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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they waited so long they became embarrassed because he did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened [the doors], and there their lord was lying on the ground dead.
And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one [will be able to] shut; and he shall shut and no one [will be able to] open.
And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one [will be able to] shut; and he shall shut and no one [will be able to] open.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven."
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven."
"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in to enter.
Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!"
Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!"
I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, the one who is and the one who was and the one who is coming, the All-Powerful.
and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living {forever and ever}, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "This is what the holy one, the true one, the one who has the key of David, the one who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one can open, says:
And the fifth angel blew the trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key of the shaft of the abyss was given to him.
And I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss 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 beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost yearned for him. I myself arose to open to my beloved; my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh upon the handles of the bolt.
For a child has been born for us; a son has been given to us. And the dominion will be on his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one [will be able to] shut; and he shall shut and no one [will be able to] open.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven."
"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.
Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!"
Therefore if God gave them the same gift as also to us [when we] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I [to be] able to hinder God?" And [when they] heard these [things], they became silent and praised God, saying, "Then God has granted the repentance [leading] to life to the Gentiles also!"
And [when they] arrived and called the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed [him] to his face, because he was condemned. For before certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, [because he] was afraid of those [who were] of the circumcision, read more. and the rest of the Jews also joined in [this] hypocrisy with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with them in [their] hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not being straightforward with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of [them] all, "If you, [although you] are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" We [are] Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles, but knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, if not by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law {no human being will be justified}. But if [while] seeking to be justified by Christ, [we] ourselves also have been found [to be] sinners, then [is] Christ an agent of sin? May it never be! For if I build up again these [things] which I destroyed, I show myself [to be] a transgressor.
and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living {forever and ever}, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "This is what the holy one, the true one, the one who has the key of David, the one who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one can open, says:
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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one [will be able to] shut; and he shall shut and no one [will be able to] open.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven."
Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!"
and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living {forever and ever}, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "This is what the holy one, the true one, the one who has the key of David, the one who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one can open, says:
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 you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released 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,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one [will be able to] shut; and he shall shut and no one [will be able to] open.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven."
"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.
and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living {forever and ever}, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.