02.06. LECTURE No. 6 -- Rev_1:18-19
LECTURE No. 6 -- Revelation 1:18-19 The Risen Christ Has the Keys of Hell and Death - Death, Man’s Worst and Last Enemy - A Word About Hades - Jesus Descended into Hades Before He Ascended into Heaven - What the True Church Is - Why Seven Churches? IN OUR LAST two messages we have been making a study of the Patmos vision, recorded in Revelation 1:9-20.
In this passage we have had a wonderful WORD-PICTURE of the risen and glorified Christ, as He appeared to John upon the Isle of Patmos. He is here revealed as Lord and Judge among the Churches.
In the preceding chapter we discussed principally the fact revealed in Revelation 1:16, i.e., that all TRUE MINISTERS of His Word, are held like the Seven Stars IN HIS RIGHT HAND! In this regard we enlarged considerably upon the privileges and the responsibilities of those who labor in the work and high calling of the ministry.
We also enlarged upon the thought stated in Revelation 1:18, where Jesus, in addressing John, said: “I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore.”
This important statement, we pointed out reveals the ETERNAL NATURE of Christ, and implies the fact of His DEATH and RESURRECTION from the dead, and that He will live ON and ON into the unknown and unending future! The Keys of Hell And Death
Now, in Revelation 1:18, Jesus further introduced Himself to John by saying: “I am alive for evermore and have the keys of hell and death.”
Indeed, my friends, what a bold assertion that was: What a claim of divine authority; and what an important prophetic announcement as pertaining to the future of God’s plans and Purposes in redemption! No one but Christ would ever dare to make such a high claim as the one stated here. Yet, for Christ to say this, was neither a false claim nor a misstatement of fact. For it was absolutely true!
Jesus had the right to say that He had the keys of hell and of death.
He had already proved this all important fact by His death up the cross, and by His descent, after His death, into hell or hades, and by His own resurrection from the dead!
The DEATH OF CHRIST upon THE CROSS was not only to shed His blood as a sacrifice, to make an atonement for our sins, but it was to reveal, to heaven above, and to hell beneath, and to all men everywhere, the great truth which Jesus announced to John upon the Isle of Patmos, i.e., that Jesus holds in His own power THE KEYS OF HELL AND DEATH. The Power Of Death Who can MEASURE; who can ESTIMATE, who can even IMAGINE the superhuman strength of that mysterious power we know as death? Through long centuries of time, how many millions have gone down under its power?
Like a mighty torrent of waters, with irresistible force, it has swept Kings from their Thrones in every age, and has taken the rich men of the earth away from their riches! It has also robbed the homes of the poor as well as those of the rich, and has covered much of the earth’s surface with silent cities of the dead. And, there they are, held as it were, in chains of death, until some power, greater than death shall come to break the bands of death asunder, and to set the captives free.
Death came even to Jesus upon the cross. And in consequence they took His body down, and laid it in the sepulchre. But death could not hold Jesus long in the prison house of the tomb, because on the third day, He burst the bands of death asunder and came forth triumphant over death and the grave! Thus, He proved to ANGELS IN HEAVEN, and to MEN UPON EARTH that He is the ONE, THE ONLY ONE in all the universe who holds the keys of hell and of death.
Hell: Hades The word “hell” used here, refers to HADES, or the underworld which is the abode of the dead, between death and resurrection.
According to ancient Jewish theology Hades was divided into TWO COMPARTMENTS. The one compartment was for the WICKED DEAD, and the other part for the RIGHTEOUS DEAD, and was called by the Jews “Abraham’s Bosom.”
These facts, concerning THE STATE OF THE DEAD between death and resurrection, were forcefully told by our Lord in the account of the rich man and Lazarus, as recorded in Luke 16:19-31.
And so as death holds THE BODIES of men, just so does Hades hold THEIR SOULS between death and resurrection. All who die are retained there, shut in and locked up until Jesus, the true Christ, sees fit to release them. For, did He not say to John, “Behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death”?
This, my friends, should be a solemn thought to all of us!
For if Jesus has the keys of hell and death, He is able to lock a man up in hell and keep him there, until he gets ready to let him out.
