The Family's class on the keys exposed

Matt 16:19 “And 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 loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Here is a concise summary of the Family arguments for the keys:

There are many things in the Bible that we don’t understand, including our own salvation. Therefore it is not a strange thing to ask to accept the keys by faith, without understanding them.
Jesus said many things to His disciples that didn’t ‘make it into the Bible’. The keys were, or could have been, one of those.
Many ‘key promises’ are in fact Bible verses paraphrased, therefore we should be easily able to accept and use them.
In Luke 10:17-19, there is a sequence of events: the disciples performed miracles, the Devil then ‘freaked out’ at all the ‘little messiahs’ walking around and so increased his attacks or prepared to do so. Jesus then increased the power given to the disciples. [Note that this sequence of events is not spelled out in the Bible, it is strictly a Family interpretation of the passage.] Therefore in the time of the end when the Devil again increases his attacks (specifically on the Family), the Lord has again increased the power available to counter those attacks.
The Bible promises still work when claimed in prayer, but key promises ‘open new doors’, access more power than is available than in Bible verses alone.
You won’t be ready for the days ahead/ the tribulation without the power of the keys.

On this page, we will consider each of these points in turn.

Believing without understanding

Are we to accept the keys ‘by faith’ even though we do not understand what it is all about?

Ps 119:104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

The result of getting filled up with the Word is greater understanding. As we read, we start to understand the Lord’s mind. Understanding comes and we no longer remain in the dark. The result of this understanding is that we gain a hatred of that which is not true. Without understanding we can’t even tell the difference between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, light and darkness. The purpose of the Word is to bring understanding, without which we lay ourself wide open to being deceived.

Prov 2:1-6

1 My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you,

2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;

3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding,

4 If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;

5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Here we are exhorted to cry out for understanding, for wisdom, for knowledge, for discernment. We are not supposed to remain in ignorance as the Lord is the source of understanding. If we do not call out to Him to help us understand we will automatically cut ourselves off from the ability to discern between what is right and what is wrong.

Prov 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

We’re certainly not to try to come up with our own interpretations, we are to get the explanations from the Lord. Remember that getting truth from the Lord means receiving and applying what He says in the Bible long before we attempt to get a personal prophecy.

Prov 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard. (KJV)

The way of the transgressor is hard. We all know that verse. However we may not be as familiar with the first half of the verse which shows exactly how to avoid that hard way. It is as we understand God’s plan that we will know enough, have sufficient understanding in order to avoid the transgressions that force us onto the hard way. The Bible proclaims that it’s easy to travel the wrong way. This is an important point. It’s easy to be mistaken, deceived, or to sinfully choose the wrong path.

Matt 7:13-14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

14 “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Our only hope of salvation is by letting the Word give us good understanding. Without understanding we lay ourself wide open to being deceived. We are certainly expected to trust God even if we do not understand all that He does. An example is that of Abraham who believed God, and travelled without knowing his destination. However we are clearly and repeatedly warned to beware of those who would deceive us.

Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Col 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

We must trust God, and yet we must also study His written Word in the Bible to let Him fill us with wisdom, knowledge and understanding, for that is the only way we’ll be able to find the narrow gate. Jesus mentioned those with blind faith, who followed unquestioningly, trustingly and loyally their spiritual teachers.

Matt 15:14 “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

We are clearly expected to have our eyes open, giving preference to what God says in the Bible over what we may be taught by earthly teachers. We are responsible before God to understand His Word in the Bible for ourself, not to blindly accept what is published on this web site, nor what some Bible teacher tells us, nor what we read in some GN or ML.

2 Tim 2:7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

We are to think about it. Let the Bible soak into our heart, allow the Scriptures to fill our mind. Do not rest until the Lord gives us understanding in all things.

Therefore it becomes clear that we are not to blindly accept and practise the keys ‘by faith’. If we are unsure about them, if we have any question whatsoever about them, we are personally responsible to find answers ourself, not to accept someone else’s word for it, but to read and study until we do have understanding of what we are supposed to do. Note that ‘understanding God’s will’ does not mean twisting the Bible until we understand how we can force it to comply with our doctrine. Understanding means letting the Bible change us until we are conformed to it, not it conformed to us. Understanding means yielding to what God wants in the Bible, instead of a vain attempt to compel the Bible to agree with us. We have been given the Bible and if we do not know what it says we are without excuse.

