Read
“Fear not, 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.”
Revelation 1:17b-18
Reflect
Keys are a vital part of our everyday life. What would we do without them? Somewhere nearby or in your pocket right now is probably a set of keys to your house, your car and maybe your office. I have a house key, some keys to a friend’s house, the key fob to my car and several keys to file cabinets in my classroom.
And how often have you not been able to find them? We usually discover that our keys are missing when we’re already pressed for time, which leads to a frenzy of asking, “Who has my keys? Where are my keys? Has anyone seen my keys?!” It’s hard to believe that such a small thing could result in such feelings of panic, frustration and outright anger.
Another key leads to a completely different range of feelings. Hopefully you’ve never experienced this, but when the casket of a loved one is closed for the last time, a special key is used to ensure the casket is locked in place and completely sealed. Often, that key is then given to a loved one as a remembrance. The feelings at this moment are far from frenzied, but are generally sad and even heartbreaking. Yet the same question could be asked: “Who has the keys?”
Our broken world desperately needs the life only Christ can give, but who has authority over death itself?
The answer is Jesus.
The casket key may lock away the body for a time, but it does not give death the final word. Jesus says that He holds “the keys of Death and Hades.” In other words, death itself is under His authority. He died, He rose again, and because He lives forevermore, everyone who puts their faith in Him can know that the grave is not the end.
That is the hope of the resurrection. Jesus does not merely know the way out of death. He has conquered it.
If you already know Him, then you know who holds the keys. But do the people you care about know? Don’t keep that Good News to yourself. Tell them about the One who died, rose again and now holds the keys.
Death does not get the last word.
Jesus does.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
