Who Has the Keys to Heaven?

Tom: Thanks, Gary.  You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a program in which we encourage everyone who desires to know God’s truth to look to God’s Word for all that is essential for salvation and living one’s life in a way that is pleasing to him. Dave, you’ve been away for a while, although people don’t know that because our programs are taped, but it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve done a program.

Dave: Three-and-a-half weeks.

Tom: Three-and-a-half weeks, and you have been to Romania, but you don’t look any the worse for it. You’re pretty spry. It must have been a good trip?

Dave: Canada, England, and Romania in one trip.

Tom: Yes, now if you’ve just joined us, this is your first time listening to the program, the program is called Search the Scriptures Daily, and we have been looking at questions that regard THE faith once and for all delivered unto the saints. Our reference is God’s Word, the scriptures, the Bible. But we’re using as sort of a syllabus here, Dave Hunt’s book In Defense of the Faith, which we’ve drawn questions from. And, of course, these are questions that Dave throughout his many years of ministry sort of jotted down and then put together in this book. It helps us to focus in on concerns that people have; questions that he’s received and questions that we continue to receive today and we’re going to address those right now. 

Dave, the first question for today: Jesus, “I will give unto to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. That sounds as though we have the authority not just to ask God for something in prayer, but to command Him. Why can’t we make this work today? Sounds like somebody’s trying to use prayer as a technique here.

Dave: Yes. Well, there are two things, I think. This is Matthew:16:19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
See All..., Christ is addressing Peter, and He says, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” That’s one statement, and that’s to Peter alone. “Unto thee…” that’s the singular, and then you have another statement, “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever shall be loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” That statement is repeated to all of the disciples in Matthew:18:18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
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There’s a particular context there, and it’s not about prayer; it’s not about making things happen the way they want them to. It certainly does not imply that we have the power to command God to do anything. We only act as His representatives, no matter what we do. But the first part of it, to Peter, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” I think that was probably unique to Peter in one way. Of course, the keys to the kingdom of heaven would be the gospel. There’s no other way to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus made that clear to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born-again he cannot see (and he cannot much less enter into) the kingdom of heaven.” So the keys to the kingdom of heaven would be the gospel.  Now when did Peter uniquely use them?  Well, on the day of Pentecost he opened the door of the gospel you could say, to the Jews. He was the first to preach the gospel to the Jews, the first to preach to the Jews that Christ had died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Then in Acts 10, to Cornelius’s household—the first Gentile that we know of who became a believer. And again it was Peter who did this.

So I would say that he used the key to the kingdom of heaven, which is the gospel, in a unique way. Once for the Jews and once for the Gentiles, and that was it. You don’t have Peter using keys uniquely any more than anyone else.

Tom: So, Dave, this is sort of a metaphor, then, which he began. It’s unique in this sense—Peter was not the apostle to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, but yet there was a unique situation in that he began it.

Dave: I think it’s a prophecy that Christ is giving, and he’s giving Peter the special privilege of being the first to preach the gospel both to the Jews and to the Gentiles. I think that answers that part of it clearly.

Tom: So it was unique in one sense because Jesus was looking to particular times that he was going to do that, but certainly this didn’t begin something that never preceded it. For example, you have the patriarchs. There were many who came to Christ, many who believed on the gospel prior to—maybe didn’t understand it the way that we do today or since the writings of the New Testament, but they were saved by faith just as we are.

Dave: Right, so I think it applies to those two specific situations. However, every Christian has the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Christ told the disciples to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” That’s Mark:16:15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
See All.... So every Christian is supposed to do that. So we all use the keys to the kingdom of heaven, offering the kingdom of heaven to those who will believe the gospel. Now the next part: “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever shall be loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” That is repeated as we said in Matthew:18:18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
See All.... Now to get the context: it is talking about, in verse 17, “If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” You don’t gossip about something if someone has offended you. He’s done something he shouldn’t do. You don’t tell other people. You try and keep it between the two of you. And if you can be reconciled to him, then the matter has been settled, and you don’t talk about it to anyone else.  Then it goes on and says, “If he won’t hear you, you take one or two witnesses, and if he neglects to hear them, then you tell it to the church. If he neglects to hear the church, (now we are assuming that the offended person is in the right and that the offense is something rather serious, which the two or three witnesses recognize, and then the whole church recognizes, that this is a serious offense that the party will not repent of. 

