Jan ’12 | Blossom 50
(1) It is fruitful to study Types & Antitypes. Not only do they edify us but also function to enrich and reiterate what we have learnt through plain scriptural statements. However, we have continuously insisted in previous issues of Grace that we should not take the whole of Old Testament to be typical in nature but rather study only those portions of the Old Testament identified as Types by the writers of the New Testament, either directly or indirectly (See Grace – Blossom04:June08,para01; Blossom18:July09,para01; Blossom28:April10,para01). Since it is unacceptable and wrong to go beyond what is written, we believe that in order to declare a part of the Old Testament to be typical, the first thing needed is either a direct or indirect reference from the New Testament that shows it to be so. Hence, if someone starts explaining to you any typical study, the first question you must ask them before they proceed further is: ‘Where in the New Testament is that shown to be a type?’ Only if that person gives a clear and satisfying answer to that question, there is any value in continuing that study because otherwise that study is plain unscriptural and a result of human imagination. Do reflect for a moment! New Testament is the reality and so there cannot be shadows without any corresponding realities, only our fallen minds imagining stuff to please our egos or creativity! This is dangerous as we have absolutely no authority to conjure up types based on our whims and fancies. The result of such unbiblical conjuring up of types only results in many confusing simple scriptural truths as human wisdom and imagination is unworthy of any trust. Thus, unscriptural typical studies often become the weapons of Satan to adulterate the truth and derail the faithful. Hence, we request everyone humbly to stick to only biblical types and antitypes and not dare to go beyond what is written. Also, it should also be kept in mind that we should not create any new doctrines based purely on a typical study (See Grace – Blossom28:April10,para02). The New Testament directly identifies many portions of the Old Testament as having a typical value. For example, Apostle Paul declares that the whole of Law Covenant has typical relevance and based on that we did a typical study of the three prominent festivals of the Law Covenant in an issue of Grace (Hebrews 10:1, See Grace – Blossom18). In the same way, in another issue of Grace, we studied the typical value of the Days of Lot for the end times based on Jesus’ direct statement to that effect in Luke 17:28-32 (See Grace – Blossom21). Apart from such direct reference to Types, the Bible identifies certain portions of the Old Testament to be typical in an indirect manner. However, we have also noted in previous issues that one has to be very careful when trying to identify such indirect types. Though the Bible identifies such types indirectly, that should not become an excuse to deem any and every part of the Old Testament to have typical value. There should be a clear and tangible rationale to identify any Old Testament portion to be identified as a type even if the reference is indirect (See Grace – Blossom28:April10,para02). In that fashion, we studied the ‘Jesus-Israel’ indirect typical reference in an issue of Grace (See Grace – Blossom28). Likewise, in this issue too we are going to study an indirect but at the same time clearly identified type in the New Testament titled ‘Key of David’.
I. Is this a Type?
II. What happened in the Type?
The Setting
Shebna
Eliakim
Fulfilment of this Prophecy
III. The Anti-type
Key of David
House of David
Shebna
Eliakim
IV. In Conclusion
(2) Before we delve into the study of this type, it needs to be shown that this is indeed a New Testament sanctioned typical study. This comes out in the Book of Revelations. In the first chapter of the Book of Revelations, appearing in his glorified state to John, Jesus says the following – ‘I hold the keys of death and Hades’ (Rev 1:18). We have studied this in an earlier issue of Scripture Study – ‘Jesus says he holds ‘the keys of death and Hades’. The meaning of the Greek word Hades (Strong’s No: 86) is ‘grave’. Death is an event. And grave is the place where the dead are kept as per Jewish tradition. It is true that both the event of death and the grave (the resting place of the dead) are prisons where mankind has been incarcerated as a result of Adam’s sin. By his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus changed that imprisonment. But why are death and grave being depicted as separate things? If Jesus had said he held the key of death alone, then wouldn’t there be a question about the impact of Jesus’ crucifixion sacrifice on those who had died prior to that and had been in their graves? Death and the grave have been distinguished in this verse to cast out all such doubts. Yes, not only did Jesus turn death into life starting from his time. But he also won resurrection for all those who had died before his period (signified by the traditional Jewish grave). The keys that deliver mankind from the prisons of death and the grave are indeed with him (John 5:25-29)’ (See Scripture Study – Blossom10:November10,para02). That being the case, Jesus starts to give his messages to the seven churches from the second chapter of the Book of Revelations. While doing so, Jesus uses few of the many symbols in the vision of him in the first chapter (i.e. in Rev 1:12-20) as a means to introduce him in the message to each of the seven churches. We studied them in the issues of Scripture Study that studied the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation (See Scripture Study – Blossom10:November10,para05; Blossom11:December10,paras02,07). For example, ‘among the lampstands was someone like a son of man’ and ‘he held seven stars’ are two symbols present in the first chapter which Jesus 
