Speckled throughout the divine scriptures that make up the corpus of writings which we know today as the New Testament of the Holy Bible, do we come across the imagery of keys: the kind of instruments which have the ability to open and shut or lock and unlock a door. These specific “keys” mentioned in the New Testament are not necessarily meant to signify physical keys that we all use to open physical doors, but rather refers to the types of spiritual keys which open spiritual doors. For example, in both the Gospels and in the book of Revelation the Lord speaks of certain “keys” that are understood to represent a deeper spiritual mystery and allegory. For in Revelation 1:18 Jesus states, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” This passage reveals that Jesus, being the firstborn from the dead, has power and dominion over hell and death. For if one holds the key to something, that person has the power over that something. This argument is confirmed by Christ after His resurrection when He told His disciples, “…all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). So as we shall see, Jesus not only possesses the key of death, but also holds the key of life, which unlocks untold blessings upon all those who serve God and follow His commandments.
It is interesting to note that even though hell and death are interrelated, the Lord refers to hell and death as two separate things. This is revealed when Christ says that He holds the “keys” and not the “key” of hell and death. This fact is further confirmed in Revelation when Jesus opens the fourth seal. For it is written, “And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him…” (Revelation 6:7-8). Going further at the time of the final judgment the Bible tells us that, “…the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:13-14). So here we see that death and hell are indeed two separate things, yet at the same time both are closely related. In fact part of their kinship lies in their total opposition to the very nature of the Almighty. God is life, not death and God dwells in heaven, not hell. So hell being a place without life, makes it the abode of death: a place of everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).
In other passages of Revelation Jesus states that He possesses the key of David, and emphasizes His spiritual power as the one who, “…opens, and no one shuts; and shuts, and no one opens” (Revelation 3:7). So again we see the complete authority that Christ has been given over creation, both in the physical as well as in the spiritual realms. In the Gospel we see Jesus sharing His authority with Simon Peter. For when God the Father revealed the divinity of Jesus Christ to St. Peter, the Lord praised His disciple and stated that He would build His church upon his leadership, and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Christ also gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and granted His disciples the authority to bind and loose sins (Matthew 16:17-19). Now this may be a stretch, but I would argue that all people who believe in their heart that Jesus is the Son of God also have the keys to the kingdom of heaven. For in God’s plan of salvation, faith in Jesus is the key which opens the gate to the kingdom of heaven (Romans 10:9).
Continuing in Revelation we see that after the seventh seal is opened, seven angels are given seven trumpets and the sounding of each of these trumpets ushers in more, and more of the various judgments of God. For it would happen when the fifth angel sounded, that a star fell from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:1). This star which falls from heaven is believed to be an angel, due to a verse from the book of Job which reveals that at the beginning of time when God laid the foundations of the earth, “…the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). Other schools of thought hold that the star is actually a fallen angel, since the same verse says that this star fell from heaven, just as the devil and the other rebellious angels fell from heaven (Revelation 12:9). But the most important factor of this verse has to do with the key of the bottomless pit that was given to the star or angel. Going further scripture says that the key to the bottomless pit was given to the angel, so that means the angel was given permission to open the pit with that key. And since all things originate with God and due to the fact that Christ holds the keys of hell and death, then we can justifiably assume that the one who gave the angel the key to the bottomless pit was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the one Who possesses the key to the gates of hell.
Another key which Christ spoke of is the key of knowledge. For in Luke’s Gospel we see Jesus warning and chastising the lawyers by saying unto them, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered (Luke 11:52). So here it is revealed that the responsibility of those placed in authority is to guide the people and impart unto others the knowledge which they have been initiated into themselves. Alas this key of knowledge was not given to the people in Jesus’s day and the ones who possessed the key ended up casting it aside, so that they could not enter into the way of knowledge themselves, and on top of things they even tried to stop others who were entering into enlightenment on their own. Knowledge is power, and God has spoken through the prophets by saying, that His people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). The importance of gaining knowledge is emphasized all throughout the Bible. For example, the wise king Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs that the principle thing in this life is to acquire knowledge, and in the New Testament the Apostle Paul encourages us to study to show ourselves approved ( 2 Timothy 2:15). So by applying ourselves mentally to the study of God’s Word, are we given the key that unlocks our spiritual understanding, even granting us the very mind of Christ.
In conclusion, whether we are speaking on the keys of hell and death, or if we are personally seeking the key of knowledge, the fact remains that Christ holds all these keys and ultimately all the power within them resides in Him. Not only does Christ have the authority to unlock spiritual doors with spiritual keys, His holy hands also break the seven seals which unlock the fearsome and terrible judgments of God. And since it is Jesus that saves, then it would seem that it is Christ Himself that is the key that opens the door to Paradise. Just as Cherubims were placed to guard the tree of life, after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, so too has Christ unlocked the door which separated mankind from the kingdom of God. So, in God’s plan for the salvation of mankind does Jesus Christ (The Son and Word of God) serve as the master key which opens the gates of heaven to humanity, and Who unlocks the grace of God to mortals granting His children everlasting life. Amen.
References:
Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).
Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).