Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 1:18

"and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." — Revelation 1:18 (ASV)

I am he that liveth, and was dead. I was indeed once dead, but now I live, and shall continue to live forever.

This would at once identify him who appeared in this way as the Lord Jesus Christ, for to no one else could this apply. He had been put to death, but he had risen from the grave.

This also is given as a reason why John should not fear, and nothing would calm his fears more than this. He now saw that he was in the presence of that Savior whom more than half a century before he had so tenderly loved when in the flesh, and whom, though now long absent, he had faithfully served, and for whose cause he was now in this lonely island. His faith in his resurrection had not been a delusion; he saw the very Redeemer before him who had once been laid in the tomb.

Behold, I am alive forevermore. I am to live forever. Death is no more to cut me down, and I am never again to slumber in the grave. As he was always to live, he could accomplish all his promises, and fulfill all his purposes. The Savior is never to die again. He can, therefore, always sustain us in our troubles; he can be with us in our death. Whoever of our friends die, he will not die; when we die, he will still be on the throne.

Amen. This is a word here of strong affirmation—as if he had said, it is truly, or certainly so. (See Barnes' notes on Revelation 1:7).

This expression is one that the Savior often used when he wished to give emphasis, or to express anything strongly. (John 5:25).

And have the keys of hell and of death. The word rendered hell—hades—refers properly to the underworld, the abode of departed spirits, the region of the dead. This was represented as dull and gloomy, as enclosed with walls, and as entered through gates that were fastened with bolts and bars. For a description of the views that prevailed among the ancients on this subject, see Barnes’ notes on Luke 16:23, Job 10:21, and Job 10:22.

To hold the key of this was to hold the power over the invisible world. It was all the more appropriate that the Savior should represent himself as having this authority, as he had himself been raised from the dead by his own power , thereby showing that the dominion over this dark world was entrusted to him.

And of death. This is a personification. Death reigns in that world. But to his wide-extended realms the Savior holds the key, and can have access to his empire when he pleases, releasing all whom he chooses, and still confining there those whom he pleases. It is probably in part from such hints as these that Milton drew his sublime description of the gates of hell in Paradise Lost.

As Christ always lives, and as he always retains this power over the regions of the dead and the whole world of spirits, it may be further remarked that we have nothing to dread if we put our trust in him. We need not fear to enter a world that he has entered and from which he has emerged, achieving a glorious triumph. Nor do we need to fear what the dread king reigning there can do to us, for his power does not extend beyond the permission of the Savior. In his own time, that Savior will call us forth to life, to die no more.

seven stars (Revelation 1:16); candlesticks (Matthew 5:15–16).