What is the most important message in the world?  Did you know you can find the answer in the Bible?  The most important message is the Gospel, the too-good-to-be-true news! The Gospel is depicted throughout biblical history and can be seen by taking a walk through a series of doors that all point to the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

I had an opportunity to visit the Ark Encounter and the Doors of the Bible exhibit in Williamstown, Kentucky, and the Doors to the Bible exhibit. The information in this blog is from their pamphlets and notes I took while walking through the doors of the Bible. The entire Ark Encounter is amazing, and this exhibit really left an impact.

Come with me as we take a walk through seven doors to find the person of Jesus Christ.

The Ark Door

During Noah’s generation, man had become exceedingly wicked including the thoughts of their hearts (Genesis 6:5). The Lord was grieved in His heart, but Noah had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was a just man who walked with God and was found perfect in his generation (Genesis 6:6-9).

Noah was given specific requirements in building the Ark that included one door that Noah and his family would enter to be saved. Genesis 7:1 says, “Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” In Genesis 7:16 it says that the Lord shut the door to the Ark. This is a picture of God’s justice and mercy. Noah’s story is a foreshadow of Jesus; He is the door the world needs to enter in order to be saved. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture (John 10:9). Jesus is the only way to a personal relationship with God, the Father.

The Passover Door

About a thousand years after the Flood, Moses lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. The night before they were set free from bondage, the Lord provided Moses with instructions for the Passover. The Israelites were told to sacrifice a lamb without blemish, and then put some of the lamb’s blood on the frames around their doors. “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13). The Israelites were saved and protected from God’s judgement by the blood of a lamb. Today we have a perfect substitute—Jesus Christ, who is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Jesus is our Passover, and His sacrificial death on the cross takes away the sin of the world and gives us direct access (door) to God, the Father.

The Temple’s Inner Doors

King Solomon was commissioned to build the first temple in Jerusalem nearly 500 years after Moses. The temple was designed with two doors separating the outer sanctum and the inner shrine, known as the Holy of Holies and the place of God’s presence. Because sin separated us from God, the High Priest would enter through these doors to offer a blood sacrifice to cover the sins of the people only once a year.

This day, known as the “Day of Atonement,” was when the Israelites could have their sins temporarily covered through the sacrifice of a goat, and thus receive God’s mercy. Today, this day is celebrated as Yom Kippur in the Jewish culture. We know that the blood of these animals could never fully take away man’s sin Hebrews 10:4. It was God’s way of pointing to the most important sacrifice that was to come—Jesus Christ. Jesus offered Himself “once for all” as the only sacrifice for sin in order for us to receive eternal redemption (Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 10:10). He is the “door” we enter now to be in the presence of Almighty God.

The Sheep’s Door

In Biblical times, sheep were kept in a sheep pen with an entrance (door). The shepherd rested at this “door” where he guarded and kept his flock safe and protected. Jesus is known as our “good shepherd” and said He would die or lay down His life the sheep (John 10:11). This scripture is a reference to Jesus going to the cross and laying His life down for you and me (John 10:7-9). We are the sheep in this story and the only way to be saved is by believing in Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. We are safe and protected as we draw near to God through Jesus, our good shepherd.

The Cross

In the beginning, God created the perfect world and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden. Adam was commanded not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or he would surely die (Genesis 2:17). The penalty for this disobedience (sin) was a spiritual death which meant separation from God forever. Sin separates us from God and just like Adam, we all have sinned and deserve this spiritual death (Romans 3:23). But God loved us so much that He sent His Son to become sin for us in order to take our punishment and die on the Cross (John 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 5:21). The Cross (door) enables us who are unrighteous to become righteous through Jesus and thus gives us access to God, the Father.

The Tomb’s Door

After Jesus’ crucifixion, He was placed in a tomb and a large stone was rolled in front of the door of the tomb. On the third day, the stone was rolled away, showing the “open door” and that Jesus had indeed rose from the dead like He had promised. Matthew 28:6 says, “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

This “open door” is a supernatural miracle demonstrating that Jesus Christ is who He said He was—the Son of God and that we are guaranteed the hope of eternal life if we believe on Him.

The Narrow Door

Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world. Sin separates us from Almighty God and the penalty is death. The Gospel is the good news because Jesus paid our penalty, but we must choose Him. He gave His life for us and is the final and narrow door in our message. Matthew 7:13-14  says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Choose the right door! There aren’t multiple ways to God or Heaven; there is only one way, and that is through faith in Jesus (door) as your personal Savior.

~Donna Jones