Expert: Marilyn - 10/10/2010

Question
Where does it say in the bible that Christ took some key from Satan? I know he is the angel with the keys of hell aka the angel of the bottomless pit.

Answer
Hello Kaven;

Revelation 1:18, Jesus is speaking, "I am the Living One, I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

Before Jesus was crucified the place the Greeks called "Hades" and the Hebrews called "Sheol" was inhabited both by the righteous dead and the wicked. The wicked in Sheol: Psalm 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; Isaiah 5:14; the righteous in Sheol: Genesis 37:35; Job 14:13; Psalm 6:5; 16:10; 88:3; Isaiah 38:10.

Jesus told a story, found in Luke 16:19-31 about a poor man named Lazarus, Abraham and a rich man...all dead, except Lazarus and Abraham were in a pleasant location while the rich man was in a place of burning torment. These two sections of Sheol or Hades were separated by a great chasm. This story is believed to be factual rather than a parable because it is the only one in which Jesus used proper names. It illustrates what the Old Testament saints were saying when they spoke of their deaths...being gathered to their fathers etc. rather than going to Heaven.

When Jesus hung on the cross between the two thieves, one mocked Him, but the other believed in Him. Jesus turned to him and said, "This day shalt thou be with me in paradise," Luke 23:43. Jesus refers to the pleasant part of Hades where He was about to go and release the captives, Ephesians 4:7-10; Psalm 68:18.

Sincerely,

Marilyn