And alive, and was dead. And behold I am living for ever and ever and have the keys of death and of hell.
και ο ζων και εγενομην νεκρος και ιδου ζων ειμι εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων αμην και εχω τας κλεις κλειδας του θανατου και του αδου
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
When, like Joshua (Josh 5:14) and Daniel (Dan 10:9-10), the Apostle fell at His feet as though dead, this was because of the weakness of human mortal nature.
Christ strengthened him, saying: "Do not fear. I, without beginning and without end, came not to kill you. For your sake I Myself was dead, and I have the keys of Hades and death."
That is, He has the keys of bodily and spiritual death.
Saint John could not have survived in his terror, had the saving right hand of the Son of God not touched him. By one touch it had wrought so many miracles.
“And He said to me: ‘Do not fear. I am the First and the Last.’” It is as though the Son of God were saying: “I am the One who, at the end of the times, shared in your flesh for the salvation of you all.
“Yet I am the First and the firstborn of all creation. How then could it happen that you would suffer any evil from My appearing?
“For if I, Life and the Fountain of life, underwent death for your sake and rose again, trampling down death, how could you, the living, become dead because of Me and the sight of Me?
“And if I have the keys of Hades and of death, so that I put to death and give life to whom I will, bring down to the netherworld and raise up, according to what is written of Me, then I do not send premature death to My worshipers and disciples.
“For My are the ways of death, as the prophet says.”
Compare 1 Sam 2:6. Compare Ps 67:21, where the Synodal translation reads: “In the power of the Lord Almighty are the gates of death.”
John himself, the beloved disciple and bosom friend of the Lord Jesus, saw Him clothed in dread majesty and fell in fear at His feet. So unbearable it is for mortal nature to recognize the immortal God in glory.
The same happened to many ancient prophets when God appeared to them.
To strengthen the weak mortal for the work before him, this mighty Man laid His hand upon him and told him not to fear, for He knew him.
As One who lived and died, He is man. As One who lives unto the ages of ages, He is God: Jesus Christ, the God-man, who by His death trampled down death and therefore holds the keys of Hades and death.
By the angels of the churches are meant the superiors or bishops. The seven lampstands, as explained by the Lord Himself, are His seven churches, which will continue until the second coming of the Savior.
The Lord appears at the very center of His Church, regardless of the historical conditions in which she abides at one or another moment of time. She is a lampstand, and she must always shine before men.
"I have the keys of Hades and death." Among the Jews, to have the keys of something meant to receive authority over that thing or place (Mt 16:19).
Here such authority over death, or over the dead, is ascribed to Jesus Christ. See Job 38:17; Ps 106:16.
Concerning John’s mortal fear before the face of the Son of Man, what conclusion may be drawn about this face?
It is that the one who had once been the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ, who reclined upon His breast, evidently did not recognize in it a single familiar feature.
This is in no way surprising. If even on earth the glorified face of the risen Lord Jesus was not easily recognized by His disciples, then still less could this face be recognized in the radiant glory of heaven.
For this reason the special voice of the Son of Man was needed, together with the laying of His right hand upon John.
“Do not fear. I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, and behold, I am alive unto the ages of ages. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.”
From this voice St. John was to recognize, first, that the One speaking with him and appearing to him was none other than the Lord Jesus.
John had carried His name throughout the universe by his apostolic preaching, and for His sake he now suffered so much in imprisonment.
Second, the seer John had to understand that the appearance of the Son of Man would by no means be deadly for him. On the contrary, it would be life-giving and consoling.
“I have the keys of Hades and of death,” the Son of Man said to John. That is: “I have authority even to summon the dead to life from the dark realm of Hades.
“How much more, then, can I sustain the life of a living being like you, trembling John?” In the language of Scripture, to have the keys of something means to have authority over it (Mt 16:19).
Struck by the incomparable majesty of the Christ who appeared, John fell at His feet as though dead.
But Christ laid His right hand upon him and spoke to him of His high dignity. He had offered Himself to death for the sins of mankind and had come to life for eternal life.
He also has in His hands authority over Hades and death, that is, over spiritual and bodily death.
From this John could conclude that Christ's appearance would not be destructive for him.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 24 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS