Prophetic Keys in Scripture

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

Every Christian has a principle spiritual gift, one that they practice and perfect, one that is seen most often in their spiritual walk.  Mine, I believe, is teaching; although I am starting to focus on a secondary gift of giving.  I have heard it said that each of us may be given multiple spiritual gifts; some may be primary, others may be secondary, and still others may be tertiary--so far removed from our individual temperament and experience that we would never dream of exercising or even experiencing it.

Romans 12 lists seven spiritual gifts.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let  him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.  --Romans 12:6-8

If I did a personal inventory, and placed those seven gifts in order of use in my own life, I would place teaching at the top, and prophecy at the very end.  The other five may be placed in different rankings, depending on the day, the circumstance, or my mood.

Let me reiterate--of the seven spiritual gifts in this list, prophecy is dead last.

I know of some people who believe they have the gift of prophecy.  Some of them speak in terms so general that they could be speaking of anyone, in any place, at any time.  On the other hand, some are so specific to a place and time that they cannot be denied as either God-inspired, or very, very coincidental.

A friend of mine, who leads our small-group Bible study, is fascinated by modern-day prophecy.  He has recommended a web-site, "The Elijah List", and I have begun skimming through some of the entries.  As I said, some appear straight from a positive thinking seminar, similar to a Zig Ziglar presentation.  Others are more specific, and I have no way of checking their veracity.  Remember, the way to recognize a true prophet of God is that 100% of what they say comes true.  If someone you see claims to have an 80% or 90% veracity rate, they are not of God, because God knows everything.

Not all prophets predict the future.  Their role is not always "foretelling", but it is always "forth-telling".  That is, proclaiming the truth of God.  More on this later.

Anyway, my friend and small group Bible study leader knows the names of all the so-called prophets that are regularly printed in The Elijah List.  Some he likes more than others, because he can identify more with their writing style, and the subject matter.  I, on the other hand, could not tell you the name of one modern-day prophet.  It just doesn't interest me.  My friend has said that many of the prophets of today share a theme of "alignment"--that is, God is working in many ways, in disparate parts of the world, and in opposing politics and policies, to bring about His perfect will.  He believes that "a matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (see Matthew 18:16 and Deuteronomy 19:15).  If many are testifying of this spiritual phenomenon, then it must be so.

This past Wednesday night, I was in the small group study, and was listening to him say "alignment", and I saw a vision.  It was like a dream, but I was awake and my eyes were open.  I saw a diagram of a lock; when the key was inserted, the tumblers were pushed up by springs to differing heights, being limited by the contours of the key.  When the key was fully engaged, the tumblers were at different heights, but the lock swung open, because there was a straight line near the opposite end of the tumblers.  It was something like this:

You see that when the tumblers are all aligned, the lock can be opened.

Not only did I see this vision, I heard the words, "The key is the Word of God.  When fully engaged, God's Word can open up the floodgates, or solve an ancient mystery."

To be sure, I have had visions and phrases pop into my mind like this hundreds of times in the past.  Usually, it was when I was studying to prepare a lesson, or to write this blog.  I had always associated it with the gift of teaching.  However, when I shared my vision and context with the group, my friend (who loves to read and hear prophecy), exclaimed, "I receive that!"  He treated it as a prophetic word, not so much foretelling, but forth-telling a biblical truth.

Maybe prophecy and teaching aren't that far removed from each other.  Perhaps they are associated, like the gifts of encouragement and leadership, or of giving and showing mercy.  I do not want to be puffed up, and become big-headed.  I do not want to dare to think that God has opened up a direct channel to me, and that I have now become His spokesman to the world.  I only think it is interesting that as I surround myself with like-minded believers, their traits (or gifts) might rub off on me.  It could also happen to you.

So all day today I was meditating on the message of "keys" and the words of God.  I was drawn to Matthew chapter 16.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  "But what about you?" he asked.  "Who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  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 will be loosed in heaven."  --Matthew 16:13-20

In this passage, Peter said something profound.  Jesus reminded the disciples that it was not Peter that had come up with this idea on his own; rather, God had blessed him with it.  You will recall that Peter later exhibited the gifts of healing and of teaching the Word.  But he also had a vision, a dream in which unclean animals were lowered from heaven on a sheet.  God told him that nothing He had made was unclean.  This vision and these words led to opening up the message of the gospel to the Gentiles.

Jesus also told Peter that He was giving him the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Did this mean that Peter stands at the gates of heaven now, deciding who will get to go in?  No.  We are all recipients of these keys, because the keys are the Word of God.  When properly used, they can show sinful man the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  When the Word of God is rejected, these same keys will lock them out of God's presence, because men will stand condemned by the very words that we preach to them.

Above all, do not quench the Spirit.  "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy."  (1Corinthians 14:1)