Greetings and Introductions

Greetings saints of the Most High. Welcome to another installment of the Messianic Torah Observer. Rod Thomas coming to you on a beautiful Spring Preparation Day here in the DFW. I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to fellowship with me. And as always beloved, it is my hope, trust, and prayer that this installment of TMTO finds you, your families, and your fellowships well and blessed.

As I am publishing this teaching, it is Preparation Day, the 13th day of the 12th month on Yah’s sacred calendar year, which translates to Friday, March 14, 2025. Which means that we are inching ever so closely to biblical Rosh HaShannah, presuming all of the observational elements of Yah’s calendar fall into their proper order. And so, as we near the end of this month, we’ll keep you apprised of the outcome of the barley crop and new moon searches in the Land of Yisra’el and make the appropriate announcements.

 

And for those of you who have or who will celebrate Purim, I pray it was or will be a meaningful time of reflection and family and fellowship time together.

 

Well, as you may be able to tell, I’m a bit under the weather this week. My voice is just about gone. I seem to have all the typical symptoms of a springtime flu. So, forgive me if my voice and lack of energy are distractions to you. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to leave you without a little something for your Sabbath this week. So, I decided to share with you my response to a beloved brother’s question to me this past week that I think may be of benefit for all of us. His question was:

 

What are the Keys to the Kingdom and what role does Commandment-Torah-Mitzvot-keeping play in these keys?

The phrase “keys to the Kingdom” is found amid Yeshua’s response to Peter’s confession and profession of Who his Master Yeshua is:

13 Now when* Jesus came to the region of Caesarea ⌊Philippi⌋, he began asking* his disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, ⌊Some⌋ say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 And Simon Peter answered and* said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” 17 And Jesus answered and* said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this* to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it! 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.” 20 Then, he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Christ. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 16:13–20.)

 

Before delving into just what these illusive, mysterious keys to the Kingdom Yeshua speaks of, we must first frame all of this in proper biblical context. In verse 13, we read that Yeshua and His taught ones had arrived in the region of Caesarea, aka Philippi. Seems the group had actually stopped at the base of Mount Hermon. And Mount Hermon, as you may or may not know, was a location of extensive idol and pagan worship (i.e. the worship of Pan comes readily to mind). And if one were to think about our focus passage of Matthew 16:13-20 with the backdrop of Mount Hermon in mind, you would come to the same conclusion as I have that the Master could not have picked a better place for the declarations and pronouncements that were to be made about Him and about His ministry to all creation to include not just all of humanity, but also the spirit world.

 

So, the Master asks His taught ones who people thought He was. His sent ones responded with a number of named individuals that were attributed to Him. And then the Master drills down even further and asks His sent ones who they think He is. Peter (his name being Shimon bar Yonah) pipes up with the profound response: “You are the Mashiyach, the Son of the Living Ahloha Who has come into the olam hazeh (i.e. come into the world)” (16.16; RSTNE). The Master affirms Shimon’s declaration by calling Him blessed (16.18). He declares Shimon blessed because Shimon’s declaration came by way of the revelation of the Holy Spirit (16.17). And from this point in this historic interaction between Yeshua and His sent ones, things start to get a little murky. Murky in that millions of people have been misled by their religious leaders over millennia because their religious leaders have intentionally, and to some degree, unintentionally misinterpreted the following two verses.

 

We read in verse 18 that because of Shimon’s Holy Spirit-induced pronouncement of the Master’s true identity, Yahoshua gives Shimon the moniker or nickname “Kefa,” meaning stone or rock. Yeshua’s application of the title or name “Kefa” to Shimon was the launch word upon which to describe the rest of His earthly ministry and the ministry that His taught ones would soon enter.

 

The Master tells not only Shimon Kefa but the rest of His taught ones that upon that Rock, He would build or establish His “Kehila” (aka ekklesia as opposed to church) that the gates of Gei-Hinnom (aka Hades or hell) would be incapable of resisting or overcoming (16:18). And then the Master tells His taught ones He would give them the keys to the Malchut ha Shamayim (aka the Kingdom of the Heavens) (16:19).