And without His consent, and the use of those keys, there is no release, and NO ESCAPE from the place of remorse and torment.
Jesus Descended
It was into this hell, or hades, that the soul of Jesus descended when He expired upon the cross. Jesus knew; these things in advance of His death upon the cross, therefore He said to the repentant thief upon the cross: “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise,” that is in hades, the region of the dead.
That Jesus descended in spirit into hades, is confirmed in 1 Peter 3:18-19, where it says: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also He went and preached unto the Saints in prison.”
Also in Ephesians 4:9-10, it says: “Now, that He ASCENDED, what is it but that He also DESCENDED first into the lower parts of the earth. He that DESCENDED is the same also that ASCENDED up, far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.”
Therefore, my friends, if Jesus, after His death, descended first into Hades, into the heart of the earth, and then later ascended into heaven; HOW, we may ask, did He succeed in performing such a SUPERNATURAL ESCAPE from the regions of the dead?
Indeed, my friends, if Jesus had been a mere man, and a Son of fallen Adam, like the rest of us, He would be in “hell” or “hades” yet today. But because He was THE SON OF GOD, and had in His possession THE KEYS of hell and death, He had no difficulty, whatever, of escaping from the regions of the dead, and ascending into heaven, far above all principality and power!
He Proved His Power Over Death
Even before His own death, Jesus proved to the unbelieving Jews that He had THE KEYS of the unseen world in His possession and that He had power over death. This He did when He raised Lazarus from the grave after He had been dead four days.
Thus we see, that Jesus has power to spoil the regions of the dead, and to release their captives at will. When He called the dead to come forth, they obeyed His voice and arose! When Jesus spoke, at His command, the soul returned from hades, and the body from the grave, and the dead lived again, as in the case of the WIDOW’S SON, and the NOBLEMAN’S DAUGHTER and LAZARUS, the brother of Mary and Martha.
And so, EVEN BEFORE HIS OWN DEATH, Jesus manifested the great truth that He had in His possession the keys of Hell (or Hades) and of death.
Also, after His own death upon the cross, on the third day, He arose from the dead, and by His own resurrection He gave PERSONAL proof, and, INDISPUTABLE TESTIMONY, to the fact of His having the keys of Hell and of death. A Solemn Thought
Indeed, what a solemn thought! If this be true of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we know it is, then there is NO HELL SO DEEP but what Jesus can use those keys and open it, and thrust His enemies into it. And there is no opposing power great enough to hinder the Christ of God from using those keys to unlock the PARADISE DIVISION OF HADES, where the souls of the righteous are now confined, and bring them forth, in the power of His own resurrection, to the blessed rewards which await all the faithful ones who have been redeemed by His own blood, and by His saving grace!
Indeed, my friends, how this announcement, which the glorified Christ made to the Apostle John, upon the Isle of Patmos, must have affected him! There is no doubt but what it served to INCREASE HIS FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was speaking to him, and that it also was a GREAT COMFORT to him, to know these things.
John Needed To Know
It was necessary for the great Apostle to understand these great truths concerning Christ, in order to prepare him, for the still greater revelations of divine truth, which were to follow, so that he might record them with a personal understanding of what they meant.
We also should rejoice in a knowledge of such truth, and be thankful that it has been given to us in this great book of Revelation, to instruct our minds, and to comfort our own hearts!
For us, who believe in Christ, it is His pledge of our own resurrection from the dead, in His own likeness, and that even though we must die, He who holds the keys of Hell and death, will open, the prison house of hades, and dispel the darkness of the tomb, and we shall go free! And on the wings of the morning, in our glorified bodies, we shall arise in His own likeness and ascend into His own presence; and so shall we ever be with the Lord! The Command To Write!
Now, before we pass on to the next chapter, let us call your attention briefly to the command which the glorified Christ gave to John as recorded in Revelation 1:19 where it says: “Write the things WHICH THOU HAST SEEN, and the THINGS WHICH ARE, and the things WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER.”
This, my friends, is the great STARTING POINT AND THE FOUNDATION of the entire book of the Revelation, and this command given to the Apostle John is the key to its true analysis.
