God’s Spirit hovered over the dark lifeless planet earth (Gen. 1:2). In three days, God separated the light from the dark, waters above from waters below, and dry ground from the sea (Gen. 1:3-13). And then He filled them in the next three days with lights to rule the day and night, with birds and fish, and with living creatures and humans (Gen. 1:14-30). God saw all He had made in six days, and it was very good (Gen. 1:31). Like a conquering King coming home, God added one more thing to make the week full of life, His Presence. Because God ceased, shabbat, on the seventh day, He established and blessed it as a sacred and holy time in partnership with humanity (Gen. 2:1-3).

To imitate His work of bringing life to a lifeless planet, God gave humans kingship over His creation to serve as shepherds, fostering peace
and harmony by exercising justice and mercy. A good shepherd cared for the garden’s needs, protecting it from abuse and exploitation by
standing in the doorway. In this way, humans worship God, exercising the tree of life’s wisdom.

Opposite to the surrounding nations and distinct without hierarchical status, Israel’s kings, as God’s servants, were to express kingship by shepherding the people. By their king not lifting his heart above the people, the people, in turn, readily served the king. Since Israel’s kings failed, Israel looked for an anointed Davidic king, a shepherd of humanity, to stand in the gap.

Jesus Christ said, “I AM the door of the sheep,” “I AM the door,” and twice, “I AM the good shepherd” who lays down His life for the sheep (Jhn. 10:7, 9, 11, 14). The King of Glory claimed kingship because He victoriously laid down His life for the sheep in justice and mercy, turning the key to the seventh day. The door, the place of becoming holy, is the Good Shepherd. How He unlocked the secret to Eden’s door is housed in three Hebrew words.

John called attention to three Hebrew words in His Gospel, Bethesda (house of mercy), Gabbatha (paved judgment seat), and Golgotha (place of the skull, the census), which add up to 434, (229 + 19 + 186), the same as creation’s dalet, door, 434, to the Sabbath. The door to the Father’s House of Mercy was
opened by the Messiah’s atoning sin offering when He was condemned for our transgressions before Pilate and died outside the gates so our names might be registered into the Book of Life at the east entrance to His holy mountain.

The Day of Atonements is called the Sabbath of Sabbaths, shabbat shabbaton, so that by the promised restored holy Sabbath fellowship in God’s Presence, “he has known My name,” 434 (Psa. 91:14), experiencing the Door, the Good Shepherd King.

Takeaway:
Having laid down His life, the Shepherd King of Glory is the door into Eden’s eternal Sabbath by which we can intimately know His name and bear His name.

Fun Factors: 
John 10’s “I AM the door of the sheep” (3944), I AM the door” (1391), and twice “I AM the Good Shepherd” (3189) add up to 8519. 8519 = 7 × 1217, or 7(312 + 162). Seven is completion and wholeness, the Sabbath; God’s name El = 31; 16 or 42 represents the square (perfection) of God’s holy city. The Hebrew letter for door, delet, has a letter sum of 434, 14 × 31, and the Greek for the door, tes thyras, has a letter sum of 518, 14 × 37. Both 31 and 37 are numeric values of God’s names respectively, El and Elah.

434 = the total words of Genesis 1, the six days of creation
434 = the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, dalet, ד, symbol of a door
434 = the judgment (הַמִּשְפָט, Exo. 23:6, 28:30, Strong’s H4941)
434 = to sanctify (לְקַדַּשׁ, Neh. 13:22, Eze. 46:20, Strong’s H6942)
434 = the sixty-two weeks of Daniel’s seventy-week prophecy of Israel’s restoration (7 × 62)
434 = John’s three Hebrew words, Bethesda “house of mercy”, Gabbatha “paved judgment seat”, and Golgotha “place of the skull, census”, 229 + 19 + 186

The Hebrew root of atonement is kopher, כֹּפֶר, with a letter sum of 300, which has 18 divisors that can be grouped into two sets of 434. Kopher means “the price of a life, a ransom, pitch as a covering” (BDB, OT 3724), the same three root letters of “mercy seat” covered in gold.

The Hebrew word for door, pethach, פֶּתַח, has a letter sum of 488, 8 × 61 or 22² + 2²; 61 is the 18^th prime and 8^th Pythagorean Prime, alluding to the Feasts of YHWH in His house.