Maybe Jesus did talk about the keys, but they just didn’t write it down.

This is a non-argument. It’s like saying, ‘Jesus didn’t not promote the keys, therefore they must be OK’. Sorry if that’s a bit confusing; let’s try again. ‘The Bible never condemns the Family’s interpretation of the keys of the kingdom so therefore it must be a true doctrine.’ Well, of course the Bible doesn’t condemn it, as the Family doctrine hadn’t been invented yet!

It’s a very convenient statement to make that maybe Jesus did talk about the keys as having great spiritual power. The problem with that kind of a statement is that the listener does not need to have any faith in the Bible at all, as long as he believes the person who makes this claim. This is not faith in God, here is no faith in the Bible. Faith here is solidly pinned on the authors of the GNs, not the Author of the Bible.

We are Christians because the Bible says that Jesus died for us. Any Family member who does not believe the Bible is not a Christian. That is undeniable. Naturally, Family members assert that they believe both the Bible and the GNs/ MLs. That is every man and every woman’s choice. However the fact remains that the foundation for our Christianity, the rock on which our entire lives are built is the Bible alone.

Therefore statements like, ‘Jesus did talk about the power of the keys even though they did not write it down’ are totally irrelevant when it comes to faith in the plan of God. Faith comes from what is in the Bible, not from what is not in it.

‘Key promises are Bible verses paraphrased’

There’s a very important point that must be made with regard to paraphrasing the Bible. To paraphrase means to express the same message in different words, to rewrite something (usually for the purpose of clarification or application) without changing the original meaning.

It’s very useful on occasion to read alternate translations of the Bible, including some that are almost entirely paraphrased versions. These Bible translations make no claim as to the accuracy of each word used in each verse, but they focus almost exclusively on the whole meaning of the verse, the sentence or the paragraph. A case in point is ‘The Living Bible’ (TLB), useful to cross-check when we just don’t get what the passage is all about. Then, after we get the big picture, we return to one of the more accurate translations to re-read the exact verse. We do this process ourselves whenever we give in our own words the general idea of what we understand from a verse or chapter. We do this when we simplify a Bible story in order to tell it to our children, or when we read a story from one of the many children’s Bible picture books.

Another purpose for paraphrasing is for personal application, when we take a passage and apply it directly to ourselves using terminology specific to this age, or to our location or that in some way is specific to our own lives. We do this when we tell one of our children, ‘Love suffers his sister long and then still is kind!’ or when we witness to someone that ‘God so loved you personally that He gave Jesus that if you personally …’

Note, however, that whether the Bible is paraphrased in order to bring clarity, simplicity or personal application, the Bible itself always remains as the original. At some point we must always return to the Bible so as to read exactly what it says. The Bible itself remains unaltered, and is the unchangeable reference point against which all truth and error is measured. Any paraphrase is merely a temporary comment made for a specific purpose.

Is this the stated intention of the key promises? No, the publicly declared design of the key promises is that they effectively replace the Bible in Family members’ prayer lives. Thousands of them have been published to memorise and claim in prayer. This has put a tremendous emphasis on the key promises and given them a place that used to be occupied by, and rightfully belongs to Scripture. The paraphrase has replaced the original. When the original is the Word of God, the paraphrase can only be a corruption, useful for a purpose, then to be discarded when the purpose no longer exists. To all intents, it would appear that the purpose of the emphasis on the key promises is actually to replace the Bible as the authority in prayer.

The next point about paraphrasing is that the new version should give the same message. The key promises however, dramatically change the Bible message by adding the ‘power of the keys’, which, of course, is not in the Bible. A paraphrase is no longer tenable when it significantly alters the original message. If the original message is, ‘If you ask anything in My name, I will do it’ (John 14:14), we cannot say that this actually means that God wants us to pray in the power of the keys. This is putting words into God’s mouth which He did not say. In extreme forms it becomes ‘handling the Word of God deceitfully’

2 Cor 4:2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

The Devil himself was guilty of this when he tried to apply Psalm 91 to Jesus in an effort to convince him to resort to spectacular miracles, or to yield to pride.

Matt 4:6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ “

7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

Finally, the mere repetition of a Biblical phrase does not bestow righteousness on the speaker or truth on the sentence anymore than a politician suddenly becomes a man of God when he drops a Bible verse into his campaign speech. In other words, lightly tossing around Bible verses does not give us God’s backing for our project. Therefore including a portion of Scripture in certain key promises makes no difference whatsoever to the authenticity of the doctrine, and the judicious insertion of Bible verses into key promises cannot give faith to the users.

