The Devil in Hebrews

Let's look at the “devil” in Hebrews 2:14 at a deeper level - there is something intriguing we usually miss.

By RICHARD MORGAN

Read Time: 20 minutes

When speaking to those who believe in a supernatural devil, we often take them to Hebrews 2:14, where we read that Jesus was of the same nature as us, “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”1 Strong arguments can be made from this verse to prove that the term “the devil” does not refer to the supernatural being of apostate Christianity. Usually, the conclusion is that the “devil” here refers to sin in the flesh or human nature. 

However, we miss a lot by looking at the verse out of its immediate context and that of the book of Hebrews. This instance is the only time we encounter the word “devil” in the Book of Hebrews. For that reason alone, it should pique our interest in why the Spirit chose this word in this context29. We need to fit the use of the word devil into the following scenario:

• Hebrews was written to warn Jewish Christians against returning to the Law of Moses.
• The book’s main subject is the superior priesthood of Christ over that under the Law.
• Hebrews 2 is about Christ’s future dominion and superiority over the angels.

In verses 5 to 8, a quotation from Psalm 8 proves Christ’s superiority over the angels. The writer makes an excellent case for Christ’s superior priesthood since angels and priests perform the same function as ministers and similar arguments are used for Christ’s superiority over the angels, the same as his superiority over the priesthood under the Law.2 The argument goes that whereas the Psalm speaks of Jesus as “a little while lower than the angels” (Psalm 8:5 KJV), he has now been “crowned… with glory and honour”3 and hence raised to a greater status.

The reason for Jesus being made lower than the angels is given as “so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9). By using the phrase “taste death” here, the writer echoes John 8, where the Jews question Jesus’ teaching by saying, “You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’” (John 8:52). This is a misquote of what Jesus really said but is what Hebrews picks up on. It is one of a series of allusions that the early chapters in Hebrews make to this context,4 because the question in Hebrews 7 and 8 is what authority Jesus had regarding what he said about the Law.5

The allusion helps us identify the devil since the word is in the context Hebrews directed our attention to. Jesus is discussing with the Jews and rebukes them forcibly by saying, “You are of your father the devil.” (John 8:44). This proclamation was a counterpunch to their implied false accusation that Jesus was “born of sexual immorality” (verse 41) because he would have appeared to be an illegitimate son of Mary.6

Jesus says the devil “was a murderer from the beginning,” alluding to Cain’s killing of his brother Abel and forecasting his own death at the hands of his brethren. Spiritually speaking, Cain was born of sexual immorality (1 John 3:8-15), and this is what Jesus is saying to the Jews. We can also think of the law of the cities of refuge that if a man killed someone “in enmity” (Numbers 35:21), they were counted as a murderer, just like Cain. This law is taken up in Ephesians 2, which speaks of Christ’s sacrifice in these terms: 

By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:15-16) 

This is a key verse in our understanding of the devil in Hebrews since the word “abolishing” (Gk. katargeo) is the same as the word “destroy” in Hebrews 2:14. The passage states that the “hostility” (the conflict between the serpent and the seed of the woman) is two things: the Law, and in alluding to the law concerning the cities of refuge, the antagonism between those who oppose each other, like Cain and Abel. The phrase “killing the hostility” alludes to the end of Numbers 35:21, which says, “Put the murderer to death,” but in fact, it is the enmity between the murderer and his foe that is slain in Ephesians. Thus, it is the root cause of the animosity that is solved by Christ’s death,7 and this enmity, says Ephesians, is actually the law of commandments.8

A second clue as to the identification of the devil is in Hebrews 2:10, where Jesus is called “the founder of their salvation.” The word “founder” (Gk. Archegos9) is only used four times in the New Testament and always of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each time the word occurs, the context is the same:

The God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses… And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 10 (Acts 3:13-15, 17).

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior. (Acts 5:30-31).

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.11 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself. (Hebrews 12:2-3).

