There’s a Snake in my Boot

Philadelphia (also in modern-day Turkey) was known as a center for spreading Greek culture. The Greeks, though paganistic, were renowned philosophers.

Jesus has this to say, to their angel:

7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

The Israelites begged for a king, even though Samuel told them it was a bad idea. In hindsight, they had the perfect system of government. They only wanted a king, because they didn’t want to stand out from their neighbors. God, being wise beyond human wisdom, and charitable beyond human charity, gave them the king they needed, not the one they wanted.

Saul was a terrible king. His reign lasted all of two years. When the Israelites saw his true colors, they begged God for a new, different king, because they had not yet learned their lesson. So, God gave them one. In truth, David was no better than Saul. He was just different. That is the key of David. It’s the understanding that we are all carrying the weight of our vanities, and that God is as close to you, as He is to me, or anyone else.

When Jesus rode drunk, on the ass of a colt, into Jerusalem, he was trying to show the Jews the truth about the king they held in such high regards. They wanted Jesus to be all the things they thought David was, but they didn’t know David like Jesus knew David.

David was an admitted fool, who danced like an idiot before his Lord. He was only a man. Men should not be held in high regards. It goes to their heads. The Son of Man has to have the proper perspective. Jesus was no respecter of persons. He understood the vanities. He was a wine bibber. He cursed a tree for not giving him what he wanted, when he wanted it. He turned over the tables of the money changers, then ran away when they came after him. He sent a legion of devils into a herd of pigs, causing them to run off a cliff and die, which ruined the economy of an entire town, and he never said he was sorry. In his final moments, he doubted God, and himself.

He did all of these things, to prove to us that he is one of us, and to show us that it’s okay to be one of us. This is God’s plan. We are down here, flailing around in the mud, so that the memory of being muddy will always be with us. We are learning to walk, by falling down over and over again, so that one day we will be more sure-footed than mountain goats. The Israelites needed some bad kings, so that they can learn to recognize a good one. Some of them are starting to admit that David wasn’t such a good king. That being said, that doesn’t mean he can’t lead (guide) us.

It is Jesus who holds the key to understanding. If it isn’t time for us to know something, we won’t know it. If our minds need to be closed for a while, there is nothing we can do to open them. All we can do is try and trust the process.

8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

The congregants of the Church of Philadelphia are the people we should all want to be. They are the only ones that Jesus doesn’t have anything against. They are the true believers. The door that is set before them, leads further into revelation. No other church has such a door. In order to go further, we must go through this church.

Recall that the Synagogue of Satan are those who want to appear to be true believers. They fall down at the feet of the Philadelphians, meaning they look up to them, because who else is there to emulate, other than a true believer, if you want to give the appearance of being a true believer? But in watching the Philadelphians, in being near them, they cannot help but notice that Jesus loves them, too.

Satan is called “that old serpent.” If you know anything about snakes, you probably know that they huddle for warmth, because they can’t regulate their own body temperature. If you go to sleep in the desert, you might just find one cuddled up to you, in the morning.

If you are a member of the Synagogue of Satan, fake it till you make it. Stay near those who have a fire inside them, so that your own cold body can be warmed by them. And if you’re so inclined, curl up in their boot (Mimic the way they walk).

The hour of trial is your last hour. On their death bed, everyone wonders what comes next. You will be tested, as Jesus was, when he was dying on the cross. He doubted, but you will not doubt, because you have grown accustomed to not doubting. Belief has become your way of life. Patient endurance has trained your eyes into bright beams that cut through any fog.

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

You have been victorious in the past, and you will continue to be victorious, so long as you keep doing what you’re doing. Pillars hold up the roof. Philadelphians are part of the Temple, not just visitors to it. The Philadelphians carry their church wherever they go, like turtles carrying their shells. With it on their backs, they always have a place to commune with God. They always have a home. They are never alone.

When God’s name is written on your heart, you become the embodiment of the Law. You can no longer set a foot wrong. When we are all Philadelphians, New Jerusalem will be a real place, not just a shadowy, veiled paradise we long to be in.

In truth, if you make it to the end of Revelation, and understand it fully, then the whole world becomes a paradise, no matter where you are. You will become the Bride of Christ, with his name written on you, only it will be a new name, because neither of you will be as you once appeared to be.