 

The age-old point of contention here is, did Yeshua build His Kehila/ekklesia upon the person of Shimon Kefa and did Shimon Kefa alone receive the keys to the Kingdom from Yeshua HaMashiyach?

 

Clearly, Yeshua’s declaration that “upon this rock He would build His ekklesia/Kehila” had absolutely nothing to do with the person and future ministry of Shimon Kefa. A careful contextual read of the text will reveal that the Master declared that upon the bedrock of Truth that came out of Shimon Kefa’s mouth — that being that Yeshua was Mashiyach/Messiah, the Son of the living Ahloha Who has come into the olam hazeh/the world. This declaration, unfortunately, has been twisted and misinterpreted by various religious leaders who asserted throughout millennia that the Master was building His Church upon the person and ministry of Simon Peter, which is patently false.

 

The next travesty is the misapplication of the Master’s promise that He would give to an individual or individuals the keys to the Malchut ha Shamayim/the Kingdom of the Heavens. Again, millions have been misled into believing that the Master was handing the keys of the Kingdom specifically to Simon/Shimon Kefa.

 

Some English translators have inserted the term “and” at the very start of verse 19 so that it reads: “And I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of the Heavens.” This insertion naturally leads most readers to link the Master’s response to Simon Kefa’s Holy Spirit induced declaration that He, Yahoshua, was indeed the Mashiyach; the Son of the Living Ahloha to Peter, exclusively receiving the keys to the Kingdom/the Malchut. This simple connector “and” added to verse 19, and the misinterpreted Peter being the rock upon which Yeshua would build His ekklesia/Kehila, placed a tremendous amount of authority and precedence upon the person of Shimon Kefa/Simon Peter. And this forced, error-ridden interpretation of these two verses formed the felonious doctrine of Peter alone possessing the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and that he was the person upon whom the Church — the ekklesia/the Kehila — would be built. This doctrine and understanding are patently false. It forms the basis of the Catholic Church’s false teaching and doctrine that Peter was the first pope — the so-called Vicar of Christ — and that all succeeding men who have laid claim to that demonically inspired office and title are spiritual descendants of Peter. That they are the Vicar of Christ.

 

So, just to be clear, Yeshua’s words were meant for all His disciples — His taught ones. Not just for Shimon/Simon Kefa.

 

Now, getting to the main question of this post: What did Yeshua mean by giving His disciples/taught ones the keys of the Kingdom of the heavens?

 

It’s no secret that keys are instruments used to lock and unlock doors, gates, and other secure barriers and instruments. And this concept is no different from the concept of keys in Yeshua’s day. Yeshua’s use of the term “keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” implies that the Kingdom of Heaven was not open or accessible to everyone. There is a direct link to the Master’s statement to His taught ones that “the gates of Hades/Geh-Hinnim would not withstand ” His Kehila/His ekklesia!

You see, the holder or keeper of keys, let’s say keys to a gate like the gates of Geh-Hinnim, had tremendous power. This individual had the power and authority to deny entry into their city or region or keep, or to allow entry into their city, region, or keep. The holder of the keys to a place or thing, then served as a protector of that locked or secured thing or place. This individual had the responsibility of keeping unauthorized individuals out of the city, region, or keep. Remember, Adam possessed the keys to the Garden/Gan Eden. He was tasked with keeping entities out who didn’t belong there in the Garden, as well as permitting those who had valid business entry into the Garden (Gen 2:15—And YHVH Ahlohim took the man and put him into Gan Eden to work it and to guard — shomrah — it). But Adam failed in his gatekeeping role by allowing the nachash/the serpent into the Garden. And we all know how that story ended up.

 

Conversely, the holder of the keys of a city or gate or keep also possesses the wherewithal — the authority — to permit authorized individuals the freedom of coming and going; of having access to the secure place.

