Reference: Key
Easton
frequently mentioned in Scripture. It is called in Hebrew maphteah, i.e., the opener (Jg 3:25); and in the Greek New Testament kleis, from its use in shutting (Mt 16:19; Lu 11:52; Re 1:18, etc.). Figures of ancient Egyptian keys are frequently found on the monuments, also of Assyrian locks and keys of wood, and of a large size (comp. Isa 22:22).
The word is used figuratively of power or authority or office (Isa 22:22; Re 3:7; 1:8; comp. Re 9:1; 20:1; comp. also Mt 16:19; 18:18). The "key of knowledge" (Lu 11:52; comp. Mt 23:13) is the means of attaining the knowledge regarding the kingdom of God. The "power of the keys" is a phrase in general use to denote the extent of ecclesiastical authority.
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And they went on waiting till they were shamed, but the doors were still shut; so they took the key, and, opening them, saw their lord stretched out dead on the floor.
And I will give the key of the family of David into his care; and what he keeps open will be shut by no one, and what he keeps shut no one will make open.
And I will give the key of the family of David into his care; and what he keeps open will be shut by no one, and what he keeps shut no one will make open.
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever is fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever is fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
Truly I say to you, Whatever things are fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
But a curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you are shutting the kingdom of heaven against men: for you do not go in yourselves, and those who are going in, you keep back.
A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.
A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.
I am the First and the Last, says the Lord God who is and was and is to come, the Ruler of all.
And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia say: These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, opening the door so that it may be shut by no one, and shutting it so that it may be open to no one.
And at the sounding of the fifth angel I saw a star falling from heaven to the earth: and there was given to him the key of the great deep.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the great deep and a great chain in his hand.
Fausets
Song 5:4-5. A piece of wood, from seven inches to two feet long, fitted with pegs which correspond to small holes in the bolt within; the key put through a hole draws the bolt. The symbol of authority to open or shut (Isa 22:22; Re 3:7; 1:18). A chamberlain's (eunuch) badge of office is often a key, hung by a kerchief "on the shoulders" (Isa 9:6). The power of the keys was given to Peter and the other apostles only at times (Mt 16:19; 18:18) when, and in so far as, Christ made him and them infallible. Peter rightly opened the gospel door to the Gentiles (Acts 10; Ac 11:17-18; 14:27), but he wrongly tried to shut it again (Ga 2:11-18; compare Lu 11:52).
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My loved one put his hand on the door, and my heart was moved for him. I got up to let my loved one in; and my hands were dropping with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the lock of the door.
For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace.
And I will give the key of the family of David into his care; and what he keeps open will be shut by no one, and what he keeps shut no one will make open.
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever is fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
Truly I say to you, Whatever things are fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.
If then God gave them, when they had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the same as he gave to us, who was I to go against God? And hearing these things they said nothing more, but gave glory to God, saying, Then to the Gentiles as to us has God given a change of heart, so that they may have life.
And when they came there, and had got the church together, they gave them an account of all the things which God had done through them, and how he had made open a door of faith to the Gentiles.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I made a protest against him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. For before certain men came from James, he did take food with the Gentiles: but when they came, he went back and made himself separate, fearing those who were of the circumcision. read more. And the rest of the Jews went after him, so that even Barnabas was overcome by their false ways. But when I saw that they were not living uprightly in agreement with the true words of the good news, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, are living like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, how will you make the Gentiles do the same as the Jews? We being Jews by birth, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Being conscious that a man does not get righteousness by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we had faith in Christ Jesus, so that we might get righteousness by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law will no flesh get righteousness. But if, while we were desiring to get righteousness through Christ, we ourselves were seen to be sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? In no way! For if I put up again those things which I gave to destruction, I am seen to be a wrongdoer.
And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia say: These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, opening the door so that it may be shut by no one, and shutting it so that it may be open to no one.
Hastings
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Morish
Used symbolically for authority to open or to shut. Spoken of Eliakim, 'established by God,' as having the key of the house of David laid upon his shoulder: "he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." Isa 22:22. He is a type of the Lord Jesus, as spoken of in Re 3:7, who has also the keys of hades and of death. Re 1:18. To Peter were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Mt 16:19, which he opened to the Jews in Acts 2, and to the Gentiles in Acts 10. The Lord charged the doctors of the law with taking away the key of knowledge. Lu 11:52. This they did by their traditions and by hindering those who would have entered in to the blessings brought by Christ.
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And I will give the key of the family of David into his care; and what he keeps open will be shut by no one, and what he keeps shut no one will make open.
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever is fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.
And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia say: These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, opening the door so that it may be shut by no one, and shutting it so that it may be open to no one.
Smith
Key.
The key of a native Oriental lock is a piece of wood, from seven inches to two feet in length, fitted with the wires or short nails, which, being inserted laterally into the hollow bolt which serves as a lock, raises other pins within the staple so as to allow the bolt to be drawn back. (Keys were sometimes of bronze or iron, and so large that one was as much as a man could carry. They are used in Scripture as a symbol of authority and power. Giving keys to a person signifies the intrusting of him with an important charge.
In England in modern times certain officers of the government receive, at their induction into office, a golden key. --ED.)
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I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever is fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
Watsons
KEY is frequently mentioned in Scripture, as well in a natural as in a figurative sense. The keys of the ancients were very different from ours; because their doors and trunks were closed generally with bands, and the key served only to loosen or fasten these bands in a certain manner. In a moral sense key has many significations: "And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder: so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open," Isa 22:22,
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And I will give the key of the family of David into his care; and what he keeps open will be shut by no one, and what he keeps shut no one will make open.
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever is fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
Truly I say to you, Whatever things are fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.
And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell.