![[Under Construction]](../images/undercon.gif){kind=small}
THE KEY OF DAVID
“An Open Door, An Open Heaven”
By Doug Fortune
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven...” (Revelation
4:1)
I don’t know about you, but I am intrigued by this door. I love the visual
imagery of an open door in heaven. It seems to be such a paradox, as a door is
something we can relate to, something we have definition for, yet heaven seems
to defy imagination. I don’t know that this is a regular door, like the doors in
my house, though. The word translated as door, thura in Greek, means a portal or
entrance. I believe this is significant, as it sheds a different light on the
‘door’ idea. I think of a ‘portal’ as being an entrance to another realm, a
change of environment. Also, note that it is not a window that merely bids us
take a look into what lies beyond, rather it is a portal that bids us to enter
into what lies beyond!
I also find it fascinating that we find this door within the same context of
another ‘door’ we are all very familiar with. “Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) You might be thinking that
this door we are looking at in Revelation chapter 4 is not necessarily related
to the door in Revelation 3:20. After all, our primary verse begins with the
words “after this” which seem to denote a chronological shift, or a passage of
time. However this is, in reality, an unfortunate assumption we can make. The
words translated as ‘after this’, are two words in Greek, meta tauta. Meta is a
primary preposition denoting accompaniment or being AMID. This word occupies an
intermediate position between the Greek ek (a primary preposition denoting
ORIGIN, the point whence action or motion proceeds) and eis (a primary
preposition indicating the point REACHED or entered). Tauta simply means ‘these
things’. So, translated literally, the verse would read, ‘In the MIDST of, or
accompanying these things I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven.’ I
don’t mean to belabor a grammar lesson here, but I believe it is important to
see the correlation between the two doors in these two chapters.
You see, the door of Revelation 3:20 speaks of intimacy, as it says, “I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” The door of Revelation
4:1-2 speaks of understanding and implementing the eternal purpose of God from
the higher perspective and authority of the Throne, as it says, “...Come up
hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter... and, behold, a
throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” May I suggest that we will
never enter the ‘door’ of understanding and implementing the eternal purpose of
God without first opening the ‘door’ of intimacy? And why is this?... it is
because if He can trust us with His heart in the place of intimacy, then He can
trust us with His authority in implementing His purpose in the earth.
Intimacy is not necessarily that ‘warm fuzzy’ feeling we long for and experience
as we draw close to Him, although that IS a good thing and to be desired.
Rather, intimacy is being ONE in purpose with Him. We can read of this intimacy
in John 17:21-23; “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I
in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest Me I have given them; that they
may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and thou in Me, that they may be made
perfect in one.” God’s purpose is that there be NO separation, that we be ONE
with Him and IN Him!
Now then, we just read in Revelation 3:20 as it says, “Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door...” Personally, I
believe that this door requires a ‘key’. Let us read as the prophet Isaiah
speaks of this key; “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.” (Isaiah 22:22) We can also read of this key in our context of
Revelation chapter 3; “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...” (Revelation 3:7) I also believe that we can glean much
from a quick study of this ‘key’.
If we back up to verses 20-21 of Isaiah 22, it speaks of governmental authority,
fathering and Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; “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.” (Isaiah 22:20-21) The name Eliakim,
Elyaqiym in Hebrew, means God of raising. The name Hilkiah, Chilqiyah in Hebrew,
means portion of Jah (God). Indeed, He IS the God that desires to raise up those
who are His portion! Those who are intimately ‘His portion’, with no divided
allegiances, He will exalt in wisdom and authority.
It is from this intimate place of being raised up in wisdom and authority that
we can then understand and appropriate the revealed purpose and plan of God. I
say this because in Revelation 4:1 we read, “...Come up hither, and I will shew
thee things which must be hereafter.” As I discussed in my book entitled “Deep
calls to Deep”, the word unfortunately translated as ‘hereafter’ is two words in
Greek, meta tauta. Meta is a primary
preposition denoting accompaniment or being AMID. Tauta simply means ‘these
things’. Translated literally, the Voice in Revelation is saying, “I will show
you what needs to occur in the MIDST of, or accompanying these things.” John is
being shown things which MUST BE in the midst presently. In other words, God’s
stated eternal PURPOSE is that which MUST BE. The word translated as ‘must be’
is dei in Greek, meaning necessary (as binding), it is the third person singular
ACTIVE PRESENT tense of deo - meaning to bind. Deo is the word used in Matthew
16:19, “...whatsoever thou shalt BIND on earth shall be BOUND in heaven...” So
to put all this together, John is being shown a vision of what MUST BE, or what
is bound in heaven, in order that we may grasp that vision and bind it (bring it
to manifest) in the earth by our words and our lifestyle!
In our text, several Bible versions translate it as “a door standing open in
heaven.” I like this idea of the door (portal) standing open. It speaks to me of
an ‘open heaven’! This idea of an open heaven ties in closely with the Key of
David, as Revelation 3:7-8 states, “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...
behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it...” Also in
Isaiah 22:22, “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder;
so he shall open, and none shall shut...”
