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: 18 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.
“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.” ～ Throughout the Old Testament, the writers were of the opinion that one could not actually see Yahweh and live. Moses records the words of Yahweh as “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Ex 33:20 [NKJV] cf Ex 19:21). Both Gideon (Judg 6:22-23) and Isaiah (Isa 6:5) experienced the fear of dying upon having a visible encounter with the “angel of the LORD,” as Gideon calls Him, and, “the King, the LORD of hosts,” as Isaiah calls Him. Here, John responds in much the same manner. He understands that the One in the midst of the candlesticks is in fact Yahweh, so, as Ezekiel (Ezek 1:28), he falls upon his face before Him. In fact, he writes, “I fell at His feet as dead.” Next, the Lord, “laid His right hand” upon John assuring him that he had nothing to fear. The same was done to Daniel (Dan 8:18 and 10:12). And one cannot help but make the connection with the Gideon event (Judg 6:22-23), where the words of assurance were also, “fear not.”
“I am the first and the last.” ～ The self identification process that began in verses 8 and 11 is continued at this point by Christ, informing John that He was the “first and the last.” The title is much the same as Alpha and Omega of vv8, 11 where both titles were used together. The claim of being the First and the Last is the prerogative of God alone. In Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; and 48:12 Yahweh uses this nomenclature for Himself, and, surely, it could be said of no other. The message delivered by Christ appropriating Yahweh’s cognomen is evident to all who would see.
“I am he that liveth, ...” ～ Jesus continues the “unveiling” by His declaration of, “I am he that liveth.” In view here is the Old Testament references to “the living God” (Josh 3:10; Ps 42:2; 84:2; see Deut 5:26; 1 Sam 17;26, 36; 2 Kgs 19:4, 16; Is 37:4, 17; Jer 10:10; 23:36; Dan 6:20, 26; Hos 1:10) as opposed to the dead gods of paganism. (See Elijah’s sarcasm concerning Baal in 1 Kgs 18:27). The glorified Christ references His resurrection by saying, “I ... was dead, and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” Throughout history many have professed to be gods. One might ask, “What was different about the claim to deity of Jesus of Nazareth?” The answer is as simple as it is profound—He arose from the grave of death to prove it. The idea being put forth, here, is not that He was raised by a force exterior to Himself. No. The idea is that He arose—through, and by, His own power. This One in the midst of the lamp-stands was the same who said to Martha,
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).
Concerning His self-resurrection, He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). To this end, also, Paul would write to his son, Timothy, of Jesus as the One “who alone has immortality” (I Tim 6:16). To the Corinthians, Paul would write, that Jesus “became a life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor 15:45 NKJV). To all this the affirmative, “Amen” is added.
(Later, in the Revelation we are introduced to the antichrist who falsely imitates the resurrected Lord, see 13:3,12,14).
“And have the keys of hell and of death.” ～ To underline His resurrection power, our Lord announces that He is the possessor of the Keys of hell and of death. This duo (hell and death) is coupled throughout the Apocalypse. In the breaking of the fourth seal Death rides a pale horse and Hell follows. The imagery is that of a Knight and his squire (6:7-8). Again at the great white throne judgment, death and hell are cast into the lake of fire (20:14). In all three places Death is viewed as the personal enemy of God’s people, and indeed of God’s eternal purpose, while hell (Greek haidēs, Strongs #86; equivalent to Hebrew sheol, Strongs #H7585, the abode of the dead) is a dwelling place of the dead. Though Hades is personified in the visions of Revelation, it is indeed a very real place. When Jesus taught of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19ff), He stated, “there was a certain rich man” and, “there was a certain beggar named Lazarus.” This was no parable (in the sense of a made-up story to teach a lesson). It was a very real event that Christ was relating. Jesus said of the rich man, “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes...” (NKJV). Christ spoke of a real man, in a real place.
In our text, Jesus informs John that he has the keys of both hell and death. Keys speak of absolute control and authority. In this case-in-point, the control and authority is over the domain of hell and death. Keys are for binding and loosing. Jesus said “I have” not “I will have.” He has the keys to bind and to loose both death and hell—now. Although more will be said on it later, one may see these keys used to bind Satan for 1000 years (20:1-2). It would be a mistake not to mention the keys of binding and loosing given to the apostle Peter, as recorded in Matthew 16:18. Do those keys have any connection with these keys? Let me answer that question with a question: Does Christ giving authority to His church to bind and loose (Matt 16:18) have any connection to Christ being present “in the midst” (1:13) of His church? If I may state the obvious – Yes, to both questions.
Apostolically Speaking,
☩ Jerry L Hayes
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