When I Survey
H. Hoeksema
Book 4, Chapter 4
Death's Tyrant Destroyed

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb. 2:14,15)

O death, where is thy sting?

O grave, where is thy victory?

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:55-57)

For He, the Lord from heaven, died, and went through death; and by the act of passing through death, He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and delivered us from the bondage of the fear of death that pursued us in all our living.

That is, indeed, the foolishness of the cross to them that require a sign, and that seek after wisdom: by dying He overcame and destroyed him that had the power of death.

But that is exactly the power of the cross to them that believe.

And when we hear the word of the cross, and experience its saving power in our hearts, we are liberated from the guilt of sin, from the power of corruption, from the dominion of the devil, and from the bondage of the fear of death. The truth of this is taught throughout Scripture, but is very concisely and beautifully expressed in the words that are quoted at the head of this meditation.

God, so we learn from the context, purposes to bring many sons unto glory. Unto that end, He appointed over them a Captain, to head them all the way, to lead them into the glory ordained for them by the Father. He is called the captain of their salvation, God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. The children, however, whom God wants to lead to the glory of His everlasting tabernacle, are partakers of flesh and blood, that is, together with all mankind, they exist in and bear the human nature. And in that human nature, by partaking of flesh and blood, they are in the sphere and bondage of death. In death's fortress, so to speak, they are held, hopelessly imprisoned. In that fortress the devil reigns. There, in the darkness of the prison of death, the prince of this world sways his scepter. He is the tyrant of death. The children whom God purposes to lead to glory are under his dominion. The captain of their salvation, therefore, must lead them all the way, out of that prison of death, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. To do this, He must take up His position among them, become partaker of the flesh and blood of the children, descend into their death, overcome him that has the power of death by dying Himself, and liberate the children the Father has given Him. And this He did through death.

And having accomplished this task, He declares: "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Rev. 1:17,18)

But what is this death to which we are subject through our partaking of flesh and blood, and in the sphere of which the devil sways his scepter?

Let us not think too superficially of this grim and dreadful reality that is called death. Above all, let us not attempt to deceive ourselves as to the horror of this reality, by presenting it as something quite normal and natural, as the inevitable end of all life. For then we would be lead astray by the philosophy of the world. According to philosophy, we live as long as we are in our present flesh and blood; we die when we leave them. As long as we are in this world, are able to move about and do our work, can see and hear, touch and taste and smell, eat and drink, we live; but presently, when we breathe our last, are put into the coffin, and buried, we are dead. Death means that our heart stops beating, that the organism of our body collapses, and that we return to the dust, whence we are taken.

Now, to be sure, this so-called physical death is a phase of death. And even when we consider it all by itself, it is sufficiently dreadful to fill us with fear. For, in the first place, it is strictly the end of all our earthly existence, of the earthly life of my body and of my soul. In death we are completely unclothed. Through death all our relationships, of love and friendship, our fellowship with men, our connection with the present world, are severed. Death is a complete loss. And it is, as far as our earthly existence is concerned, final. From death there is no return. And even in the sphere of this death we are born, and we know it: this life is nothing but a continual death. The fear of death is in all our living. Secondly, also this phase of death is not the inevitable and normal end of a natural process: it is the expression of the wrath of God against sin, and we know it. In death, God speaks to us: "You have sinned; wantonly you have turned your back upon Me, the sole Fountain of all good; you are worthy of death! You are not worthy even of your earthly life. I repent that I made you: dust you are, and to dust you shall return!" In death we face the wrath of Him Who is a consuming fire. And we tremble. We would like to hide ourselves from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne. And thirdly, death is, indeed, the end, but it is also the beginning. It is but the mouth of the dark pit of eternal desolation, into which we must needs sink away forever. For death is no annihilation, and we know it. I exist, I pass through physical death, I sink into the horror of eternal wrath and death. And I may put on a bold front over against the grim reality of physical death, and boast that I can take it, but in my heart of hearts I am aware that I stand powerless over the grim reaper, that in death the heavy hand of God is upon me. And I am afraid.

But even so all is not said.

Man is more than a sheep. He was formed to be God's image-bearer, and to live in the fellowship of friendship with his Creator. Life, for man, does not consist in this, that he can eat, and drink, and be merry; but in the covenant fellowship with the living God. To be the object of His favor, and to taste that the Lord is good; to know Him in love, and to enjoy the light of His countenance; to will His will, and to serve Him with all his power, and with all things -- that is life for man, the image-bearer of God. The opposite is death. To be the object of His wrath, and to be forsaken of Him; to have all our light changed into darkness, to be conscious of His consuming anger against sin; to dwell in the darkness of the lie, to be perverted in our will, polluted in all our desires, and to stand in enmity against God -- that is death.

