To Destroy the Works of the Devil

Hebrew Vision News Exclusive

by Miykael Qorbanyahu aka The End Time Scribe
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He has made it all, beautiful in its time. Even eternity He has put in their hearts, except that no one finds out the work that Elohim does from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3.11

The one doing sin is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of Elohim was manifested: to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3.8

And it shall be when the sons of the woman consider the law, and perform (its) instructions, they will be prepared to smite thee (serpent) on thy head to kill thee; and when the sons of the woman forsake the commandment of the law, and perform not (its) instructions, thou wilt be ready to wound them in their heel, and hurt them. Nevertheless there shall be a medicine for the sons of the woman, but for thee, serpent, there shall be no medicine: but it is to be that for these there shall be a remedy⁽¹¹⁾ for the heel in the days of the king Meshiha.

Genesis 3.15 (Targum)

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me possesses everlasting life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 5.24

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In Hebrew cosmology, at its root, death is not a part of the order of creation and its developmental phases. Death, which will be discussed in more detail at another point in this article, was brought into existence by the mishap of humankind. As we will come to soon discover about the true nature of death, it is imperative for us to approach this most sensitive and gripping matter with this Hebraic consciousness of it in mind; for it is with this approach that we will be able to draw back the veil which has covered death’s true nature, and we will no longer be held in its grip of fear and sorrow.

In this light, let us consider the notion that death is a by-product of man’s heaven-defiant actions. For if, as the scroll of Genesis speaks, we were made in the image and likeness of Elohim, would not our being, in Spirit and Truth, be immortal and not susceptible to the jaws of death? This is a premise clearly articulated in the Apocryphal writing of the Wisdom of Solomon where the author states,

Do not stray from the path of life and so court death; do not draw disaster on yourselves by your own actions. For [Elohim] did not make death, and takes no pleasure in the destruction of any living thing; he created all things that they might have being. The creative forces of the world make for life; there is no deadly poison in them. Death is not king on earth, for justice is immortal; but godless men by their words and deeds have asked death for his company. Thinking him their friend, they have made a pact with him because they are fit members of his party; and so they have wasted away.

Wisdom of Solomon 1.12-16

That death is presented here as the result of a choice and not as an intrinsic element of creation provides us with a deeper perception of why it is considered one of the works of the devil. This is because it is further conceptualized in the Hebraic mind that the devil is nothing more than any and all forces adversarial to life and its (re)generative forces. With this insight, we get a clearer glimpse into the reality of the sovereign providence of יהוה and Its promulgation of life over the illusion of death and its master, the devil. We are able to see this principle at work, as the writer of the letter to the Messianic community of Hebrews composes the following words of encouragement relating to the household of faith’s ability to overcome death, and it’s partner in crime, sin, when one activates the Messiah within;

For it was fitting for Him, because of whom all are and through whom all are, in bringing many sons to esteem, to make the Princely Leader of their deliverance perfect through sufferings. For both He who sets apart and those who are being set apart are all of One, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I shall announce Your Name to My brothers, in the midst of the congregation I shall sing praise to You.” And again, “I shall put My trust in Him.” And again, “See, I and the children whom Elohim gave Me.” Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself similarly shared in the same, so that by means of His death He might destroy him having the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver those who throughout life were held in slavery by fear of death.

Hebrews 2.10-14

One interesting note to highlight at this point is the role that fear plays in keeping many bound and “held in slavery” to death. This is because, as the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger astutely stated, “ignorance is the cause of fear.” And it is our ignorance of death that keeps us bound to fearing its ever consuming appetite. Once we come into a more sensible perspective of death, then we will be able to not only accept its place in the present world, but also gain victory over its transitional placement in our lives leading to the world to come.    

To better conceptualize death, let us at this juncture define it, both conventionally and Hebraically. Conventionally, death is comprehended as the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism. In the Hebrew language, death is מוּת (pronounced moot) and, according to Strong’s Lexicon of Hebrew Words, it connotes the ideas of to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill; (put to, worthy of) death; to perish or destroy. 

Furthermore, taking each letter from the word death in the Hebrew, it can be perceived on a deeper level as water’s descending nature (מ) from the force of connection between the Divine sparks inherent throughout reality (וּ) as relates to natural law and codes of life (ת). In this sense, it is a cessation of consciousness; a withdrawal and separation from life; an interruption of activity which prevents one from experiencing the conglomeration of law and energy, mind and matter.  

