A: In Revelation 3:7-8, Christ tells the angel of the church in Philadelphia: “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens’: … ‘See I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.'”

Whatever that open door is, it is still open for those who belong to the church in Philadelphia. “The church in Philadelphia” is mainly a reference here to faithful Christians who have developed in their lives a “Philadelphian spirit” or attitude — as applied to us today, it does not refer to a specific local church or particular organization. Those are simply Scripturally wrong who claim that they — as an organization — are THE remnant of the Philadelphia era. Christ makes clear that it is He who opens and shuts. To the church in Philadelphia, He specifically says, “I have set before YOU an open door, and NO ONE can shut it.”

What is this open door?

(1) At least four Scriptures explain that the term “open door” refers to the ability of the church in Philadelphia to preach the gospel in all the world as a witness to all nations, prior to Christ’s return. Acts 14:27 states, “He had opened the DOOR OF FAITH to the Gentiles.” 1 Corinthians 16:9 points out, “…a great and effective DOOR has opened to me” in Ephesus. 2 Corinthians 2:12 says, “…when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a DOOR was opened to me by the Lord…” Finally, Colossians 4:3 states, “…that God would open to us a DOOR for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.”

These Scriptures show that the open door is associated with preaching Christ’s gospel of the Kingdom of God. However, the term “open door” is not limited to just preaching the gospel message to the world. There are other Scriptures that identify additional aspects of the “open door”:

(2) In the parable of the ten virgins, the five wise virgins, who were ready, went with Christ to the wedding, and, as Matthew 25:10 tells us, the open door was shut. When the foolish virgins, who were not ready, came and said, “Lord, Lord, open to us!”, Christ answered them, “I do not know you” (verses 11-12). Likewise, in Luke 13:25, we read that the time will come when the Master of the house (the church of God) will shut the door and won’t let those in who are standing outside, knocking.

The open door, then, is also associated with the ability of the five wise virgins to enter God’s Kingdom. The foolish virgins were unable to do so — for them, the door was shut. Christ told us to “enter” by the narrow gate which leads to life, and that only few will find it (Matthew 7:13-14). Only for the few, then, the spiritual Philadelphians, and for those who may still become spiritual Philadelphians, before Christ’s return, the door to the gate of eternal life is and remains to be open. For the overwhelming majority of mankind, it is closed at this point in time, and it has been closed since God placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, to guard or protect the way to the tree of life. (This door to eternal life WILL be opened later to mankind, after Christ’s return, during the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” And “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”)

We read in Revelation 3:20 that the church of the Laodiceans — those with a Laodicean attitude of spiritual blindness and self-righteousness (Revelation 3:16-18) — has shut the door. Christ is outside, standing in front of the door, knocking. Christ says, “IF anyone… opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me [at the Wedding Supper].” Christ, then, must give us an open door to let Him into our lives — to let Him live His life within us (Galatians 2:20). As long as we are and remain spiritual Philadelphians, Christ has given us that open door. Christ WILL live His life in us, and NO ONE can shut Him out. No one — except we ourselves can do it. If we shut Him out, Christ is not going to force us to keep the door open. He does not force us to go God’s Way of Life. As we continue to shut Christ more and more out of our lives, we cease to be spiritual Philadelphians and become lukewarm and self-righteous Laodiceans. It is the spiritual Laodiceans who have shut the door, while Christ stands outside — at the door of their hearts — knocking for a while to be received back into their lives. We are living at the very time when God IS knocking at the doors of many Laodiceans. If they don’t repent, refusing to let Christ become again center stage of their lives, it will be they who will be knocking at HIS door at the time of Christ’s return to enter the Wedding Supper. By then, the door will be shut for them. Unless the spiritual Laodiceans repent, open the door of their hearts and let Christ in, and become thereby spiritual Philadelphians, the door to eternal life remains shut for them.

(3) Christ identifies Himself many times as the “open door.” In John 10:1-9, Christ talks about Himself as the door to the sheep. He says that he who enters the sheepfold by the door (verse 2) is the true shepherd, and that everyone will be saved who enters through Christ. That is what the five virgins did, when they entered the wedding room through Jesus Christ, the open door, going in and finding pasture (compare John 10:7, 9).

We of ourselves have only a little strength (Revelation 3:8). Our strength of overcoming and living a Christian life must come through Jesus Christ, the open door to God the Father. Paul was confident that God would complete the good work in those in whom He had begun it (Philippians 1:6). Christ said that those who endure to the end WILL be saved. They are the VERY elect. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes, because they are the called, and the chosen, and the faithful ones (Revelation 14:4; 17:14).

