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Objection
#1:
Hebrews 2:14.
Since then the children have shared in flesh and
blood, he also himself in like manner partook
of the same, that through death he might bring
to nothing him who had the power of death, that
is, the devil
This indicates neither a personal propensity
to sin nor a representation of an individual(s),
but an identifiable entity known as the devil.
But which part of the verse indicates a literal,
personal being called "the devil"? Which part of
the verse even requires that "the devil"
is a literal, personal being? I see in this verse
that Jesus "brought to nothing him who had the power
of death" via his own death, but I see nothing
which requres a literal, personal being. Indeed,
the context of this verse fits nicely with my belief
that it is sin (and our human propensity to sin)
which is here personified as "him who had the power
of death", and "the devil."
I therefore read Hebrews 2:14 as a "new,
personified version" of Romans 8:3, which
contains the same basic message:
For what the law could not do, in that it was
weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the
flesh:
I also find Hebrews 2:14 echoed in the words
of Romans 6:6.
Knowing this, that our
old man is crucified with him, that the body of
sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Here, "our old man" is equated with "the body
of sin." What happens to this "body of sin"? It
is "destroyed." How is it "destroyed"? It is destroyed
when it is "crucified with him [Christ]" - which
(once again) is exactly what we were told in Hebrews
2:14.
Objection
#2:
The devil is said to have "the power of death."
How can mere sin be said to have "the power of
death"?
Well, the apostle James tells us...
James 1:15.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth
sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death.
...and the apostle Paul elaborates:
Romans 5:12.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Clearly, sin has the power of death.
Moreover:
Romans 5:21.
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto
eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sin "reigns" (personification) "unto death", but
grace "reigns" through the work of Christ.
Romans 6:16.
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom
ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto righteousness?
Sin is here described as one "to whom ye yield"
(personification) and one whom we "obey" (personification.)
Sin is also described as "he" (personification),
and if we continue to serve sin, we shall receive
the wages of sin...
Romans 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
...which is death. (Notice the consistent use of
personification. We "receive wages" from sin, as
the "servants of sin." Sin is therefore personified
as a taskmaster.)
The apostle continues:
Romans 7:11.
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived
me, and by it slew me.
Sin "deceived" Paul, and "slew" him. (These deeds
are ascribed to sin as if it was a literal, personal
being.)
Remember, Jesus himself had already personified
sin:
John 8:34.
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant
of sin.
So I see no problems with my interpretation of
Hebrews 2:14. I am not introducing any
idea that is not already present in the text,
and I am appealing to a Biblical principle which
is clearly employed by James, Paul, and our Lord
Jesus Christ himself.
Objection
#3:
James 4:7.
Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil,
and he will flee from you.
This specifically identifies a personal entity.
I see no personal identity here. I see only an echo
of Ephesians 4.
Thus:
Ephesians 4:22-24.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation
the old man, which is corrupt according to
the deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Our former life of sin is personified as "the old
man", while our new life of righteousness is personified
as "the new man." Once again, the language is perfectly
consistent with the many other verses which I have
already presented, in which sin (and the human propensity
for sin) is personified.
It is interesting that, having established the context
with the personification of sin, Paul goes on to
exhort his brethren, calling upon them to renounce
their former way of life....
Ephesians 4:25-26.
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every
man truth with his neighbor: for we are members
one of another.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun
go down upon your wrath:
...and then goes on to add:
Ephesians 4:27.
Neither give place to the devil.
The KJV is a bit awkward here. I prefer the Analytical-Literal
Translation, which reads as follows:
"Continue being enraged, and stop sinning;"
stop letting the sun go down on your angry mood,
[Psalm 4:4]
and stop giving place [fig., an opportunity] to
the Devil.
To "give place to the devil" is to surrender one's
will to the "old man" of the flesh, and fall back
into the old habits of sin. When we recall that
the word "devil" here is simply the Greek word for
"false accuser" (diabolos),
we will find it easier to rid ourselves of the unjustified
preconception that a literal, personal being is
necessarily implied in this verse. After all, the
translation of diabolos
as "devil" is totally spurious in the first place!
Thus:
I Timothy 3:11.
Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers,
sober, faithful in all things.
The word "slanderers" here, is actually diabolos.
(Makes you wonder why they kept translating it
as "devil", doesn't it?)
Objection
#4:
I Peter 5:8.
Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your
adversary the devil, walks around like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour.
This has to be a personal entity. I can't
imagine being stalked by a state of mind, and
it's pretty clear this is not identifying
any specific individual.
You are correct when you say that this is not a
state of mind, and you are equally correct when
you say that this does not identify any specific
individual. It is, in fact, a reference to the greatest
enemy of the Christians during Peter's day -
the pagan Roman state, which (under Nero, Diocletian
and others), persecuted the Christians without mercy.
Paul actually identifies the "lion" for us when
he writes to Timothy about his own experiences before
the Roman tribunal:
II Timothy 4:16-17.
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all
men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be
laid to their charge.
Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened
me; that by me the preaching might be fully known,
and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I
was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
In his Notes on the Bible,
Albert Barnes provides the following analysis:
And that all the Gentiles might hear -
Paul was at this time in Rome. His trial was
before a pagan tribunal, and he was surrounded
by Pagans. Rome, too, was then the center
of the world, and at all times there was a great
conflux of strangers there. His trial, therefore,
gave him an opportunity of testifying to the truth
of Christianity before Gentile rulers, and in
such circumstances that the knowledge of his sufferings,
and of the religion for which he suffered, might
be conveyed by the strangers who witnessed it
to the ends of the world.
His main object in life was to make the gospel
known to the Gentiles, and he had thus an opportunity
of furthering that great cause, even on what he
supposed might be the trial which would determine
with him the question of life or death; compare
the notes on Rom_1:10.
And I was delivered out of the mouth of the
lion -
This may either mean that he was delivered from
Nero, compared with a lion, or literally that
he was saved from being thrown to lions in the
amphitheater, as was common in Rome; see the notes
on 1Co_15:32.
It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to compare
tyrants and persecutors with ravenous wild beasts;
compare Psa_22:13, Psa_22:21; Jer_2:30. Nero is
called a “lion” by Seneca, and it was usual among
pagan writers to apply the term in various senses
to princes and warriors; see Grotius, in loc.
The common interpretation here has been, that
this refers to Nero, and there is no improbability
in the interpretation.
Still, it is quite as natural to suppose that
the punishment which had been appointed for him,
or to which he would have been subjected, was
to be thrown to lions, and that in some way, now
unknown to us, he had been delivered from it.
Paul attributes his deliverance entirely to the
Lord - but what instrumental agency there may
have been, he does not specify. It seems probable
that it was his own defense; that he was enabled
to plead his own cause with so much ability that
he found favor even with the Roman emperor, and
was discharged. If it had been through the help
of a friend at court, it is hardly to be supposed
that he would not have mentioned the name of him
to whom he owed his deliverance.
Looks pretty clear to me. |
