In the angelic message 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.” (Re 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. (Lu 1:32, 33) By his authority, symbolized by “the key of David,” he can open or shut figurative doors, or opportunities and privileges.​—Compare 1Co 16:9; 2Co 2:12, 13.

Matthew 16:19 may be rendered with grammatical correctness: “Whatever you may bind on earth will be the thing bound [or, the thing already bound] in the heavens, and whatever you may loose on earth will be the thing loosed [or, the thing already loosed] in the heavens.” The translation by Charles 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.​—1Co 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, as shown at Romans 10:6, 7, evidently includes Hades (though it is not limited to Hades), it appears that “the key of the pit of the abyss” includes “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 free persons from a restraint that is beyond the power of anyone but God or his authorized representative. The “keys” therefore include authority to resurrect persons literally, freeing them from the confines of the grave, as well as to release persons from a figurative death state. (Joh 5:24-29; compare Re 11:3-12; see DEATH [Change in spiritual state or condition].)