I think all of us are interested in an open heaven... all of us are interested
in the favor of God. In the past I have always thought of an ‘open heaven’ or
the ‘favor of God’ as resting primarily on individuals. I have seen it operating
powerfully in my own life. At times I have even felt somewhat guilty for walking
in such ‘favor’, as I knew I certainly didn’t deserve it. However, I am
beginning to glimpse the possible immaturity in my thinking. You see, although
an ‘open heaven’ or the ‘favor of God’ may manifest through an individual, it’s
really more a matter of the ‘favor’ resting upon the purpose of God. Yes, I
believe the ‘favor’ actually rests upon the purpose of God and when we align
ourselves with His purpose, the ‘favor’ utilizes US as a conduit through which
to flow. You see, His favor really isn’t ABOUT ME, it’s about His purpose.
As I began writing this, I was proceeding with the thought that intimacy was the
Key of David. After all, David is known as ‘the man after God’s heart’. However,
now I am seeing that intimacy is actually the avenue that takes us to God’s
purpose- God’s eternal purpose is the KEY! We must remember that David was not
only ‘the man after God’s heart’, but because of his intimate relationship he
was aligned with and implementing God’s eternal purpose as he set up the Davidic
Tabernacle. Think about it for a moment... why didn’t David just take the
Ark a few miles back to
Gibeon where it had been for years? You see, the Ark represented the very
presence of God, and not only represented it, but the shekinah glory of the
Presence of the Lord literally manifested between the wings of the cherubim.
Because of his intimate relationship, something inside of David compelled him to
prepare a special place, “And David... prepared a place for the ark of God...”
(1 Chronicles 15:1)
Whether he was totally aware of it or not, David was participating in the
implementation of the Father’s end-time plan. We can read of this in Acts
15:16-17, “After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of
David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I
will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the
Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these
things.” I personally believe that the restoration of the Davidic Tabernacle is
absolutely paramount to the fulfillment of God’s end-time purposes. However, may
I suggest that it is a living and breathing restored Davidic Tabernacle, a Third
Day People with no veil of the fleshly self-life to hide the Christ that dwells
within them, a people that manifest the presence and glory of God! God’s
original purpose was and still is, through intimate fellowship to have a
corporate Man in His image and likeness, and to exercise dominion (not
domination) FROM the Davidic Throne of mercy and justice, THROUGH the corporate
Body of Messiah. His purpose is to have a Throne (a seat of authority) in the
earth to bring heaven to earth! “In mercy the THRONE will be established; And
one will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, Judging and seeking
justice and hastening righteousness.” (Isaiah 16:5 NKJV) This ties in directly
with our context in the book of Revelation; “Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock (the call to intimacy)... To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with
Me in My throne (the call to authority), even as I also overcame, and am set
down with My Father in His throne.” (Revelation 3:20-21 my input in parenthesis)
So many in Christendom have set their hopes on and ordered their lives on the
idea of leaving the earth to GO TO HEAVEN, when all along God’s eternal purpose
is for us to order our lives on the idea of BRINGING HEAVEN TO EARTH! This is
the purpose of God’s favor, this is the purpose of an ‘open heaven’... in order
that the Kingdom of heaven that is within us (Luke 17:21) would invade the earth
around us! Jesus said it this way, “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of
God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a
strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man?
and then he will spoil his house.” (Matthew 12:28-29) The carnal thinking of the
world-system is the ‘strong man's house’ and it is time we enforced the victory
of the cross to ‘spoil his house’. It is time we believed the Scripture when it
says, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be
cast out.” (John 12:31) and “...the prince of this world is judged.” (John
16:11)
Listen to this Psalm penned by ‘the man after God’s heart’. Because of his
intimate relationship, David truly had a revelation of the eternal purpose of
God:
“The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that
dwell therein. (No mention of escape because the devil is in control!) For he
hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall
ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? (The
call to come higher and draw near to Him in intimacy.) He that hath clean hands,
and a pure heart... (Those who are the undivided ‘portion of God’.) Lift up your
head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting DOORS; and the King of glory
shall come in. (Once again we read of open doors!) Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye
gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting DOORS; and the King of glory shall come
in. (And for what purpose are there open doors?... that the King of glory shall
come in!... that heaven invade earth!) Who is this King of glory? The LORD of
hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.” (Psalms 24:1-10 my input in parenthesis)
I sense something stirring in the Body of Christ these days, an unsettling
expectancy. I believe that many in the church are ‘beholding the door’ that bids
us to enter into what lies beyond, many are standing at the ‘portal’ right now;
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven...” And like the
sounding of a trumpet (“the first voice which I heard was as it were of a
trumpet talking with me...”), the prophetic call today is, “Come up hither, and
I will shew thee things which must be...” (Revelation 4:1) Those who respond to
this call will be given a fresh vision of the Throne of God, “And immediately I
was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the
throne.” (Revelation 4:2)
The Father is declaring, “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.” (Isaiah 22:22-23) Through intimate
relationship, a living and breathing restored Davidic Tabernacle, He desires to
give us a fresh vision of the Kingdom of heaven within us, a fresh vision of the
Throne of God, and its’ invasion of the earth, and its’ establishment in the
earth. Knowing and understanding His eternal purpose, we become the very
CONDUITS, the open doors through which the King of glory comes in, that heaven
invade earth! “And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit
upon it in truth in the Tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and
hasting righteousness.” (Isaiah 16:5)
THIS is the day of an open door.
THIS is the day of an open heaven.
THIS is the day of the Key of David.
HOME - Jesus-is-Lord.co.za