Did Jesus fight Satan for the keys to the kingdom?

When the apostle John saw the Lord in the vision of Revelation 1, and fell at His feet as dead, He said to him, "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that lives and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hades and of death." He says as it were to John, and to you and me, I have been down there where you were as sinners, under the sentence of death — I was there without sin, and death had no claim upon Me, but in grace I went right down into the very scene of death's dominion, the very stronghold of Satan's power, and I have overcome him in his stronghold, which was death. This blessed truth is wonderfully unfolded in Hebrews 2: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (vers. 14, 15). He can now say: I am He that lives, and was dead; I have been down to the very region of death, where your sin would have taken you; I have gone down into it in grace, and I have met the one who had the power of death; I have gone through the dark tunnel of the grave, and in my path through that tunnel, I have met him who had the power of death — symbolised by the keys — I have plucked the keys from his girdle, I have wrenched the sceptre from his hand. He is a defeated foe, and I am alive for evermore: fear not. Bless the Lord! I say from the bottom of my heart. I know a Saviour in glory who has overcome Satan, and put away my sins; He has burst the bonds of death, broken the bars of the tomb, and now in all His beauty and glory, He is the risen, ascended, glorified Saviour, at God's right hand. I trust Him, and He saves me, just as Israel that day was saved with God's salvation.

"Behold, I am alive unto the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades." The succession of these words in the common text is a mistake. Hades follows death, and does not go before it. (Rev. 6) See also Rev. 20 where we have "death and hades" mentioned several times in their regular order. And so in the best authorities it is here. When the Lord says that He has the keys of death and of hades, He intimates that He is the absolute master of all that might threaten man whether for the body or the soul. Satan's power in this respect is annulled; Christ has it all.

Before I pass on to Ephesians, I add here another system in which Peter is given a place of authority on earth - not the Church at all, but the Kingdom of heaven. The keys not of heaven, not of the Church - there are no keys of the Church, there is a Builder, Christ. Nor are there any persons bound here at all. Anything formally enacted by Peter was warranted and sanctioned by heaven. He had the administration of the Kingdom confided to him. "The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder," is said of Hilkiah. A housekeeper, or intendant has the keys, and administers, as a trust, the household affairs. Peter did so in the kingdom and with full authority. Though in fact he did let in the Jews, he did let in the Gentiles, a most immensely important act, for it was changing the whole divinely constituted order - an uncircumcised man was received into the Kingdom. Chapter 13 shows us prophetically this would be spoiled, but that was prophecy, this administration. Simon Magus did not escape Peter though he did Philip. Philip admitted him, but he was soon detected when Peter and John came. This was not solely Peter, but the admission of Jews and Gentiles was the full power of the keys. It was not the Body, nor the revelation of the Body. The giving of the Holy Ghost was no way Peter's act. He was anticipated by a witness of God. I do not mean that admission was the power of the keys, but Peter was administering the Kingdom - I should apprehend when Ananias and Sapphira fell dead also - thus, in one sense, binding and loosing would refer to sins, but in judicial administration as on earth. Binding in heaven is the divine sanction.

Satan had the power of death, but in the cross of Christ not only was redemption accomplished, the claims of God met, and the blood shed that would blot out sin, so that we could be righteously justified before God; but there is also the absolute annulling of the power of Satan. Christ went down into death — the very citadel of Satan's power — overcame him, and left the stronghold of the enemy without strength, i.e., He burst "the gates of hades," annulled death, and broke the power of the tomb. God raised Him from the dead, and today He is a risen, victorious Christ; and upon this rock of the unchangeable power of life in Him the Assembly is built. If you he a part of what He calls "My assembly," no power of Satan will ever be able to dislodge, undermine, or upset you.

