Jesus Holds the Keys to Death and Hades

In Revelation 1: 17-18, the apostle John describes seeing Jesus Christ in all His glory and wrote,

17 "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed his right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid.I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look,
I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. ' "

Jesus is the One who holds the keys and authority over where souls go after death.

Jesus rescues us from the fear of death, if we put our faith in Him.  


Hebrews 2:14-15 says of Jesus:

14 "Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.


Jesus frees us from the fear of death because He has promised us eternal life.


As a matter of fact, after Jesus died on the cross, His Spirit went down into the "lower earthly regions" to where the dead are held. Ephesians 4:7-10 reads: 

7 "But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:

'When He ascended on high, He took many captives

    and gave gifts to His people.'

9 (What does “He ascended” mean except that He also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)".

When Jesus went down, He preached to the spirits of mankind who died prior to His own death so that they would be judged equally with those still living...according to the grace offered by gospel of Christ.  1 Peter 3:18-21 reads:

18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive, He went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—"

Jesus is fair. 1 Peter 4:6 reads:

6" For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit."

So, it is Jesus Christ Who holds the keys to death and Hades, and He frees those, both dead and alive, by His death, burial, and resurrection.


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