uses in the introduction of his message to the first church (Rev 1:13,16; 2:1). In that fashion, in his introduction to the message to the fifth church Jesus uses the Key of Hades and death again and at that time he elaborates on it in this manner – ‘These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open’ (Rev 3:7). As we can see, in here Jesus calls that key as Key of David and goes on to say that using it he can shut and open with absolute authority. That is, through his ransom sacrifice, Jesus broke the hold of sin on mankind and got hold of the key of life (keys of death and hades). Hence, for those who follow him, the path to life is open and no one can shut it. In the same way, those who refuse to follow Christ till the end will have no way to life. The way to life will be shut to them and no one can open it for them. That being the case, the facts that Jesus calls this key as the Key of David and uses the words ‘What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open’ indicate that it indirectly references to a type. Because, even in the Old Testament, there was a man who had a key with which he opened and shut with impunity. We find him in the Book of Isaiah – ‘ I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open’ (Isaiah 22:22). This verse is talking about a man called Eliakim. Henceforth, since Jesus uses that which has been said about Eliakim and Key of David in Isaiah 22:15-25 to denote him, we can conclude with confidence that they have typical value. Hence, we can proceed with confidence and peace of mind knowing that we are not studying a false type that arose out of mere human speculation but a biblical type which is specified clearly so by the New Testament.
II. What happened in the Type?
(3) Before studying the anti-typical significance, let us first find out what happened in the type. During the period of the Old Testament when the people of Israel were ruled by Kings, there was a King called Hezekiah who ruled the southern Kingdom of Judah from 729 B.C. to 687 B.C. At that time, a man called Shebna was the palace administrator and treasures of the House of David which was the name of the Jerusalem palace. During that time, the post of Palace Administrator was a very important and powerful one. The royal palace itself was in the control of the holder of that post. Hence, it was the second most important post in the kingdom, next only to the King in importance. Since the Palace Administrator was also usually the treasurer of the riches of the Kingdom, it is for sure that Shebna was the most powerful man in the Kingdom of Judah after Hezekiah. That being the case, we can know for sure that the prophetic passage about Shebna that is recorded in Isaiah 22:15-25 must have been given to Isaiah before 702 B.C. Because, we see from the Bible that during the Assyrian invasion of Judah which is recorded in history to have happened at 702 B.C, Shebna was no longer the Palace Administrator (See 2 Kings 18:18,26). Hence it is clear that this prophecy about Shebna must have been given to Isaiah between 729 B.C to 702 B.C. That period was a very dangerous one for the southern kingdom of Judah. In 723 B.C., the northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and laid to waste by the Assyrians. The Assyrians were continually threatening the southern kingdom of Judah as well. It is in this situation that God gives this prophecy about Shebna and Eliakim to Isaiah.
(4) Shebna who was the Palace Administrator and treasurer was not using his significant powers to advance the welfare of the people but rather he was cutting out a personal grave in a high place in Jerusalem to exalt himself (Isaiah 22:16). It was considered great honour to have a grave at a high place in the then Jewish society. Shebna was seeking that vain glory. It was no time to be chasing such vain glories for Judah was being continuously threatened by Assyria. Despite that, Shebna did not concentrate on his political duties but rather spent resources on glorifying himself. Hence, God sent prophet Isaiah to give him a message of divine judgement. God asked Shebna through Isaiah why he was building such an exalted grave for himself in Jerusalem without permission from anyone as if he belonged to the city and he had something there. Because, he was to have nothing in Jerusalem as God prophesied through Isaiah that He was to take hold of him and hurl him away from Jerusalem to another large foreign country and therein Shebna will die (Isaiah 22:15-18). Thus, the exalted grave which Shebna was building for his own glory would not be put to use. Shebna would die in a foreign country with no plaque of remembrance. Though there is no record of the fulfilment of this prophecy in the Bible or in History, it must have got fulfilled for sure and it is highly likely that Shebna must have been carried off as a prisoner by the Assyrians in the later years and died there. The reason for such horrid fate to befall Shebna was because of his self-glorification at the expense of his duties to the people. Thus, the great chariots which Shebna got for himself to show off would only bring disgrace to him and to the house of David as the people would come to see it for it is, vanity at a time of great peril (Isaiah 22:18). Hence, God prophesied through Isaiah that He would depose Shebna from his post of Palace Administrator and oust him (Isaiah 22:19). It will be apt to say that the life of Shebna in itself is a great lesson to us. Like Shebna, God has elevated us to be his holy servants but if we neglect our holy gospel work and focus selfishly on a worldly life, we too will bring destruction on us at the end. Specifically, those who hold important positions in the Churches like elders should model themselves like the elders of the early churches who guided their church members in truth and pressed them to do more and more holy gospel service. They should not ignore that most important duty of theirs like Shebna ignored his.
