Please read Isaiah 22:20-23 and 9:6,7. Isaiah says that Shebna, the chief steward to David’s house will be violently removed from his office. Shebna is called ‘a shame to his master’s house’. Jewish history says that he betrayed his king. In his place, God installs Eliakim. His name means ‘God will rise you up’ or ‘the Resurrection of God’. The fulfilment of his name applies to Jesus Christ. God gives Eliakim the substantial authority and responsibility that Shebna had. He “shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.” This is the same promotion as with Joseph who said: God “has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt” (Gen 45:8). For both Eliakim and Joseph, their authority as ‘fathers’ was exceeded by only their kings.

The keys of the house of David were placed on Eliakim’s shoulder. Keys are signs of authority and power. Note that Eliakim is not an ordinary door keeper. He is the chief steward over the royal house of King David. The keys in his hand represent all authority to invite or to drive away any person from the palace. The king trusts him with his life! God promised to David that his descendants will be kings. “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel” (Jer 33:17). This is a prophesy that is fulfilled in Christ, who as a Man, came from the lineage of David. In Christ we are all priests and kings and carry the keys of His Kingdom.

In his position as second-in-command, Eliakim served as the ultimate gatekeeper, granting or denying access to the throne room using his discretion. He could open the door, and no one could shut it. Having the door opened meant access to the king’s presence, and thus to the God-given authority, favor and royal blessings, as well as to all the resources of the treasury and storehouse. But if Eliakim shut the door, he blocked all that access, and no one (except the king) could overrule his decision. It was a highly privileged position. As you see, God doesn’t tolerate men like Shebna, who was more interested in personal fame than fulfilling his office with humility and faithfulness.

Our Lord confirms the authority of Eliakim to open and shut doors at his discretion. “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘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”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you” (Rev 3:7-9). The false believers, men like Shebna, members of the synagogue of Satan, are liars and losers. Jesus gives the keys to the believers in the church in Philadelphia because though they have little strength, they are faithful in their works to serve Him. They keep God’s Word and do not deny the name of Jesus. Lesson: the revelation of the power of the keys in God’s Kingdom is given when we honor God’s name and obey His Word. Amen!

“Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:15-19).  Jesus is laying the foundation of His church, which is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph 2:20). The disciples will be the leaders of this new institution. Jesus is giving them the authority to open the doors of heaven and invite the world to enter. It is important to understand how, biblically speaking, one enters the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said that, unless one is born again, he will not see the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3:3). One is born again as the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to bring about new life in a dead sinner. The sinner must repent and believe in Christ crucified and resurrected.

Salvation is by grace and thru faith in Jesus who died on behalf of sinners. Faith in the heart must be openly proclaimed to prove salvation. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom 10:9,10). So, the faithful preaching of the gospel is the key to the kingdom. An open door means an opportunity to preach the Gospel, to make progress in life and ministry, without using force.  In both the Old and New Testaments, keys symbolize power and authority. You use the key to open or to shut a door. The delivery of the keys of a city, or to a person, symbolizes the handing over of the authority to that person.

The Church is ‘the headquarter’ of the Kingdom of God. Jesus personally promises Peter a certain authority. This is a personal reward for his good confession. This promise was fulfilled after the Day of Pentecost. At this time, it was only promised, not actually activated upon Peter. The actual gift of the power of the keys given to him, and to the other apostles, took place after Resurrection (Jn 20:22, 23).  The Apostles received the authority from Jesus, to operate in His name. They will use the keys to open or to shut, to approve or not, who is entering and who is rejected from entering the kingdom of heaven. In particular, it concerns acts of repentance and forgiveness of sins. Believers use the keys of the Kingdom like ambassadors give visa to people to enter their country or reject their applications for visa. This authority is always in total agreement with the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, who is in heaven. The Kingdom keys have the power to open and shut doors without using physical force. That power belongs to God the Father. “Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand” (Deut 32:39). The “power of the keys,” has two branches – legislative (authority to make laws) and absolving (authority to release from guilt, to forgive).

1=Peter exercised the legislative authority of the Kingdom keys as he opens the door to three groups of people: the Jews, the Samaritans and the Gentiles. Jesus commanded the disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). The Gospel spreads by the preaching of God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. The first group was the Jews in Jerusalem. Peter preached his first sermon to them on the day of Pentecost (Ac 2:37-39). By preaching the Gospel, Peter opens the door to all the Jews who repented of the sin of rejecting and killing Jesus. Peter promised them that if they repent, they will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Three thousand Jews entered the Kingdom that day. The Holy Spirit came and baptized them, proof that they are now saved. Peter leaves the door open for all will do the same in the future. Later, Peter goes to Samaria and preaches the Gospel. The Jews and the Samaritans hated each other for centuries. But Peter, the Peacemaker, opens the door to the Samaritans to also enter the Kingdom (Acts 8).

It was also Peter’s action that admitted the Gentiles to the privileges of the gospel. Peter preaches the Gospel to the centurion and his family. They believed and got baptized with the Holy Spirit and in water (Acts 10). Later, at the Jerusalem council, Peter convinced everyone that there is no need for the Gentiles to be circumcised (like the Jews), saying that they too are saved by Grace and thru faith in Christ, just like the Jews. With one word Peter waved away the need for the Gentiles to obey the ceremonial Jewish Law to become saved. This is the legislative authority of the Kingdom’ keys (Ac 15:7-11). Peter opens salvation door to the Gentiles. This dramatic event is part of the history of the church, and this new law now stands forever.

An example of Peter shutting the door of the kingdom in the face of a false believer is his rebuke to Simon the Sorcerer. “Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God” (Ac 8:20, 21). Peter rejected his application for visa to enter heaven!

2=The absolving power of the Keys is related to forgiveness of sins and church discipline. It manifests in acts of binding and loosing in prayer. “To bind” is to forbid, to pronounce unlawful, to arrest, to constrain, to prevent the person from escaping. “To loose” is to let go, to declare lawful; to let go from a cage, to fly away, or to be free. Simply said, to bind means to arrest, to loosen means to set the victim free.  

Jesus said: “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt 18:18). Specifically, it relates to the authority to forgive or not. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:23). The “power of the keys” has also been understood as the authority to exercise discipline using the act of excommunication in cases of rebellious unrepentant members of the church (Matt 18:15-17).

So, the keys of the kingdom are God’s gift to His people to declare heaven’s verdict on who will and will not enter the kingdom based on their response to the gospel. All who faithfully preach and teach the gospel can exercise the keys under the authority of Jesus Christ Himself. The Keys are the teachings of Jesus! When you preach the Gospel, you use the Keys to open heaven or to shut it down. Knowledge withheld or ignorance of the Gospel shuts the door to men to enter. “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered” (Lk 11:52).  God’s will is that sinners be granted access to heaven through the righteousness of Christ. Consider Jesus’ warning to the Pharisees: If the gospel message is distorted or ignored, or if unrepentant sin is not adequately disciplined, the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven are being shut in people’s faces. The apostles were not to usurp Christ’s authority over individual believers and their eternal destiny, but they were to exercise authority to discipline erring believers and, if necessary, excommunicate disobedient church members. Based on God’s Word, believers today can declare an unrepentant sinner to be unsaved (“bound”) and a repentant believer in Jesus Christ to be saved (“loosed”). The binding or the loosing, based on one’s rejection or acceptance of the gospel, reflects heaven’s perspective on the matter. In heaven, Christ ratifies what is done in His name and in obedience to His Word on earth.