The Immediate Context of Hebrews 2:14

Hebrews 2:14 states: “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same things, so that through death He might bring to nothing the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil.” The passage is not asking whether Jehovah has ultimate authority over life and death. Scripture is consistent that Jehovah is the Source of life and the Supreme Judge. Rather, Hebrews addresses the lived reality that humans are enslaved by fear of death, and it identifies the Devil as the one who wields death’s power in a subordinate, weaponized sense.

The writer’s argument is tightly connected to the incarnation. The Son had to become fully human—“flesh and blood”—because the deliverance He came to accomplish required a real human death and a real human victory. The purpose clause is explicit: “so that through death” He would accomplish something decisive against the Devil and liberate those in bondage.

What “Power of Death” Means in the Greek Text

The phrase translated “power of death” uses language of ruling strength or might. It does not mean the Devil possesses independent, absolute authority to decree death at will, as though he were equal to Jehovah. Scripture never grants Satan that status. Instead, it describes Satan as a murderer, deceiver, accuser, and tempter who leverages death as a tool of slavery. His “power” operates through sin, fear, accusation, and the violent systems of a wicked world.

A key verb in Hebrews 2:14 is often translated “bring to nothing” or “render powerless.” It does not require the Devil’s immediate nonexistence; it means his effective control is broken, his claim is nullified, his leverage is stripped. The Devil is disarmed as a tyrant who kept humanity captive by the dread of death and the guilt of sin.

How the Devil Exercises Death’s Power Without Being Its Ultimate Lord

Scripture explains how death entered the human condition: “Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin.” Death is the penalty of sin, not Satan’s invention apart from Jehovah’s moral order. Yet Satan becomes the chief manipulator of death in at least four ways.

First, he entices into sin. By tempting humans to rebel, he pushes them into the very condition that produces death. Second, he accuses. The Devil is portrayed as an accuser who seeks condemnation, using guilt and the awareness of death as a spiritual chain. Third, he terrorizes. The fear of death becomes a psychological and spiritual weapon, driving people to compromise, to idolatry, or to despair. Fourth, he exploits persecution and violence. Satan energizes hostile powers to threaten, imprison, and kill, aiming to silence faithful obedience and proclamation.

So the Devil “has” the power of death in the sense that he wields death as a dominating instrument in a fallen world, not in the sense that he owns the right to determine life and death in a judicial, sovereign way.

How Jesus Breaks That Power “Through Death”

Hebrews is direct: Jesus defeats death’s masterstroke by dying. That sounds paradoxical unless we keep the Bible’s ransom framework in view. The problem is not simply that humans die. The deeper problem is that humans die as sinners under condemnation, and the Devil capitalizes on that condemnation through accusation and fear. Jesus’ faithful, sinless obedience culminates in His sacrificial death, providing the basis for forgiveness and release. Once the ransom is paid and the grounds for condemnation are removed for those who respond in faith and obedience, the Devil’s most effective weapon is blunted.

This is why Hebrews immediately speaks of liberation: those who were “subject to slavery” because of fear of death are freed. The point is not that Christians stop dying in the present system of things. The point is that death no longer functions as a final terror or an enslaving verdict. The faithful can face death with resurrection hope, not as a plunge into conscious torment or a disembodied immortal existence, but as the cessation of life awaiting Jehovah’s act of re-creation in resurrection.

Death, Sheol and Hades, and the Resurrection Hope

The Bible consistently treats the grave—Sheol in Hebrew, Hades in Greek—as gravedom, the realm of the dead, not a place where immortal souls remain conscious. Death is the end of personhood until resurrection. That matters for Hebrews 2:14 because it anchors the Christian hope in Jesus’ conquest and Jehovah’s promise, not in a pagan concept of an indestructible soul.

Jesus’ resurrection is the public declaration that death’s claim is broken. Revelation speaks of Jesus holding “the keys of death and Hades,” meaning He has authority to open the grave and restore life. That authority directly contradicts Satan’s attempt to make death a permanent prison.

Why Hebrews Identifies “The Devil” Explicitly

Hebrews could have spoken abstractly of sin and death, but it names Satan because the struggle is personal and moral. The Devil is not a symbol; he is an active adversary. Naming him clarifies that humanity’s bondage involves deception, accusation, and spiritual warfare, not merely biology. It also clarifies the meaning of the cross: Jesus’ death is not only an atonement for sin; it is a conquest that disarms an enemy who held humanity in fear.

The Practical Force of Hebrews 2:14 for Christians

Hebrews was written to strengthen believers facing pressure, hostility, and the threat of death. The message is that the Devil’s intimidation no longer defines reality. The faithful still suffer hardships in a wicked world, but they do not belong to the Devil’s jurisdiction. Their standing before Jehovah is grounded in Christ’s sacrifice, and their future is grounded in resurrection. That is why the passage is not merely theological; it is pastoral. The Christian’s courage grows from a settled conviction: the Devil’s leverage has been broken, and death is not the final word.

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