The Key of David

A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 75

In His address to the Philadelphia church, Jesus declares that He holds the key of David.

“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”—Revelation 3:7 (NKJV)

This is a direct reference to Isaiah 22:22:

“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.” (NKJV)

Isaiah 22 foreshadows what happens in the Philadelphia Church Age. In this chapter, God declares that Shebna, the corrupt steward of the royal household, will be removed from his exalted position, and he will be replaced by Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah.

“I will depose you from your office,
And you will be pulled down from your position [of importance].
Then it will come to pass in that day
That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah.
And I will clothe him with your tunic [of distinction]
And tie your sash securely around him.
I will entrust him with your authority;
He will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Then I will set on his shoulder the key of the house of David;
When he opens no one will shut,
When he shuts no one will open.
I will drive him like a peg in a firm place,
And he will become a throne of honor and glory to his father’s house.
—Isaiah 22:19-23 (AMP)

We don’t know much about Shebna, except that he was focused on building for himself a tomb worthy of a king. Instead of focusing on his main responsibilities as steward of the house, he was focused on erecting a monumental structure to honor himself.

This is exactly what traditional churches were doing at the time of the Philadelphia Church Age. In referring to this Isaiah 22 passage, Jesus is rejecting the leaders whose focus is on enriching themselves and building ornate, opulent cathedrals. He is passing the mantle of authority to leaders who will focus on His priorities and meet the needs of the people.

This passage in Isaiah 22 tells us that the key of the house of David will be set upon the shoulder of the trustworthy steward. This speaks of an impartation of governmental authority. We see this in Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah in Isiah 9:6:

“For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder” (AMP)

We don’t know much about Eliakim, who receives the key of David in Isaiah 22, but his name is significant, because Eliakim means “God is setting up or establishing.” During the Philadelphia Church Age, there was a clear transfer of Heaven’s authority. Just as the Spirit of God departed from Saul and empowered David instead, the traditional Church, with all of its majestic cathedrals and pompous ceremonies, was rejected by God, and His Spirit moved on to empower those who would carry His message outside the walls of the churches to the people who so desperately needed it.

But even more than a transfer of Heaven’s authority, the True Church of the Philadelphia Age would be honored by the Lord in a way that was never promised to any other church. Jesus would cause the false church, that had ruled over the Christians for centuries, to pay honor to the true Church of the Philadelphia Age, and to see clearly that God loved them.

“Take note, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know [without any doubt] that I have loved you.”—Revelation 3:9 (AMP)

Jesus called out the “synagogue of Satan” before, in His message to the church in Smyrna (Revelation 2:9), but now, He is promising that these blasphemers will bow down to the faithful disciples in the Philadelphia church.

During this age, God made a clear distinction between those who were truly the chosen servants of God, and those who falsely claimed to be His chosen servants.

“For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by [the fulfillment of] the letter [of the Law]. His praise is not from men, but from God.”—Romans 2:28-29 (AMP)

It is possible that a transfer of authority of this magnitude was not seen since the beginning of the Church, when Jesus removed His presence and His authority from the Jewish priesthood, and placed the authority of the Kingdom of God upon the shoulder of faithful stewards like Peter and the other apostles.

“And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ]. I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.”—Matthew 16:18-19 (AMP)

Rome had already lost a lot of power and influence over the people during the Sardis Age as that influence shifted to Martin Luther and the leaders of the Reformation. The false church lost significantly more during the Philadelphia Church Age.

Read the rest of the series at SpiritOfWisdomMedia.com.

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