Let us recognize that the book of Revelation assumes all the facts of the Gospels, including the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, as accomplished! By the time John received this vision on the Isle of Patmos the churches were fully organized and equipped to carry on their work. The old dispensation of the Law had disappeared and become inoperative and the new dispensation of Grace had fully come! Therefore, the book of the Revelation begins with a presentation of the character, the titles, and the administrations of our risen and glorified Lord, in His relation to the churches already established. The Seven Churches
Beginning with Revelation 2:1-29 we have the message of the risen Lord to THE SEVEN CHURCHES. These messages continue through Revelation 2:1-29 on through to the close of Revelation 3:1-22, and constitute a very definite DIVISION OF THE BOOK, in our present study.
Considering, then, all that John saw and heard in his vision on the Isle of Patmos, together with what he was commanded to write, we are carried down to the end of Revelation 3:1-22
Everything in the book down to that point was received by the Apostle John from ONE SCENE OF OBSERVATION, and all holds together as belonging to one and the same order of things.
What John Was To Write In his vision John FIRST SAW the risen and glorified Lord. He THEN HEARD from the Lord, certain announcements concerning himself, which revealed His deity and the character of the work He was to accomplish. And last of all he RECEIVED A COMMAND to write the things which he had seen, and concerning the things which are, and the things which SHALL BE HEREAFTER.
This expression is important because it implies that John was to write about things, from that particular time on through to the close of God’s plan of redemption. We may expect, therefore, that what is written in the entire book of Revelation will carry us to the very consummation of God’s plans and purposes in redemption. And that, my friends, is exactly the case.
In the book of Revelation we are carried to the FINAL CONSUMATION of ALL THINGS!
Therefore, in this book we must realize that the revelation of God is complete, and that beyond what is written here, no man has a right to claim any additional revelation from God, and is warned not to add to or take away from the things which are written in this book. The Things Which Are
Now let us turn our attention to the study of THE THINGS WHICH ARE.
In other words, the expression referred to of the things which were present at the time John wrote this book.
The first thing that John was required to write, was the message of the risen Lord TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES. For he said, “The seven stars are the angels or messengers of the seven churches, and the seven candle sticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” The Meaning Of The Word, Church
Now, before we proceed with our study of these seven messages to the seven churches, it is very important that we should understand first of all the true meaning of the word “church.” The word church in the English is the equivalent of a GREEK WORD meaning to call out of or from among. In some places in the Scriptures THE CHURCH is spoken of as AN ASSEMBLY.
Stephen, in Acts 7:38, spoke of the “church in the wilderness.” His reference here, of course, was to Israel whom God had called out of Egypt.
Sometimes the word CHURCH is used to denote the entire community of Christian people, of all nations, regardless of race or color. An example of this broad usage of the term is found in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Again, the word CHURCH is often used to denote A SMALL GROUP of Christians, belonging perhaps, to a single household. For example, Paul spoke of Priscilla and Aquilla, and of the church which was in their house.
Again, it is sometimes used to denote a PARTICULAR GROUP of Christians in the same neighborhood or city who have organized themselves together for the carrying on of God’s work. Therefore, Paul speaks of “the church which is at Corinth,” etc. We therefore should take into account all of these VARIOUS MEANINGS when we think of the word “CHURCH.” And we also wish to add that all TRUE CHRISTIANS of the entire church age, of whatever group they may have been or to which they may now belong, are members of the body of Christ!
In Revelation 1:11, Jesus commanded John, saying, “What thou seest write in a book and send it unto THE SEVEN CHURCHES which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
Why Seven Churches?
It is natural that we should ask why these messages should be sent to only SEVEN CHURCHES.
Were there not other churches existing at that time, to which these messages might have been sent? Yes, there were many of them. But in this special revelation of divine truth the NUMBER SEVEN is very prominent and very important. A brief study in Scripture numerics will reveal more clearly what I mean. There is a real significance in numbers which proceeds from the very nature of things.
Number One! THE UNIT ONE is the source, and we might say the parent, of all numbers. In the Scriptures, therefore, the unit one stands for God, who is the beginning and source of all things. The number one expresses commencement and the very first words of the Bible read, “In the beginning, God.” And nothing can so well express the thought of God’s being the FIRST GREAT CAUSE, of all things, as the number one.
