Revelation 1:17-18; Having the Keys of Hell and Death
Revelation 1:17-18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Death and judgment in hellfire is the ultimate plight of sinful, fallen men. Sickness, diseases and the body’s gradual degeneration are a premonition of that undesirable end. These often make a man sit up and consider the reality of death and the prospect of the judgment to come. God allowed the fall of man, I believe, for him to see the miseries of sin and shame. Human history attests to war and crime, to the brokenness of the family, to the reality of the disease of sin in the lives of men throughout the generations since Adam.
Is there no way out? There is a way out. Jesus Christ is the way out. Our text tells us He has the keys of hell and death. He has the key to unlock the deadlock of death and hell that confront every man. And He is not making an empty promise. He had been there, that is, He has tasted death on our behalf. After Jesus died, He rose again from the dead the third day. He testifies to His disciple John, “I am alive for evermore”. This is the good news for every sad and distressed soul in the hospital bed or the face of death.
Before His journey of death where He would be betrayed, crucified, buried and to be resurrected from the dead, He made this promise to His disciples in John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
John, the recipient of these words of Jesus, was an old man facing the prospect of death. Jesus reminded John, “Fear not” because He has conquered death on his behalf. There will be a resurrection of the dead. Therefore, death will not be a permanent impasse for the believer. But death will usher in for the believer the reality of eternal life that is accorded to him by faith in Jesus Christ. Death for the believer is to be ushered immediately into the presence of his Saviour in the glories of heaven. What comfort! We board a flight and be transported into a distant land in a short span of time. Here is given the spiritual reality of being transported to heaven immediately when death comes. May the Lord bless the hearts of His people to the reality of the believers blessed hope of life with God in heaven through Jesus Christ. The believer’s hope is a certainty! A blessed reality! Amen.