In the bible, the door, doorway, or gate are places of transition. They’re often associated with entrance into areas of great spiritual significance. In a god-fearing Hebrew home, doors were used to speak God’s truths (Deuteronomy 6:9). While there are many mentions of doors in scripture, there are several that stand out for very important reasons.
Noah’s Ark door;
When God judged the ancient world, He made provision for anyone who trusted in Him. But there came a point at which a decision had to be made. Either you were in the Ark or you weren’t. Finally, the Ark door was closed (Genesis 7:16). In the New Testament, Jesus is our ark of safety. If we’re “in Him”, we’ll be protected from God’s final judgment. He is the Ark’s door (John 10:9 & Matthew 24:36-42).
The Passover door;
God had warned Egypt several times to let the Jews go free, but Pharoah refused. So God sent 9 plagues to convince them, but Pharoah still refused. Finally, God sent the 10th plague on Egypt. The death angel would kill the firstborn child in every household that did not have the blood of an innocent lamb put on the home’s doorposts (Exodus 12:13, 22, 23). Every firstborn inside that house would be saved. When you take the lamb’s blood from the bottom of the door and put it on the upper and side doorposts, what motion are you tracing? The sign of the cross! Jesus’ blood on the doorposts of our hearts gives us life and protects us from the coming judgment of God.
The Jewish Temple’s inner doors;
1st Kings 6:31 describes the doors between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. These doors signified that man was separated from God by sin (Isaiah 59:1,2). Once a year, the Jewish High Priest would open these doors, enter the Most Holy Room and sprinkle the blood of an innocent lamb on the Ark of the Covenant’s Mercy Seat. This blood would cover the people’s sins for another year. Later on, 2nd Chronicles 3:14 says these doors were replaced with a veil. That veil was about 60 feet high, 30 feet wide and 4-6” thick. When Jesus was crucified, the Temple veil was torn open (Matthew 27: 50, 51). This was signifying that the old sacrificial system was done. The final sacrifice had been made. Our sin was paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross. He was God’s final sacrificial lamb.
We could now enter into God’s presence by ourselves (Hebrews 4:14, 15 & 10:19, 20) anytime we wanted to.
The Shepherd’s door;
In a sheep pen, the shepherd would let the sheep in and out by the corral’s gate. He was their protector. He guarded the sheep’s pen and kept out the wolves (John 10:8-15). Jesus is our shepherd (John 10:7).
The Tomb’s door ;
When Jesus was crucified, He died for our sins. But it wasn’t enough that He just died for our sins. He had to conquer death and him (Satan) who had the power of death (1st Corinthians 15:17, 20-27 & Colossians 2:15 & Hebrews 2:14, 15). Jesus even set the Old Testament saints free (Isaiah 61:1-3). The resurrection of Jesus confirmed that Jesus is who He claimed to be – the Son of God and the Savior of humanity. The open tomb door demonstrated His power over sin, death, and the devil. This guarantees eternal life to all that believe in Him.
The Narrow door or gate;
Jesus has provided a way for us sinners to enter into eternal life (Luke 13:23-27). He is the door by which we must enter. There is no other way (John 14:6 & Acts 4:12). Accept His invitation (Revelation 22:17). The choice is yours.
Other doors;
– to your heart (Genesis 4:7 & Psalm 24:7,9 & Revelation 3:20)
– for evangelism (Act 14:27 & 1st Corinthians 16:9 & Colossians 4:3 & Revelation 3:8)
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on bssb-llc.com
Featured Image by Sheri Hooley on Unsplash
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