 

So then, what do “keys” have to do with the Kingdom of the Heavens/Malchut haShamayim? The Kingdom or Malchut haShamayim exists in the here and now (i.e. the Kingdom that is already but not yet; it is the kingdom that resides within every true disciple of Yahoshua Messiah — Mat 12:28), as well as it is the coming reality of Yah’s Kingdom in the World Tomorrow. Quite simply, beloved, the Biblical concept and reality of the Malchut Ahlohim/the Kingdom of Yah is the uncompromising rule of Yehovah over His chosen ones. It’s Yah’s rule over every aspect of our lives each and every day we breathe in this life, as well as it is Yah’s rule, through the Person of Yeshua Messiah, over the nation peoples of this world in the Millennium-Kingdom Age (Dan 2:44).

 

This being said, beloved, someone has to have the keys to these forms of the Kingdom, right? Someone has to possess the authority to keep out those who don’t belong or who don’t qualify to be in the Kingdom, as well as to grant access to those who Yah has chosen to enter His glorious Kingdom. And this is the point of Yeshua’s words to His taught ones, whereby He promised to give them the keys of the Malchut haShamayim.

 

Indeed, Yeshua was promising to grant His taught and sent ones the authority to permit and deny entry into the Kingdom of Yah. Consider the following:

 

(27) Then answered Kefa and said to Him (i.e. Yeshua), “See, we (i.e. Kefa and the rest of the disciples) have forsaken all and followed You. What shall we have, therefore?” (In other words, what is the plan for us given that we’ve given up everything in our lives to follow you, Yeshua?) (28) And Yahoshua said to them, “Truly I say to you, those of you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Ben Ahdahm (aka the Son of Man) shall sit on the kesay (i.e. the seat of authority as we discussed in a previous installment of TMTO) of His esteem, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, administering mishpat (i.e. judgment) over the twelve tribes of Yasharal/Yisra’el.” (Mat 19; RSTNE)

 

When we speak about the Keys of the Malchut/the Kingdom of Yah, we’re clearly talking about the authority that will be granted to certain individuals in terms of accessing and being denied access to the Kingdom of Yah. And it’s difficult to come to a complete understanding of what that authority looks like without a study of the remainder of the passage where the Master declares that whatever they bind or loose on earth will be established in heaven. But I want to keep this discussion as simple and brief as possible. Abba willing, we’ll get into the details of what that binding and loosing looks like in a future installment of TMTO.

 

But let’s try to bring this home a little bit. What Yeshua was declaring and informing His disciples/His sent ones was that they would receive authority that would establish the criteria necessary to make it into the Kingdom of Ahlohim. The Hebrew understanding of keys to the kingdom is one where the Jewish religious leaders — the Scribes and Pharisees — who possessed the knowledge and understanding of what it took to be a member of the Kingdom of Yehovah. True Yisrael. However, their self-indulgence and hypocrisy, according to Yeshua, shut folks out of the Malchut Ahlohim. (23:13). We’re talking about privileged knowledge that was entrusted to the most disciplined and zealous of the religious leaders.

 

And because the Jewish religious leaders abused the authority and trust Yehovah instilled in them, Yahoshua informed them that the keys to the Kingdom — that authority they once held — would be given to another people:

 

“Therefore, I say to you (i.e. the Jewish religious leaders), the Malchut of Yehovah shall be taken from you and given to a people bringing forth the fruits of it” (Mat 21:43; RSTNE). Those “people” would of course be Yahoshua’s taught and sent ones — His Talmidim. And by extension, the keys of the Kingdom/Malchut and the authority therein would be given to all who are of the True Faith once delivered by these the Talmidim. And because Yeshua was stripping the keys of the Kingdom of Yehovah away from the Jewish religious leaders of His day and passing them on to His taught and sent ones, the forgotten ones of Jewish society would have the privilege of receiving and entering the Kingdom/the Malchut:

 

