The devil is
termed the one who had the power of death. This, of course, does not mean that
Satan is an independent sovereign who inflicts death upon men at his whim.
Scripture does teach, however, that in opposition to the kingdom of light where
God rules there is a realm of darkness in which men are enslaved to Satan, sin,
and death (Eph. 6:12; 1 John 2:9-11; 3:12, 14; Col. 1:13). It was Satan’s activity
that introduced sin, and death followed from it as its penalty. Further, he
functions as the slanderer of men, calling for their death from God (Job 1-2). Thus
Satan exercises the power of death in that he promotes sin and rebellion against
God, slanders God’s people, and calls for their death from God. But Christ
destroyed the devil at the cross. The verb is katargēsēi, “to bring to
nought,” “renders inoperative,” “make ineffective.” He did this by satisfying
fully the claims of God’s outraged righteousness. By paying the penalty in
full, the very grounds of death and of Satan’s accusations were removed. No
more could Satan slander a believer before God and impugn God’s righteousness
because the sinner had not paid with his life. The penalty was paid in full by
Christ. (Homer A. Kent, Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary [Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1972], 59)