Luke 10:17-22

Luke 10:17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

22 “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

As stated above, the Family version of this passage is that the disciples were given a certain amount of power for their ‘road trip’, and were then given more power after Jesus saw that the Devil was about to increase his attacks on them. This is intended to give support to the doctrine that Jesus has increased the power available to His true disciples in these last days in preparation for greater demonic attacks.

However the reasoning behind this argument is rather shaky. First, it is dubious whether this interpretation can be understood from the Scriptures. There doesn’t seem to be much justification to say that this particular sequence of events actually occurred. It has validity as a supposition, as a theory, as a possibility, but not as an actual clear stated fact. It is therefore probably not wise to use a series of incidents which may never have actually occurred as justification for such a far-reaching and highly exalted new doctrine as the keys.

Then, there is a very big jump from that point to the next, which is the alleged repetition of the same sequence of events in these days. The Family says that since the Devil increased his attacks on the disciples in those days, we can read this as precedence for the Devil increasing his attacks in these days. The Bible does say that the Devil comes down in great anger to the earth.

Rev 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

However this happens when the Devil and his angels are evicted from heaven, not in reaction to what he sees Christians doing on the earth. The Bible also describes by what means the Christians have power to defeat the demonic attacks.

Rev 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

The Devil may be defeated by Jesus’ blood. Jesus shed His blood for our salvation, for the forgiveness of our sins. Here the Devil’s attacks on our own lives through sin and condemnation are defeated as we cling to Jesus Who died that we might live. ‘The word of their testimony’: as Christians preaching the Gospel, when we allow Him to use us in witnessing, the Devil in others’ lives is overcome. However, the Devil cannot be defeated if we are wrapped up in self-preservation: ‘they loved not their lives unto the death’. If we are focussed on selfish miracles just to keep, protect and provide for ourselves then we’ve missed the whole point of how God wants us to live.

The Devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The Devil’s goal has always been our destruction, and he’ll use any means he can to accomplish his purpose. Are there suddenly greater attacks because the Devil becomes afraid of the Family’s ‘new weapons’? This appears a rather presumptuous claim.

The next implication of the Family interpretation of the passage in Luke 10, is that Jesus somehow did not give us enough power. However, the Bible does not teach that believers walk around as ‘little messiahs’ healing whom they wish, and conjuring up supply whenever their pantry looks a little empty. The Bible takes pains to point out that any miracle that occurs, or any healing, or any display of wisdom, or any prophecy that comes, does not come as a result of the will of the Christian. The Christian himself has no power over the power, no authority over the authority. Any and all power that is manifested comes as the Holy Spirit pours through the believer, as Jesus completes His will in His power according to His initiative, and we are merely the yielded vessels through which He may act. The difference between this picture, that of Jesus acting through believers via the power of the Holy Spirit, and that of the ‘little messiahs’ walking around with their own powers, is at the same time both subtle and astronomical. Subtle in that some may say, ‘What’s the difference?’ Astronomical in that there is all the difference in the world.

Gal 3:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (NIV)

We have been clothed with Christ, we are enveloped by Him, He works through us. He has not made us His proxies on the earth, acting on His behalf, but He has granted us the possibility to be the actual means by which He Himself acts. Any ‘miracle’ that does not originate from the heart of Jesus Christ Himself is no miracle. Any prophecy that does not burst forth from the mind of God without the slightest assistance from our own intention is not prophecy. Jesus works, we yield.

Therefore to say that we do not have enough power to withstand the Devil’s latest attacks is to say that Jesus is somehow not enough. Or it is to say that the Holy Spirit is inadequate to withstand the Devil which therefore necessitated the creation of the keys in order to make up the short-fall. Or it is to say that Christians are like gods, walking around in their own supernatural power. Or it is to yield to the temptation to crave self-glory through working miracles like turning stones into bread or through displays of supernatural protection. (See Matthew 4)

Finally, a point which is so glaringly obvious that it may be unnecessary to mention. There is absolutely no connection given between this passage in Luke 10, and the one in Matthew 16 where the keys are mentioned. No link, nothing that indicates that these two passages are related at all. Hence Luke 10 does not refer to the keys and cannot be used as any kind of direct basis for the Family doctrine. As we have seen, the indirect support it gives for the doctrines is so circuitous and roundabout that it is barely worth considering. Bible doctrines are clear and are supported by unambiguous passages. It should not be necessary to accept a series of barely supported suppositions in order to understand what God is telling us.

