I was in the
church today, and the preacher started his preaching from Revelation
1:12-20. There, starting from verse 10 we read:
Revelation 14:12-20
"I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a
loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I’m the Alpha and the Omega, the
First and the Last," and, "what you see write in a book and
send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: To Ephesus to Smyrna to
Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to
Laodicea." Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And
having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the
seven lampstands One like Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the
feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair
were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of
fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His
voice as the sound of many waters; He had in his right hand seven stars,
out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was
like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I felt at His
feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do
not be afraid; I’m 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. Write the things which you have seen, and the things
which are and the things which will take place after this. The mystery
of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden
lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and
the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches."
What draw very much my attention here, together with
the glorious appearance of our Lord, is verse 18 where the Lord says:
"AND I HAVE THE KEYS OF HADES AND DEATH". Jesus has the keys
of Death! He is the "who lives, and was dead, and behold He (Jesus)
is alive forever". Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us:
Hebrews 2:14-15
"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He
himself like wise shared in the same, THAT THROUGH DEATH HE MIGHT
DESTROY HIM WHO HAS THE POWER OF DEATH, THAT IS, THE DEVIL, and release
those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage"
(NKJV-RSV)
Jesus Christ
came to destroy the one that has the power of death, the devil, and He
did this through his death. Jesus holds the keys of Death and Hades. A
day will come that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of man and
will be raised! The voice of Jesus Christ, the one that keeps the keys
of death, will raise them all, great and small, Christians and none
(independent of time I speak here), ALL! Jesus holds the keys of death
and therefore, He is able to release those who through the fear of death
were subject to bondage all their lifetime. We are no longer under the
bondage of death. We are no longer captive by death. If
you believe in the Captain of life, in Jesus Christ, the Lord and
Savior, "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe
in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved"
(Romans 10:9) and have eternal life!!! Even if you taste death still
Jesus holds the keys to death. The day will come that you will hear His
voice. The day will come that you will get a body like His body. A day
will come that you will sit in His right hand side. A day will come that
you will see Him as He is. A day will come that you will be with Him
eternally. A day will come that you will go to the place He has prepared
for us in the Father’s house (John 14:2-3). Jesus Christ the prince of
life, the Son of God, the Lord and Savior loves you my friend. Nothing
can separate you from His love. You are His wonderful bride! You are the
one He is engaged with. Yes YOU! II Corinthians 4:18 tell us that those
things that are seen are temporary but those that are not seen are
eternal. Which realities do we see? Which realities do we follow?
Temporary or eternal? Far too many go after what they see, the
temporary. Far too many are under the bondage of death. But not we
Christians. Not we, the sons of the Eternal God. We have as much life as
our Father has: ETERNAL. All of us we have lost or we will probably lose
a loved person. All of us we need to keep in our hearts and minds what
the Lord said to Martha who had very recently lost her brother: "I
am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me though he may
die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never
die" (John 11:25-26). Jesus is coming and nobody can stop Him. He
will open and who will close? He is coming and the dead will hear His
voice. And your loved ones, if they are brothers and sisters, are going
to appear with Him. Nothing is going to hold them. Nothing is going to
stop them. Nothing is going to keep them. Look here what the Spirit says
in I Thessalonians 4:13-18
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those
who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring
with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of
the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord
will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will
descent from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and
with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
"Lest you
sorrow as others who have no hope"… There are others that have no
hope. There are others that look at the temporary, have fixed their eyes
on the temporary and have no hope. But not we. Jesus, the Alpha and the
Omega, the first and the last, the Lord and the Savior and the Captain
of Life IS COMING. And the dead in Christ shall rise first! Then all
those that are alive will be caught in the air to meet the Lord there.
What a wonderful meeting this is going to be! We will ALL, ALL those
that believe in Him, be there! This is our hope and this is our comfort.
Revelation 21:4
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be
no more death, not sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for
the former things have passed away."
Tassos Kioulachoglou
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