(5) Moreover, God further prophesied through Isaiah that he would, in the place of Shebna, call Eliakim, son of Hilkiah and hand him the present positions held by Shebna – ‘clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him’ (Isaiah 22:20). God said to Isaiah that Eliakim would be like a father, i.e. a loving leader to the people of Jerusalem and the people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (Isaiah 22:21). God further prophesied through Isaiah that He would give the Key to the house of David to Eliakim such that he had full authority to open or shut with it (Isaiah 22:22). That is, Eliakim would have full authority over the palace treasure and royal administration. God said to Isaiah that just as a peg nailed into a firm place would be strong and firm, Eliakim would be a strong seat of honour for the house of his father i.e. his family (Isaiah 22:23). A peg that is nailed firmly can handle a lot of weight hanging from it and similarly God said to Isaiah that Eliakim would carry the glory of his family i.e. the Israelite people and all responsibilities would befall him (‘all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars’). Eliakim would be thus like a peg driven in a firm place and carry all the responsibilities put on him with utmost sincerity (Isaiah 22:24). However, God said to Isaiah that one fine day even Eliakim would fall and all the responsibilities that hung on him would fall down to the ground (Isaiah 22:25). Here the eventual falling of Eliakim either denotes his death or maybe his replacement by the next king of the southern kingdom of Judah which happened to be Manasseh who was not always keen on walking in the ways of God. Since God prophesied here to Isaiah that after the fall of Eliakim, all the responsibilities that hung upon him would fall down, it is clear that it must have been only an irresponsible person who followed Eliakim as the Palace Administrator. In this fashion, God prophesied about Eliakim and Shebna through prophet Isaiah.
(6) We can see the fulfilment of this prophecy from Biblical records itself. In 702 B.C, Assyrian king Sennacherib came with his army against Jerusalem. At that time, we see from the Bible that just as God had prophesied through Isaiah, it was Eliakim who held the post of Palace Administrator (See 2 Kings 18:18). Moreover, we also see that at that time Shebna was a mere ‘secretary’ (NIV) or ‘scribe’ (KJV). This shows that just as God had prophesied through Isaiah, Shebna lost his exalted position of being the Palace Administrator and Eliakim replaced him. As noted earlier, there is no biblical or historical evidence to confirm that Shebna died in exile in a foreign country as prophesied by God. But, it must have happened so for sure. Though the 702 B.C. invasion of Assyrian was repulsed by God, thanks to the sincere prayers of King Hezekiah, the Assyrian empire continued to threaten the southern kingdom of Judah for a long time. Infact, we see from the biblical records that the next King of Judah i.e. Manasseh himself was taken as a prisoner by the Assyrians at one point (See 2 Chronicles 33:11-13). Hence, it is highly probable that Shebna was taken as prisoner by the Assyrians during one of their invasions and he died as a nobody in Assyrian country. Moreover, we can also see from the biblical record of the events that transpired during the 702 B.C Assyrian invasion of Judah that Eliakim carried the burden of the people of Judah with great sincerity and grace. During that perilous times, it was Eliakim who boldly conducted negotiations with the Assyrians (See 2 Kings 18:18-27). Later on, Eliakim went as the emissary of King Hezekiah to meet prophet Isaiah in order to know the will of God (See 2 Kings 19:1-4). Thus, even in a very dangerous time, Eliakim was at the forefront and like a peg driven into a firm place, he acted firmly and strongly, serving his people with sincerety. Also, the fact that the nation of Judah turned to evil ways during the reign of the next King Manasseh indicates that just as God had prophesied through Isaiah, Eliakim did fall eventually. This fall of Eliakim could have been due to his death or maybe Manasseh dismissed him from his post. In this fashion, God’s prophecy about Eliakim and Shebna got fulfilled precisely. Now, let us move on to study the typical value of some elements of the life and Eliakim and Shebna. Before we do that, we have to keep in mind that the entire lives of Eliakim and Shebna do not have typical value. The New Testament did not say so and when we study further, it will become clear that we cannot also make their entire lives to have typical value. What has typical value is just the events surrounding the Key of David and House of David as recorded in Isaiah 22:15-25 for as we saw earlier that alone is the portion indicated as a shadow in the New Testament. Henceforth, let us study with care the typical meaning of each of the elements present in Isaiah 22:15-25. We saw in an earlier issue of Grace that since anti-types are grander and greater fulfilments of the type, it is important to study not only the similarities but also the differences in order to appreciate them fully (See Grace – Blossom28:April10,para04). Hence, herein too we will look at both differences and similarities to have a fuller understanding.