In this death, too, we are born, because by birth we partake of flesh and blood. Once, in the state of rectitude, we lived. For in His image God created us. Endowed we were with true knowledge of God: our mind was enlightened to know Him in love; we were created in perfect righteousness: our will was attuned to the will of God; and from the hand of our Creator we came forth in spotless holiness: our whole nature was consecrated to Him, and we longed for His favor and fellowship. But all this was perverted. We rejected the Word of God, violated the commandment of life, and preferred the word of the devil. Thus we became guilty, objects of God's wrath, and worthy of the just punishment of sin, which is death. And that punishment was inflicted upon us at once, according to the Word of God: "The day thou eatest therof, thou shalt surely die." In Adam, the representative of our race, and the father of us all, we entered into the state of death. For "by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation" (Rom. 5:18); and "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Rom. 5:12) This death certainly includes physical death. But it also implies our spiritual corruption, the darkness of our mind, so that we are incapable of rightly knowing our God; the perversion of our will, so that we hate the righteousness of God, and are incapable of doing His will; and the pollution of our whole nature, so that we are enemies of God, and follow after the lust of our flesh. In this death we are born: all that partake of flesh and blood, are under its dominion.

And the result is that, throughout our whole life, and in all our living in this world, we are in bondage to the fear of death.

All fear is principally fear of death. Take death away, and there is no room for fear. There is no fear in love, and, therefore, there is no fear in life. This fear of death is, first of all, an apprehension of the just wrath of God, and the realization that death is the penalty for sin; and secondly, it is the sense of alarm at the wrath to come. For there is no way out for man, and he knows it. All his expectation perishes. From death to death he proceeds. Daily he increases his guilt, and he gathers for himself treasures of wrath in the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. When he looks forward -- and what else can he do, carried away, as he is, on the fast flowing stream of time? -- he beholds the Grim Reaper. And when he looks beyond death and the grave, he has the testimony in his conscience that he must appear in the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, that in that judgment his sins will rise up against him, and that he has nothing to hope for but eternal wrath and desolation.

This fear of death holds him in bondage.

It pursues him all his life. Always it is with him. In all his activities it is present. Whether he is at home or in his office, whether he laughs or sings, whether he attends the funeral of a dear one, or seeks a few moments of respite in banqueting and revelry -- always there is the voice of this fear of death, now subdued, as an undertone, now, as in the quiet hours of introspection, and in the still hours of the night, clamoring loudly for recognition. As long as possible, he desperately struggles to escape the cruel clutches of physical death, but he must give it up. He sets his face like a flint, and proudly boasts that he is brave, and can take it, but he knows that he is lying. Throughout their life, in all their living, the children that partake of flesh and blood are held in bondage through fear of death.

In that fortress of death, the devil reigns.

For the text tells that he, the devil, had the power of death.

What may be the meaning of this expression? We understand at once that it cannot convey the idea that the devil has the authority to judge and to execute the judgment of death, for that is God's prerogative only. Nor can it mean that he has the power to kill, for life and death are in the power of God alone. He does not have authority to express the death sentence, nor does he have power over death, but, having himself been shut up in the prison of death and corruption, he has the power of death. In the fortress of death he exercises power. That is his proper sphere. There he is prince and ruler. Over them that are consigned to this prison of darkness and corruption, he reigns, and they are his subjects. Willing slaves they are, to be sure, but slaves nevertheless. They do his will, and they love the darkness rather than the light. Death is the devil's proper power. The children that are partakers of flesh and blood, shut up, because of their guilt, in the prison of death, are in the power of the prince of this world, and the lusts of their father the devil they will do. (John 8:44)

Is there then no way out?

There is not as far as man is concerned. On his side, the situation is quite impossible.

But what is impossible with man is possible with God. His mighty arm wrought deliverance out of the fortress of death, for the children He had ordained unto glory.

And this great deliverance was accomplished through death, the death of His Son.

That is the power of the cross.

For the text tells us that He, the Son of God, deliberately entered the fortress of death, destroyed the devil in his power, and delivered them who throughout all their life were in bondage through the fear of death.

Let me, to clarify the meaning of these words, be permitted to present the whole matter in the form of a figure, an extended metaphor.

When man sinned, God shut him up in the fortress of death, of darkness and corruption, as his just punishment. The key He gave to the devil, that is, not the power to open and shut the prison-doors, but the power to rule within the sphere of death, and to lord it over all within its walls. He is the prince of darkness.

Now, into that prison Christ entered. For the text tells us that He also partook of the flesh and blood of the children. By doing so, He came under the law, and in the midst of death. But He is the Son of God. He was not born by the will of the flesh. He came from above. Voluntarily, He descended into the darkness of death's fortress. He assumed the flesh and blood of the children by an act of His own, through the Spirit, from the virgin Mary. He was, therefore, personally, not under the sentence of death, neither under the dominion of the devil. He was free, even in that prison, to do the will of the Father. Without sin He was, neither was ever guile found in His mouth. But He came as the captain of the salvation of the children the Father had given Him, to represent them in death, to break the power of the devil over His brethren, and to deliver them from the fear of death. For that purpose, that He might take their sins upon His mighty shoulders, remove their guilt, and thus break the power of the devil, He partook of the flesh and blood of the children.

