We have been working through a series on the book of Revelation. This book of the Bible can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons, so we are taking it slow and studying it bit by bit together.

In Chapter 1 verse 18, John writes what Jesus tells him. “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.”

To understand what Jesus is telling us, we must travel back to the cross and understand while Jesus’ body was in the tomb and before God raised Him to life on the third day, what was He doing?

It is true the body of Jesus laid in a tomb, but His spirit was very busy.

We know from our study last week that Hades is the place of the dead. Hades is where everyone who died before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was sent. Hades has two sides. One side is full of fire, torment and agony and the other side full of love, peace and joy. For those who die today and do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, they go to the area of Hades filled with fire. They will spend eternity in Hell, but not quite yet. The book of Revelation and all of its prophesies must be fulfilled before the people in Hades will be judged for the rest of eternity and sent to Hell also called the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-15).

It is important to note that once someone dies, they cannot change their mind and choose to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. They are sent to Hades and then Hell for eternity.

In order to obtain all authority over death and Hades, Jesus went to Hades and visited both sides. Why? Until Jesus was born, died, and then raised to life, Hades was the temporary holding place for everyone who died. The people who died before the crucifixion, but loved God, believed in the Word of God and looked toward the coming of Jesus, went to the area of Hades that was full of love, peace and joy (Luke 16:23-26).

In 1 Peter 3:19, we are told that Jesus went to the place of the dead and proclaimed that He had laid down His life to save sinners from eternal death (Hell). Jesus went to the area of Hades that was full of love, peace and joy, and led those people to heaven or Paradise.

Ephesians 4:8 says, “This is why it says: “When he [Jesus] 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? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.” Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth to include holding the keys to death and Hades.

Today, when someone dies, if they believe in Jesus as the Son of God, they immediately go to heaven or Paradise. If they do not believe in Jesus, they are sent to Hades to spend time in fire and agony until the book of Revelation has been fulfilled. Then, they will be sent to the lake of fire or Hell for all eternity.

What is our role in Revelation? We are to focus on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ until He returns. We all have a job to do and that is telling as many people as possible the good news of Jesus.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.