(7) The Key of David refers to the key to the House of David (Royal Palace) that existed in Jerusalem. God uses that as a symbolic reference to possession of royal authority during his prophecy about Eliakim and Shebna through Isaiah. That being the case, what does the Key of David symbolise in the anti-type? It is very easy to find that because Jesus himself has explained it directly. We saw earlier that in the Book of Revelation, Jesus declares himself as possessing the Key of David (Revelation 3:7). Moreover, we also saw that in the Book of Revelation he calls that key as the ‘key of death and hades’ (Revelation 1:18). Hence, the Key of David symbolises the authority that is capable of giving eternal life by releasing one from death and hades (i.e. grave). Just as those who possessed the Key of David were in possession of the royal authority, likewise, the one who had possession of the anti-typical Key of David of the ‘key of death and hades’ has the authority to release people from death and grave and grant them eternal life.
(8) The House of David refers to the Palace of the King that existed in Jerusalem. What does it symbolise? We saw earlier that Jesus called the Key of the House of David as the ‘key of death and hades’ (Revelation 1:18). Jesus won that key by sacrificing himself on the Cross for the sake of Adam and thereby Mankind. Thus, he holds the right to grant eternal life and enables Mankind which had fallen due to Adamic sin to escape death and grave and to take hold off eternal life. Hence, we know that the Key of death and hades enables Mankind to have a path to acquire eternal life again. The typical Key of David enabled people to get into the literal House of David. Hence, House of David clearly symbolises eternal life in here. Truly, the Key of David that grants opportunity to acquire eternal life lies with Jesus. Using that, he grants access to eternal life, symbolised by House of David, to those who are ready to follow him. And he shuts out those who refuse to follow him till the end from eternal life. Mankind’s hope is to enter the anti-typical House of David.
(9) Since Shebna was the Palace Administrator in the first place, he was the one who had possession of the Key of David. But, as we saw earlier, he was negligent about his palace duties and was busy building his grave. So, who does this Shebna symbolise? Certainly, Shebna can only symbolise Satan, our adversary. Before Jesus won the Key to life (to House of David), the Key of death and hades was in the hands of Satan. Since, God cannot remove the righteous judgment of death that came upon Mankind due to Adamic sin without proper atonement, Satan had the right to accuse mankind before God (Revelation 12:10). Only after Jesus ransomed Adam and thereby Mankind by sacrificing himself on the Cross did Satan lose this right – ‘Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death’ (Hebrews 2:14,15). When we look at Shebna, though he held the Key of David, he was more interested in building his own grave. Satan too had possession to the Key of David i.e. life and he was keen to send all of mankind to grave. He was in effect building a tomb that will fit all of mankind which would have been a monument to his success in derailing mankind. We can either lock or open with the help of a key. Jesus got hold of the Key of life and through that he opened the way to eternal life for those who are willing to follow him. But before that Satan who held the power of death, thanks to Adamic Sin, locked up the way to life firmly. Even till today, Satan is keen to send us the church to our grave (destruction) by working against the plan of God and God’s people (1 Peter 5:8). In this fashion, both Shebna and Satan share the same trait of being focussed on graves. Also, just as Shebna’s authority and position was taken away from him, Jesus destroyed Satan’s authority as well by redeeming Adam through his sacrifice. If Shebna’s quest to build himself an exalted grave had succeeded, he would have achieved certain amount of vain glory in the end. In the same way, if Satan’s quest had succeeded, he would have been known as the one who sent all of mankind to grave. But, God did not allow either of that. Just as Shebna met his end with no glory or fame, in the same way, Satan is also to be destroyed forever in the end (Revelation 20:10). As we noted earlier, anti-typical fulfilments are grander than the type. Hence, though the destruction of Shebna was not eternal as Shebna will for sure resurrect in the Kingdom of God, the upcoming destruction of Satan will be an eternal one.