And then it says, “If he neglects to hear them, tell it unto the church. If he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.” In other words, it would seem like he is an unbeliever. It doesn’t mean that you hate him. A heathen or a publican is someone who you would bring the gospel to. They’re outside the church, they’re outside the kingdom and it would seem that this person who has given this offense—has done this wrong, whatever it is, serious wrong—is to be treated as though he’s not a Christian because he refuses to repent; he refuses to hear the church. So that would mean you would love him—he’s not part of the church—he’s outside.

Tom: Yes, discipline is based on love if it’s godly discipline.

Dave: Right. And it is then that it says, verse 18: “Verily I say unto to you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”

It seems to be in the context of discipline for the church. In other words, if two elders, (I would presume, it doesn’t say elders, but it may be that’s a symbolic number.)  I would think rather that if the church agrees that this person should be put out, they are put out. If the church agrees that they should be loosed—you have Paul writing to the Corinthians, for example, about that man who committed his grave sin and had to be put out, and he was disciplined by the church. Now maybe you could have a broader application of this.

Tom: You know, Dave, in going back to Matthew:16:19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
See All... again, it uses the term “whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Now my understanding of that (and help me with this) these have to do with things that God says, and these are things you are to do. And if we are going to do things God’s way, we are bound to do them as God says. I’m not saying this is a legal contract, but the terminology has to do with, I think, doing things in the order of the way God would have us go about them.

Dave: Well, that’s clear. Christ also told his disciples “Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst.” Now, you would really have to stretch to imagine that this scripture is telling us, “well, Tom, let’s you and I get together and agree that we should each have a brand new Rolls Royce. Why not? The people of God ought to take a collection and offering and present those to us.” Or let’s say that God should miraculously supply them out of thin air. We agree, you and I agree, and then we say, “This is it and it is bound in heaven.” I don’t think that’s what it means, and I think you would have to be unbiblical and irrational to imagine that God is saying that we have magical powers now, and we can decide on anything that we want.

Tom: Yes, or even that we have autonomous authority here.

Dave: Right.

Tom: Or “the authority begins with us.” That’s the way some people were viewing it. As a matter of fact, the questioner says that sounds as though we have the authority not just to ask God for something in prayer, but to command him. And I think not only in this context of our questioner, but others have had problems with authority which we’re going to talk about in a little bit, particularly with regard to binding and loosing things.

Dave: Okay so Tom, whatever we do, we do it in the name of Christ—"two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst.” This isn’t something that we come up with on our own. We ask in his name and we receive—and that means we ask as he would and to his glory for his purpose—

Tom: According to his will. That’s what we’ve been saying over the last weeks.

Dave: So this is simply stating that the Christian has power with God if he does it in the name of Christ, and obviously it would only be according to God’s will. Now from this verse 19 (it’s not part of that question), but we have very popular false teaching. Verse 19: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything….”T hat’s an old English expression that means “agree concerning something,” but so many faith teachers (they call themselves, positive confession, televangelists—they will hold out their hand on the TV and say “now put your hand on mine”—)

Tom: “Point of contact” they call it.

Dave: Yes, they call it a point of contact. Remember Oral Roberts sent out an outline of his hand. You put your hand on his hand—set out on a piece of paper— and that is the point of contact. We are touching, we both are touching,—that is not what it says. I want to be charitable, but it’s ignorance that causes anyone to imagine that. But this is an idea that they’ve come up with. It’s almost like magic. If we touch something together, we both touch the same thing, then we can get what we want. No!If you agree concerning something and you agree in the name of the Lord and this is God’s will, it will be done.

Tom: Dave, there is another aspect of this that we find, particularly in charismatic and Pentecostal circles and it has to do with the terms binding and loosing, and many times it is applied to Satan or demons that in a particular situation they are going to bind Satan here or bind Satan there, and they come together and, again, it has to do with authority.

Dave: Binding the territorial spirit.

Tom: Right, or even with regard to…we are going to do this, and we don’t want Satan to interfere with it so we are going to bind him.For how long?Does that work?Is that the case?

Dave: Tom, you would have to ask yourself—let’s take a teenager growing up in a fellowship where they are continually binding Satan, binding the spirits. I remember Larry Lee binding the spirit of death; loosing the spirit of prosperity. Maybe about 10,000 people gathered there in Miami. They have gone around the world, binding—they bound the spirit of homosexuality—

Tom: In San Francisco.

