Objection: Jesus, Not the Devil, Now Has the Keys of Death, So HE Is the One Who Makes People Die Today

I get a chuckle out of some of things people write today, and I definitely got a rise out of this one.  But I can see how someone would reach this “logical” conclusion, and the answer isn’t obvious.  The book of Revelation does reveal that Jesus has the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18).  This means that the devil does not have those keys.  So this COULD lead you to believe that Jesus has the power of death, so if someone dies, it must be His doing!  Besides, doesn’t Hebrews 2:14 teach that Jesus must have the power of death now because the devil doesn’t?

Hebrews 2:14:
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;

Actually, it’s this verse that is the key to undoing this objection.  The King James Version uses the word HAD above, but it’s a mistranslation.  (Okay, I’ve probably lost the entire King-James-Version-Is-The-Only-Word-of-God crowd, but I might have already lost them when I’ve pointed out a few other mistranslations such as Isaiah 53:4’s use of griefs and sorrows for sicknesses and pains.)  The word echo used for “had” is a Greek present active participle.  Thus, a correct translation from the Greek says that the devil HAS the power of death.  That might upset you if you’ve used this as a “proof text” to prove otherwise, but you can check it out for yourself.  Many other translations get it right.

So how can Jesus have the keys to death if Satan still has the power of death?  I believe that the “death” reference in Revelation properly refers to the “second death” which is the lake of fire.  In other words, Jesus has the keys to hell and the lake of fire.

The last enemy to be destroyed will be death (1 Corinthians 15:26), but that has not happened yet.

Unfortunately, death is still part of life – it hasn’t been destroyed yet, though its sting has been removed for the Christian.  For us, death is just a change of address to a better location.

However, Satan still HOLDS the power of death.  That is enough to disprove the objection that it must be Jesus at work when someone dies because Satan supposedly doesn’t have the keys to death anymore.  So no, death does not occur when JESUS goes around killing everyone.  Death came into the world by sin, not by Jesus.  We will have to deal with it until Jesus returns, but Jesus has no darkness and no death in Him.

But Satan’s power of death does NOT give him the right to kill Christians at will.  Christians have been delivered out of his kingdom and control (Colossians 1:13).  We should “go home” when we’re ready, not because Satan evicts us from our bodies prematurely.