(31)… Truly I say to you (the Jewish religious leaders), that the tax collectors and the harlots go into the Malchut of Yehovah before you. (32) For Yochanan (the Immerser) came to you in the Way of tzedakah” (i.e. righteousness) and you believed him not. But the tax collectors and the harlots believed him. And you, when you had seen it, made no teshuvah (i.e. no repentance) afterwards, that you might believe him. (Mat 21; RSTNE)

 

The gates to the Kingdom had been closed to all but a remnant of Hebrews up to Yeshua’s day:

 

“But woe to you, Sophim (i.e. Scribes) and Prushim (i.e. Pharisees). Hypocrites! For you shut up the Malchut ha shamayim (i.e. the Kingdom of the Heavens) from men. For you neither go in yourselves, neither do you allow them that are entering to go in” (Mat 23:13; RSTNE).

 

But now, Yeshua’s taught ones, soon to be sent ones, would open up the gates to the glorious Kingdom of Yah to those willing to receive and accept Yah’s invitation to receive and be under the rule of Yehovah.

 

The keys or access to the Malchut Ahlohim that Yeshua is referencing here to His taught ones is privileged halachic (the Ways of Yah) knowledge (13:16-17). That knowledge is the fullness of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Yeshua’s taught ones were being given the spiritual tools to properly interpret and teach Torah and make decisions on behalf of Yah’s chosen ones. These would have been the keys held by the Scribes and Pharisees in relation to their teaching and example function over Yisra’el. These teachers of Torah served, in a sense, as the gatekeepers for humanity. However, these religious leaders squandered the authority and privilege given to them by Yehovah. But Yeshua’s taught ones would receive the full understanding of Yah’s Plan of Salvation, Restoration, and Redemption and given the keys of the Malchut Ahlohim or the Kingdom of the Heavens.

 

Thus, Yeshua’s Talmidim would take that which they’d received from their Master and establish Yeshua’s Kehila, which would be founded upon the Rock, which is Yahoshua, the Son of the Living Ahloha. The Talmidim dispensed to all who would be called of Yehovah the halachah that would take the true believer and member of the true Faith once delivered from Pesach to Sukkot. Their testimony and their teachings firmly established the halachah that was passed down to them by Master Yeshua. And the halachah of the Talmidim, being the same halachah of Yeshua Messiah (Mat 11:29 — Yeshua said to His disciples, “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me… ), is none other than Torah: Yah’s loving instructions in righteousness.

 

But many will question the reality of this: That Yeshua came to teach Torah. But the reality, beloved, is that everything Yeshua modeled and taught His Talmidim — His disciples — and by extension us today — was Torah. Yeshua declared to His taught ones:

 

(17) think not that I Am come to weaken, or destroy the Torah, or the neviim (i.e. the prophets). I have not come to weaken or destroy, but to completely reveal it in is intended fulness and to confirm it. (18) For truly I say to you, until the current shamayim/heavens and earth pass away, not one Word, shall by any means, pass away from the Torah, until all be fulfilled. (19) Whoever therefore shall break or weaken one of the least Torah mitzvoth and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Malchut ha shamayim/the kingdom of the heavens. But whoever shall do and teach the commands, the same shall be called great in the Malchut ha shamayim. (20) For I say to you, except your tzedakah (i.e. your righteousness) shall exceed the tzedakah/righteousness of the Sophrim (i.e. the Scribes) and Prushim (i.e. the Pharisees), you shall in no case enter into the Malchut ha shamayim/the Kingdom of the Heavens. (Mat 5; RSTNE)

 

You see, Yeshua is the walking-talking Torah. His example and teachings constitute the ground or house rules for the Kingdom. Remember, everywhere Yeshua taught, He taught about the Kingdom being like… Yeshua taught the rules of the Kingdom to all who had a heart to receive His truths. And it fell to his disciples to take those principles and teach others what it takes to receive and enter the Kingdom. They held the keys to the Kingdom. And all who are called into leadership in the Body of Mashiyach today have been given those same keys to the Kingdom.

 

I believe that the greatest insight into Yeshua’s keys to the Kingdom are in the “Beatitudes” and the “Kingdom Principles” outlined by our Master in Matthew 5-7.

