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.



Ver. 18. That liveth and was dead] So can every regenerate man say, Luk_16:31; Eph_2:1. {See Trapp on "Eph_2:1"} All saints are "heirs of the grace of life," 1Pe_3:7.



And have the keys] The pope, therefore, is not key keeper, as he falsely boasteth, telling us, that God hath put under his feet the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea; that is (as he interprets it), all the souls in earth, heaven, and purgatory. Christ, as a conqueror, hath the keys of hell and death delivered unto him.