“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.”
I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades — Christ claims the titles reserved for God (Alpha and Omega, first and last) and announces his unique status: he died and rose, and this death-and-resurrection victory grants him sovereignty over Death and Hades themselves. The keys (exousia) represent absolute control; he alone determines who enters these realms.
Church Fathers on Revelation 1:18
“And in His face was brightness as the sun.” That which He called brightness was the appearance of that in which He spoke to men face to face. But the glory of the sun is less than the glory of the Lord. Doubtless on account of its rising and setting, and rising again, that He was born and suffered and rose again, therefore the Scripture gave this similitude, likening His face to the glory of the sun. “And out of His mouth was issuing a sharp two-edged sword.” By the…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!