Here is the deduction. "Since then the children have a common share (κεκοινώνηκεν) of blood and flesh, he also himself in like manner took part in the same, that through death he might annul him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver all those that by fear of death were through the whole of their life subject to bondage" (verses 14, 15). The Son of God became man, as the children were men, in order to meet Satan in his last stronghold of death, and thus by dying exhaust his power for those who being under law were harassed all their life long by fear in their conscience. It is plain that the enemy is here in view, as God was in verse 10, and as the sufferings of Christ vindicated God's holy nature and character, leaving His love free to act in saving us and bringing us to glory, so did His death break Satan's power to nought and deliver from fear the troubled saints, henceforth in peace, for He was raised for their justification. Satan is no longer to the believer the King of terrors. Christ has disarmed the enemy by submitting to death, and his power is gone for ever for His own. His resurrection proved the seal of death broken for us, as for us He died; and our resurrection will be the demonstration of its truth, not to us that believe who have in ourselves the witness of His grace and glory, but to all who disbelieve, rejecting Christ and the gospel.

A threefold glory of Christ appears: what is personal in the robe, girdle, and hair; what is relative in His eyes, feet, and voice; and finally, what is official in His right hand, mouth, and countenance. But there is more also. For it is said, "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last." It was no similitude of mere man, but the Lord. Such terms alone become One who is divine. He who is first is necessarily God; and He who is first, being God, must certainly be last. Jesus declares Himself to be all this; yea, more than this, "the living one, and I became dead." He deigned not only to become man, but as willingly to die, cost what it might, as His death did everything to blot out the evil and prepare for all blessing. The phrase is the strongest way of putting the matter. It is not merely that He died: this is not quite what He says here, though it is said elsewhere, and very truly. He says that He "became" dead. This forcibly implies His own willingness to die, as indeed He became what did not belong to Him personally, and what seemed extraordinarily incongruous with the glorious person as already described. Is it not conveyed in the peculiarity of the phrase? So careful is the Holy Ghost to watch over the dignity of Christ even in that which told out the depths of His humiliation. "And, behold, I am living unto the ages of the ages." He is the vanquisher of death, and of him who had its power. We must leave out the word "Amen," which here, being spurious, only and evidently mars the sense.

42 Then I get Satan in view (we had God in view before): "That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." It was through death that Satan exercised all his power; He committed Himself wholly to that, and in the resurrection of Christ all Satan's power was over - that is, it is Christ's work that annuls it.

Verse 14 is as clear on this as verse 9 had been before. Only death could meet the tragic situation in which we were found. Death is possible for man since he is a partaker of flesh and blood. His blood may be shed, his flesh go to corruption, his spirit depart to God who gave it — and all this is impossible to angels. Death is actually passed as the Divine sentence upon all men because of sin, and Satan who at the outset manoeuvred man into disobedience, now wields the power of death in the consciences of men, making them afraid and thereby holding them in bondage. What could destroy (that is, annul or bring to nothing, make of no effect) the devil and the power he wields? One thing only. Nothing but DEATH could annul death. And it must be the death of a MAN to annul death for men. All this was fulfilled. The Captain of our salvation, by taking part in flesh and blood, became a true Man, and for us He died.

(5.) Christ took human nature most really, though not in a state identical with ours (as is more fully explained — strange that it should be needed by the believer! — in Hebrews 4:15); but He took it to die, that through death He might destroy (annul, render void) him that has the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver, etc. To avail for God's glory or even for us, it was into death that grace led the Saviour. There only could Satan's might be brought to nought; thus only could redemption be wrought, a ruined creation be reconciled to God, guilty souls be atoned for effectually and for ever. All this and more was done by the death of Christ, though its power be displayed in resurrection alone. All else fails to vindicate God, annul Satan, or deliver man.

Here we have the deliverance of Christ's people through His death from all the power of Satan. Satan had the judicial power of death. That he got through man in Eden deliberately taking his word instead of God's. "The woman was deceived, being in the transgression," and the man deliberately, with eyes open, accepted all the consequences of being under the serpent's rule. "Therefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin," Satan became, in that way, the prince and god of this world, and had the power of death. Thus death was the judicial infliction of God upon man, and Satan was connected with it in such a way that Scripture says he had the power, or authority, of death. Satan in that way was the executioner of God's judgment upon man. And how he has used his authority! How he has held the fear of death over people's heads! How he has driven them frantic with terror, made them suffer, turned their religion into superstition, made them commit incredible acts of cruelty through the fear of death! Satan is master of man's religion, and you will find that most of it is dictated by the fear of death.