 

2 And opening his mouth he began to teach them, saying, 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are the ones who mourn, because they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, because they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you, lying on account of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets before you. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 5:1–12.)

 

And the following 2-1/2 chapters expound upon these essential keys as well as they teach us how Yeshua understood Torah and how His taught ones would be expected to keep them and teach their followers.

 

Unless we adopt these “attitudes” we will in no wise receive the Kingdom (Luk 18:17). For within these 3 chapters of Matthew, we find the foundation or the Master’s Keys to His taught and sent ones receiving and entering the Kingdom. He emphasized:

 

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Mt 6:32–33). Yeshua was emphasizing that under His “yoke” His disciples seek after the things of Yah’s Kingdom by applying the principles of the previously mentioned beatitudes. His disciples seek Yah’s righteousness by keeping and walking out Yah’s instructions in righteousness. His Torah.

 

So how do we connect the Keys of the Malchut ha Shamayim/the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Mitzvot or the Torah?

 

The Beatitudes are Yah’s mitzvah, broken down into spiritual applications. Yeshua modeled these mitzvot principles for us. We are to imitate them. Keeping Yah’s mitzvot without Yeshua’s example guiding and leading us accomplishes nothing. Amid these Beatitudes, Yeshua declared He did not come to destroy Yah’s Torah but “to completely reveal it in its intended fulness and to confirm it (Mat 5:17).

 

Jewish tradition claims that there are 613 mitzvot, or commandments. Many people within and without our faith debate the validity of that number. Nevertheless, some will inevitably conclude that Yeshua mentioned only a few commandments in His teachings, which are true. But the point as it relates to the keys to the Kingdom is how do we walk out those mitzvot or commandments? How do we walk out those Kingdom rules? What attitude, heart, and mind do we keep those mitzvot in? Yeshua wanted His taught ones to recognize that it’s one thing to go through the motions of keeping each Torah commandment, but it’s how to walk out those commandments in accordance to Yeshua’s standards.

 

Yeshua gave a very tall order to His disciples. In giving them the keys of the Kingdom, He was authorizing them to establish the proper halachah that would take members of the True Faith once delivered (Jude 3) from Pesach to Sukkot (i.e. from the member receiving and believing on the Person and Ministry of Yeshua to growing in grace through the sanctification process fueled by the Holy Spirit, to receiving and entering the Malchut Ahlohim). Yeshua’s apostles were given the authority to interpret Yeshua’s teachings of the Gospel of the Kingdom and to teach members of the true Faith what was needed for them to receive and enter the Kingdom.

 

It’s easy to get completely focused on keeping the commandments. But Yeshua came to show us that there is much more to commandment keeping than simply doing them:

 

23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Mt 23:23.)

 

Yeshua didn’t need to teach His disciples rote Torah-Keeping. Remember that His taught ones were orthodox Jews. They had been taught Torah since they were children. So, the task before Yeshua was not to simply teach Torah, but to model and teach us how to properly walk out Torah such that our righteousness would exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees.

 

If we don’t look to Yeshua in our keeping of Yah’s instructions in righteousness, we will inevitably fail in our proper keeping of those instructions.

 

Conclusion

 

So, in summary, the keys of the Kingdom that Yeshua declared He would give to His taught and sent ones was the authority to establish the halachah (i.e. the Ways of the Faith) and the doctrines of the True Faith once delivered (Jude 3). Those halachic principles and doctrines are the beatitude-level walking out of Yehovah’s Torah, based upon the teachings and example of Yahoshua Messiah to His taught and sent ones. Our present day Messianic/Netsarim/Nazarene leaders are supposed to have received those same keys. They have been granted the authority to distill down to us those Kingdom principles and doctrines. And in order for us to enter the Kingdom of Yehovah, we must meet those qualifying standards taught by Yeshua and His Apostles. That’s why it’s so important to not only study Torah daily but also study the Apostolic writings. The Apostolic writings contain the essential Keys to the Kingdom that each of us needs to make it into the Kingdom.