In the Scriptures, however, God has revealed Himself, not only as the FIRST CAUSE, but as A TRINITY. This Trinity is expressed in language such as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are represented as being one IN NATURE, UNITY and PURPOSE. In this divine Trinity, the Father is FIRST, the Son is SECOND, and the Holy Spirit is THIRD. Therefore, if NUMBER ONE stands for God the Father, NUMBER TWO stands for Christ the Son! The number two, therefore, DOES NOT, by itself, stand for perfect fullness or completion, for the Son is not complete within Himself, apart from the Father and the Holy Spirit; Number two is spoken of as the productive number, but it is ONLY COMPLETE when the product is added.
This is best illustrated by the ordinary family. The man and wife are said to be ONE FLESH, but it takes a child which is THE PRODUCT OF A DUAL UNITY, in order to complete the family.
Number Three THE NUMBER THREE is especially interesting. It is spoken of as a number of individual completion. It is composed of three numbers, each of which is in itself, one. For instance, one times one, times one, equals only one!
Therefore, when God represents Himself as a Trinity, namely as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, ONE FATHER times ONE SON, times ONE HOLY SPIRIT, equals only ONE GOD! Three, therefore, is the logical number used to express the Trinity. This thought of the Trinity is also expressed in man himself-for man is BODY, SOUL, and SPIRIT. Yet these three elements of a man’s nature constitute only ONE MAN.
Therefore, before a man tries to argue against the trinity of the divine Godhead, let him first analyze his own nature, and if he can, destroy the trinity of his own being! We know that this would be impossible, for God is a Trinity and man was made in the image of God. Therefore, he is also a trinity.
Number: Four
FOUR IS THE WORLDLY NUMBER. Being next in order from the number three, it represents that which proceeds from the Trinity. Therefore, in Scripture it represents the creation of God.
The world, which came from the hand of God is divided into FOUR chief elements; fire, air, earth, and water. There are FOUR POINTS ON THE COMPASS: north, east, south and west. There are also FOUR SEASONS of the year, and many other things which we might mention to show that the number four is the worldly number.
Number: Five THE NUMBER FIVE, we are told, represents progress but incompleteness.
Number: Six NUMBER SIX is the Satanic number. Therefore, it is significant that the number of the coming Antichrist is to be 666.
Number: Seven And now we come to the NUMBER SEVEN. Seven is the number of dispensational fullness. Therefore, when the number seven is used it represents completeness in relation to the subject in question.
- If in the Scriptures it is used CONCERNING JUDGMENT, it would represent the fullness or completeness of judgment.
- If the number seven is used concerning GOD’S GRACE, it would mean the fullness or completeness of God’s grace.
In our present lesson text, it is used in reference to the seven churches.
Therefore, the number seven in this case, is REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL CHURCHES!
Number: Eight
EIGHT IS THE NUMBER OF NEW BEGINNING AND OF RESURRECTION! Therefore, it is significant that the EIGHTH DAY is the beginning of our new week. The Jewish child was circumcised on the eighth day, and Noah was referred to as the eighth person. This will suffice to show that the number eight is also important.
Number: Ten TEN IS THE NUMBER OF WORLDLY COMPLETION, especially as related to the fact of evil.
Number: Twelve
TWELVE IS THE NUMBER OF FINAL COMPLETENESS! Hence, we have TWELVE MONTHS in the year. There were TWELVE TRIBES of Israel, and TWELVE APOSTLES of the Lamb. And the New Jerusalem is to have TWELVE GATES.
We do not have time to enlarge further upon this very interesting study of numbers and their important relation to Scripture truth.
We have digressed somewhat in this chapter to mention these things merely to impress upon you THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NUMBER SEVEN as it is used in our lesson text today and many times throughout the entire book of Revelation.
We shall first study about the SEVEN CHURCHES and then, the SEVEN SEALS and then, the SEVEN TRUMPETS, and then about the SEVEN VIALS of the wrath of God.
Now, in our next lesson we shall begin a study of the messages to the seven churches.
~ end of lecture 6 ~