Winter 2008

Preparation to Receive the Keys to the Kingdom
Wade E Taylor

“And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

“And have made us to our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10

The “priestly” aspect enables us to affect the heavenly realm through our worship and communion with the Lord. The “kingly” aspect enables us to affect the earthly realm through our overcoming obedience.

“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom … and we shall reign on the earth” (Matthew 16:19a; Revelation 5:10b). This speaks of our having a “ruling authority” (the keys of the Kingdom) in the coming Millennial Kingdom that will cleanse (reign on earth) both the heavens and the earth.

“And he that overcomes, and keeps My works to the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.” Revelation 2:26-27a

For us to be ready to function in Kingdom authority in that day (rule with a rod of iron) means that there must be a present ruling (overcoming) in our lives. We will never be qualified to rule others, unless we have first submitted ourselves to divine governmental rule over us.

When Israel entered the promised land, they were told to slay all of the inhabitants of that land. The names of these nations relate to the works of the flesh. Thus, we also must first slay the “inhabitants” of our land (the works of our flesh) before we will be ready to partake of this promise - “we shall reign on the earth.”

These that we must slay are very busy, manifesting themselves within us as the “works of the flesh.” Thus, they must be utterly slain in order for us to become the “habitation of God” (priestly role) and begin to “rule all nations” (kingly role). There must be the inner dealings of the Holy Spirit to produce the necessary quality of character that will make us ready to rule with the Lord in “that day.”

He must be able to trust us with the use of the “Keys of the Kingdom” that will unlock and open the door that will lift us into a cooperative relationship with our Lord that will lead to the establishing of the Millennial Kingdom.

“I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears and opens ... ” Revelation 3:20

The Lord can walk through any locked door. But He waits for a response on our part before He will enter into a Kingdom relationship with us. By prophetic revelation, Peter identified Jesus as being the Messiah and as a result, he received the Keys of the Kingdom. As we rise into the “Spirit of Prophecy,” the “Keys to the Kingdom” will become available to us. Therefore, the Lord is waiting for an action on our part and is standing at the door, knocking and waiting for us to use our key (the spirit of prophecy) to open the door.

There is a present work that we are to do, which requires the use of this Key.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him: male and female ... and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion ... ” Genesis 1:27-28a

Jesus, as the “Last Adam” fully overcame, and received the “dominion” that Adam had forfeited. He came to His disciples, walking on water. He cursed the fig tree, and immediately it withered. In Revelation 3:21, the Lord said that we are to overcome, as He also overcame. If Jesus used His deity to do these things, we have a problem because we are not deity.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve acted in disobedience and ate of the tree of (self) knowledge. They forfeited the authority and dominion that had been given to them. Jesus faced this same testing in the wilderness when He became intensely hungry and refused to turn stones into bread and eat, at the word of Satan, as Eve had done. As a result, Jesus regained this lost dominion.

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:15

The Lord created a beautiful environment, which Adam was commissioned to dress, or improve.

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking ... in the cool of the evening.” Genesis 3:8

During the day, Adam dressed, or improved the Garden of Eden. Then in the evening, the Lord, the creator of the universe, came to see what Adam had accomplished during the day. As they walked together, Adam pointed out to the Lord the things he had changed. The Lord found great satisfaction in this, as the Lord takes pleasure in the works of our hands.

In redemption, we also have been given a word. We are to “dress” (improve) the world of our day and time. As a result of the authority that Jesus gained in His victory over Satan, being an overcomer, we have been given the “Keys of the Kingdom” which gives us authority to rule, or to affect our environment.

When Jesus comes to walk with us in our present environment, He should find pleasure and satisfaction in what we have accomplished, because we have been given the key that will unlock and release the enemy’s grip on the governments that rule the nations. Our neighborhood, city, state, and nation, should be affected by us, as we exercise this authority.

There are areas in Washington DC, where I presently live, that if the Lord were to say, “You and I will go for a walk this evening in that area,” I would have to say, “Lord, it is not safe to walk there at night.”

But we have been given dominion, and there should be a present expression of the authority that we will be given in “that day” to rule on the earth. This means that our ministry, our prayer life, our word, should be affecting the place where we live.

Then Isaiah 14:5-8 will be fulfilled.

“The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, and the scepter of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hinders.

“The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since you are laid down, no feller is come up against us.”