Thursday, August 31, 2023

Witness of the Six Doors – 31 August 2023, Anno Domini

 

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ND the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.  (Genesis 4:6-7)

 

            The door of a structure could be considered its most important feature since it either denies, or allows, access to, or departure from, the building. The first mention of the word ‘door’ appears in the quoted text above. God declares a offer of reward or of condemnation to Cain. The door was that of the soul to Cain. He had admitted hatred and covetousness for his brother Abel that resulted in bloody murder. Once jealousy rules the soul, it becomes a monster of unlimited evil. That was not the Door of Salvation but of ruin.

 

            The first Door we shall discuss is that of Noah’s Ark. It symbolized the Door of Salvation that only God could close on mankind. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in(Genesis 7:15-16) The Ark of Salvation today is our Lord Jesus Christ. No one is worthy to shut the door of that salvation but the Lord – just as with the Ark of Noah’s day.

 

            The second Door is the blood-sprinkled Door of Goshen. On the tenth plague in Egypt, God declared the first-born of every man and beast would die in that terrible night of the first Passover. God commanded Pharoah and the Children of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more(Exodus 11: 4-6)  God instructed Israel to take a lamb without blemish and sacrifice the same on the eve of the first Passover. They were to smear the blood over the lintels of the Door and on the s thereof. When the Angel of Death passed over the land that night, He would Passover the homes so covered by the blood. Next mourning there arose a sorrowful and increasing mournful cry in Egypt as those who were not covered by the blood lost the firstborn of each family and of each beast of burden. It is important for us today to be covered by that life-giving blood. 

 

            The third Door is the Door of the City. It is this door of the nations that also must be covered with the blood of the Lamb for Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance(Psalm 33:12) Rahab hid the two Israelite spies at the time of the closing of the Door, or gate, of Jericho. She was told to leave the red cord of salvation hanging out her window as a sign of her own, and her family’s, salvation from the coming destruction when the doors of protection would fall down. That Crimson thread of sacrifice runs throughout the Bible from Genesis 3:15 to Revelations 22:21.

 

The fourth Door of grave importance is the Open Door that the Lord has set before us. Our Lord told the Church at Philadelphia, I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name(Revelation 3:8)  This is also the Door to the churches. Christ’s concluding council to the churches, who have shut Him out with false doctrine says, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Christ stands without, not within these entertainment -oriented churches of a false Gospel.

 

The fifth Door is sadly labelled the Closed Door. Though we may outwardly profess Christ, we have not the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. The outward vessel is cleaned and garnished, but inward we are as lost as a worthless penny. Those who rejected the preaching of Noah found that Door closed just as many today who will only bow the knee to Christ in terror at the last Day. When the Father throws His banquet Marriage Supper, many will find the Door closed as with the five virgins – righteous without, but lacking the Spirit within.

 

The final and most important sixth Door is the Door that is our Lord Jesus Christ. I am the DOOR: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture(John 10:9)  Christ is not only the Good Shepherd, but it is by Him that all must gain entrance to the sheepfold. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the ONLY Way, the Only Truth, and the only LIFE. This is the most important Door your will ever stand before in your earthly life. Take it today.

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