Key of David

Isa 22:21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

Isa 22:22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

Isa 22:23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.

Isa 22:24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.

Isa 22:25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

_____________

Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Rev 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Rev 3:8 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.

The Doctrine of Jezebel - Dual Plan

We said that by plowing up the seeded field of Jezebel "the treasure hid in the field" was found. It lies deep down under the sod, with the works of Baal on the surface. It could not be seen before a very deep furrow had been made, but then it was partly revealed. Undoubtedly did the work and doctrine of the prefiguring Jezebel cause Elijah a similar digging, before he reveal­ed the dept of her deceiving work and doctrine. It also required 3 1/2 years of drought to convince the people that they were deceived by them before they returned to Jehovah and Hi a altar.

To overcome the doctrine of Jezebel comprehends all false ex­planations mixed with the doctrine of Christ. But her doctrine, covering the prophecies referring to the coming of Christ, goes further than anything else. And it strikes especially the people of God on their way to meet the Lord at His second coming.

The prefiguring Jezebel had the kingly throne of Israel to back her up, but this one claims the authority of heaven, that Jesus is her inspirator and the power behind her words and actions. And because her doctrine is mixed up with the message of the coming of Christ and covers the prophetic way set forth in the book of the Revelation, it is more dangerous and ,deeper to grasp than any other false doctrine. And just there lies the snare. The dept of satan, as the Lord calls it, is hard to discriminate and it requires, a mind that by study and experience can detect the difference be­tween the operations of the Spirit of God and that of spiritualism.

Concerning "the door," which has been the object of so much speaking and writing, by following up the true testimonies of Christ it will be found that that door is placed on the kingly way leading to the new Jerusalem. The Lord says to the prophetic branch called the "Philadelphia", thus:

"These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strenght, and hath kept my word, and hast not denied my name." Rev. 3. 7, S.

The doctrine of Jezebel has led the virgins, which were on the way leading to the door, and, like pure virgins, w bgrq, li.ec to the Bridegroom, to turn back to the baalistical world and there to become incorporated under strange names. By so doing those virgins have lost their connection with the Bridegroom; they have virtually denied His name by adhering to other names. Hence they are in darkness and can not see the kingly road to the holy city, nor the door the Lord says He will open for the Philadelphian branch. That prophetic branch has not defiled itself by such acts, hence the Lord opens the door by the kingly key of David for that people. It was the door to the kingdom of David that was closed against the Son of man by the crucifixion. His kingly movement was then and there stopped. The Gentile night entered in and, the kingly train was hindered to go forward to its goal. And until the key of David opens that door, it remains stationed in the camp of the Gentiles.

Luther, as the Herald of the four hundred years' period, realized to some degree that a door opened before him, when it seemed impossible to get any further. That we understand was a shadow thrown from the movement that we expect to take place at the end of the four hundred years, counted from the time Luther burned the banbull. As the. Reformation then pressed its way through the door then opened, so the continuation will now start through the door opened by the key of David, and no power can hinder it on its way. The Bible will again stir the people, and the mission of the Messianic movement will push onward from country to country, as did the Reformation by Luther.

The Image of the Beast will do its best to shut that door, be,-cause it leads to the powerful throne of the Messiah, but the Lord says that no man can shut it. The synagogue of Satan, claiming they are Jews, but the Lord says they are not, will also do its very best to hinder the Philadelphians from passing through that door; but the Lord of prophecy will see to that the purpose of their enemies fail them.

Why do they claim to be Jews? They claim to be Gods chosen people because they keep the Mosaic commandments. They claim to keep the day of the Lord according to the old covenant, or dispen­sation. The day of the Lord of the new covenant, or dispensation, they know nothing about. Hence the Lord says of them, "They are not Jews, but do lie."

Why do they keep the Lord's day of the old covenant'? Because they call it the seal of the living God, and in keeping that, they lay claim to the following testimony: "They keep the command meats of God and have the testimony (given out by the prophetess) of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12. 17.

Now in order to show how the Philadelphian branch will pass through the door opened for it, we will follow up that prophetic train under the subject:

The Kingly Train on the Way to New Jerusalem - Dual Plan

The key of David and the door placed before the Philadelphian branch, are so closely connected as any important door and its key are related to each other. The key opens and shuts the door. The key of David is a kingly key and opens the door to the kingly throne, and the place for that throne is in the city of Jerusalem. In the prefiguring development it was the kingly key of David that gathered all the tribes of Jacob together to the throne of Israel. Christ is the heir to that throne; and when He gathers the seed of Abraham to Him, He will use the key of David to open the way.

