The Keys of the Kingdom of David
What are the keys? Who has the keys? What does having the keys mean? What is the Kingdom of David? I will set out to see what we can be ascertained from the Scripture that contains reference of these keys, what they are, and what they open.
First, I would like to explain what is most commonly understood as the Kingdom of David. The other names for this are the house of David, or the Kingdom of Heaven. They are synonymous for we know that the Messiah will be of the line of David, and so the keys of David will be with that Messiah, and what he will do with them is his choice.
The Messiah would be the leader, head, king of the house of David, and with the keys, he would appoint a steward to keep watch over the kingdom until he, the king, returns. Entrusted to this steward, the keys of the house of David, this man would be the one with authority over the Kingdom in the king’s absence. To not be under this steward would be to be out of the house of David, that their would be a visible body to this Kingdom, upon which could be within or without.
The first reference of the keys and this steward that is made is in a prophecy;
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliacim, the son of Helcias. And I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him with thy girdle, and will give thy power into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda. And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place: and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, diverse kinds of vessels, every little vessel: from the vessels of cups even to every instrument of music.” (Isaiah 22:20-24)
This tells us a lot about what sort of power this steward will have, entrusted with the keys, he shall be clothed with God’s robe (Isaiah is speaking to God here in this passage, it can be understood), and strengthened with God’s girdle, and His power shall be put into this steward’s hand. He will be protected from error by the girdle, which we would know as the Holy Spirit, and also have enormous power at his hand, with which he shall do what the passage says; “…he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”
What is being shut and opened? It is apparent that this prophecy is speaking of the Old and New Covenant; this man, being as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda, which would be the Jews and Gentiles, respectively, will be opening the New Covenant for all people, to let the Messiah’s grace fulfill the Old Covenant, which is being shut.
What is important here is that the key to open and close is being placed upon this steward, which signifies that this will not be a single man, but an office that will be successively occupied by stewards until the king returns. This steward, whichever man he may be, will be a peg in a sure place, and to be placed surely by God means that this man will be immovable. This peg, with the keys, will be for a throne of glory to the house of his father, which is the house of David.
Upon this man will be placed many glories of his father’s house, from all sorts of gifts to music. This house will surely be a very joyous house!
The next reference of the keys is perhaps one of the most controversial verses in the entire Bible, because if following this prophecy, one understands that this peg being placed surely, will be a rock, a rock that will not be moved, and that this steward will have the keys, signifying an office to be successively occupied in the visible absence of the king.
“And I say to thee: That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19)
Peter is being given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and he is the rock upon which the Church will be built. He is the first steward, being given the keys directly from the king, of which will be passed on to the next steward, and so on. Peter has immense powers, powers only God could have, to bind on earth and heaven, and to loose on earth and heaven. It is no small thing that Jesus did, making Peter His steward of the kingdom.
It would be brought up, and I am prepared to answer, the fact that it would appear that Peter is not the rock upon which Christ will build his Church, based on lingual difficulties. So, I have found several quotes to back up that Peter is the Rock, of which I am sure can be trusted. (This is only to ensure we understand that Peter is the Rock, same as being the peg that the Lord will put in a sure place.)
D.A. Carson (Protestant Evangelical) —
“Although it is true that petros and petra can mean ‘stone’ and ‘rock’ respectively in earlier Greek, the distinction is largely confined to poetry. Moreover, the underlying Aramaic is in this case unquestionable; and most probably kepha was used in both clauses (‘you are kepha’ and ‘on this kepha’), since the word was used both for a name and for a ‘rock.’ The Peshitta (written in Syriac, a language cognate with Aramaic) makes no distinction between the words in the two clauses. The Greek makes the distinction between petros and petra simply because it is trying to preserve the pun, and in Greek the feminine petra could not very well serve as a masculine name.” (Carson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan, 1984], volume 8, page 368, as cited in Butler/Dahlgren/Hess, page 17-18.)
There are more at this link http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/PeterRockKeysPrimacyRome.htm
So, Peter being the Rock, we can see that Jesus has made a visible entity upon which one can tell if they are in the house of David, the kingdom of Heaven.
The last passage at which there is a definite mention of the keys of the house of David comes in Revelations;
“And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth: I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God: and he shall go out no more. And I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.” (Revelations 3:7-13)
This passage speaks about the protection this steward will receive by the Holy Spirit, that he who holds the key of David, opens and shuts, will not deny Him and will keep His word. This steward will be kept from ‘hour of temptation,’ meaning that this man will be extraordinarily protected from error. This man, having overcome by the Spirit, will be a pillar in the temple of God, and he shall always remain. He will bear the testimony of God and of the city of God. He will always be counted upon for declarations of the kingdom of heaven.
He will be, in short, protected by the Holy Spirit, and made free from doctrinal error, for his message will be of the Holy Spirit, and will be good for all churches to hear.
Who is this steward? Who has the keys?
Amtheomusings 