Dave: In San Francisco, and it just got worse. You remember we received a letter from a pastor. I think he said he was one of 1300 or thereabouts meeting at the Hollywood First Presbyterian Church, and they would get together and bind the spirits of violence and drugs and crime and so forth over Los Angeles. And you remember, he wrote to us and he said “We no sooner walk out of that meeting than the spirits are on the loose again. We bound them, but what does it mean?” Well, I would think that a teenager growing up in a fellowship where they are continually binding demons or Satan and obviously nothing changes, and they have to do it again and again—and you accurately raised the question, “how long? Bind him for how long? Bind him where?” It’s a misunderstanding of scripture that has led to many abuses.

Tom: Yes, well, let me quote the scripture that they use as a proof text. Mark:3:27No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
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 is the text that those who would preach and teach about binding Satan [would use], this is the verse that they like to go to: “No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” And again, as I’ve heard it in charismatic circles, the strong man is Satan, and what we have to do is go in and bind him. But that’s not reading the text at all.

Dave: Well, Tom, let’s get the picture here. Go back to verse 22, “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.” 

 And Jesus says, first of all, “Wait a minute, verse 23, “And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? It doesn’t make sense,” Jesus says, “I am by Satan casting out Satan?” Verse 24, “And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ”Verse 25, “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.” 

So, he’s saying, “Wait a minute, you’re saying that I am casting out Satan by the power of Satan. It doesn’t make sense.” So it’s quite apparent that the strong man, verse 27, “No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” So Christ is saying look, obviously I am casting out demons. I am not doing it in the name of or by the power of Satan. That doesn’t make sense. Now the fact that I can cast out demons indicates that I have been able to bind this strong man.” It’s not calling upon us to bind Satan. How has Satan been bound? Not by you or me or by any human being. He’s been bound by Christ. He’s been defeated. We get the prophecy of that in Genesis:3:15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
See All.... The serpent will bruise the heel of the Messiah, but the Messiah will bruise his head. Satan’s teeth have been pulled, his power has been broken. “Greater is he that is in you,” the scripture says, “than he that is in the world.”

Tom: 1 John.

Dave: So we don’t have any fear of Satan—not because we have some power, but because Christ has defeated him on the cross. So, Christ is the one who has bound the strong man, and only because of that, in his name, we can cast out demons.

Tom: But again, when we begin to apply this, take authority here individually by binding the strong man or binding Satan—

Dave:  He’s already bound Tom. He’s been bound!

Tom: Dave, my understanding is that Satan is bound for a time during the millennium in the bottomless pit until he’s then loosed. So you are saying he’s bound because of what Christ did in one sense, but he’s literally bound in another sense.

Dave: Satan is bound to those who belong to Christ because we are under the shelter of the blood of Christ, and he can’t touch us. He can’t harm us. Then for Satan to be bound as far as those who are unsaved are concerned, then he has to be confined to somewhere where he can’t get at them. So he’s bound in the sense that he is powerless over the Christian. That’s because of his defeat by Christ on the cross, but he still has power over non-Christians and he will be locked up in the bottomless pit during the millennial reign of Christ so that he can’t even get to these people. 

Well, he goes on and he talks about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because they have blasphemed saying that he is working by the power of Satan, and he says, “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven….” Another place he says you speak against the Father and against the Son, that’s forgiven, but [if] you blaspheme the Holy Spirit—I think we can only understand that in one way. And that is that the Holy Spirit is the one who draws us to Christ; who convicts us of sin, and if we resist, reject the Holy Spirit, there is no forgiveness in this life or in the life to come.

Tom: So, Dave, the point of all of this is coming back to authority. All authority is in him, and as the centurion said this is—I am under authority—so we have to be under God’s authority in order to do the things that his Word lays out for us to —not presuming, not imposing our own will on these things, but doing things God’s way.

Dave:  And this is for every Christian, not just for a special select group who claim to be successors of the apostles. Every Christian is a successor of the apostles because Christ said to his disciples, “You make disciples, and you teach them to observe everything that I’ve commanded you.” Well, then, they must make disciples and they must teach their disciples to observe everything Christ commanded them, and that would include everything that Christ commanded the original apostles. Therefore, every Christian is a disciple of a disciple of a disciple going back to the original disciples. We are the successors of the apostles—not a certain select group of men.

Program Number: 

0612a