Doors of the Bible

Let’s Make a Deal” has been a long-running and very popular TV game show. The show will often give people the choice of selecting the prize behind door #1, door #2 or door #3.  The prizes behind the doors can range from a toaster oven to a brand new car!  Contestants will often look to their friends and family members in the audience to help them make the decision of which door to pick.  Some win and some lose, but all are rewarded based on the door they choose.

Interestingly, we also read about many doors in the pages of the Bible and each of these doors also comes with a prize. To make the proper selection can result in eternal life or death – so we must choose wisely.

1. Door to the Ark  (Genesis 6:16)

The ark had only one door through which the people and the animals all entered into the safety of the ship.  All of mankind was invited to walk through the door and to find safety inside the ark, but only 8 chose to enter. The choice of each individual resulted in his/her salvation or destruction.

2. Passover Door (Exodus 12:3-12)

During the 10^th plague prior to the Exodus, God instructed the Israelites to kill a lamb and to paint its blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of their houses … The blood was to be a sign for the death angel to pass-over those houses (those lives were spared). We too can choose to apply the blood of the Lamb of God and be saved.

3. Inner Temple Doors (Hebrews 10:4)

"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.”  This teaching was given to those Jews who had been practicing the “Day of Atonement” and forgiveness of sins through the sacrifices of the priests.  Once Jesus’ sacrifice had been made on the cross, the Law fell short and only those who found forgiveness through the blood of Jesus (the Lamb of God) could be made right with God.

4. Sheep’s Door (John 10:7,9)

During a visit to Israel we saw the common areas shepherds share for keeping their sheep safe at night. There is one way in and one way out.  Jn 10:1 states, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  Jesus said, “I am the door of the sheep… I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”  There is safety under the care of the Good Shepherd and He states the benefit of choosing the right door is salvation and rest.

5. Door to Salvation (John 14:6)

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The way of salvation in Noah’s day was the wooden Ark with a single door. Today, the way of salvation is through the wooden cross upon which Jesus died. We are promised that those who choose to find remission / forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of Jesus Christ will be saved.

6. Tomb’s Door (The stone in Mark 16:4)

When Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome approached the tomb, “…they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.”  Jesus entered the door as a dead man and left fully and physically alive! He victoriously conquered death and hell, fulfilled His prophecies of resurrection, and now sits on the right hand of the Father interceding for us.  It is completely up to you whether you choose to follow a dead god or choose to follow the risen Savior!

7. Narrow Door  (Matt. 7:13-14)

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide  the gate and broad  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.”  Throughout history and through the Scriptures we find that the majority is often wrong! Following Jesus may not be the easy or popular choice, but the choice is yours and the results are eternal.

Today, you get to choose a door. The prizes behind the doors differ -- behind one door is Heaven and the other is Hell.  Behind one door is eternal life and behind the other is eternal torment and damnation. One thing that is different from game show “Let’s Make a Deal” is that God has already told you which door to pick, but he still gives you the power to make the choice.

So, which door will you pick today?  Will you choose to confess your sins and choose Jesus Christ as your Savior?  Or, will you choose to reject Christ and pick for yourself damnation?  The choice is yours! 

Noah's Ark is NOT a Fairy Tale

 

Have you ever seen the cute pictures of Noah’s Ark?  What about the church diaper-bag tags with a cartoon of Noah's Ark on them? Does your child have a toy ark with the cute stuffed animals?  Maybe you decorated your child's bedroom or baby nursery with the adorable little baby animals?

My wife and I recently crossed an item off our bucket list, when we visited the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY.  The exhibit opened in 2016 and displays a full-size version of Noah’s Ark, a zoo, zip lines, restaurants and more!  I would certainly recommend it for a family trip and you should also plan to visit the Creation Museum while you are there.

When you walk through the rainbow gateway to the park, your eyes immediately see the ark and your jaw drops open. The ship is massive!  It has three decks, cages, storage areas, living quarters, interactive exhibits, concession stands, a gift shop, animals that look real and yes… even dinosaurs!

A very small section of the Ark Encounter made the biggest impression on me. The section was called the “Fairy Tale Ark” exhibit. The section was bright and cheerful, and immediately lured children into the fun and very cute room. Once inside, the parents were confronted with the reality of Noah’s Ark and the horror of the Flood.  The world-wide Flood was God’s greatest judgment on mankind to this date.  It was gruesome and horrifying to say the least. The “cute” pictures, logos and décor that we see utilizing the ark; too often hide the meaning of the story – GOD JUDGED AND DESTROYED THE EARTH!  Think about it… people, animals and every living thing that walked/crept on this earth drowned.  Only Noah, his family members, and the animals with them in the ark survived.

The reality is that God exercised Divine Judgment to punish the people for their sinful choices, behaviors, lifestyles and indulgences. The world had become so wicked and the people had turned their back on their Creator, to the point that God regretted creating them.

Genesis 6:6-7 says – “The Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved. ⁷ So the Lord said: I will wipe out from the earth the human beings I have created, and not only the human beings, but also the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air, for I regret that I made them.”

A plaque in the Ark Encounter states it this way:

“ Jesus spoke about the days prior to the Flood in Matthew 24:37-39. He said that the people went about their regular activities – eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage – until the day Noah entered the Ark. They were unaware of the coming judgment until the Flood swept them all away.  Jesus also likened the state of the world at the time of His return to the condition of the world in the days of Noah.”

So we have to ask the question, “Why do churches and Bible-believing parents paint such a fairy tale picture of Noah’s Ark?” The answer is that they either do not understand or do not believe the Bible! The flood was God's judgment on a wicked world -- not a happy story about adorable animals.  Those who teach Bible stories as fairy tales are undermining every effort to make disciples of the children that God has entrusted to them.  For if you can convince someone that the Flood was not real, then you can also convince them that Heaven is not real.

What should be our real take-away from the story of the Flood and Noah’s Ark?  We find the answer in Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:26 – “For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

Now you know… so today, you are accountable for whether you teach God’s Word accurately or convince your children that the stories of the Bible are simply fairy tales.  Regardless of your choice, most would agree that our present world looks a lot like it did in the days of Noah.  Realizing this, the ultimate question is, “Are you ready if Christ was to return today?”

You can see pictures and read more about the “Fairy Tale Ark” by clicking this link - 

https://arkencounter.com/blog/2018/09/20/fairy-tale-ark-exhibit-teaching-our-children-truth/