The Cross and the Resurrection in the Revelation of Jesus

“Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.--Revelation 1:18 (NKJV)


“Behold, I Am Alive Forevermore.” With those words Christ gives affirmation to the truth we gather to celebrate at this time each year.
All we can do in light of the Resurrection is to simply give thanks to God. We can certainly be grateful for the things Christ did, witnessed to in the Word: that He cleansed the lepers; that the deaf were made to hear; that sight was given to the blind; that the dumb could speak; that there was comfort for the sad, acceptance for the outcast, and hope for the hopeless.
But His sacrificial death and Resurrection are the things He did most worthy of our praise and thanks, for without a cross and a Resurrection; there would not even be a church.

“I Am He Who Lives, And Was Dead.” The cross is the center of our faith. It is where the Love of God was shown and our lives were redeemed. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the culmination of all that gave meaning to His life. His last words from the cross were, “It is finished.” We miss the mark if we fail to understand that His death was His greatest purpose in life. When we understand that, then we begin to understand why so many false teachings raise objections to Christ’s death and/or His Resurrection. The truth of the Gospel witness must stand or fall at these two points: 1) Did Jesus in fact die on a cross? 2) Was He in fact raised from the dead?
There are those that suggest that Jesus did not really die, but only swooned, or fainted, on the cross. This theory also suggests that He was revived by the coolness of the tomb, and got up, rolled away the stone, and walked out. That’s a pretty slick trick for a man who had been beaten half to death, lost large amounts of blood, had spikes driven through his feet, and had a spear thrust through His heart. No, His death was real. Not only was His death real, but it was the worst kind of death we can imagine. And this death was made even more hideous for Him, when we consider who He is. If this was the worst death that could happen to a human being then how much more gruesome for one that was the very Son of God, the King of glory. What a stark opposite there is between the glories of heaven and the place called Skull Hill. His death was not only real, it was more real than any death ever before. Not only was His death real, it was done voluntarily. When we finally understand the hideousness of this death and we understand it was done by Christ’s willing choice, we will finally understand the agony of Gethsemane. He willingly chose to take our sins upon Himself and die for us but that also meant He willingly allowed himself to be separated from His Heavenly Father. The literal meaning of our free translation of “I was dead” is “I BECAME dead.” There is voluntariness and willingness wrapped up within that idea of becoming. Christ Himself witnessed to His own voluntary offering of Himself beforehand, in His statement, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself”; and on the cross, when His life is not taken away from Him, but He says rather, “Into your hands I commend my Spirit.”

“I Am Alive Forevermore” Not only do we have the certainty of the death of Christ here, but we also have the certainty of His Resurrection. They rolled a stone in front of the tomb—they put a seal on the tomb—they stationed soldiers—but the grave could not hold Him. There have been some objections that “Jesus wasn’t the first to come back.” The examples given are the Shunammite woman’s son, Jairus’s daughter, the widow of Nain’s son, and Lazarus. But the one significant difference between Jesus and all those others is that they all RETURNED to the grave. Jesus says in this text in Revelation, “I am alive FOREVERMORE.” His Resurrection to a heavenly existence with a glorified body is not to be confused with previous resurrections of earthly bodies to an earthly existence.

“I Have The Keys Of Hades And Of Death” Jesus is the Lord over death and the grave. We certainly have in this passage several powerful statements concerning the risen Lord. But not only does He say: “I am the first and the last”; “I am He who lives”; “I am He who was dead”; and “I am alive forevermore.” He also says: “I have the keys.” I am reminded of a game we used to play when I was a Boy Scout, called “Capture the Flag.” The object of the game was to sneak into the enemy’s territory and steal the flag and get back to your own territory without being captured. If captured, you would be placed in an area that served as a prison. The game ended when someone stole the other team’s flag and made it back safely. The inevitable shout at the end of the game was, “I’ve got the flag! I’ve got the flag!” All the prisoners would then be freed, and victory was declared. In a manner of speaking, that is exactly what Jesus did by His death and Resurrection. He went into the enemy’s camp, stole the keys, and came back. And here in this passage, He makes the proclamation of victory: “I have the keys!” The prisoners are freed, the grave is no longer a prison-house to which death holds the key and Death need no longer be feared.

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14,15

Jesus Christ took the worst symbol of suffering ever known on earth—the cross—and made it a symbol of the greatest triumph. He took the thing that gives greatest fear—death—and made it the doorway to our greatest hope. Praise God for a risen, living Lord!