THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM Larry W Peebles December 11, 2020 20.47
I have been given the keys to a city. In 1992 I was elected President of the Builders’ Association of Greater Tampa. The association was an organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the interests and activities of builder members, as well as trades and suppliers who served the industry. I had become involved in the association shortly after moving to Tampa in 1987, and had served in numerous committee and officer roles before being elected President. That same year I was named the Association’s Builder of the Year, an honor I greatly appreciated. As Builder of the Year, I was called to the Tampa Mayor’s office for pictures with the Mayor, and was presented a key to the city of Tampa. I spent a short time visiting with the Mayor, and we parted.
That key was honorary and ceremonial, but the meeting was the genesis for some things the association later did to “give back” to the community where we built homes. The association initiated a program where the industry helped rebuild homes in the city that needed repairs. Disabled and disadvantaged people would apply for assistance with home repairs, and on a ranked “need” basis, the association would gather donated materials and volunteer labor to make the repairs. This initiative proved to be quite successful, and is still thriving today. Tampa is also home to one of the model programs in the nation to assist the homeless/jobless, and the builder association found numerous ways to work with this local effort. For instance, we actually built housing on donated land for clients who had come for assistance, completed the program, and were ready to transition out of the homeless situation and back into society.
Cities and states often give the keys to their honored sons and daughters, but it is strictly symbolical. The key I was given would open nothing, although some good did come out of it. As I recall, they even took the key back after pictures were taken. It is interesting that this whole tradition of giving the key to someone not only has a Biblical basis, it has a deeper spiritual meaning.
In the days of the kings of Israel, it was common for the king to appoint a “governor of the palace”. This governor was treasurer or steward, and was “over the house”. He was clothed with an appropriate robe, carried the insignia of his office, and the government was committed into his hands. He was “father” to the people of the land, and had absolute authority as the king’s representative. Such a man was Eliakim, appointed to replace Shebna, who had perhaps taken on too much of the glory intended for the king. Eliakim was given Shebna’s robe, insignia, and position. He was to serve the king with more than enough power and authority, but he was not to usurp his glory.
In Isaiah 22:20-24, Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Eliakim reads as follows-“Then it shall be in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of David. The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, and he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house. They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers.”
When King Sennacherib of Assyria sent an army against Jerusalem in 701 BC, Eliakim was among the Jewish delegation sent by Hezekiah to negotiate with the army officers. As a result of the invaders’ threats, he was sent by Hezekiah to Isaiah to entreat his prayers on behalf of Jerusalem. God dealt severely with Sennacherib, sending an angel to cut down “every mighty man of valor, leader and captain in the Assyrian army” (2 Chronicles 32). Eliakim’s responsibilities and authority were greatly varied and all-encompassing.
The word picture here is powerful. The keys to the kingdom will be on his shoulders, and he will be able to open and close doors no one else is able to maneuver. He will be like a secure peg, and all matters large and small can hang [firmly depending for a long time] on him. Unlike today’s honorary key to a city or state, the keys given to Eliakim, the representative of the king, were working and powerful. This position of governor of the palace might be similar to the position given Joseph by the pharaoh of Egypt, where Joseph had all power, second only to that of pharaoh.
With this picture, we can better understand Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Jesus. Isaiah 9:6-7- “For unto us a Child is born [Jesus], unto us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord will perform this.”
Consider that Jesus was of the lineage of David. God the Father gave Jesus the role of “Supreme” Governor of the Palace and put the key of the house of David upon His shoulders. Jesus was supreme in that He surpassed everyone who had held that position, and no one since has had His power and authority. As Creator and Son of God, He preceded David, and as Jesus, He was a descendent of David. Jesus made clear that He holds these keys, and all the authority that comes with them when He declared in Revelation 1:18-“I AM He who lives, and was dead, and behold I AM alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and Death.” With infinitely more power than any governor of the palace before Him, Jesus descended into hell following His death, defeated the devil, and took the keys with Him. He then ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father, where He reigns today. 1 Corinthians 15:26- “The last enemy that will be defeated is death.”
We know that life and every created thing came from Jesus. Here He demonstrates that He is not only the source of life, He also is the Master over death. When Jesus came to the earth in human form, He brought the Kingdom of God with Him, and carried the government of the Kingdom on His shoulders. His authority was like no other ever experienced on the earth.
With this background concerning the keys to the kingdom, imagine the stunning effect of these words of Jesus to His disciples found in Matthew 16:19- “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.” Jesus had asked His disciples two questions- Who do men say that I AM, and who do you say that I AM? Then Peter answered, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus then said that upon that revelation He would build His church, and Hades (Hell, or Sheol-O.T.) would not prevail against it. He then gave the disciples, the founders of His church, the keys to the kingdom of heaven. The true living, active, interceding church filled with the power of the Holy Spirit has those keys today. We have the authority to bind and loosen in the earth what is already bound and loosened in heaven such as healing, deliverance, provision, etc.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they turned over to Satan the title deed and the keys to the earth. That is why Satan is referred to as the “god of the world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4, and “prince of this world” in John 14:30. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, according to 1 John 3:8. Hell was created as Satan’s final and eternal destination and punishment. Until Jesus sends him there, we are to continue the fight against him, as Jesus has “delivered us from the power of darkness” according to Colossians 1:13. We can bind this “strongman” and plunder his house, instead of having him harass and plunder ours. “No one can enter a strongman’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds [locks away] the strong man.” Matthew 12:29.
The authority to do this comes with the keys of the kingdom Jesus has given us. These keys are not merely honorary or symbolic. They are spiritual, but this is a spiritual matter, won by believing and exercising our faith. My wife and I see this in our travels to foreign countries where there are still witch doctors and tribal practices from the ancient religions. People who are demon-possessed are set free from the control of demons by praying, exercising our faith and God-given authority, and commanding the demons to leave. God gets all the glory because His word and His promises are sure. He does the fighting, we see the victory. The keys to the kingdom He has given us are powerful and authoritative, and still work today.
The keys to the kingdom were given to all who are disciples of Jesus, not just a few “special” people. When we understand who we were created to be and to whom we belong, we will come to know the true authority we have in Jesus’ name.