The “open door” is associated with Christ Himself who has given Himself to the spiritual Philadelphians. Christ said that He gave the Morning Star to those in Thyatira. Those Christians can be described as spiritual Philadelphians, because they will rule in the world to come (Revelation 2:26-28). Christ later identified Himself as that very Morning Star (Revelation 22:16; 2 Peter 1:19). He, the Morning Star, gives Himself to His people. The same symbolism is used regarding the open door — Christ gives Himself, as an open door, to the spiritual Philadelphians.

Revelation 3:12 says that the true Philadelphians will be “pillars” in the temple of God, and that they will go out no more. It is given to them to go through the open door, Christ, into the temple of God, in order to be pillars there.

What does it mean, practically, that Christ, the open door to God the Father and to God’s Kingdom, has opened the doors of our hearts to let Him live in us?

When Peter and some of the other disciples went fishing, the resurrected Christ appeared to them and asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” The Lamsa translation says, “Do you love Me more than these THINGS?” (John 21:15). The reference is to the fish that they had just caught.

When Peter confessed three times that he loved Christ, Jesus admonished him three times to “feed” and “tend” the lambs and sheep (verses 15-17). Peter’s love for Christ would be manifested and seen in his tending and feeding of Christ’s church — by looking after the sheep, by taking care of them, and by feeding them with the word in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). Christ said to Peter, “Follow Me” (verse 19). That is, follow My example of being a good shepherd of My sheep, who would even be willing, if necessary, to lay down his life for the sheep (verse 18).

Christ also said that the harvest was plentiful, but that the laborers were few, and that we should pray for laborers (Luke 10:2). We have today, potentially, a plentiful harvest as the result of the preaching of the gospel through Mr. Armstrong.

(4) God closed the door of the ark, after Noah and his family, as well as the selected animals, had entered the ship. Genesis 7:16 reads, in the Revised English Bible, “The Lord closed the door on him.” God did so, after righteous Noah and his family had entered the ark through the open door, which no one could shut for them. They entered the ark to be saved from destruction. This is interesting, as Revelation 3:10 points out that the church in Philadelphia — those who have a Philadelphian spirit — will be protected from the hour of trial or tribulation which shall come upon the whole world. The flood destroyed the whole world at the time of Noah, and Christ said that the Great Tribulation to come would destroy all of mankind, if Christ would not intervene at the very end (Matthew 24:21-22). The open door, that has been given to the Philadelphians, is also associated with physical protection from the Great Tribulation.

In conclusion, our preaching of the gospel to the world needs to continue and must not stop. God has given to the spiritual Philadelphians the open door of preaching His word, and NO ONE can shut this door. At the same time, we must strive to enter the narrow door that leads to eternal life, by letting Christ — the door to God the Father and to God’s Kingdom — live in our hearts. If we do, God promises us entrance into His Kingdom as born-again members of His Family (2 Peter 1:10-11), as well as physical protection from the Great Tribulation (Revelation 12:14).

A: We should realize that members over the years, in following Church teaching, have declared bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a recognized and legal means in this world to free oneself from debts, under certain circumstances. Court decisions have been rendered, involving Church members, dealing with questions regarding tithes and offerings in bankruptcy procedures. Certain state laws allow churches to keep tithes, up to a certain amount and percentage, which were received from members who subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

More importantly, the Bible endorses the concept of declaring bankruptcy in certain circumstances. What is the biblical basis for the Church’s long-standing teaching that the declaration of bankruptcy is not against Scripture, under certain circumstances?

We have always taught that bankruptcy is not to be taken lightly, but that it is a very serious matter. Normally, a person should do everything he or she can to pay back any debts incurred by him (2 Kings 4:7), or to at least try to arrange an extension of time with the creditors. There are unforeseen circumstances, however, which justify and sometimes even necessitate the declaration of bankruptcy. These circumstances might involve debts incurred in a business transaction, inherited debts, unexpected debts, or even incorrect allegations, falsely claiming that debts are due and owing, leading to a lawsuit by the “creditor” against the “debtor,” against which the “debtor” has no financial means to defend him- or herself.

If a debtor finds him- or herself in such a situation, he or she is Scripturally allowed to file for bankruptcy in order to reorganize his or her debts or, failing this, to extinguish his or her debts. There are numerous Biblical passages which, judging by their spiritual implications, allow for the same.

These passages deal with God’s institution for ancient Israel of the “Sabbath” and the “Jubilee” Year.

(1) On the “Sabbath Year,” that is, at the end of every seventh year, “debts of fellow Jews [correctly: Israelites] were to be canceled” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, 24th ed., p. 139). One needs to note that this was an automatic release of debt, by God-given law. It was not required that an agreement was reached between creditor and debtor, or that the creditor agreed to release the debt of the debtor. Quite to the contrary, the debts had to be released every seventh year, whether the creditor liked it or not. This was not just a postponement of debts, either; it was, rather, a cancellation of debts.

