Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message Two
Christ Having the Keys of Death and Hades
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 1:17~18 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead; and He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not fear; I am the First and the Last; and the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
I. “I am the First and the Last and the living One”—Rev. 1:17b-18a: (Monday)
A. The Lord Jesus is not only the First but also the Beginning, and not only the Last but also the End—21:6; 22:13.
B. Christ is not only the First and the Last but also the Beginning and the End; this assures us that having started the church life, He will surely accomplish it—cf. 2 Tim. 4:5.
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II. “I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever”—1:18a: (Tuesday)
A. Christ entered into death, but death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24), because He is the resurrection (John 11:25).
B. The more living we are, the more we are the testimony of the living Jesus—Rev. 12:11.
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III. After His death in the flesh, Christ in His living Spirit as His divinity went to the abyss to these rebellious angels to proclaim God’s victory, accomplished through His incarnation in Christ and Christ’s death in the flesh, over Satan’s scheme to derange the divine plan—1 Pet. 3:19-20a. (Wednesday)
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IV. In Romans 10:7 abyss points to the place Christ visited after His death and before His resurrection, which place, according to Acts 2:24 and 27, is Hades, for Acts 2:24 and 27 reveal that Christ went into Hades after He died and rose from that place in His resurrection—Rom. 10:7; Acts 2:24, 27. (Thursday)
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V. In Revelation 1:18b the Lord Jesus says, “I have the keys of death and of Hades”: (Friday, Saturday)
A. In the church life, however, we are no longer subject to death and Hades—Phil. 3:10-11.
B. Although death tried its best to hold Christ, it was powerless to do so—Acts 2:24.
C. Because Christ is the One in the church who is the Holder of the keys of death and Hades, death and Hades should not have any power over us—Rev. 1:18.
D. In the church life the keys of death and Hades are in the Lord’s hand—Rev. 1:18.
E. If we give the Lord Jesus the ground, the opportunity, and the free way to move and act among us, both death and Hades will be under His control—Matt. 16:18; Rev. 20:14.
F. We should praise the Lord that Christ has the keys of death and of Hades—1:18; Heb. 13:15; 1 Pet. 1:7; Rev. 19:5-6.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
…I am the First and the Last and the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades—Rev. 1:17-18.
Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, since it was not possible for Him to be held by it—Acts 2:24.
Word of Appetizer
Why is it very important for us to see that Christ holds the keys—the authority—of death and of Hades?
Because Christ in the church is the One who holds the keys of death and of Hades, death and Hades should not have any power over us. In the church life, the keys of death and of Hades are in the Lord’s hand. It is impossible for us to deal with death; we simply do not have the power to handle death. Whenever death comes in, many are overcome by it. But if we give the Lord Jesus the standing, the opportunity, and the free way to move and act among us, death and Hades will be under His control.
Spiritual Burden
Christ is not only the First and the Last but also the beginning and the end; this assures us that since He has begun the church life, He will surely complete it. Christ is the living One; the emphasis is that He is eternally living and is living in us.
Because Christ in the church is the One who holds the keys of death and of Hades, death and Hades should not have any power over us; in the church life, the keys of death and of Hades are in the Lord’s hand.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
“I am the First and the Last and the living One.”
“I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever.”
“In this Spirit He [Christ]…went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.”
“I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth, and to him was given the key of the abyss.”
In Revelation 1:18b the Lord Jesus said, “I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
The Experience of Life
Christ is not only the First and the Last but also the beginning and the end; this assures us that since He has begun the church life, He will surely complete it. This Christ, who walks in the midst of the churches, who is the Head of the churches, and to whom the churches belong, is the living One; therefore, the local churches manifested as His Body should also be living, fresh, and strong.
Christ is the living One; the emphasis is that He is eternally living and is living in us; the more we live, the more we are a testimony of the living Jesus.
Practice and Application
It is very important for us to see that Christ holds the keys—the authority—of death and of Hades; in the church life, we are no longer under the dominion of death and of Hades; because Christ in the church is the One who holds the keys of death and of Hades, death and Hades should not have any power over us.
If we give the Lord Jesus the standing, the opportunity, and the free way to move and act among us, death and Hades will be under His control.
We should praise the Lord that Christ holds the keys of death and of Hades.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 The Lord Jesus Is Not Only the First but also the Beginning; Not Only the Last but also the End (Rev. 22:13)
(Please illustrate that no one is before Christ and no one is after Him; He is the origin of all things, and He is also the consummation of all things.)
T2 The Lord Is Our Everything; We Should Not Make Excuses That Our Environment Is Too Difficult (Rev. 2:8; 22:13)
(Please illustrate that we should exercise our faith to believe in this All-Inclusive One; He is the Alpha, and He is the Omega.)
Day 2
T1 The Lord Suffered Death, but He Lived Again (Rev. 1:17-18)
(Please illustrate that we must learn to enjoy Christ as the living One; the more we live, the more we are a testimony of the living Jesus.)
T2 Christ Lives Forever and Lives in Us (Rev. 1:18; Gal. 2:20)
(Please illustrate how we should live by Him.)
Day 3
T1 On the Cross, Christ’s Flesh Died, but His Spirit Did Not Die (1 Pet. 3:18-20)
(Please illustrate the spiritual significance of “being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit”.)
T2 Christ’s Work in His Burial (1 Pet. 3:18-20)
(Please illustrate that although Christ was put to death in the body, He was ignited and empowered in the Spirit.)
Day 4
T1 Satan Will Be Cast from Heaven to the Earth at the Beginning of the Last Three and a Half Years (Rev. 9:1-2)
(Please illustrate what the key to the abyss was given to Satan for after he was cast from heaven to the earth.)
T2 Satan Opened the Abyss, and Locusts Came Out of the Smoke from the Abyss onto the Earth (Rev. 9:1-3)
(Please illustrate what the abyss mentioned in Romans 10:7, Luke 8:31, and Revelation 9:1, 11:7, and 20:1 refers to.)
Day 5
T1 Christ Is God and the Resurrection, Having an Indestructible Life (Rev. 1:17-18)
(Please illustrate that in the church life, we are no longer governed by death and Hades.)
T2 The Lord Was Persecuted unto Death, but Death Was Not the End but the Gate into Resurrection (Acts 2:24)
(Please illustrate that the resurrection of Christ overcame death, Satan, Hades, and the grave.)
Day 6
T1 The Gates of Hades Refer to the Dark Power or Authority of Satan (Matt. 16:18; Rev. 20:14)
(Please illustrate that the lake of fire is the trash can of the entire universe; all negative things, including death and Hades, will be cast into it.)
T2 Revelation Unveils Christ to Us in a Transcendent Way (Rev. 1:14; 5:6)
(Illustrating with examples the different ways the same Christ is revealed in Revelation.)
