Most people have heard of the word Hades. It’s not quite as familiar as the word Hell, and Hades isn’t exactly the same thing as Hell.
When the apostle John saw Jesus in the marvelous vision recorded in the first chapter of Revelation, Jesus was totally different than when John had traveled with Him as a disciple. You see, Jesus is glorified now. He is no longer the humble carpenter from Nazareth. Well, John was so startled he fell on his face as though dead. And in Revelation 1:17-18 Jesus touched John and said, “Do not be afraid… I have the keys of death and of Hades.” Now that is quite a statement! Jesus has all authority and He is the keymaster with regard to death and the afterlife. He can release us from death by giving to us eternal life and He can free us from the bondage in Hades by taking us to be with Him in heaven.
The word Hades is the Greek word for the place of the dead that corresponds to the Hebrew word Sheol. Actually, Hades comes from the verb to see with the alpha negative prefix meaning no or not. So the word really means not seen. It is a word to describe where people go when they die—they go to where you cannot see them anymore.
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man ends up in Hades, where he is in torment. So Hades is not a nice place. But in Revelation 20:14 we are told that at the Last Judgement, death and Hades will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. So Hades isn’t really Hell, but it is the first step to Hell.
The good news, however, is that Jesus has the key to Hades and will release all who come to Him as Savior.