Wahyu 1:18

1:18 and the one who lives! I ¹  was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! ² 

Wahyu 3:7

To the Church in Philadelphia

3:7 “To ³  the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: ⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ⁵  the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors ⁶  no one can shut, and shuts doors ⁷  no one can open:

Wahyu 9:1

9:1 Then ⁸  the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky ⁹  to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. ¹⁰ 

Wahyu 20:1-3

The Thousand Year Reign

20:1 Then ¹¹  I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding ¹²  in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 20:2 He ¹³  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ¹⁴  then ¹⁵  threw him into the abyss and locked ¹⁶  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

[1:18]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:18]  ² tn Concerning “Hades” BDAG 19 s.v. ᾅδης 1 and 2 states: “Orig. proper noun, god of the nether world, ‘Hades’, then the nether world, Hades as place of the dead, Ac 2:27, 31 (Ps 15:10; Eccl 9:10; PGM 1, 179; 16, 8; Philo, Mos. 1, 195; Jos., Bell. 1, 596, Ant. 6, 332). Of Jonah’s fish ἐκ τοῦ κατωτάτου ᾅδου. In the depths, contrasted w. heaven ἕως (τοῦ) ᾅδου Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15 (PsSol 15:10; cp.; Is 14:11, 15); ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ 16:23; ἐν ῝Αιδου ApcPt Rainer. Accessible by gates (but the pl. is also used [e.g. Hom., X., Ael. Aristid. 47, 20 K.=23 p. 450 D.] when only one gate is meant), hence πύλαι ᾅδου (Il. 5, 646; Is 38:10; Wsd 16:13; 3 Macc 5:51; Pss. Sol. 16:2. – Lucian, Menipp. 6 the magicians can open τοῦ ῝Αιδου τὰς πύλας and conduct people in and out safely) Mt 16:18…locked ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου Rv 1:18 (the genitives are either obj. [Ps.-Apollod. 3, 12, 6, 10 Aeacus, the son of Zeus holds the κλεῖς τοῦ ῝Αιδου; SEG VIII, 574, 3 (III ad) τῷ τὰς κλεῖδας ἔχοντι τῶν καθ᾿ ῝Αιδου (restored)] or possess.; in the latter case death and Hades are personif.; s. 2)…Hades personif.…w. θάνατος (cp. Is 28:15; Job 38:17…) Rv 6:8; 20:13f.”

[1:18]  sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Matt 11:23; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

[3:7]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:7]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[3:7]  ⁶ tn The word “door” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied in the translation. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. Since the following verse does contain the word “door” (θύραν, quran), that word has been supplied as the direct object here.

[3:7]  ⁷ tn See the note on the word “door” earlier in this verse.

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[9:1]  ¹⁰ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

[20:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:1]  ¹² tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.

[20:2]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.