9 The Keys of Death and Hell!
In the last study, we stopped at the point where Jesus assures us that He will
always be with us, once we invite Him into our lives. But next,
He says a really startling thing:
He "has the keys of hell and death"!
Now we understand another reason
why He had to go into the lowest parts of the earth when He died. Not
only did He take away the righteous dead so that they could be in heaven
with Him, but He also snatched the keys of hell and death from Satan himself!
Now the word HELL, as Jesus uses it here, is not the final place of
punishment for Satan which God is preparing. This hell is the place
called Hades in Greek, and Sheol in Hebrew. This is the place where
Satan held all the dead before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus told of an incident which took place in Sheol or Hades in
Luke chapter 16:
19 "There was a certain rich man," Jesus said, "who was splendidly clothed
and lived each day in mirth and luxury.
20 One day Lazarus, a diseased beggar, was laid at his door.
21 As he lay there longing for scraps from the rich man's table, the dogs
would come and lick his open sores.
22 Finally the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham
in the place of the righteous dead. The rich man also died and was buried,
23 and his soul went into hell. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the
far distance with Abraham.
24 " 'Father Abraham,' he shouted, 'have some pity! Send Lazarus over here
if only to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am
in anguish in these flames.'
25 "But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you
had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being
comforted and you are in anguish.
26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us, and anyone wanting
to come to you from here is stopped at its edge; and no one over there
can cross to us.'
27 "Then the rich man said, 'O Father Abraham, then please send him to
my father's home -
28 for I have five brothers - to warn them about this place of torment
lest they come here when they die.'
29 "But Abraham said, 'The Scriptures have warned them again and again.
Your brothers can read them anytime they want to.'
30 "The rich man replied, 'No, Father Abraham, they won't bother to read
them. But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn
from their sins.'
31 "But Abraham said, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets,
they won't listen even though someone rises from the dead.' "
LB |
From this incident we discover that up to the time of the death of
Jesus Christ, Hades was divided into two chambers: one called Abraham's
Bosom, where the righteous dead waited for the resurrection; and the
other was a chamber of torment, where the people who had no time for
God during their earth-life stayed.
Prayer:
Father, thank You that You are in charge of death and hell.
Thank You that You are the One deciding what happens at the end of this age.
Thank You that as I walk with You and fit into Your plans, I have no need to fear the future,
in Jesus' name,
Amen. |
makes a way for me to know Him personally,
where there was no possibility of that before!
makes Him the Living One who died,
who is now alive forever,
never to die again!
means that in God's heaven right now,
the MAN, Christ Jesus is representing me,
and praying for me all the time!
