Can satan Take Life?
I have had the privilege to minister to many people. Some of these people have been healed from their afflictions whilst others have not, and some have even died. It is very upsetting when those I have prayed for have died. It is my belief that there are times when God takes us home and it is His timing, whilst other times I believe the enemy takes us out prematurely. Is this possible?
The Bible teaches us when we walk contrary to God’s ways then the enemy can have power over us and cause affliction. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:26-27, NKJV). The word place in Greek is Tópos and means Opportunity, Power or Occasion for acting.
But does this apply to death? Can things in our lives give the devil power over our actual life? Can the devil take us out before our God-given time? Many believe that because God is in ultimate control He holds the power of life and death and that the devil cannot take us out before God’s time.
What does the Bible say?
The Bible teaches us that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy and wants to lead us onto the path that leads to destruction. From Genesis to the concluding chapters of Revelation, he endeavours to seize mankind, either by snatching them (e.g., diverting people away from God), causing harm (e.g., luring humans toward self-destructive behavior), or causing devastation (e.g., dismantling churches through persecution, disagreements, false teachers etc).
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10, NKJV). Interestingly the word thief in this passage is not referring to the devil but instead ‘false teachers’ who take you out of the will of God. Jesus says that such people are of their Father the devil who is the Father of lies and a murderer. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44, NKJV). These deceitful instructors and thieves are executing the intentions of Satan. Instead of fostering life, they bring about death. Instead of giving, they take. Instead of constructing, they tear down.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8, NKJV).
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15, NKJV). This Scripture shows us that the devil was given the power of death when Adam and Eve sinned. Jesus through the cross broke the power of death for those who choose Him as their Lord and Savior which means they inherit eternal life in Heaven simply by believing in His work of the cross. We are no longer spiritually dead, and our spirit and soul come alive and are quickened to God. The curse of death over our physical bodies will be taken away from man when Jesus returns and we inherit our new bodies. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him (Revelation 22:3, NKJV). Once the new Heaven and earth come, we will no longer be subject to death in any way and live with Christ for all eternity in our new fleshly bodies. Although the curse of death is broken by Jesus at the cross clearly man is still subject to it in our earthly bodies. It still has the power to cause our physical bodies to decay. Scripture shows us that sin upon sin compounds this issue and the decaying process is quickened.
Ephesians 4:26-27 shows that sin gives a foothold to the devil in your life. What this means is, if we enter into things that give power to the devil he can cause carnage in our lives, and even worse, cause premature death because his mission is to steal, kill and destroy and take us out before our God-given designated time. When we work with God and stay in His will and His perfect path then we enter into all that He has predestined for us. When we sow to the flesh we choose death, when we sow to the spirit we choose life. For if you live according to flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:13, KJV). Many times, we take ourselves out of the will and perfect path of God through our own decisions and actions we make.
In 2 Samuel 14-18 we see that the baby born to David and Bathsheba fell ill and died because of David’s sin. In John 5:14 we see the man in the pool who was healed being told by Jesus to stop sinning otherwise something worse will come upon him.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:4-5, NKJV). The reference to the "destruction of the flesh" in the case of the incestuous man in Corinth implies that unless he repented of his sin, he would face the consequence of physical death. Although the specifics regarding the nature of affliction, disease, or circumstances are not disclosed, it is suggested that his body was undergoing a unique form of disciplinary decay. The implication is that if he persisted in his sinful behavior, his life would be cut short prematurely compared to what would have been his natural lifespan.
When reading Job, Satan and his followers instigated the Sabeans to attack and kill Job's oxen, donkeys, and their caretakers (Job 1:13-15). Following this, Satan orchestrated a hail of fire from heaven, resulting in the death of Job's sheep and servants (Job 1:16). Verse 17 recounts the Chaldeans assaulting Job's camels and fatally harming the accompanying servants. The following verses, 18-19, detail a destructive wind that caused the collapse of Job's eldest son's house, leading to the tragic deaths of Job's sons and daughters. It is noteworthy that all these calamities were attributed to Satan, occurring immediately after he received permission to afflict Job. This underscores Satan's considerable power, demonstrating his ability to manipulate the elements—wind and fire—and influence individuals to commit acts of evil.
In Job 1 (9-11) the devil mentioned God had put a hedge of protection around Job, his house and all that he has. One has to assume that we all have this God-given hedge of protection. It is my belief that when we enter into things that are not of God and His Kingdom, we can step out of our God-given protection, or that God can even take away protection in certain areas of our lives. In other words, our actions stop us receiving all He has for us. In the case of Job however, Job did not sin and none of what happened was his fault. God allowed the devil access to Job so that God could test Jobs faith. In this time of testing God allowed the devil to kill many of Jobs family – the exception was that the devil was not allowed to kill Job himself. The end of the story showed us that Job still trusted God and did not turn away or curse God, and in return was blessed beyond measure for His faith and obedience. This story also shows us that God was still in control and that the devil was only allowed to do what God permitted him to do.
Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer (1 Corinthians 10:10, NKJV). The word destroyed in Greek is Apóllymi which means to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively: — destroy, die, lose, mar, perish. This passage shows us that when we complain against God, it opens ourselves up to the destroyer whose ultimate aim is to kill, in other words, put us to death.
