Key of David

The image comes from the royal household of Judah. Shebna the steward was removed, and Eliakim set in his place: "the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open" (Isa 22:22). The office belongs to the house promised to David (2 Sam 7:12-16) (Isa 9:7). The key is given by the king to a steward; it is never his by nature. The book reads the key in the letter to Philadelphia as His exclusive authority over access to Yahuah's presence: He alone grants access to the Kingdom. No human institution can shut the door He opens.