Ekklesia: Opening the Gates of Death
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
Prior to Christ’s resurrection, hell had two compartments: 1)Abraham’s bosom for those of the household of faith and 2) the place of torment for the condemned. We find this information by reading the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31. When Jesus died, He went into the compartment of hades identified as Abraham’s bosom or Paradise. Remember His words to the thief on the cross? “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Into the realm of death that held the covenantally faithful, Jesus descended. The saints of the Old Testament period were waiting for the legal hold of death to be broken, for the doors of death’s incarcerating power to be opened, and for the way to be made back into God’s throne. Once the fine of death was paid in full and all legal charges were cancelled, God announced a pardon for the prisoners under death’s sentence. The first Adam caused man to be cast out of God’s glory and presence; the last Adam opened the gates of hell and the gates of heaven.
Paradise held Jesus until the third day when He arose. On that day “the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matt. 27:52-53). Death and the grave were defeated by the resurrection of Jesus and the holding place for the household of faith was transferred from a section in hades into heaven. The compartment of the righteous dead emptied as the throne room filled. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (II Cor. 5:8). The unrighteous are still incarcerated in hell, waiting for the final judgment.
The revelation of Jesus Christ given to John on the Isle of Patmos was that of the risen, glorified and enthroned Son of God. Revelation 1:18 records, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” While considering the words of the Apostles’ Creed, “he descended into hell,” consideration must be given to the subject of the keys of hell and death.
Here again, the believer must divide fact from fiction. From whom did Jesus take the keys of hell? Of course, the one who holds the keys to any jail is the jailer or his appointed deputy. (Remember the old westerns?) If the key-keeper is the jailer, the question to be answered is “who is the jailer?” Who incarcerates: God or Satan? Basic knowledge of any law system gives the general clue to the answer, which is the jailing or punishing of the criminal is never the duty of the lawless or of criminals. It is, however, the responsibility of the sovereign or the designated rulers, whether they are local or national. Satan is lawless. It is God who is the judge of the whole earth. As has been noted, God, not Satan, is the jailer. Therefore, God held the keys of hell.
If God held the keys of hell, who held the keys of death? Scripture declares in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.” God appointed men to die. In Genesis 2:17, God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God appointed death for the disobedience or criminal act of Adam.
There are no scriptures that declare Satan had the authority of death. Hebrews 2:14 says that the devil had the power of death. This word power is kratos in the Greek, which means strength. The Greek word for authority is exousia. Satan did not have authority of death; he just was using death’s strength. Because the principle of death was at work in humanity, Satan used it to his advantage. A good illustration of this would be seen in a criminal using a loaded gun for his evil intent. The criminal would not be acting from a position of authority but rather from a position of strength, namely the bullet’s strength. God had the authority over death, as is demonstrated in Hezekiah’s prayer that death be stayed. God heard and granted him fifteen years (II Kings 20:1-6).
God granted the authority over death to Jesus (John 5:21-30). Concerning laying down His life, Jesus said, “I have power (exousia) to lay it down, and I have power (exousia) to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:18). As has been stated, hell and death are the penalties imposed by God upon disobedient man, the first Adam. The Last Adam, through His obedience, paid the penalty. As with any imprisonment, once the penalty is paid, the prisoner is released from jail.
Jesus paid the price for sin and brought balance to the outstanding debt that held humanity captive. Once the payment of Jesus’ life had been offered to cancel the debt, God could declare the release or pardon of the prisoners. The righteous dead could be released because death’s prison doors could be opened. He who opened the doors by His sacrificial and substitutional death was granted authority (keys) to release the prisoners. God gave to Jesus the authority or keys of death and hell. The transfer was from God to Jesus not from the devil to Jesus. The devil never had hell’s keys.
With this background, one must then determine what Jesus was declaring when he stated “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus opened hell’s gates – or the doors of death – in his resurrection. What does that mean for the church? That will be the subject of next week’s article.
Into the realm of death that held the covenantally faithful, Jesus descended. The saints of the Old Testament period were waiting for the legal hold of death to be broken, for the doors of death’s incarcerating power to be opened, and for the way to be made back into God’s throne. Once the fine of death was paid in full and all legal charges were cancelled, God announced a pardon for the prisoners under death’s sentence. The first Adam caused man to be cast out of God’s glory and presence; the last Adam opened the gates of hell and the gates of heaven.
Paradise held Jesus until the third day when He arose. On that day “the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matt. 27:52-53). Death and the grave were defeated by the resurrection of Jesus and the holding place for the household of faith was transferred from a section in hades into heaven. The compartment of the righteous dead emptied as the throne room filled. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (II Cor. 5:8). The unrighteous are still incarcerated in hell, waiting for the final judgment.
The revelation of Jesus Christ given to John on the Isle of Patmos was that of the risen, glorified and enthroned Son of God. Revelation 1:18 records, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” While considering the words of the Apostles’ Creed, “he descended into hell,” consideration must be given to the subject of the keys of hell and death.
Here again, the believer must divide fact from fiction. From whom did Jesus take the keys of hell? Of course, the one who holds the keys to any jail is the jailer or his appointed deputy. (Remember the old westerns?) If the key-keeper is the jailer, the question to be answered is “who is the jailer?” Who incarcerates: God or Satan? Basic knowledge of any law system gives the general clue to the answer, which is the jailing or punishing of the criminal is never the duty of the lawless or of criminals. It is, however, the responsibility of the sovereign or the designated rulers, whether they are local or national. Satan is lawless. It is God who is the judge of the whole earth. As has been noted, God, not Satan, is the jailer. Therefore, God held the keys of hell.
If God held the keys of hell, who held the keys of death? Scripture declares in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.” God appointed men to die. In Genesis 2:17, God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God appointed death for the disobedience or criminal act of Adam.
There are no scriptures that declare Satan had the authority of death. Hebrews 2:14 says that the devil had the power of death. This word power is kratos in the Greek, which means strength. The Greek word for authority is exousia. Satan did not have authority of death; he just was using death’s strength. Because the principle of death was at work in humanity, Satan used it to his advantage. A good illustration of this would be seen in a criminal using a loaded gun for his evil intent. The criminal would not be acting from a position of authority but rather from a position of strength, namely the bullet’s strength. God had the authority over death, as is demonstrated in Hezekiah’s prayer that death be stayed. God heard and granted him fifteen years (II Kings 20:1-6).
God granted the authority over death to Jesus (John 5:21-30). Concerning laying down His life, Jesus said, “I have power (exousia) to lay it down, and I have power (exousia) to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:18). As has been stated, hell and death are the penalties imposed by God upon disobedient man, the first Adam. The Last Adam, through His obedience, paid the penalty. As with any imprisonment, once the penalty is paid, the prisoner is released from jail.
Jesus paid the price for sin and brought balance to the outstanding debt that held humanity captive. Once the payment of Jesus’ life had been offered to cancel the debt, God could declare the release or pardon of the prisoners. The righteous dead could be released because death’s prison doors could be opened. He who opened the doors by His sacrificial and substitutional death was granted authority (keys) to release the prisoners. God gave to Jesus the authority or keys of death and hell. The transfer was from God to Jesus not from the devil to Jesus. The devil never had hell’s keys.
With this background, one must then determine what Jesus was declaring when he stated “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus opened hell’s gates – or the doors of death – in his resurrection. What does that mean for the church? That will be the subject of next week’s article.
