The Key of David - Clavis David
"O clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem
in tenebris." Listen on YouTube
"O key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel,
who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens:
come, and lead forth the captive in the house of the prison
sitting in shadows under the shade of death."
(Translation from Latin by Jessica Wood)
Isaiah 22:22 is a beautiful prophecy about the authority of Jesus and the visible sign he has given us until His return to earth in power and glory. "And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open. Government shall be upon his shoulder."
Scripture reports King Hezekiah presenting the "key of David (clavis David)", representing the king's full authority, to the steward Eliakim. It is a direct reference to the Lord Jesus Christ as well as the Office of Holy Ministry (Keys of the Office) that He instituted in Matthew 6:19, "And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven."
King Hezekiah foreshadows Christ's authority by pressing Israel into spiritual renewal and foresaking the idols and polytheism that had a stranglehold on God's people (2 Kings 18). Hezekiah is a descendent of David and an ancestor of Christ. Hezekiah cleansed the Temple (2 Chronicles 29:3-19). He rose from a deathly illness after three days (2 Kings 20).
Revelation 3:7-8 carries another reference to the Key of David, "And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth: I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word and hast not denied my name."
A divinely called pastor has awesome power on earth. It is a beautiful power for the faithful because they can hear and receive God's true forgiveness won by and for the sake of Jesus Christ. It is a terrifying power for unbelievers who are left crushed under the weight of the law they cannot hope to keep and the self-justification they crave.
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