In each of these passages, the Lord Jesus, as the “Author,” “Leader,” or “founder,” is suffering under the hand of the Jewish authorities who were murderers. Ironically, the people “asked for a murderer” in place of Jesus and chose the serpent over the seed of the woman, thus becoming the seed of the serpent and murderers themselves. 

The third item of evidence for identifying the devil in Hebrews is seen in three Old Testament quotations in Hebrews 2:12-13. While each of the contexts quoted helps prove the writer’s point that Jesus is “not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11), they also continue to give us insight into the devil of verse 14. The key element in each context is those who are the enemies of Christ. 

Hebrews 2:12 quotes Psalm 22:22 in a context, which is obviously about Jesus on the cross. In the psalm, Jesus is “despised by the people” (verse 6) and beset around with enemies (verses 7-8, 12-13, 16-18.) Hebrews 2:13 contains two quotations, the first from Psalm 18:2. We will look at this psalm later, but note the context speaks a lot about enemies (verses 4, 17, 37-38, 40, 42, 48). The final quotation is from Isaiah 8:18. A few verses before, the prophet speaks of Jesus as “a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel… And many shall stumble on it.” (Isaiah 8:14-15). This passage refers to the Jews who stumbled at the death of Christ and the teaching of the New Covenant. (1 Corinthians 1:23; Romans 9:32-33).

We can now read Hebrews 2:14 with the following evidence provided by the allusions and quotations that the previous verses have made:

• Jesus was made lower than the angels to suffer a death at the hands of his brethren, the Jews, who are murderers.
• Jesus was raised to a status higher than the angels and, as the chief leader, has had all rulers put under his feet.
• The rulers of the Jews put Jesus to death for his preaching about the Law of Moses.

There is an interesting allusion to the life of Samson in Hebrews 2:14: “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death.” We are told of Samson that “the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.” (Judges 16:30). This happened after Delilah betrayed him in a typical event that points forward to the betrayal by Judas. The “lords of the Philistines” (verse 5) who approached Delilah stood for the chief priests (Matthew 26:14-16) who wanted to “bind him to humble him.” As with the betrayal of Jesus, a reward of silver was offered. 

Significantly, Samson is referred to as the “enemy” of the Philistines (Judges 16:23-24), and they say, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country.” By being in their hands, Samson was under their power but was soon to fulfill his title as destroyer just as Jesus “destroyed him that hath the power of death.” 

The words “power of death” allude to an Old Testament prophecy:

I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. (Hosea 13:14).

The word “grave” in Hebrew is sheol and is identical in Hebrew to the name “Saul.”12 In fact, two Sauls are alluded to in Hosea. Firstly, there is King Saul: “I gave you a king in my anger.” (verse 11). He was the one the people desired: “You said, ‘Give me a king and princes’” (verse 10), pointing forward to the rejection of the Prince of Life in favor of a murderer (Acts 3:14-15). 

The second Saul is Saul of Tarsus, who, when he was the Apostle Paul, alludes to his old life when quoting Hosea 13:

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-56).

The word “sting” here is the same as the word “pricks” used by Jesus when Saul met him on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:14 KJV). His strength was the law (Philippians 3:4-6), and we can see the connection with King Saul in that both men pursued true believers13 in an attempt to kill them (1 Samuel 18:29; 19:1; Acts 9:1-2).

Psalm 18, already quoted in Hebrews 2, was written by David to commemorate his deliverance from Saul. The title of the Psalm says, “A Psalm of David… on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.” Both David and the early Christians were afraid (Hebrews 2:15) of the hand or power of their enemies. However, both 1 Corinthians 15 and Psalm 18 speak of the victory over the power of death because of the resurrection of a man who destroyed the grave and death.

