Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “rethink.”
Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?
It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.
Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.
We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?
It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.
Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.
We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
Introduction
Having recently heard from the pulpit that Jesus took the keys from the enemy and gave them to the Church, we were pressed to examine if such an idea was Scriptural. Did Jesus actually engage in some sort of battle with the devil and obtain these keys from him? Who has these keys right now? Did He give them to us?
Keys, of course, lock and unlock things. As a symbol, a key is representative of power over the thing that can be locked and unlocked. Only the one who has a key can lock and unlock the thing. Therefore, holding a key represents being a position to make decisions over the contents of a locked place. What do these keys unlock?
It seems that there are at least four different keys.
The Keys to Death and Hades
Revelation 1:18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
It seems clear that these keys are representative of Jesus' victory over death and the grave:
Ac. 2:24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
1Co. 15:55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
Jesus' victory of over death means that its power cannot hold the Living One. This power over death is also the subsequent power to release us from death's hold. His victory is our victory Jesus has always possessed the keys to (the power over) death and Hades because He alone has the power over life and death.
Satan never has had the this power.
The gates of Hades cannot stand before the power of the Living One. When Matthew wrote, the gates of Hades will not overcome it, he was not talking about an offensive war the devil could not win, he was referring to the power of the Living One to unlock Hades at will to rescue the dead ones.
Us.
Every human is or was dead and condemned:
Ro. 5:18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
Sin caused our death. But we have been rescued from the abode of the dead:
Col. 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves...
Further, there is no biblical record of Jesus fighting the devil for these keys. It was the sheer power act of the resurrection that broke the power of death:
Col. 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Jesus alone holds the power, the keys, to release those who are captives to death. This is the power of the resurrection:
Ro. 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
These keys were never in Satan’s possession. Jesus did not have to fight Satan for anything.
The Key of David
Rev 3:7 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.
We can cross reference this to Isaiah's prophetic statement:
Is. 22:20-22 In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no-one can shut, and what he shuts no-one can open.
Eliakim's role as a faithful steward is often seen as a foreshadowing of the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise through the Messiah. The authority given to Eliakim, symbolized by the "key of the house of David" (Isaiah 22:22), is echoed in the New Testament in Revelation 3:7, where Christ is described as holding the "key of David." This connection highlights the messianic expectation rooted in the Davidic line, with Eliakim serving as a type of Christ, the ultimate steward of God's kingdom.
Indeed, the prevalent promise found all through the OT is that there would be a King on David's throne forever:
Is. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever.
Eliakim, a real person, is also a type of Christ and His eternal reign. Therefore, this key represents the kingly rule of Jesus on the throne of David, and as Both Isaiah and the Apostle promise in identical language, what he opens no-one can shut, and what he shuts no-one can open. This key is the kingly position of power Jesus occupies.
The Keys To the Kingdom
Mt. 16:15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 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.”
Matthew 16:19 uses the singular “you” in every occurrence in this passage, indicating that Jesus was giving the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter, not to everyone present. However, a couple of chapters later we read that binding and loosing is given to the ekklēsia:
Mt. 18:18 I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Again, "you" is singular. But we see here the agreement of singular individuals regarding a matter of the kingdom:
Mt. 18:19 Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
The holy unity of the individuals within the ekklēsia furthers kingdom power and activity. It is not a matter to take lightly. Therefore, we would resist the idea that the agreement of the ekklēsia is primarily regarding the binding of evil spirits. Rather, we come together and agree with the prompting of the Holy Spirit to facilitate the fullness of the coming Kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18:23) and freeing men's souls to come to a knowledge of the truth:
Lk. 11:52 Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.
Loosing the souls of men for entrance into the Kingdom is the primary purpose of binding and loosing.
The Key To The Abyss
This is a curious "key." This key was given to a demonic entity named Abaddon/Apollyon (Abaddon is also a place [Ps. 88:11]), and this entity opened the shaft of the abyss:
Re. 9:11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. [Abaddon and Apollyon mean Destroyer.]
This could be the devil himself, or it might be a lesser "destroying" demon, like one of the rulers, authorities, or powers mentioned in Ephesians 6:12. However, to us the reference to "star" more plausibly suggests the morning star, Lucifer, as being the one to whom the Apostle refers. Isaiah describes him:
Is. 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!The word translated "shaft" is not a great translation, it simply means a hole, like a narrower mouth to a large pit. Figuratively it is the entrance to the nether world. The "abyss" is an immeasurably deep pit, which during NT times was viewed as sort of the abode of demons.
The fifth angel seems to be the one who gave this evil entity the key, we think because the entity couldn't open the door to the abyss without it. By contrast, the abyss is open to the Lord:
Pr. 15:11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD — how much more the hearts of men!God doesn't need keys to get in here, it's all open before Him. The Destroyer, however, must get a key. He can only act by permission.
All sorts of awful things rose out of the abyss as it became one of the judgments of evil men. The smoke turned into demons resembling locusts, and grievously afflicted those who did not have God's seal on them. These demonic forces were subjects of the Destroyer:
Re. 9:11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. [Abaddon and Apollyon mean Destroyer.]
So this demonic entity serves the purpose of the Lord by (inadvertently?) releasing the locust judgment. It doesn't ever possess the key, it only is able to access the abyss by permission of the angel.
Fast forward a couple of chapters, where we find the Two Witnesses. They prophesy for 1,260 days before the Beast comes up out of the abyss:
Re. 11:7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.
The Destroyer was not in the abyss, but opened it. The beast, however, is in the abyss, and comes out to destroy the Two Witnesses. It's no wonder that the book of Revelation is confusing to so many!
The last mention of the key to the abyss is when the devil is bound in the abyss for 1000 years. Here, an angel has the key, and also a chain to bind the serpent. We would speculate that this angel is the Angel of The Lord, Jesus Himself:
Re. 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
This key, the key to the demonic realm, is unlike any of the other keys. It is controlled by angels, and is how access is gained into the nether word. These particular keys are never in the realm of humanity, which is why we earlier suggested that binding and loosing is not a primary activity of the ekklēsia.
Conclusion
Let's requote a portion of an earlier passage:
Mt. 16:18b-19 "...and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.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.”
"The gates of Hades." We can't help but notice that the gates of the abyss (nether regions containing the demonic forces) is open before God, but the gates of Hades (the abode of the dead) is powerless against the ekklēsia. Therefore, we together loose the souls out of death by agreement with the purpose of God, speaking the gospel to whomever would hear, while being sealed by the Holy Spirit, safe from the attacks of the enemy.
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