Psalm 110:4 says, “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Here we have a prophecy of Christ as the Priest ordained by God with an oath according to the order of Melchisedec. The fulfillment of this prophecy is in Hebrews 5:6-10.
Hebrews 5:6, a quotation from Psalm 110, says, “As also in another place He says, You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec.” This refers to the ascension and enthronement of Christ (Psa. 110:1-4) which, in addition to His resurrection, are further qualifications for Him to be our High Priest. The order of Melchisedec is higher than the order of Aaron. The order of Aaron was for the priesthood only in humanity, whereas the order of Melchisedec is for the priesthood in both humanity and divinity.
According to Hebrews 5:6, Christ is a Priest forever. Aaron was established in honor to be the high priest only for his lifetime, for he was prevented by death from continuing. But as the Son of God, Christ was ordained in glory to be our High Priest forever. With Him there is no preventing of death. He is glorified forever to be our High Priest.
The book of Hebrews is focused on the heavenly Christ, and the chief point concerning this Christ is that He is a Priest, not according to the order of Aaron but according to the order of Melchisedec. All the other aspects of Christ revealed in Hebrews, such as the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Captain of salvation, the Apostle, and the real Joshua are the necessary qualifications for Him to be such a Priest, who can minister to us whatever we need and save us to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25).
In Hebrews 4:14 we are told that we have “a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,” and in 4:16 we are told to “come forward with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for timely help.” The High Priest whom we meet at the throne of grace is not a priest typified by the order of Aaron, but a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec ministering to us the bread and wine as our supply. Christ has been constituted to be our High Priest, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment but according to the power of an indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Having the qualifications of His divinity and His resurrection life, He is able to minister the processed God to us.
In Isaiah 22:22 there is a prophecy concerning Christ as the One who holds the key of David: “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.” This prophecy is fulfilled in Revelation 3:7: “These things says the holy One, the true One, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open.” Here we see that Christ has the key of David, the key of the kingdom, with authority to open and to shut. According to Genesis 1, when God created man, He gave him dominion over all creatures. This indicates that in God’s intention man is to be the power representing God on earth. Due to the fall, however, man lost this power and has never fully recovered it. The key held by David is the key of God’s dominion. God’s dominion includes the entire universe, especially mankind. This dominion has a key that is possessed by the person who fought the battle for the kingdom and who made preparations for the building of the temple. The name of this person is David. David represented God in establishing God’s kingdom on earth. Hence, he had the key of God’s dominion in the universe. David, however, was just a type, not the reality. The real David is Christ, the greater David. He is the One who built God’s temple, the church, and established God’s kingdom. Therefore, in the church today, which is both a house and a kingdom, we have God’s expression and representation. As the greater David, Christ has built up the house of God, the real temple, and He has set up the kingdom of God, the dominion in which He exercises full authority to represent God. Therefore, he holds the key of David.
The key of David is something representing God to open the whole universe for God. This is the key of David held by Christ. The fact that Christ has the key of David signifies that Christ is the center of God’s economy. He is the One who expresses God and represents Him, the One who holds the key to open everything in God’s dominion.
Revelation 3:7 says that Christ, the One who has the key of David is the One who “opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open.” Because the universal key, the key of God’s economy, is in His hand, He opens and shuts.