Psalm 18 has three parts: Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation. Christ prays for deliverance from his enemies (verse 3) who have the power of death (verses 4-5). God delivers him from his enemy (verse 17) by raising him from the dead because of his sinlessness14 (verses 20-24). The pursuer now becomes the pursued as Christ is exalted and rules over his enemies, putting them under his feet (verses 37-45, 48). The same pattern appears in 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, which culminates with the words, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Significantly, the word “destroyed” here is the same as that used in Hebrews 2:14.

One more detail from Hebrews 2:14 helps complete the picture: the use of the word “devil” itself, which literally means “false accuser.” We can see this is the one overriding and defining attribute of the enemies of Christ and his followers. 

When Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle, Jesus spoke the enigmatic words: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 26:14). The word “goads” is the same as the word “sting,” referring to the sting of death which belonged to Paul as he persecuted the ecclesia under the strength of the Law. The word “kick” more exactly means “to kick with the heel” and is a stamp rather than a toe-poke. In other words, Jesus said to Saul, “It is hard for you to tread underfoot the sting of death which is sin,” an allusion to Genesis 3:15 and the conflict between the serpent and the seed of the woman. 

The “problem” with this is that it is the wrong way around. Jesus says that Saul is the one doing the treading and that he is the serpent!15 The same thing occurs in Psalm 41:9, a prophecy of the betrayal by Judas: “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” (see John 13:18). Shouldn’t this be the other way around? Isn’t Jesus the seed of the woman lifting his heel against men like Saul and Judas, the true seed of the serpent?

The answer is that those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ count those in the truth as their enemies and that they themselves are the ones who represent the truth. Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing the right thing, standing up for the Law of God and seeking to destroy this new religion that threatened to supplant all the traditions and rites of Judaism. Jesus was saying to him, “Saul, you picture yourself as the seed of the woman treading on the serpent,” but then Jesus proceeded to convert him so that he actually was doing that!16

Saul and others like him were false accusers, accusing the truth of being in error. Jeremiah was someone who suffered such a false accusation when the officials accused him of the same thing Jesus was falsely accused with: “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city.” (Jeremiah 26:11; see Matthew 26:59-62). The Jews were the ones who were to be the subjects of a curse (Jeremiah 26:6; cf. Genesis 3:14-15) but saw themselves instead as the ones on the sides of truth, putting themselves in place of God by saying, “You shall die!” (v. 8; cf. Genesis 2:17). Jeremiah says, “I am in your hands” (v. 14) recognizing he was in the hands of those who had the power to put him to death.17

The ones who falsely accused Jeremiah, thus identifying themselves as the devil, included “the officials of Judah” (v. 10), who “took their seat in the entry of the New Gate.” The gate was the place of power and authority. But the promise to Abraham was that Jesus would “possess the gate of his enemies”18 (Genesis 22:17), signifying his dominion by putting all things under his feet.

From the evidence presented, we can conclude that the “devil” that has the “power of death” refers to the enemies of Christ, the ones who put him to death after they falsely accused him. This thought fits in with the context of the Book of Hebrews as a whole, which centers on Christ’s superior priesthood.19 It was the spiritual leaders of the people, led by the chief priests (Gk. archierius), who had the power of death and sought after Christ to kill him. But in wounding his heel, their head was wounded as Christ became the captain of our salvation. He is now a greater High Priest, head over all principality and power.

However, there is a little more to the devil than just a reference to chief priests and rulers. We find that they are simply the representatives20 of a whole system of thought.

The devil is “destroyed” by the death of Christ, but this word does not mean annihilation. The Greek word katargeo means “to abolish” or “render powerless” and is used in contexts that help further identify the devil of Hebrews 2. 

The first occurrence of the word is in Luke 13:7 in a parable about a fig tree that did “use up” the ground and was fit only to be destroyed. The fig tree represents the nation of Israel that rendered the ground powerless to bring forth fruit21 because they sought righteousness by the works of the Law (Galatians 5:4). Paul picks up on this in Romans 4:14, saying, “If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null, and the promise is void (katargeo).”

