Self-popery

TIMOTHY SAID:

“Yes. As long as each Protestant feels that he/she possesses the keys of authority and has the "right" to read and interpret scripture for themselves.”

Are you defining the power of the keys in terms of the authority to interpret Scripture? If so, what makes you think that’s what the keys stand for in Mt 16:19?

“Then every Protestant will continue in Satan's trap of self-Papacy.”

Being pope has a lot of perks. Rome is a nice place to live. Lots of sunshine, fine art, gourmet cuisine, and beautiful women.

So when you equate the Protestant rule of faith with self-popery, that’s a great selling point for self-popery.

And if Rome is already taken, I’ll become the pope of Venice or Marseilles.

“Origin erred in not including in his interpretation of Matthew 16:15-19 Jesus' direct quote from Isaiah 22:22. In Isaiah 22:22 the Jewish king's keys of authority were given to one man and one man only, not to multiple men.”

In that case, Peter was the first and last pope. After all, the papacy consists of multiple men. Don’t you guys believe in apostolic succession?

(BTW, where can I find the infallible, Magisterial interpretation of Isa 22:22? I do hope you didn’t interpret that passage on your own authority, since that would be self-popery.)

Indeed, according to Isa 22:25, the position of Eliakim had an expiration date. It would terminate in his own lifetime. So if you apply that passage to the papacy, it wouldn’t be a prooftext for the papacy, but a disproof. So I really appreciate your drawing that to my attention.

“So, the question for Protestants to answer is "Did Jesus, the Jewish King of Kings, give his keys of authority to one man or to all men?"”

Of course, that’s a false dichotomy. It isn’t a choice between one or all. It could be some.

You seem to be assuming that the power of the keys is a different prerogative than the power to bind and lose. Yet Jesus explicates the power of the keys in terms of binding and loosing. And that prerogative is extended to the rest of the disciples in Mt 18:18.

So, yes, Jesus gave his keys to more than one man.