-February 6, 2022-
Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.”
(Revelation 1:18).
The book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible and it reveals the events of the last days leading into eternity. We often speak of the death and resurrection of Christ, and rightly so; here in our text our blessed Lord Jesus Christ puts it in the opposite way, speaking of His resurrection life first then His death. He said victoriously, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore… “ Because He lives, we live with Him. We were once dead in our trespasses and sins, but not we are alive in Christ.
Jesus suffered on the cross, dying in our place, bearing our sins, and rising again the third day. We remember His death every Sunday in the Lord’s Supper. His death and resurrection are inseparable. He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He will judge the living and the dead. He said, “And I have the keys to Hades and death.”
When someone holds the keys, they have the control and power. Losing one’s keys is terrible, for the keys to our house and car, and other important access points are missing. Jesus can never lose those keys. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter, saying, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” These keys are not over Hades and Death, but over the things on earth in his days. It doesn’t mean Peter or the other apostles had authority to forgive sins but to actively use the authority to lead people to Jesus to be loosed from their sins. Charles Ryrie commented, “Heaven, not the apostles, initiates all binding and loosing, while the apostles announce these things.”
We praise God that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. He sits at the Father’s right hand, awaiting the time the Father has fixed for Him to take us home to glory and conclude all the future events. He will rule and reign forever and we will reign with Him. He was dead, but is alive forevermore!
Have a blessed Lord’s Day living under His will and authority. Stay safe and healthy.
In His glorious grace,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 