"Jesus Christ … has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel"
(2 Tim. 1:10).

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, [Jesus Christ] also Himself
likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14).

These verses state unequivocally that death has been abolished and the devil has been destroyed!
Many of us may exclaim, "Would that death were abolished, and that human tears should
nevermore be shed over those who have died!" Is not death as active today as ever? how then is
it abolished? Is not the devil as active today as ever? how then is he destroyed? The answer lies
in the meaning of the Greek word katargeo translated "abolished" in the one verse and "destroy"
in the other. It does not mean "cease to exist" but "to be made of no effect." The best translation
of the word is found in Gal. 3:17:"That it should make the promise of no effect." Christ has
made both death and the devil to be of no effect, or to amount to nothing.

But is it really true? Indeed it is. Contrast the cry of the Old Testament saint with the joyous word
of the New Testament saint as he looks death squarely in the face. The one mourns, "In the cutting
off of my days I shall go to the gates of the grave; I am deprived of the residue of my years. I
said, I shall not see the Lord … in the land of the living" (Isa. 38:10,11). The other sings, as it
were, "We are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent
from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are confident, I say, and willing rather to
be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:6-8). This is quite a different
air, and a much sweeter one; may we learn to sing it more and more clearly.

Let us, dear reader, enjoy another of these happy contrasts together. David groaned, "O spare me,
that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more" (Psa. 39:13). But the Apostle Paul
sang, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of
my labor [that is, to live is worth my while]; yet what I shall choose I know not. For I am in a
strait between two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better" (Phil.
1:21-23). To die is gain! To depart is far better! What power has death over one who can so
speak? It does indeed amount to nothing.

The Apostle Paul was privileged to give us a personal account of the glorious realm that lies
beyond death. "And having stoned Paul, [they] drew him out of the city, supposing he had been
dead" (Acts 14:19). There was the bruised body, quite unconscious, being dragged through the
dirt in utter dishonor; but where was the spirit? Well, according to Bible chronologies, it was
approximately 14 years after this that Paul wrote, "I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago
(whether in the body, I cannot tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell; God knows), such
a one caught up to the third heaven,… into paradise, and heard unspeakable words which it is not
lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:2-4).

During the journey of the bruised body in shame and dishonor through the streets of Lycaonia,

the spirit was caught up to the place of departed spirits of the redeemed. There it received its
highest honor_God’s honoring thus answering to the devil’s shameful dishonoring. It is very
comforting to realize that the Apostle does not write as if this experience were related to his being
an apostle or of superior spirituality. It is just "a man in Christ," so the poorest, feeblest, youngest
one who is "in Christ" will surely follow the same path some day. Are you in Christ, my reader?
What momentous issues hang upon the answer!

Let us note, too, for our further comfort, that this man "in Christ" was so free of all self-
occupation in paradise that he did not even know whether he was out of the body or not. This tells
us that Paul knew perfectly well that it is possible to hear and see and be conscious while out of
the body. Further note that he had no difficulty in recognizing where he was, for was it not his
own home? Surely it was, and every one "in Christ" will feel quite at home at once. What a
comfort!

Think of it, my beloved. For breath to cease, for heart to stop, for pulse to throb no more, means
"gain," "with Christ," "in paradise," in "the third heaven," "present with the Lord." Thus, surely,
death is ours, a servant like every other minister (1 Cor. 3:22). And death, as the King of Terrors,
is abolished.

Yes, even the certainty of death is gone. It is by no means sure that the eye that now reads these
lines shall ever close in death, for it is written, "We shall not all sleep" (1 Cor. 15:51), and "We
who are alive and remain shall be caught up" (1 Thess. 4:17). What a hope! It has, indeed, been
deferred for a long time. But it will not seem long when_in Christ’s company and changed to be
like Himself_we look back on the days now so often dreary.

Sickness, pain, and weakness still are around us on every side. But in the midst of these trials, we
hear Him say to us, "It is I, be not afraid" (Matt. 14:27), and "My grace is sufficient for you" (2
Cor. 12:9). Thus we triumph through all such trials.

For those who remain after a loved one is taken home, there is still sorrow; the deep places of the
soul are broken up. But when faith resumes her place the bitterness goes, and the sorrow becomes
only like the beauty of a storm cloud spanned by a rainbow.

May the same tender grace that has provided this rich comfort grant us to avail of it to the full.
Thus may we praise Him in joyous liberty here and long to be with Him who has abolished death
and destroyed him who had the power of death, the devil. "Wherefore comfort [or encourage] one
another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18).

(From Satan:His Person, Work, Place and Destiny, Loizeaux Brothers.)