Rev 1:18 I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Rev 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

For perhaps the first time since we have started these studies in this Revelation of Jesus Christ, we hope to cover more than one verse. We have covered most of what we see in the remaining three verses already. What we need to do as we cover these next three verses is to notice how they reinforce what we have seen already, and to always keep in mind the opening admonition to "keep the things which are written therein, for the time is at hand.

The only people who "read and hear the words of this prophecy and keep the things which are written therein" are those to whom it is "given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God:

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in
parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Rev 1:18 (a) I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore,
Amen...Rev 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and
the things which shall be hereafter;

part of verse 18 and all of verse 19 make the 4th and 5th times in this one chapter alone that we are reminded of the nature of the words of this prophecy and the nature of the author of the words of this prophecy. Here now, is Christ's example to us, as to how we are to apply this knowledge.

This is the supposedly "apocalyptic" 24th chapter of Matthew. But let's ask the question that never seems to occur to the dispensationalists. What if Matthew 24 were being read by someone in 100 A.D. or 1000 A. D. or 1500 A.D. or 2000 A.D? What application would "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" have to do with those people? Well, if we approach God's Word with the singular, dispensational, apocalyptic, end time approach, which the whole orthodox Christian world has given to these words, then they have no application whatever to anyone who reads of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place." "Whoso reads" would have no application to anyone other than someone reading that prophecy of Daniel in the generation in which "the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ." But that is not how Christ intended for His words to be taken. That is not how Christ's Words are to be understood, and he makes that super clear in this same 24th chapter of Matthew. Here is how Christ meant for His words to be applied and understood:

Christ tells us that "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" was fulfilled in Christ's own generation! But He is also telling us that it was also fulfilled in 100, 1000, 1500 and 2000 A.D. Who ever "reads and understands" fulfills that prophecy in every generation. "Who reads and understands" IS "this generation which shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled."

So that is why Christ repeatedly tells us that He is "the first and the last," and His words "are, were and will be." We have already covered these verses earlier in this chapter, but just so this point is made clear, here again are the other three times, in this one chapter, that this very special doctrine is repeated and emphasized for our edification who have ears to hear and eyes which see. It is a doctrine which is hidden from the eyes of this world:

Rev 1:11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest,
write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and
unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,
and unto Laodicea.

This verse is true, but it is true in the context of God's sovereignty, and in the context of the sum of God's word, both of which reveal that Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth, and Satan's powers are under Christ's 'keys.'

"The keys of hell and of death" are held by the same man who has "the keys of the kingdom of heaven," the key of knowledge, the key of David and the key of the bottomless pit," and Christ holds all of those keys, and if He is in us, then we too, have "the keys of death and hell, the keys to the kingdom of heaven, the key of knowledge, the key of David and the key of the bottomless pit."