The gathering movement leads out from the kingdom of Baal, and if the door is not steadily kept open, the representatives of Baal and especially the followers of Jezebel will block the way. Hence the blessed promise: "Behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it."

The way through the door leads to the new Jerusalem where the kingly throne will be raised. Hence the Lord says to the Phi­ladelphian branch that he will write the name of that city on the overcomer. Before we follow the train through the door to the king­dom and its Capital, we will review the development of both the old and the new Jerusalem.

The prefiguring Jerusalem.

We are first reminded that the covenant God made with Abra­ham included the city God would build, a city that has foundations. That city was not the old or prefiguring Jerusalem, for Abraham never saw that, and it was built, not by God but by His people. But Abraham saw a sign of the city God will build and realized a blessing from it.

When Abraham returned from the war with the kings that brought his relative Lot prisoner with them from Sodom, he met Melchizedek, the king of Salem, and he brought with him bread and wine and blessed Abraham and said: "Blessed be Abraham of the Most high God, possessor of heaven and earth." That blessing came from Salem and its king and priest.

Salem signifies peace, the center of peace and righteousness. The king and priest of Salem at that time was undoubtedly Shem, the son of Noah, who lived five hundred years after the flood and who prefigured the Son of God as the true king in the final Salem, that God builds.

The place Salem was finally captured by the Jebusites, which the children of Judah tried to drive away, but they could not. Jos. 15: 63. But David, when he had gathered under his sceptre the tribes, he drew up around the mountainous place and took posses­sion of it. From that time it was called Zion, the strong hold of David. He built a fort about it.

The ark of God had been captured by the Philistines at the time king Saul was slain, and had not been restored to Israel from that time. David brought it up from Gibeah and placed it in the tabernacle, which was put up on mount Zion. 2 Sam. 6. 16, 17. Then the city of Jerusalem was built round about it.

The name "Jeru" signifies revenge. Added to Salem, the centre of peace, would mean that the breaking of peace, or destroy­ing peace, will be revenged by the city. When Gideon had torn down the altar of Baal the Baal-worshippers sought to kill him and required that his father should deliver him into their hands. Then his father said: "If Baal is God, let him revenge himself." And then Gideon was called Jeru-Baal. Judg. 6. Jerusalem, like Zion and the temple, will be revenged for all the evil the nations have brought upon it.

We may ask: Is not the present world war the beginning of the revenge of Zion? Read Isa. 34. 1-9 and see! Concerning the revenge of the temple, read Isa. 66. 5, 6 and Jer. 51. 10,. 11. King David says concerning Jerusalem:

Isa 34:1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.

Isa 34:2 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

Isa 34:3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

Isa 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Isa 34:5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

Isa 34:6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.

Isa 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

Isa 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Isa 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

Isa 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

Isa 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

Isa 66:6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.

Jer 51:1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;

Jer 51:2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

Jer 51:3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

Jer 51:4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.

Jer 51:5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

Jer 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

Jer 51:7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Jer 51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

Jer 51:9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

Jer 51:10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

Jer 51:11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.

Jer 51:12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusa­lem above my chief joy. Remember,, 0 Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. 0 daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroy­ed, happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be,'that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.' Ps. 137.

The son of David, according to 2 Sam. 7. 5-13, shall build the house of the Lord. That son is Christ. The house or temple Solo­mon built was a shadow or a prefiguring work. The temple goes before the city and constitutes finally the very centre of the city. Now we follow up the building of the new Jerusalem, and we think it is high time that we may rightly understand it, because the signs signifies that the time has come for it to be built. The four hundred years' period, that the old city has been in the hands of the Mohammedans, is now ended, hence the shifting of hands.

Paul says that the time shall come when the things which are in heaven and the things which are on the earth (which originate from God), shall be united into one. His words are as follows:

"Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inherit­ance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." Eph. 1. 9 —11.

That union comprises the unity of man and angels, the Father and the children in one and the same house, and that house shall be built by the Son, the son of David. We must have that union in mind when we look for the building of the new Jerusalem. It is by the key of David he brings it forth. He begins with the temple. He says to the Philadelphians that the overcomer shall be made a pillar in the temple of God, and that the name of the new Jerusalem will be written on him.

