Keys to the Realm

And I will give the keys of the kingdom of Heaven to you. And whatever you may bind on earth shall occur, having been bound in Heaven, and whatever you may loose on earth shall occur, having been loosed in Heaven. (Matthew 16:19; MKJV)

Sometimes, we allow words to become calcified in our minds to the point there is no freshness to our spirits when we use them. It's a feature of our modern Western culture, because we make words into entities themselves, rather than a tool for transmission of meaning. The ancient Hebrew-Aramaic languages arose from a culture where written words were a poor substitute for conversation, because without that facet-to-face presentation, an awful lot of flavor was missing. As always, an English translation from a Greek text which reports a conversation in Aramaic places us at some distance. We have to do our best to reconstruct the impact.

While traveling, Jesus asked the disciples to consider what human minds made of His ministry. There was no doubt Jesus had some unique power and authority, but there was no consensus among observers. When Jesus asked the disciples what they thought for themselves, Peter barged through the opening and declared Jesus was the Messiah, though Peter and the others clearly had a poor understanding of what that actually meant.

Still, it was the right answer. They were committed to whatever might come from following their Messiah, and it was the loyalty which made these men right with God, made them able to grasp some things of the Spiritual Realm. It was upon such loyalty Christ was going to build that Spiritual Realm in the hearts of men. Regardless of the precise terms used in whatever language, it should be plain to us there is hardly any reference to a literal political entity which might justify the more modern use of the term "kingdom." This was a spiritual realm, and the words we use should emphasize the power and authority, the divine right of rule, rather than some concrete reality. The disciples struggled with this, but it is hard to mistake what Jesus meant from where we stand today.

These keys could hardly be literal, either. Symbolic or parabolic language is the tongue of this realm. Peter was not asked to stand at some literal gate to decide which Joe or Jane got to come through. Rather, Peter took the lead in asserting his loyalty, and would take the lead in offering others the chance to embrace that same loyalty. Today we use the word "faith" in the same sense. It is the Spirit of God who reveals Himself, and awakens the dead spirits of people so they can operate in the Spirit Realm. Flesh and blood, and by extension the entire physical realm of existence, cannot embody such a thing, so it must come on that other level, requires an utterly different faculty than the senses or intellect. Peter didn't have to know all it meant to declare Jesus his Messiah. All he had to know was where his loyalty resided.

Before Jesus began His ministry, John the Baptist paved the way by calling for repentance, because the Realm of the Spirit was at hand. Jesus took up that same message, and it remained His message to the end. The messages of His Apostles after the Ascension were the same. "You are enmity with God. Repent from your sins and embrace His only true offering for your sins, His Son, Jesus Christ." That message first went to a people who had to be shaken from their complacency as "God's People" -- Children of Abraham. God could have made a better Children of Abraham from rocks, so it was necessary for them to see what God really demanded, and Jesus did a great job of summarizing the Law: Give your full loyalty to God, and treat your fellow humans with the respect you want for yourself.

That respect meant realizing a eunuch could be welcomed into the Spiritual Realm. Or a Samaritan, and widows, and people who performed work Jews found repulsive. Finally, Peter was forced to realize that respect included Gentiles. Whereas before, all these were not permitted to consider themselves fully "God's People," now Peter and his associates were telling them the symbolic gates to the Realm were wide open. If God moved in your soul, who could deny your citizenship? The good news to them was their inclusion.

The Keys to the Realm Peter held were spiritual in nature. Peter's brand of heedless loyalty was the foundation of Christ's Realm. No questions asked, we simply give ourselves to obedience -- we ask "how high?" on the way up. Anything less is not sufficient repentance from sins. We must embrace the Son as the only sufficient offering for those sins. When Paul said he would no longer bother to discuss, or even know, anything except Jesus and Him crucified, it was shorthand for that same thing (1 Corinthians 2:1-3). It matters not what you understand culturally or intellectually, you are born in sin, on the way to Hell. Repent. The only way you can do that is embrace the message of Jesus regarding what it means to sin and to turn away from sin, and only His personal Presence in your life can make that possible. Proclaiming Him your one Lord, your undivided commitment and loyalty, is your entrance into the Realm.