The defendant, Marcel van Bulck, while admiring what he expressed to be “thebadassery” of this story, expressed skepticism toward the Biblical validity of such a

claim.

 “That sounds like bullshit, Rose,” claimed the defendant.The plaintiff, Rose, insisted that this account was real and Biblical.“Would you like me to get out the Bible, Marc?”“I don’t think-““Would you like me to get out the Bible, Marc?” the plaintiff asked in an air of confident mockery.The defendant agreed that he would love to hear the story, and the plaintiff producedher King James Version of the Bible. After some research, the plaintiff produced thefollowing Biblical scripture:“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; andhave the keys of hell and of death.”Revelation 1:18, King James Version 

After some remarks from the peanut gallery concerning the usage of the King James version of the Bible as opposed to the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which simply refers to hell as “Hades” (“I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades” –Rev. 1: 18 NRSV), the plaintiff insisted on theusage of the King James Version interpretation of the Scripture. 

Regardless of the interpretation of the Scripture, the defendant, Marcel van Bulck,remarked that there seems to be a slight difference between “Jesus had an epic postcrucifixion fight after which He won the keys to Hell” and “I am he that liveth and was dead…and have the keys of hell and of death.” 

While this minor detail was agreed upon, the defendant, Marcel van Bulck, in his insistence on being a thorough Biblical scholar (as well as being a grade-A asshole) decided some brief exegesis of the text might be in order to perhaps add to the discussion. 

The debate as to whether the New Revised Standard Version or the King James Version is more valid is a slippery slope, so the defendant decided to go to the source –the original Greek. 

Now, unfortunately I don’t have the Greek font on my Mac, so please bare with my rough transliterations printed here. In Revelation 1:18, the word for “Hell” comes from the Greek word, “Adou,” which, as it turns out, does actually translate into “Hades,” which is what the NRSV said, (I’m just sayin’…), which is not to be confused with “Sheol,” the Hebrew word for the abode of the dead, which I think any decent Old Testament scholar would agree is not the same thing.1 

According to Goodrick, Swanswon, and Kohlenberger’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Greek New Testament, the Greek word for Hades appears in different Greek forms. “Adou,” “Ade,’ “Ades,” and “Aden,” and the four forms appear in the following Scriptures. 

“Adou”“And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remaineduntil this day.”- Matthew 11:23 

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates ofHades will not prevail against it.”-Matthew 16: 18 

“And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades.”-Luke 10:15 

“I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and ofHades.”-Revelation 1:18 

“Ade”“In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away withLazarus by his side.”-Luke 16: 23 

 “Ades”“I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hadesfollowed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword,famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth.”-Revelation 6:8 

“And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead thatwere in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. Then Death andHades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire”-Revelation 20:14 

“Aden”“For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,or let your Holy One experience corruption.”-Acts 2:27 

Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,“He was not abandoned to Hades,nor did his flesh experience corruption.”-Acts 2:312 

For the sake of full disclosure, these quotes were all taken from the NRSV and not the King James mostly because I like it better (and I have it in front of me right now). However, it scarcely matters. Regardless of which version you are choosing to read from, NRSV or King James all of these references to “Hell” or “Hades” each come from the same Greek word used in the Revelation text, and these are the only other instances inthe New Testament that refer to this word, “adou,” that also refers to “keys.” And literally none of them mention any kind of epic battle in hell between Jesus and…well…whoever. 

But what about these keys that Revelation talks about? Where do they come from? What is their significance? Is it possible that they refer to something else that could possibly allude to the plaintiff’s claim? 

Maybe the Interpretation Series can shed some light on this particular text. The Interpretation series has this to say about Revelation 1:18: “The One who calls them to be faithful even at the cost of their own lives is theOne who embraces us all, who will be there at the End to vindicate and receivethem, the one who has already gone before them through the reality of death. Noaloof deity this, but one who says matter-of-factly that he has taken death into hisown experience, has overcome it, has the keys of death and hades. In Hellenisticmythology the keys of Hades were often thought to be in the possession of Hekate,who controlled the revelatory traffic between the other world and this one (Aune,‘The Apocalypse of John and Greco-Roman Magic,’ pp. 484-89). John castsJesus in this role. Death is portrayed here, as elsewhere in the Bible, as apersonified power, the enemy that enslaves and robs (cf.. 6:8; 20:14; 1 Cor.15:26). Christians are not promised that if they are faithful they will be acquittedin the Roman courts and spared from the injustice of death; in and through death

they are met by the One who has conquered death and abides as the living one.”3

 The Book of Revelation certainly seems to proclaim that Christ has overcome the experience of death. Is this even a literal reference to an understanding of “Hell” or “Hades” or even just simply the experience of death? Sure, why not? 

However, nowhere does this suggest any canonical, Biblical evidence of some epic post-crucifixion battle in a literal Hell where Jesus wrestled Satan or whoever else for these alleged literal, non-Greek-mythological “keys.” 

The defense has nothing further at this time, your honor. 

Your move, Southwell. 

1 Brown, Robert K., Comfort, Philip W. The New Greek-English Interlinear NewTestament. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois. 853.2 Kohlenberger III, John R., Goodrick, Edward W., Swanson, James A. The ExhaustiveConcordanc to the Greek New Testament. Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids,Michigan. 1995. 82. 

3 Boring, M. Eugene. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching:Revelation. John Knox Press. Louisville, KY. 1989. 84. 

BIBLIOGRAPHYBoring, M. Eugene. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching:Revelation. John Knox Press. Louisville, KY. 1989. 84.Brown, Robert K., Comfort, Philip W. The New Greek-English Interlinear NewTestament. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois. 853.Kohlenberger III, John R., Goodrick, Edward W., Swanson, James A. The ExhaustiveConcordanc to the Greek New Testament. Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids,

Michigan. 1995. 82.