So what happened in Luke 10:17-19?

Matthew Henry:

1. He confirmed what they said, as agreeing with his own observation (v. 18): “My heart and eye went along with you; I took notice of the success you had, and I saw Satan fall as lightning from heaven.” Note, Satan and his kingdom fell before the preaching of the gospel. “I see how it is,” saith Christ, “as you get ground the devil loseth ground.” He falls as lightning falls from heaven, so suddenly, so irrecoverably, so visibly, that all may perceive it, and say, “See how Satan’s kingdom totters, see how it tumbles.” They triumphed in casting devils out of the bodies of people; but Christ sees and rejoices in the fall of the devil from the interest he has in the souls of men, which is called his power in high places, <Eph. 6:12>. He foresees this to be but an earnest of what should now be shortly done and was already begun-- the destroying of Satan’s kingdom in the world by the extirpating of idolatry and the turning of the nations to the faith of Christ. Satan falls from heaven when he falls from the throne in men’s hearts, <Acts 26:18>. And Christ foresaw that the preaching of the gospel, which would fly like lightning through the world, would wherever it went pull down Satan’s kingdom. Now is the prince of this world cast out. Some have given another sense of this, as looking back to the fall of the angels, and designed for a caution to these disciples, lest their success should puff them up with pride: “I saw angels turned into devils by pride: that was the sin for which Satan was cast down from heaven, where he had been an angel of light I saw it, and give you an intimation of it lest you, being lifted up with pride should fall into that condemnation of the devil, who fell by pride,” <1 Tim. 3:6>.

2. He repeated, ratified, and enlarged their commission: Behold I give you power to tread on serpents, v. 19. Note, To him that hath, and useth well what he hath, more shall be given. They had employed their power vigorously against Satan, and now Christ entrusts them with greater power.

(1.) an offensive power, power to tread on serpents and scorpions, devils and malignant spirits, the old serpent: “You shall bruise their heads in my name,” according to the first promise, <Gen. 3:15>. Come, set your feet on the necks of these enemies; you shall tread upon these lions and adders wherever you meet with them; you shall trample them under foot, <Ps. 91:13>. You shall tread upon all the power of the enemy, and the kingdom of the Messiah shall be every where set up upon the ruins of the devil’s kingdom. As the devils have now been subject to you, so they shall still be.

(2.) a defensive power: “Nothing shall by any means hurt you; not serpents nor scorpions, if you should be chastised with them or thrown into prisons and dungeons among them; you shall be unhurt by the most venomous creatures,” as St. Paul was <Acts 28:5>, and as is promised in <Mk. 16:18>. “If wicked men be as serpents to you, and you dwell among those scorpions (as <Ezek. 2:6>), you may despise their rage, and tread upon it; it need not disturb you, for they have no power against you but what is given them from above; they may hiss, but they cannot hurt.” You may play upon the hole of the asp, for death itself shall not hurt nor destroy, <Isa. 11:8,19; 25:8>.

(from Matthew Henry’s Commentary)

Ron Ritchie

Jesus responded, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” In the immediate context it seems that what Jesus was saying was, "You were experiencing my power at work in and through you so you could cast out demons while on earth, but I want you to know that I was present when Satan was cast out of heaven. His power was broken then, it was broken at my temptation in the wilderness, it is broken now by my power through you, and as I look into eternity, his power will be broken in the future by all who deal with him and his demons in my name.”

He continued, “I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you [I will protect you from any attack from Satan in which as a murderer he tries to kill you]. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” What Jesus meant was, don’t rejoice in the activities of a ministry, for as Ephesians 2:10 says, these works were set out beforehand for us, and all we have to do is walk in them. But we are to rejoice in the fact we have an eternal relationship with the living God.

‘Key promises access more power than is possible from Bible verses’

The simple response is that when we call on Jesus, we come to the One to Whom belongs all the power of the universe.

Eph 1:21-22

21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,

There is no greater power than that Jesus has.