Taken from here, it is no wonder that science (here here and here) is now arriving at the same conclusion that sacred scientists, priests and rabbis of Israel pronounced about death and its illusory nature. Of this position, Director of the Kabbalah Centre, rabbi Michael Berg writes in an Article entitled Death and Immortality, that

The Zohar explains that death is merely an illusion that we experience from our limited perspective of the world. There exists a reality where death does not occur and life continues forever. When an individual achieves complete unity with the Creator, death does not touch him or her, and they do not die, but continue to live in this other reality, free of death and pain. Moses and Jacob, because they had reached that level of total transformation, did not experience what we think of as death. It was only the people around them that perceived their death, because they were still living in the illusionary world. The lesson here is that each of us has the potential to live in a reality without death. Knowing that it exists is the first step to reaching this reality. Then we have to do the difficult work of transforming ourselves completely.

The transformation of which is spoken in this context is related to what is known as the resurrection or the rebirth. Though commonly associated with the resurrection of the dead, in Hebrew called המתים תחיית/techiyat hametim, the process of transformation involves a shift of consciousness from that of ignorance (death) to revelation, coinciding with a rebirth of one’s nature from a base, animalistic and humanistic behavioral patter to that of a child of Elohim; in other words, transitioning from a carnal based sensorial existence hinged upon one’s relative perceptions and perspectives, to that of a spiritual based intuitive existence established upon the revelation of Torah. This, in fact, is a return to our original nature as we possessed when our forefather and foremother were clothed in garments of light while living in the Garden of Eden. Of this dynamic, Shaul of Tarsus writes the following words in his first letter to the assembly of Corinth, informing them that just as a seed planted in the earth has to die by casting off its shell

so also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in disrespect, it is raised in esteem; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it has been written, “The first man Aḏam became a living being,” the last Aḏam a life-giving Spirit. The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, earthy; the second Man is the Master from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the likeness of the earthy, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly. And this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood is unable to inherit the reign of Elohim, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible has to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality. And when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall come to be the word that has been written, “Death is swallowed up in overcoming.”

1 Corinthians 15.42-54

As one of the most profound mysteries of the Kingdom of Elohim, the process of rebirth and becoming a child of Elohim holds the key to overcoming the clutches of both sin and death. For it is through the regeneration of the soul and the reclamation of its original nature that allows for humanity’s experience of eternity which is accomplished by following the instructions of the Torah and guarding the covenant of יהוה. When one embraces the Torah and stays in faithful relationship with the Most High, one is able to conquer our most dreadful enemy of death and effectively become the Word made flesh, as the Son of Elohim demonstrated.  

Death, as we have previously stated, is the separation of the soul from the commandments and covenant with the Most High. It is this state of being that causes one to enter the illusion of existence, being that reality is only found within the will of יהוה. Outside of the realm of the covenant is the illusory world our belongs to our soul’s mortal enemy, the devil. For it is there that all the machinations of the adversary wreak havoc on our beings. We must know, however, that the consequences of our experiences in life is a result of the decisions that we make, as it is written in the letter of Romans that “the wages of sin are death.” 

That we all now experience the death of the body as a part of our soul’s journey is the result of our mortal inheritance which stems from our ancestors decision to separate themselves from our heavenly Father and King. What makes it illusory is that it is a temporal experience in the course of our existence which will lead us to one of two ultimate realities, everlasting life, or the second death, depending on whether or not we have undergone rebirth in Messiah. 

For it is in the Messiah, who now inhabits the temples of our bodies, that we are empowered with the ability to overcome and destroy the works of the devil; that of sin and death. The entire eighth chapter of Romans goes on in detail explaining, with prophetic insight, how we are able to be set free from the law of sin and death. And once we have allowed for the Messiah to indwell us, in fulfillment of the New Covenant spoken of by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, then life is truly activated within and we effectively become living Torah scrolls. And because we know that the Torah is clean, true, altogether righteous and endures forever, we can be assured that all of us who have taken its words to heart and fulfill its requirements will too be clean, true, altogether righteous and will endure forever, as it is written,

And I heard a loud voice from the heaven saying, “See, the Booth of Elohim is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and Elohim Himself shall be with them and be their Elohim. And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying. And there shall be no more pain, for the former matters have passed away.” And He who was sitting on the throne said, “See, I make all matters new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and trustworthy.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Taw’, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I shall give of the fountain of the water of life without payment. The one who overcomes shall inherit all this, and I shall be his Elohim and he shall be My son.

Revelation 21.3-7

Selah…