John is so overwhelmed by the glory of Christ that he falls at His feet as though dead.
Daniel had a similar experience with the Lord in Daniel 8:18: “Now, as He was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but He touched me, and stood me upright.”
Jesus laid His right hand on John. The right hand denotes favor and power. In Mark 6:5, 7:33, 8:25, Matthew 8:13, Jesus used touch to heal people.
In Mark 16:18, it is written, “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” In Acts 9:17, Ananias laid hands on Saul to heal his blind eyes.
Jesus said to John, “Do not be afraid.” In Matthew 17:5-7, Peter, James and John fell on their faces and were greatly afraid after a bright cloud overshadowed them and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying of Jesus, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’” Jesus touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”
Jesus said to John, “Do not be afraid.” In Matthew 14:26-28, when the disciples saw Jesus “walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “’Be of good cheer! It is I. Do not be afraid.’”
Jesus said to John, “I am the First and the Last.” In Isaiah 44:6 it is written, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last. Besides Me there is no God.” Jesus identified Himself to John as the Yahweh of the Old Testament.
Jesus is the “First” because He existed before all of creation. As the “Last,” Jesus holds the final authority over human history. He brings our existence to completion. Jesus pairs “The First and The Last” with the declaration that He was dead and is now alive forevermore, holding the “keys of death and Hades.” This shows His supreme authority over mortality and resurrection. People began with Him, are sustained by Him, and finds their ultimate meaning in Him. [1]
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.”
Jesus revealed to John that He is the resurrected One from the dead, and that He will never die again. He is now in His glorified state, but His intentions have not changed.
“I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” Keys stand for privilege and authority. Jesus can liberate or imprison us. Isaiah 9:6 says that the government is on His shoulders. In John 5:22, the Father has committed judgment to Jesus. [2] Jesus is the Word of God. At the end of our lives, we shall be measured by the Word of God.
What is hades? Hades is the Greek word for the place of the unseen dead. [3]
In Luke 16:22-26, a beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. A rich man also died. The rich man being in torments in Hades, could see the beggar with Abraham. He asked Abraham to have the beggar bring him water. Abraham said to him, “Between us there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”
Whatever be the case about Hades, one thing is for certain, it vital to heed God’s Word, believe in Jesus and confess faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior before you die!
Jesus has the keys to Hades (the unseen realm) and death. He holds the keys to everyone’s eternity. No one by-passes Jesus to overcome Hades and Death. He is the only way. Jesus intends to use His keys to get those who believe in Him past death and into paradise.
Preacher Adrian Rogers told the story about Hell and Calvary. He said that there was a night club in Chicago called, “The Gates of Hell.” On the same road was a Church called Calvary. A stranger once asked a man, “Can you tell me how to get to “The Gates of Hell.” The man advised, “You just pass by Calvary and you will arrive at the “Gates of Hell.” Hell is where people end up who pass by Calvary.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
The Lord has done so much to bring us to paradise. He is still working to save our souls. We need to stop at Calvary and confess Jesus. When Jesus tells us that He holds the keys, He is extending to us an invitation to believe and confess Him. Are you doing that? Are you believing in and confessing Jesus?
Revelation 1:19-20: “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”
In Revelation 1:11, Jesus said to John, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
The seven messengers of the churches are securely in the right hand of Jesus. Seven represents completeness. So, “He’s got the whole Church in His hands.”
The lampstands are a good picture of the Church. We do not produce the light. We simply dispense it. “A lamp must receive both oil and fire before it can produce light. We need the oil and fire of the Holy Spirit to cast out the darkness from human souls.
[1] Ligonier Ministries
[2] Enduring Word Commentary
[3] Ibid
Daniel had a similar experience with the Lord in Daniel 8:18: “Now, as He was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but He touched me, and stood me upright.”
Jesus laid His right hand on John. The right hand denotes favor and power. In Mark 6:5, 7:33, 8:25, Matthew 8:13, Jesus used touch to heal people.
In Mark 16:18, it is written, “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” In Acts 9:17, Ananias laid hands on Saul to heal his blind eyes.
Jesus said to John, “Do not be afraid.” In Matthew 17:5-7, Peter, James and John fell on their faces and were greatly afraid after a bright cloud overshadowed them and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying of Jesus, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’” Jesus touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”
Jesus said to John, “Do not be afraid.” In Matthew 14:26-28, when the disciples saw Jesus “walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “’Be of good cheer! It is I. Do not be afraid.’”
Jesus said to John, “I am the First and the Last.” In Isaiah 44:6 it is written, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last. Besides Me there is no God.” Jesus identified Himself to John as the Yahweh of the Old Testament.
Jesus is the “First” because He existed before all of creation. As the “Last,” Jesus holds the final authority over human history. He brings our existence to completion. Jesus pairs “The First and The Last” with the declaration that He was dead and is now alive forevermore, holding the “keys of death and Hades.” This shows His supreme authority over mortality and resurrection. People began with Him, are sustained by Him, and finds their ultimate meaning in Him. [1]
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.”
Jesus revealed to John that He is the resurrected One from the dead, and that He will never die again. He is now in His glorified state, but His intentions have not changed.
“I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” Keys stand for privilege and authority. Jesus can liberate or imprison us. Isaiah 9:6 says that the government is on His shoulders. In John 5:22, the Father has committed judgment to Jesus. [2] Jesus is the Word of God. At the end of our lives, we shall be measured by the Word of God.
What is hades? Hades is the Greek word for the place of the unseen dead. [3]
In Luke 16:22-26, a beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. A rich man also died. The rich man being in torments in Hades, could see the beggar with Abraham. He asked Abraham to have the beggar bring him water. Abraham said to him, “Between us there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”
Whatever be the case about Hades, one thing is for certain, it vital to heed God’s Word, believe in Jesus and confess faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior before you die!
Jesus has the keys to Hades (the unseen realm) and death. He holds the keys to everyone’s eternity. No one by-passes Jesus to overcome Hades and Death. He is the only way. Jesus intends to use His keys to get those who believe in Him past death and into paradise.
Preacher Adrian Rogers told the story about Hell and Calvary. He said that there was a night club in Chicago called, “The Gates of Hell.” On the same road was a Church called Calvary. A stranger once asked a man, “Can you tell me how to get to “The Gates of Hell.” The man advised, “You just pass by Calvary and you will arrive at the “Gates of Hell.” Hell is where people end up who pass by Calvary.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
The Lord has done so much to bring us to paradise. He is still working to save our souls. We need to stop at Calvary and confess Jesus. When Jesus tells us that He holds the keys, He is extending to us an invitation to believe and confess Him. Are you doing that? Are you believing in and confessing Jesus?
Revelation 1:19-20: “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”
In Revelation 1:11, Jesus said to John, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
The seven messengers of the churches are securely in the right hand of Jesus. Seven represents completeness. So, “He’s got the whole Church in His hands.”
The lampstands are a good picture of the Church. We do not produce the light. We simply dispense it. “A lamp must receive both oil and fire before it can produce light. We need the oil and fire of the Holy Spirit to cast out the darkness from human souls.
[1] Ligonier Ministries
[2] Enduring Word Commentary
[3] Ibid
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