The Apostle John wrote, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a
dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be
afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead,
and behold, I am alive forevermore, [amen, NKJV] and I have the keys of
death and of Hades,’” (Revelation 1:17-18 NASB).
Try to picture this in your mind. John sees Christ and falls at His
feet like a dead man, and then Jesus placed His right hand on him and
said these words, “Do not be afraid…” We see the compassion and love of
Christ in His words to John and us.
Jesus helps us to see who He is right now in eternity. He is the
resurrected Man, Christ Jesus. He is in the fullness of His glory with
God the Father. Christ says this about Himself, “I am the First and
Last.” Because Christ is everlasting all things begin and end with
Him. He is the Living One, the Way, the Truth, the Life, and the
Resurrection (see Luke 24:5; John 11:25-27; 14:6).
Christ says that He was dead. He experienced death. He can help us
to view death with the hope of everlasting life. The Living One died.
Luke 23:46 says this of Christ, “He breathed His last,” (NASB). Christ
was laid in a tomb (Luke 23:53, 55). The Word who was God and dwelt
among us (John 1:1, 14) had no more life in Him.
But what Christ says next in Revelation 1:17-18 is what makes Him
unique. “And behold, I am alive forevermore, amen, and I have the keys
of death and Hades.” No other man can say this. In Christ we have the
hope of being with Him in eternity. In Christ all of the promises of
God are Yes and Amen to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:19-20).
Christ has the keys of death and Hades because He is victorious over
them. He has authority over them. In John 11:43 Jesus said, “Lazarus,
come forth,” (NASB). Verse 44 tells us that he came forth. In Matthew
27:52-53 this is what happened when Jesus died and arose, “The tombs
were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were
raised; (53) and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they
entered the holy city and appeared to many,” (NASB). At the second
coming of Christ everyone who is a follower of Christ will experience
the resurrection and bear the image of the heavenly (see 1 Corinthians
15:35-49; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We thank God and Christ for the
imperishable gift of eternal life.
