Daily Walk Through the New Testament
March 6
Read Revelation 1:1-20
When Jesus referred to Himself in Revelation 1:11 as “the Alpha and Omega,” He was saying He is the beginning and the end and everything in between. Jesus is Lord of all creation and all history. He created the world and sustains the world (Colossians 1:16-17). As “the First and the Last,” Jesus has authority over life and death. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead to live forevermore, Jesus was given the right to have the “keys of Hades and of Death” (vs. 18).
Keys grant you access. Do you remember how excited you were when you got your first house and they gave you the keys to the front door? You were given keys that no one else had because you were the only one allowed access. Keys indicate authority, and Jesus was given the most important keys — the ones that give access to death and Hades, the realm of the dead. Jesus alone determines who will enter death and Hades, and who will come out of them.
The good news is that death does not have the last word — Jesus does! You belong to Him and He holds the keys, so you have nothing to fear in this life or in the life beyond!