to the congregation in Philadelphia the exalted Jesus Christ is said to have the “key of David” and he is the one “who opens so that no one will shut, and shuts so that no one opens.” (Rev. 3:7, 8) As the Heir of the covenant made with David for the kingdom, Jesus Christ has committed to him the government of the household of faith and the headship of spiritual Israel. (Luke 1:32, 33) By his authority, symbolized by “the key of David,” he can open or shut figurative “doors” or opportunities and privileges.—Compare 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12, 13.

“Keys of the kingdom”

Jesus said to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you may bind on earth will be the thing bound in the heavens, and whatever you may loose on earth will be the thing loosed in the heavens.” (Matt. 16:19) The identification of these keys logically must be based on other Scriptural information. Jesus made another reference to the subject of keys when he said of the religious leaders, versed in the Law, that “you took away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not go in, and those going in you hindered!” (Luke 11:52) A comparison of this text with Matthew 23:13 indicates that the ‘going in’ referred to is with regard to entrance into “the kingdom of the heavens.” Thus, we have here a symbolic use of the word “key” in a relationship paralleling that found in Jesus’ statement to Peter.

Different from the hypocritical religious leaders of that time, Peter clearly did use divinely provided knowledge to help persons to ‘enter into the kingdom,’ notably on two occasions. One was on the day of Pentecost, 33 C.E., when Peter, under inspiration, revealed to a gathered multitude that Jehovah God had resurrected Jesus and exalted him to His own right hand in the heavens, and that Jesus, in that royal position, had poured out holy spirit on his assembled disciples. As a result of this knowledge, and acting upon Peter’s exhortation, “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the free gift of the holy spirit,” three thousand Jews (and Jewish converts) took the step that led to their becoming prospective members of the “kingdom of the heavens.” Other Jews subsequently followed their example.—Acts 2:1-41.

The second occasion of Peter’s being used in a special way to introduce persons into privileges as Kingdom heirs was when he was sent to the home of the Gentile Cornelius, an Italian centurion. By divine revelation Peter recognized and declared God’s impartiality as regards Jews and Gentiles and that people of the nations, if God-fearing and doers of righteousness, were now as acceptable to God as their Jewish counterparts. Right while Peter was presenting this knowledge to his Gentile hearers, the heavenly gift of the holy spirit came upon them and they miraculously spoke in tongues. They were subsequently baptized and became the first prospective members of the “kingdom of the heavens” from among the Gentiles. The unlocked door of opportunity for Gentile believers to become members of the Christian congregation thereafter remained open.—Acts 10:1-48; 15:7-9.

Matthew 16:19 may be rendered with grammatical correctness: “Whatever you may bind on earth will be the thing [or, will have been] bound in the heavens, and whatever you may loose on earth will be the thing [or, will have been] loosed in the heavens.” The New Testament translation by C. B. Williams here reads: “Whatever you forbid on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven.” Greek scholar Robert Young’s literal translation reads: “Whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.” Since other texts make clear that the resurrected Jesus remained the one true Head over the Christian congregation, it is obvious that his promise to Peter did not mean Peter’s dictating to heaven what should or should not be loosed, but, rather, Peter’s being used as heaven’s instrument in the unlocking or loosing of certain determined things.—1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 4:15, 16; 5:23; Col. 2:8-10.

“Key of the abyss”

At Revelation 9:1-11 the vision is presented of a “star” out of heaven to whom the “key of the pit of the abyss” is given and who opens that pit and releases a swarm of locusts, their king being the “angel of the abyss.” Since the abyss, at Romans 10:6, 7, evidently corresponds to Hades, it appears that the “key of the pit of the abyss” is included in or comparable to the “keys of death and of Hades” possessed by the resurrected Jesus Christ, as stated at Revelation 1:18. These “keys” are undoubtedly symbolic of Jesus’ authority to resurrect persons literally, freeing them from the confines of the grave, as well as to release persons from a figurative death state. (John 5:24-29; compare Revelation 11:3-12; see DEATH [Change in spiritual state or condition].) The last-recorded use of the “key of the abyss” is at Revelation 20:1-7, where the vision describes an angel with that key casting Satan into the abyss, shutting and sealing it over him for a thousand years. At the close of that period Satan is released from his “prison,” evidently by the use of the “key” of authority.—See ABYSS.

KEZIAH

(Ke·ziʹah) [cassia].

The second of the three daughters of Job born after his severe trial and subsequent restoration and blessing by Jehovah. (Job 42:14) The Hebrew word for “cassia” was used as a feminine name, likely due to the fragrance of cassia, and may have been given to this girl as an indication of her beauty.—Job 42:15.

KHI

or, as commonly anglicized, chi [Χ, χ]. The twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet, having a sound similar to the ch in the Scottish loch, German ich, or kh in the English word elkhorn. Numerically, when accented it denotes 600 (χ’) and, with the subscript (,χ), 600,000.

The letter khi (χ) is the first letter in the word “Christ” in the Greek. It is, therefore, often employed as a symbol for the name Christ, as in the word “Xmas.”

In this work the Greek khi is transliterated as kh.

KIBROTH-HATTAAVAH

(Kibʹroth-hat·taʹa·vah) [burial places of the cravings].

The site of an Israelite wilderness encampment, where the mixed crowd expressed selfish longing for the food of Egypt. (Num. 11:4; 33:16, 17; Deut. 9:22) It is generally identified with Rueis el-Eberij, about eighteen miles (29 kilometers) NE of Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Mount Sinai. There Jehovah miraculously provided a month’s supply of quails for the entire camp. (Num. 11:19, 20, 31) But the people were so greedy that “the one collecting least gathered ten homers” (62 bushels; 2,220 liters). The record says that while “the meat was yet between their teeth, before it could be chewed, . . . Jehovah began striking at the people with a very great slaughter.” Rather than denoting literal chewing of a mouthful, this may mean before the entire provision of meat could be “exhausted” or “consumed” (AT, RS), because the Hebrew word translated “chewed” basically means “cut off.” (Compare Joel 1:5.) After this the dead were buried and the place therefore came to be called Kibroth-hattaavah.—Num. 11:32-35.

KIBZAIM

(Kibʹza·im) [two heaps].

An Ephraimite city given to the Kohathite Levites. (Josh. 21:20-22) At 1 Chronicles 6:68 it is apparently called Jokmeam.—See JOKMEAM No. 1.