(10) We saw earlier that after the administration of Shebna ended, the Key of David was given to Eliakim who became the next Palace Administrator. Who does this Eliakim symbolise? Certainly, he typically signifies no one other than our saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus himself says directly that he currently holds the Key of David in the book of Revelations (Revelation 3:7). The name Eliakim in Hebrew means ‘God raises’ (Strong’s No: 0471). In reality, Jesus was indeed the first one to be raised up from death by God. Eliakim was someone who managed Kingly power and executed the will of the King. Jesus too is someone who manages divine power and executes the will of God. Eliakim led the people of Jerusalem and Judah like a loving father. Similarly, Jesus too is going to be like a loving father to Mankind in the coming Kingdom of God, leading them in the path to life (Isaiah 9:6). Truly, life was lost by Adam who was the father of mankind. Jesus comes as a good second father / second Adam who leads mankind to life (symbolised by the House of David) (1 Corinthians 15:45). Since, Eliakim had the Key of David, none were able to enter or exercise authority in the House of David without the express permission of Eliakim. Similarly, since Jesus has the anti-typical Key of David to life, he can shut undeserving people out of life and those he has opened life for will enter it with absolute certainty. Truly, each person is given a fair chance to get hold of eternal life in their due time and those who submit to God alone are let into the anti-typical House of David i.e. eternal life by Jesus. Those who refuse to submit to God till the end will be shut out of the anti-typical House of David i.e. eternal life by Jesus and none can let them in – ‘Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6). Truly, since it was Jesus’ redeeming sacrificing that paved the way for eternal life to mankind; Jesus indeed is the way to eternal life. He also is the one who will judge in the end who will be or will not be eligible for eternal life for God has given that right to Jesus (John 5:22). Just like Eliakim, Jesus is also like a peg driven into a firm place who carries out all divine responsibilities and tasks faithfully. We know that when God sent Jesus to redeem mankind by sacrificing his own life, Jesus carried out that strenuous and tough task with utmost devotion and obedience (Luke 22:42). Moreover, Jesus also has the responsibility to rule the world in the coming Kingdom of God and lead the people of the world into truth. Surely, he will fulfil that task as well perfectly like a peg driven into a firm place. In the present time, Jesus is also carrying and fulfilling the responsibility to lovingly guide the church. In this fashion, Jesus has been carrying all the responsibilities that have fallen on him with great care like a peg driven into a firm place. Hence, just as the typical Eliakim was a ‘throne of honour for the house of his father’, we know that Jesus also will reign as a King who brings honour to the house of his father, Yahweh God. As we noted earlier, anti-types are grander fulfilments than types and hence we need to study the differences as well. Herein as well, in the type, Eliakim gave away one day and fell. We saw that it could denote either his removal from office or death. But, in the anti-type, we know that Jesus is an eternal peg driven into a firm place that will never give away.
(11) We noted earlier that it will be wrong to give typical significance to other aspects of Eliakim and Shebna’s life, other than what is mentioned in Isaiah 22. We also mentioned that even if we attempt to do so, it will only be an exercise in futility. For example, after he was removed from the post of Palace Administrator, Shebna remained as a scribe or secretary for atleast sometime (2 Kings 18:18). How can we match that information about Shebna’s life anti-typically with Satan? Shebna being a typical representative of Satan, who can Assyrians who came against Judah in 702 A.D anti-typically represent? Thus, attempting to give typical significance to all aspects of Shebna and Eliakim’s life will only lead to completely absurd ideas. Sadly, during other typical studies of such nature, some pursue such unnecessary threads and end up confusing plain truths and get trapped into erroneous ideas. We should not tread down that path but instead stick only with the New Testament sanctioned true types instead of making up types, then we will not be going beyond what is written. This typical study was one that strengthened our faith. Satan, the anti-typical Shebna, is soon to be destroyed without any trace. His plans have failed. Since, the anti-typical Eliakim, i.e. Jesus is like an eternal peg driven into a firm place, there is no doubt that if we follow him faithfully; he will lead us into the anti-typical House of David i.e. eternal life, using the anti-typical Key of David he possesses. Amen.