for Heaven having pearly gates is found in Literature/{{Revelation}}, the last book of the Bible. The detailed description of the City of Heaven, in fact, describes Heaven as having twelve gates; and each of them are made of a single pearl. The justification for St Peter being the gatekeeper of Heaven is found in the gospels, where Jesus lays a duty on Peter:

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'': In ''WesternAnimation/Heavenly Puss'', Tom gets SquashedFlat by a piano and ascends to a place where deceased cats line up to be admitted onto [[AfterlifeExpress a train bound for Heaven.]] Tom tries to sneak past the conductor, but he gets caught and is told that he'll be doomed to Hell if he doesn't make peace with Jerry before a deadline.

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'': In ''Heavenly Puss'', Tom gets SquashedFlat by a piano and ascends to a place where deceased cats line up to be admitted onto a train bound for Heaven. Tom tries to sneak past the conductor, but he gets caught and is told that he'll be doomed to Hell if he doesn't make peace with Jerry before a deadline.

* In the Literature/{{Bible}}, the theological basis for Heaven having pearly gates is found in Literature/{{Revelation}}, the last book of the Bible. The detailed description of the City of Heaven, in fact, describes Heaven as having twelve gates; and all of them are made of pearl. The justification for St Peter being the gatekeeper of Heaven is found in the gospels, where Jesus lays a duty on Peter:

SubTrope of CoolGate. Compare with GateOfTruth, {{Hellevator}}, {{Hellgate}}, PortalNetwork and TannhauserGate.

The Pearly Gates -- when not used as a SexualEuphemism -- is common shorthand to describe the outer walls that separate paradise from the rest of the cosmos. Despite the trope name, the gates are more often golden than pearl-colored. There is usually a [[CelestialBureaucracy book-keeper]] like St. Peter or some kind of Heavenly bouncer who decides who gets in. The gates will open for those who earned their place, while everyone else will find themselves standing on a TrapDoor leading to [[{{Hell}} the less than ideal alternative]].

The Pearly Gates - when not used as a SexualEuphemism - is common shorthand to describe the outer walls that separate paradise from the rest of the cosmos. There is usually a [[CelestialBureaucracy book-keeper]] like St. Peter or some kind of Heavenly bouncer who decides who gets in. The gates will open for those who earned their place, while everyone else will find themselves standing on a TrapDoor leading to [[{{Hell}} the less than ideal alternative]].