We must also keep in mind that all the different parts, piled together in the prefiguring temple, were made ready in the separated state, where they as material for the building were taken. Now let us begin with...

Christ Riding Up to Jerusalem

Even that movement has its counterparts. What was done at the evening of the day of the Lord will be repeated in the morning of the same day, but it is then carried out spiritually and is of a higher meaning. We read first Matt. 21. 1-13:

"And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disci­ples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek; and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written. My house shall be called the heuse of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

The kingly train to Jerusalem started from

The mountain of Olives.

In the spiritual dispensation that means the gathering together of the wise and the foolish virgins about the question of oil, as the parable in Matt. 25th chap. sets forth. The conditions on the earth become so depressive that all the virgins become awake and inquire about the cause of the terrible times that prevail at that period. All are in need of spiritual light because great spiritual darkness incloses them all.

. The mountain of Olives was called so because the olive trees grew about there, and the oil pressed from such trees constituted the means by which the lamps burned and gave light. That sym­bolizes the spiritual, or prophetic light that the virgins on their way to meet the Bridegroom are in need of at just that particular time. The olive oil was used to keep light in the temple, and that in particular prefigured the prophetic light required in the temple of the spiritual dispensation.

Christ calls the two witnesses, referred to in Rev. 11th chap. "The two olive trees and the two candlesticks," thereby denoting that they furnish the temple with prophetic oil. And in Zech. 4. 11-14 they are called "the two anointed ones." Anointed so to deliver prophetic light to the spiritual temple.

Christ sent two disciples and told them to go into the village that laid before them, where they would find an ass tied and a colt' with her. "Loose them and bring them to me," He said.

The working animal represents the working class in the new dispensation, the woman of Rev. 12th chap. The colt with her, the man-child who shall finally rule the nations with a rod of iron. The Messiah rode on the colt and led its mother at His side. The prophecy says that the great red dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And his tail (the appendix) drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth. That denotes that the laboring class at that time is closely watched by the military power and that many of the leaders among the people be­come imprisoned. The Babylonian power binds them so to hinder them to leave the stations where the national powers direct them to stay, like Egypt did with the Hebrews.

Under such circumstances Christ sends His witnesses to the village, that lays right before them. And what village is that? From the spiritual mountain of olives they see the Babylonian chain of cities wherever they look, and just there the slaving masses are tied. "Loose them and lead them to me," He says. "And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say: The Lord needs them. "

That reminds us of the mission of Moses when Jehovah sent him to loose Israel from bondage: "The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee (Pharaoh), saying: Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness." Now that mission will be carried out to completeness.

The colt, prefiguring the class- that finally develops as the kings and priests of the kingdom to come, bears the rider, the King anointed for the throne of David. The prophetic word is under­stood by them and has a controlling power over their minds and actions, and they lead the people, denoted as the mother, by the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom to come.

When the two witnesses are sent on their special mission, the door that opens with the key of David stands before them, and at the same time the Image of the beast is active in its mission to control the foodstuff so that no one except those that have the mark of the beast can buy or sell. Here then begins the religious war. The god-powers on either side, like as it was at the time of Elijah, shall be tried. If Baal, the god-power controlling the pro­ducts of the earth, upon which the human life depends, by the institutions, laws and works of man, is the true God, or if the God of Israel that has created the heaven and the earth is the God man ought to worship and obey - that is the Weestion to become forever settled.

It is the war between the Son of man and the "Man of sin," or Anti-Christ, that will be fought to a finish by the Champions on both sides of the line of battle.

When the train started from the mount of Olives, the multitude began to sing the kingly song of jubilee, the song of liberty, and they said: "Hosanna (in the Highest) to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Jehovah). The echo of the same song to be sung as the train is moving onward in the morning of the great day of the Lord was then heard. And Christ says to the Jews at the time He prophesied about the calamity that avaited them: "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me hence­forth, till ye shall say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Matt. 23. 39.

It is at that time the following prophecy, foretold by the prophet Isaiah, will be accomplished:

"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and \raise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken." Isa. 62. 6-12.

As the kingly movement meet the opposing power, the repre­sentatives of the covenant cry to Him that sits on the cloud, the King riding the colt: "Thrust in thy sickle and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap: for the harvest of the earth is ripe." Rev. 14. 15. Then the great drought sets in.