1 Pet 3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

Do we have the slightest control or authority over that power? No, the authority firmly rests with Jesus. He has not given us the right to tell Him what to do with His power. He has given us the right to come to Him in thankfulness and humility asking for His help.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We submit to Him as He chooses how to work in our lives. Nothing can defeat Him. We have no power over the Devil unless He works through us. The Devil will never flee from us unless we are submitting ourselves to God (James 4:7). Submission is not walking into heaven to use a portion of God’s power. Submission is entrusting our lives into His care, throwing ourselves on His mercy, knowing He is greater than every evil work.

2 Tim 4:18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

Can we obtain greater power using the keys than is possible from using Bible verses? There is no greater power than the greatest! There is no more than the most! Bible verses are the very Word of God, and are not to be looked on as magic formulae to get what we want. All power lies with Jesus Christ, Lord of Lords, Son of God, Sovereign Ruler of the universe! There is no higher. Why bother with anything less?!

‘You won’t be ready without the keys’

Matt 24:44 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Jesus said, ‘Be ready’, so it’s important for us to heed His advice. This comes at the end of the famous endtime chapter, Matthew 24. After telling us to ‘Be ready’, Jesus then goes on to explain just how to get ready:

Matt 24:45-46

45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

46 “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

Getting ready has nothing to do with accumulating new spiritual gifts. Be faithful, be wise (receive the Lord’s wisdom), and feed those in the Lord’s household. Give others the Bible. Read the Bible, study the Bible, believe the Bible, share the Bible, teach the Bible. If we do this, we’ll be ready.

The next chapter continues with the parable of the ten virgins, concluding with the warning:

Matt 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

This parable and the one after it also inform us of how to get ready for Jesus’ return.

Matt 25:3-4

3 “Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,

4 “but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

How to get ready? Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Don’t be content with the minimum. Remember that the five foolish virgins had had some oil, for they said:

Matt 25:8 “And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

Matt 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

We should be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we have enough to last how ever long it takes. Do this and we’ll be ready.

The next parable is that of the talents:

Matt 25:14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’

21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

How to be ready? We are to be faithful over what the Lord gives us. Whether we interpret the ‘talents’ to mean our personal skills and abilities, or the opportunities the Lord arranges for us, or the ministries we are involved in, we are obviously expected to invest these talents in God’s work and expand them, or assist them to grow. Do that and we’ll be ready.

Can we be ready for Jesus’ return or for the tribulation without the ‘power of the keys’? Yes, of course, as long as we are faithful, wise, ready to teach the Bible, filled to capacity with the Holy Spirit and are pursuing the gifts, talents or opportunities the Lord gives us. On the other hand, if we neglect His counsel in this area, we will never be ready, no matter how much ‘key power’ we have.

Conclusion

Understanding is a gift of God. We should seek it, pursue it, cry out to God for it. When someone tells us to trust them without understanding, we may reply that our trust is in God, our trust is in the Bible. There may be many passages in the Bible we don’t yet understand. What should we do about that? Search for wisdom, cry out to the Lord for understanding until He gives us peace about them. However, entrusting our spiritual life to those who supposedly have discovered new truth, not contained in the Bible, is fraught with danger. When our faith is measured, when our lives are tested, it will be our personal faith in the Bible that keeps us or that will be found wanting. Our trust in our spiritual leaders and our confidence in what they have told us will be totally irrelevant.

The Family interpretation of Matthew 16:19 as a newly available great and mighty spiritual power is extra-Biblical and un-Biblical. Extra-Biblical in that this doctrine cannot be found within its pages, and therefore merits no more importance than the traditional image of St Peter standing at the pearly gates of heaven, the keys to the kingdom dangling from his belt, consulting a large book and thus deciding who should enter paradise. Un-Biblical in that the implications of this doctrine contradict the truth of God in the Bible. Notably this doctrine necessarily implies the wresting of spiritual authority from Jesus Christ to Whom it should and will evermore belong, to place this power in the hands of a select group of believers who in reality should exercise a great deal more humility.

There have always been those who attempt to compel the Bible to agree with them, or who try to force God to give His approval to their program: the Bible is not compellable and God cannot be forced.

When the disciples were confronted with the apparition of Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus their Lord, they became confused and excited. What an opportunity! Not only could they listen to Jesus, but they could also take advantage of these learned and godly men! What was God’s command? It is one that we would do well to remember anytime we are faced with a decision whether to believe what is written in the Bible or to believe the writings of other people, even the writings of those we know and trust.

Matt 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (NIV)

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