Passwords have ever been a favorite means of identification of friend or foe. They have been used to avoid the infiltration of a military camp or installation by an enemy. Any one who approached a guard post was challenged to "halt, advance and be recognized." A stranger was commanded to give the secret password, and, if he could not do so, he would be arrested or possibly shot.
Security is a major concern in time of war, and strict procedures are implemented to protect lives and information from the enemy. Elaborate codes were used in WWII to secure communication between military units, including ships and submarines. Of course, it became a real contest to try to decode the enemies' messages, and if this were accomplished, it proved a tremendous advantage. During WWII the British were able to decipher the German code book, and so toward the end of the war, they knew ahead of time where and when the bombing raids would occur, and they were able to track German U-boats. Similarly. the USA cracked the Japanese code and this proved a great advantage in the Pacific theater of the war. But, try as they might, the Japanese could not crack the American code because the Americans were using Navajo Indians to talk back and forth in their native language. The Japanese never were able to figure out what they were saying.
The Bible relates the interesting story of how a password was used in Gilead's conflict with Ephraim. The Ephraimites could not pronounce the "sh" sound, so the army of Gilead under the leadership of Jephthah posted guards at all the places where the Ephraimite soldiers could cross the Jordan River. Whenever an Ephraimite would try to cross the river. the guard would say, "Are you from Ephraim"? "No," the man would answer. Then the guard would tell him to say "Shibboleth," and if he said "Sibboleth," they would kill him on the spot.
Since the rebellion of Lucifer, and he and his angel cohorts were expelled from heaven, God had to devise a security system to prevent these rebels from ever entering the heavenly city again. Instead of a password to secure the gates, "All the angels that are commissioned to visit earth hold a golden card, which they present to the angels at the gates of the city as they pass in and out" (Early Writings p 39). Once the conflict is over and the great controversy is ended, "Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation" (GC 678). The redeemed of all the ages stand on the sea of glass, and when they are invited to enter the gates of the Holy City, they will not need "the Golden Card."
