Keys And Locks In The Bible - Unlock The Mysteries Quiz

Answer: The king's servants unlocked the doors

For eighteen years, the descendants of Israel were forced to serve the Moabites (modern day Jordanians). Ehud delivered them from this servitude by killing their king and then escaping, after locking the doors behind himself. When the king's servants eventually got around to checking on him, they unlocked the doors and found him dead, with Ehud vanished from the scene.

In Judges 3:25, we read:

"They waited until they became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the KEY and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the floor dead."

(The entire text of Judges 3:12-26 explains what happened in a little more detail.)

The word key comes from the Hebrew, "ke", which in turn derives from "maphteach", pronounced "maf-tay'-akh", meaning an "opener".

Compare to the word "kleis", or "that which shuts". These types of keys were often rather crude affairs, made of wood, usually with nails which fitted into corresponding holes in the lock.

Answer: as keys to the kingdom of heaven

"And 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." - Matthew 16:19.

This set of keys may be viewed as indicative of the power that Jesus was giving to those followers who believed in Him. If that is the case, then ALL those who believe in Christ as Messiah could arguably be seen to receive those "keys" and the inherent power to unlock good things and lock away the bad.

Answer: King David

Shebna's name means something like "tender youth". Apparently, he was a bit vain, and thought better of himself than he ought to have, and was thus replaced in his position as the king's treasurer by Elikakim, whose name meant
"God sets up".

This event likely took place during the time of King Hezekiah of Israel prior to the Israelites being taken captive by Sennacherib, the ruler of Babylon.

The King James renders the scripture of Isaiah 22:15-23 this way:

"Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,

What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?

Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.

He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.

And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

And 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.

And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house."

Answer: hell and death

Revelation 1:18 is a continuation of a monologue delivered to John by the Son of Man, whom Christians believe is the Christ.

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

Answer: Jesus

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write;
These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast not denied my name."

This rendering is found in the King James Version of Revelation 3:7-8. Jesus' message to the church of Philadelphia, meaning church of brotherly love, makes reference to the "key of David".

This "key" may be viewed as one that locks, since its root word 'kleió' means "to shut". This could also be interpreted as a "key" that shows Christ's ultimate authority of government and His authority in and over the church itself.

Answer: The fifth angel to sound a trumpet

An angel was given "the key of the pit of the abyss" as seen in Revelation 9:1. This was the fifth angel to blow a trumpet, announcing the woes to befall the earth's inhabitants at the end of this earth age.

"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit."

In Revelation 20:1-3 the text reads, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."

Answer: Lawyers

Jesus had a problem with lawyers. These were not just any old lawyers, as we might think of them in modern terms. These particular lawyers were concerned with following every little subtlety and nuance of the original law that Moses had set forth in the Old Testament. While this may seem an admirable endeavor, over the centuries, much had been added to the original law, and it created all sorts of problems and incurred almost impossible-to-live-by hardships for the common people of Jesus' day, as the New Testament recounts it. While the lawyers dreamed up all the new laws that they wanted OTHERS to follow, the scribes were in lock-step with them in these endeavors, writing them up and submitting them for approval of the Sanhedrin (the quasi-political and religious body that governed the Jews).

Not only were the lawyers concerning themselves with the tiniest, most obscure of details in regards to the Law of Moses (as they interpreted it), and with 'creating' new laws as they saw fit, they were also guilty of not even obeying their own edicts, yet demanding obedience to the laws, which were largely figments of their own creative imaginations, by their fellow Jews.

When in the 45th verse, one of the lawyers called Jesus' attention to the fact that He was indicting the lawyers along with the Pharisees and the scribes, Jesus allowed as that was EXACTLY what He was doing!

Verse 52 tells us how Jesus addressed this group of self-righteous lawyers:

"Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered."

A similar account is found in Matthew 23:13-14, but in it the culprits are identified as the "scribes and the Pharisees".

"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."

Answer: to lock the city gates and keep their enemies at bay

The "Tirshatha" or Governor of Jerusalem, Nehemiah, had been appointed by the king of Babylon to help ease the resettling of his people back in their homeland. Nehemiah took his duties to heart, and cajoled, begged, encouraged, berated and used whatever means were necessary to help his people, the Jews, to re-establish themselves.

Their enemies watched the developments with great apprehension, fearing a newly strengthened and determined Israel. (Sounds familiar; kind of like today, huh?)

The locks and bars that were installed on the gates of the city were deliberately designed to keep their enemies OUT.

(Read the book of Nehemiah for a clear picture of what God can do, with a strong leader at the helm and obedient people following.) Of course, God could have accomplished it all without any "assistance" at all, but the people themselves were better able to see the benefits and reap the blessings as they each did their part.

Answer: "until the sun be hot"

"And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house."

This action was taken in an effort to secure the city, protecting it from approach by the many enemies of Israel and Judah. Since the sun had to be high in the sky, the possibility of a surprise attack, such as might happen at early dawn, or twilight, could be better avoided entirely.

Answer: Ephphatha

Mark 7:32-37 is presented this way in the King James Version of the Bible. (Verse 34 is in caps, for clarification.)

"And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; AND LOOKING UP TO HEAVEN, HE SIGHED, AND SAITH UNTO HIM, EPHPHATHA, THAT IS, BE OPENED. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

This was only one of many occasions on which Jesus healed people of a variety of infirmities and illnesses. This, however, is the only occasion that I know of that this word was used as He did so.