Door
Summary
The entrance to buildings or enclosures, used literally and figuratively in Scripture to represent access, opportunity, and Christ Himself as the way to salvation.
☩Physical Construction
Ancient doors were usually of wood, sometimes sheeted with metal or made of a single stone slab. They turned on wooden pivots projecting from top and bottom into sockets in the lintel and threshold. Doors were fastened by bolts or wooden locks with peculiarly constructed slides; keys were typically wooden, sometimes metal for the wealthy. The doorway consisted of the threshold, two side-posts, and the lintel—all significant in Israel's Passover observance.
☩Symbolic Uses
Scripture employs 'door' figuratively in many ways. The valley of Achor is called 'a door of hope.' Paul speaks of a 'door opened' for the gospel, signifying opportunity for ministry. Christ calls Himself 'the door' through whom alone one enters the kingdom of God and finds salvation. The open door symbolizes access; the shut door represents opportunity lost, as in the parable of the virgins.
☩Christ as the Door
When Jesus declared 'I am the door,' He meant to exclude every other means of mediation. Through Him there is unhindered entering and going out—access to God and freedom to serve. The figure in Revelation 3:20, where Christ stands at the door and knocks, is expressive of His patient, persistent, and affectionate appeal to humanity.
Related Verses237 mentions
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Door," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.John McClintock and James Strong, "Door," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).