The reason for this is that “the law brings wrath” (v. 15) both in the righteous judgments of God upon those unable to keep the Law (Hebrews 2:2) and in the false accusations of those who use the Law unwisely, like the chief priests. In other words, the Law has the power of death. On the other hand, despite the best efforts of those like the Hebrews who tried to return to the Law, their unbelief cannot “nullify (katargeo) the faithfulness of God.” (Romans 3:3; also Galatians 3:17). 

Another set of passages that use katargeo speak of abolishing the Law. The word is used four times in 2 Corinthians 322 (vv. 7, 11, 13, 14) to refer to the abolishment of the Law in a chapter that says that “the letter kills” (vv. 6, 9). We also learn that sin (Romans 6:6) brings about death (1 Corinthians 15:26; 2 Timothy 1:10).

In 1 Corinthians 2, we are told of “the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away (katargeo)” (v. 6) because they “crucified the Lord of glory” (v. 8). These princes have a leader, the “man of lawlessness”23 (2 Thessalonians 2:3) whom “the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing (katargeo) by the appearance of his coming.” (v. 8). Why is the Roman Catholic Church prophesied of in this way? Because it is spiritual apostate Israel having failed to heed the advice of the Book of Hebrews and gone back to the rituals of the Law.24 The false church’s Pope, cardinals, and bishops are the latter-day chief priests who persecute faithful brethren in Christ.25 The Book of Revelation predicts that this system, which had the power of death and to persecute, will be destroyed at the coming of Christ. 

We can see the connection between the devil of Hebrews 2:14 and the Law that caused bondage (v. 15) and the “fear of death” by those condemned under it. However, there is also a link here with Romans:

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:6-7).

Hebrews 2:14-15 connects with the phrase “brought to nothing” (katargeo) and the freedom from bondage. Here, the devil of Hebrews 2 is “the body of sin” and brings the whole subject down to a more personal level. The actions of the chief priests, for example, were simply a manifestation of the thinking of the flesh urged on by the Law. 

“Sin” in Romans 6 is personified as a king, particularly King Saul. Verse 13 says, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,” which alludes to Samuel’s description of the type of King that would reign over them if they rejected God (1 Samuel 8:6-18). The people would be under his power and do things like “make his implements of war.” (v. 12). They would become slaves to the King just as those under the Law were servants of sin (Romans 6:16-20). We have already seen that Saul is called the “enemy” (Psalm 18 title) and stands for the devil in Hebrews 2:14. But it is the root cause of the “body of sin” that drives those who oppose the will of God.

Romans 8 is a fitting summary, a chapter in which there is victory over “the law of sin and death.” (v. 2). The enemy is a “mind that is set on the flesh” (v. 7) and is overcome by having the hope of the resurrection in us (v. 11) in which we have been converted like Saul or Samson and “led by the Spirit of God”26 out of the bondage of death27 (vv. 15, 21-23). With this hope, no enemy can vanquish us (vv. 31-39).

There is both a doctrinal and practical note to be made by way of summary. Firstly, we can see that the “devil” in Hebrews 2:14 represents those who are the enemies of Christ and his ecclesia, who persecute them and have the power of death over them. The thinking of the flesh, which in turn is motivated by the Law, encourages them. The practical point from this is that the Law in the hands of sinners is a dangerous thing.

We need to heed the warning of the Book of Hebrews and not revert to legalism, counting rituals, rules, and regulations as true religion. The man of sin arose from within the ecclesia,28 and that is a warning to us lest we become the devil ourselves, opposing the will of God and persecuting our brothers and sisters. We can condemn one another by reverting to Law and using it to judge our brothers or sisters, sitting in the gate like the princes in the days of Jeremiah and acting as if we are God.

Instead, let us rejoice that our Lord died to free us from the law of sin and death, and even this body of sin cannot have dominion over us, for we shall receive “the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23).

Richard Morgan,
Simi Hills Ecclesia, CA