What Do the Keys to the Kingdom Really Mean?

Catholics believe that Jesus Christ commissioned St. Peter to be his successor, head of Church by bestowing on Him title of "Rock" which is Cephas and Peter, when His Hebrew name was Simon or Symeon Barjona. They support this claim with these two verses, " also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it," (Matthew 16:18) and "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19). There is problem however with interpreting that Peter is the Rock and the keys meaning that Peter alone has access to gates of heaven to admit people in. For here is what the Rock Jesus was really talking about, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:15-16). The Rock and Key is this revelation that Jesus is the Christ and Son of the Living God, for this is the Church, what we believe. Jesus even says, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.." (Matthew 16:18-19). Jesus is specify that the rock is the revelation that Peter received from the Father, not that Peter is the rock. I do believe Jesus gave Simon the bame Peter or Petra (rock) and Cephas in honor that he got the revelation of who Christ is from the Father. Besides Jesus is the true Rock, not Peter in other scriptures "and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ," (1 Corinthians 10:4), "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone,"(Ephesians 2:20),  "As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame," (Romans 9:33), "Jesus is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone," (Acts 4:11), "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matthew 7:24), and finally Peter himself clarifies that Jesus is the Living Stone, while believers like Peter are stones building the Church, but not the Rock, "And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ," (1 Peter 2:4-5). Here we finally see that Peter makes a distinction, that we are stones because we carry the living stone of salvation inside us, the Son of God Himself, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?," (2 Corinthians 13:5), "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness," (Romans 8:10), "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me," (Galatians 2:20), and these last verse builds on Peter's words about "living stones, being built up as spiritual house for holy priesthood, (1 Peter 2:4-5)" in Paul's words, "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple," (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).


Then what are keys? If Christ is the Rock, what are keys for? Well Jesus already explained it, as "binding and loosing" (Matthew 16:19). The Lord reveals more about these keys in a later verse, saying to the apostles, "Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 18:18-19). These keys are a spiritual authority, and were once solely in position of Christ and the enemy. These keys also are connected to the Rock, the gospel, because there is another symbol Jesus speaks of, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14), It stands to reason that if there is a gate, there is a key. To enter the Narrow Gate and Path of salvation through Christ, you must have the keys, which is Peter's confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Which is the same confession mentioned by Paul, "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved," (Romans 10:9), the same confession by all the Apostles, "They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household," (Acts 16:31), and same confession Christ instructs, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten (not made) Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). Interestingly enough, if you do not confess this and believe in Jesus Christ you are condemned and marked for the antichrist, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son," (John 3:18) and "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:7-11). The Lawlessness is already at work and mentioned elsewhere, "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." (Matthew 24:11-13). Thus Christ is warning us, lawlessness preceds and leads to Lawless One (The Antichrist, Man of Sin). Basically you are either with Jesus Christ or the Antichrist, there is no in between. You either confess like St. Peter, and keep confessing, believing in your heart, and working out your salvation in Christ (Romans 10:9, Phillipians 2:12, James 2:14-26) or you fall away (Matthew 24:10) and become bound by the anti-salvation (condemnation), the lie of the Lawless one that seals a person's fate unto condemnation which is hell (Matthew 25:41, 46).

The Keys Jesus offers to everyone who believes in Him. They are keys to everlasting life through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. But the Mark of Beast, the Lawless One is anyone who will not confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and believe in their heart He was raised from dead (Romans 10:9). The Mark of Beast is John 3:18 and 2 Thessalonians 2. The Mark of Christ and Salvation is John 3:16 and Romans 10:9. Thus I believe the keys, the binding and losing it our authority as Christain to proncounce someone saved or condemned, the two separate keys are salvation and damnation, for read what Jesus holds in the last book of the bible, "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:18). Death is heaven, for Paul says, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far..," (Phillipians 1:21,23), and Jesus said, "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.." (John 11:15). Thus the death key mentioned in revelation is actually resurrection, salvation, while the other key hades, is the Mark of the Beast, those condemned already (John 3:18, Matthew 25:40-46, 2 Thessalionains 2:7-11). Jesus says we will not receive the Mark of the Lawless One or be condemned, because those of us who "stand firm (endure) to end," (Matthew 24:13), "confessing and believing Jesus is Lord and risen," (Romans 10:9) and "working out our salvation with fear and trembling," (Phillipians 2:12), "faith working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect," (James 2:22), are the Church and this is what Jesus said, " upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18). That hades is the other key mentioned in Revelation 1:18.

Thus the keys Jesus hands us is partnership with Him to lead more people to the Ressurection, Salvation, and death that isn't even death but to be with God (Phillipians 1:21,23). But the other key is to condemn, to declare someone has now come under the lie of Lawless One, and shall be marked by the beast (John 18, 2 Thessalonians 2:7-11). A day is coming when Constrainer, the Holy One who is holding back the Lawless One will leave and we shall see John 3:18 fufillied, "but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way." (). some believe this is the holy spirit. The Mark of Beast will have physical mark, "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six." (Revelation 13:16-19). But as I have laid out there is aspect of this Mark that is mentioned in John 3:18 and 2 Thessalonians 2:7-11, which is condemnation.

If you have not confessed Jesus as Lord (God, Yahweh) and believed in your heart He was crucified for your sins and raised to life again, then now is the time to confess and believe! For the hour is short, soon the constrainer will be removed and the Lawless one will be revealed. Do not wait, or else you may be consumed by condemnation. Choose Christ Jesus today, and pray, "Lord Jesus Christ, I confess my sins, I say I have done evil and wrong all my life, I ask you forgive my sins and wash them away with your blood and sacrificial death, and raise me to your forgiveness and resurrection life. I will confess this before an assembly, that you are Lord, Savior, and God, and I believe in you with all my heart. Amen." Now I suggest you make a public confession of your new found salvation! This is called Water Baptism, it has to happen before witnesses and from then on you need to "stand firm until the end," (Matthew 254:13) by "working out your faith through fear and trembling (meaning keep believing in your heart and works will come from it)" (Phillippians 2:12). You need to get a Holy Bible (English Standard Version, New American Standard Version, King James Version not 21st Century, Amplified Bible, and if you must New Living Translation, The Living Bible, and New International Version which are great heart to heart translations for daily reading, but for deep study the others are better).