The Key of David

Jesus says in Matthew 16:19, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

A key permits access to something that is locked or secured. Jesus is not just giving a key to access the kingdom of heaven but the authority that permits us to bind or loosen things in the natural and spiritual realm.

In Isaiah 22:15-25 we find a similar passage. We learn of Shebna a minister of finance that was deposed because of his pride. He built a lavish tomb on a scale usually for kings and he aligned himself with the king of Egypt.

In Shebna's place the Lord promoted Eliakim, "And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open." (verses 21-22).

Those entrusted the key of David like Shebna are those who are faithful to the Lord's word even in the most distressing times.

The church of Philadelphia suffered persecution but the Lord comforts them, "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. 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." (Revelations 3:7-8, NIV).

When we are faithful to God's word even in the face of suffering and persecution, we are the most powerful, unbeknownst to the world, to bind and loosen. But hell shakes at believers who come into fuller revelation that in their hand is a key that can set captives free and bind devils in their own hellish prison!