Pursuing the metaphor, we may say that, the Son of God in human nature thus entered the fortress of death, the devil at once went forth to meet Him, and said to Him: "Here, in the fortress of death, I am lord and king; and you will have to submit yourself to my dominion." But the captain of our salvation replied: "I came to do the will of my Father, even here in the dominion of death. And this is the will of my Father that sent Me, that of all He gave Me I lose none, but lead them all out of this prison into the glorious liberty of the children of God. And so, I am appointed to bring you to nought, and I am going to take that keypower away from you!" But the devil, recognizing Him as the One that had been announced ages ago as the One that would crush his head, preferred to compromise, and so he answered: "There is no need of any conflict between you and me. I recognize that you are an able man. And I am perfectly willing to make you my superintendent in this prison of death. Just bow down and worship me, and recognize my authority, and I will give you all my kingdom: the keypower is yours." But the Lord answered: "Get thee behind me, Satan! For the Lord God alone I worship. From Him, in the way of obedience unto death, in the way of His righteousness, I expect to receive authority to destroy thee, to break thy power, and to secure that key of death and of Hades. Thy power of death over my brethren is based on the guilt of their transgression. But I came to take their sins upon Myself, and so to taste death for them that their iniquities are blotted out, and they are clothed with eternal righteousness. And by so doing, I will destroy thee, and deliver my brethren from the bondage of the fear of death."

And this Christ did.

He destroyed the devil, who had the power of death. The meaning is not that He annihilated him, but that He put him utterly to nought as the tyrant of death. He took the power of death, the right to lord it over the children He must lead to glory, and to hold them under his dominion, away from the prince of darkness.

And this He did through death.

His death is the right to liberty for all His brethren. By His death, He obtained the authority and power to deliver them from the prison of sin, and from the fortress of the fear of death; the right, too, to bestow upon them an eternal righteousness, and to lead them into the glory of everlasting life. For He tasted death for every one of them. He tasted all the horror there is in death. Fully He recognized, in death, the heavy hand of God's wrath against sin. There is no agony, no horror, no pain, no sorrow and grief, no amazement and abandonment, no astonishment and desolation, in death which He did not taste. And freely, voluntarily, in the love of God, as the Servant of Jehovah, that was come to do the will of the Father in and unto death, He descended into its dark depth, bore it all, and passed through it into life. For of death He made an act of obedience. Dying, He sprinkled His lifeblood upon the altar of God's justice in the depth of hell!

O, it is true, to the eye of the natural man, the cross of Jesus of Nazareth on Calvary, appears only as man's cross. It is foolishness to him. And true it is, that man played his part to erect that cross. When this Servant of Jehovah had made it quite plain that, even in the fortress of death, He had come to do the will of the Father, that He steadfastly refused to submit Himself to him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, all hell broke loose, all the forces of darkness set themselves against Him, and released against Him all their satanic fury. They took Him, bound Him, condemned Him, spit upon Him, scourged Him, made Him a spectacle to all the world, and nailed Him to the accursed tree. Yet, they but opened the way for Him, that He might voluntarily descend into the gloomy depth of death and hell. Every drop of blood they pressed from His hands and feet He filled with the love of God, and willingly shed upon the altar of obedience to the Father. Thus His death was a sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice of atonement for sin. And thus He merited the right to deliver His brethren from the fortress of death, and to lead them into the everlasting glory of God's tabernacle with men.

Through death, He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

And through death, He obtained the authority and power to deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

And deliver them He does!

Our Redeemer is also our Deliverer!

Through death, He passed into the glory of His resurrection, and of His exaltation at the right hand of God, and is clothed with all power in heaven and on earth. He holds the keys of death and hell. This mighty Lord, through His Spirit, now stretches His strong arm of salvation into our prison of sin and death, to lead us out into liberty. He opens wide the door, breaks the shackles of sin that hold us in bondage to the will of the devil, gives us a new heart, a new life, new love, new light, new knowledge, and wisdom. He gives us the saving faith, the power whereby we may appropriate Him, and all His blessings of salvation. He calls us through the word of the cross, the word of reconciliation, of liberty, of deliverance from the slavery of sin. And we hear the voice of Jesus, the captain of our salvation, calling: "Come unto me, and rest."

And we do come, and find rest; we repent and are forgiven; we believe and are delivered.

No longer do we accomplish the will of the devil, but have a new delight in the law of the God of our salvation.

And no longer does the fear of death hold us in bondage, for in His cross and resurrection we behold the way out, into the final glory of the tabernacle of God with us.

O, amazing power of the cross!