Notice Deuteronomy 15:1-3, 9: “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor SHALL RELEASE IT; HE SHALL NOT REQUIRE IT OF HIS NEIGHBOR OR HIS BROTHER, because it is called the Lord’s release. Of a foreigner you may require it; but you SHALL GIVE UP YOUR CLAIM TO WHAT IS OWED TO YOUR BROTHER… Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye will be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing [knowing that by the time of the seventh year, the lender or creditor would never receive back what he gave] and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin to
you.”

References to the Sabbath Year can also be found in Exodus 21:2, Nehemiah 10:31, and in Jeremiah 34:14. The release of debt was to occur automatically, without the necessity of an agreement between creditor and debtor. An interesting application of these principles can be found in Nehemiah 5:1-13.

(2) In addition, every fiftieth year, God’s civil law for ancient Israel demanded that ANOTHER release be granted. This was, again, not a matter of choice or agreement between creditor and debtor, but automatic. Halley points out on p. 139: “Jubilee Year was every 50th year. It followed the 7th Sabbatic Year, making two rest years come together. It began on the Day of Atonement. ALL DEBTS WERE CANCELED, slaves set free, and lands that had been sold returned.”

The Year of Jubilee is mentioned in several places, for instance in Leviticus 25 and Numbers 36:4. It is associated with the proclamation of “liberty” (Leviticus 25:10) and referred to as the “Year of Liberty” in Ezekiel 46:17. In Leviticus 25:24, 28, 39-41, it is stated:

“And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land… But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee, and in the Jubilee it shall be RELEASED, and he shall return to his possession… And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you…, [he] shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you — he and his children with him — and shall return to his family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers.”

The New Testament does not abolish the principles set forth in these Scriptures. In fact, Jesus came to preach liberty, as expressed in the Year of Jubilee, at His first coming (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:17-21), applying it to total freedom of God’s people, including freedom from all sickness, disease, sin, death, and every curse (compare, for example, Edward Chumney, “The Seven Festivals of the Messiah,” p. 147). It is true that there are New Testament Scriptures describing how creditors freely forgave their debtors (compare, Luke 7:41-42; 16:5-8). These additional Scriptures do not negate the principle, however, that debts can be forgiven by law and in God’s sight, regardless of whether the creditor is agreeable to such cancellation or not. In conclusion, the concept of declaring bankruptcy is Biblical under certain circumstances.

A: In order to properly answer this question, we need to go back and review the biblical basis for a decision that the Worldwide Church of God made under Mr. Herbert Armstrong in 1974, involving divorce and remarriage. Prior to 1974, it had been the understanding of the Church that every marriage was bound in God’s eyes. This included civil marriages, whether or not the married couple “invited God into their lives,” and — arguably, it included even marriages of persons who didn’t even claim to believe in the God of the Bible. Mr. Armstrong explained our growth in Biblical knowledge regarding this point in a member letter, dated May 14, 1974:

“God has revealed HIS LAW OF MARRIAGE — His TRUTH about marriage — God’s PURPOSE in marriage, its sanctity, its PERMANENCY — to His Church. And we applied that truth to ALL marriages, ASSUMING that God entered into every marriage, EVEN THOUGH GOD HAD NOT ENTERED INTO THE LIVES OF THOSE we SUPPOSED He had bound… Unconverted people have never let GOD enter their lives. They live APART from God — CUT OFF from God — because sin cuts one off from contact with God (see Isa. 59:2). When they have never let God come into their lives — have been CUT OFF from contact with Him — could He enter into their MARRIAGE and BIND them?… The unconverted are BOUND by the state, but NOT DIRECTLY BY GOD! Their marriages are LEGAL. Their children are LEGITIMATE — in no sense bastards — but the children of the unconverted are not HOLY.”

Mr. Armstrong reiterated this understanding in the Pastor General’s Report, dated August 21, 1979: “Jesus gave fornication (prior to marriage) as the grounds for nullifying a marriage. This clearly was a form of fraud. When discovered (in nearly all cases) immediately after the marriage, it simply meant God, knowing of this ‘fraud,’ had actually not bound the marriage — and what followed therefore was actually an annulment, not a divorce. However this did not apply in cases of marriage by unconverted people. God never bound them anyway — they were bound by man’s law, and any divorce and/or remarriage would be according to man’s civil law. But the church would not apply this annulment if the couple had continued living together for a period of time. There could be other types of fraud — such as a marriage enforced at the point of a gun.”

The Church of the Eternal God, and its corporate affiliates, concur with and apply the Worldwide Church of God’s teaching, as set forth above. God created marriage. He married Adam and Eve. Christ later said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6). A marriage BOUND by God is for life (notice Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11).

When Adam and Eve sinned, God drove them out of the garden of Eden, and prevented their return whereby they could not eat from the tree of life and live forever (Genesis 3:22-24). Man was from that time forward CUT OFF from God. Man is, in general, still CUT OFF from God. Only those whom God specifically and individually calls out of this world find themselves in a different category. They respond to God’s call, and God DOES become a part of their lives. When THEY marry, they are making a covenant between themselves, AND with God, asking God to BIND their marriage. They WANT God to be a part of their lives, and they understand that their covenant is WITH God. If they divorce, they break their word and promise towards each other, AS WELL AS with God. (You may want to review our Q&A in Update #61, dated October 4, 2002, addressing the meaning of 1 Corinthians 7:14.)

A minister of Christ will be happy to perform and officiate over a marriage of those who UNDERSTAND God’s Way of Life, and who want to obey God. Both marriage partners should already have been baptized. It would not be appropriate for a minister of Christ to perform a marriage of a “believer” and an “unbeliever.” The Bible CLEARLY states in 1 Corinthians 7:39: “A wife is BOUND by law [Paul is talking here about God’s law, and he is addressing a marriage that had been bound by God] as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, ONLY IN THE LORD.”

Most everyone agrees that Paul’s statement refers to a marriage between two Christians. Paul is CLEARLY stating here that a Christian is to marry only another Christian. The Ryrie Study Bible comments, “… only in the Lord, i.e., only to another Christian.” The Living Bible interprets the passage in this way, “The wife is part of her husband as long as he lives; if her husband dies, then she may marry again, but only if she marries a Christian.” Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary on the Whole Bible, state: “… only in the Lord — Let her marry only a Christian (II Cor. 6:14).” The “New Bible Commentary: Revised,” points out, on p. 1062, “But only in the Lord, i.e., to another Christian; for she is a member of Christ’s body (cf. 6:15).”

Although it is generally understood that Paul requires of a Christian to marry only another Christian, some argue that Paul is just explaining a principle, or that it is just Paul’s opinion, which is not a binding commandment. They may say that marrying outside the Church may be ill-advised, but they claim there is no Scriptural basis to refuse to perform the marriage between a believer and an unbeliever. Those who say this violate the clear Biblical COMMAND, as set forth in 1 Corinthians 7:39. To argue that Paul is just setting forth a principle is ludicrous. Paul says in verse 39, “She is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, ONLY IN THE LORD.” This is not just a principle that can be disregarded or neglected by the Church at whim — this is a clear and unequivocal COMMAND. To say that Paul was just uttering his personal opinion which can be disregarded or neglected by the Church at whim is equally ludicrous. With that rationale, we might as well tear out of the Bible whole pages of commandments set forth in Scripture, as they were communicated to us by God’s apostles, rather than by Jesus Christ directly. If we believe that Christ inspired the authors of the Bible to write down HIS WORD, then any argument that those words contain just personal opinions by those men is blatantly unbiblical.

Given the clear Biblical command only to marry “in the Lord,” the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates will not conduct or perform a marriage between a “believer” and an “unbeliever.”

In addition, given the clear Biblical teaching that God does not bind a marriage between two unbelievers, the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates will not conduct or perform a marriage between two unbelievers. You might want to read Judges 17:13, setting forth the example of Micah. Note the attitude Micah had in the midst of his idolatry, when he asked a Levite, perhaps a relative of Moses, to stay with him and to function as his priest: “Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest.'” We need to ask those who might want a minister of the Church of the Eternal God or of its corporate affiliates to perform their marriage, why they want them to do so. Is it because they want to live from now on lives which are pleasing to God, including the observance of all of God’s laws and statutes? If not, why do they want a minister of Christ to perform their marriage? If it is because of family approval or to just have a “nice wedding” with a “religious touch” to it, then this would not be sufficient reasons for a minister of Christ to perform such a marriage.

Worldly marriages are bound by the laws of the land. God’s ministry is not to wear the mantle of the justice of the peace. Jesus attended a wedding, but He did not officiate. Christ wants His ministry to administer matters within the Church — relating to those whom Christ calls out of this world. When the ministry of CEG and its affiliates perform a marriage, the following is stated during the ceremony: “Since marriage is a divine institution, and since we are asking God now to join you as husband and wife, it is fitting and right that each of you should faithfully promise before God to enter into the sacred marriage covenant according to the divinely-ordained conditions and laws enacted by God Almighty.” Later in the ceremony, the minister states, “Please now join your right hands and with the laying on of my hands, I will ask the Eternal God in prayer to unite you as husband and wife.”

As can be seen from the foregoing, it does not appear to be appropriate for a minister of Christ to say those words, and to ask God in prayer to “unite” an “unbelieving” couple as husband and wife, when we know that God does not bind such a marriage