In the Bible we see that God has designated ‘the days of our years’ for mankind as three score years and ten (age 70) (Psalm 90:10) so my belief is that any death before this is premature death! As my husband and I were discussing this, my husband received a vision for a person I had once prayed for but had died. This person was much younger than 70 years old. My husband saw this person’s timeline, and the time of death God had predestined for them, and he saw that the actual date they had died was before the designated death date God had written on His Godly timeline. This confirmed to us that satan had prematurely taken this person out.
Many years ago, God gave me a picture of His perfect path which is the will of God in each person’s life. It was the narrow path and full of blessings. God has a timeline and perfect path for every person. This involves the day you are born and the day you are destined to die and everything you are called to do in the calling He has for you. It is written. I believe this is what is known as the Godly path or the straight path. The other path is called the path to destruction and is the wide path. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14, NKJV).
I then got to thinking about babies and young children who die. Do we really think when God created them that He wrote in their timeline that they would only live a few years and then He would take them home? I do not believe so at all. Why would God create someone just to take them home in such a short space of time. Every person God creates is created with a perfect timeline in Him. If for some reason one is taken away from that perfect path and onto the wrong path, then they are in the firing line of the enemy. God could use His grace and keep them 100% protected but more often than not because God is a just God and abides by His own justice system and moral principles of right and wrong, He chooses to allow the enemy access. In saying this though I do not believe that the enemy can take someone out without Gods permission. We know by the Word of God that God does and always has had the ultimate sovereign power over death. The Bible is clear that God has control and oversees all things, but we see also that God allows the devil power when there is sin in our lives. We see in Scripture that the devil comes before God accusing the saints before Him. God is just and allows the enemy access to us when we walk contrary to the Kingdom way of living. Is this punishment? Absolutely not. The Bible tells us that punishment and condemnation were part of the curse of the law that Jesus removed from us. It is instead part of the reaping and sowing effect that God put in place (Galatians 6:7-10). He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
Another thing to consider is suicide. When one decides to take their own life, you are taking your life from the hands of God and into your own. God does not violate free-will. There may however be times He will intervene, especially if someone has been praying for you. Prayer is a weapon in our arsenal that can take the power or control from the enemy. That is why the word of God tells us to never stop praying.
Throughout this I learnt that Gods ways are surely not our ways. He sees the greater picture and we see only a snippet. In these times we have to trust that His ways are higher than our ways and that He has a better plan and a purpose for our pain and suffering. Thanking God in all circumstances can help us to thwart the enemy from coming into our lives and causing hurt, disappointment and bitterness toward God. The enemy wants nothing more than to turn us away from God in the belief that He has hurt us or let us down. The word of God promises that He will never let us down or hurt us. Punishment was removed from mankind when Jesus died on the cross. God no longer punishes us, but instead disciples and scourges those whom he loves. We can trust that God loves us and wants only the best for us. Even though He is in control of all things and could prevent anything bad happening to us, He is a ‘just’ God and abides by His own system of reaping and sowing that He put in place. If we step outside of His hedge of protection that He has placed around us, often He will allow the enemy access to us so we can learn something throughout and receive an even better outcome. This is not only for us but also for those around us. God will turn all things to good.
(1 Corinthians 11:24-34, NKJV) And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Not discerning the Lords body. Drinking and eating in an unworthy manner brings judgment on ourselves. Drinking His Blood represents the new agreement God made with His people. Drinking His Blood is coming into agreement with this covenant. Drinking His blood means true belief in the Son no matter the circumstances. There is a testing that takes place so that God can really see what your heart believes. His Blood is such an important part of the sanctification process. His flesh represents the word of God (His Body) and we need to understand and know the truth of His word and walk in it as it is the truth of His word that sets us free (Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32, KJV). One of these examples is understanding that we are worthy to partake only through His righteousness. No works on our behalf can save us or render us right before God – only the Blood of Jesus can do that. This also does not mean that we are worthless. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save us. When we are not discerning the Blood and Body of Christ this passage says that many ‘sleep’ because of it. The ultimate key to living the abundant life is to remain in constant relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit – seeking Him for any blockages that are in our life that haven’t been dealt with. It is the removal of these things that cleanse, deliver and heal us.
To conclude this study, I learnt that the devil needs to get God’s permission for everything he does to us. God is just and sovereign and abides by His own morals or right and wrong and abides by the reaping and sowing principle. Sin or curses in our lives can indeed take one out of the will of God and His perfect path for us and ultimately end in death if one does not deal with these things. This is not God’s will nor what God has planned for us. He has a perfect path for each and every one of us and His path is good and full of blessings. I believe that each and every one of our God-given paths are full of goodness, abundance and long-life. We perish through lack of knowledge. Revelation knowledge is key and we need to be seeking God for the blockages that prevent us from receiving our Kingdom Inheritance which is life and life in abundance.
The good news throughout all this though, is that when you are saved (Jesus is your Lord and Savior) even if satans kills, steals and destroys he cannot snatch you out of God’s hand (which is eternal life in Heaven). My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand (John 10:29, NKJV).
(PRAYER) – “Father God thank You for Your perfect path which is the will of God for my life. If I have veered from this path Lord and am headed onto the road to destruction, I repent and ask for You to show me how to get back on Your perfect path for me. I break ‘premature death’ from my life Lord Jesus and declare that I will live and not die and declare the works of the Lord (Psalm 118:17). Please reveal to me every blockage in my life that prevents me from living the abundant life. Lord Jesus Your word says that every day of my life is fashioned for me, and in Your book, they are written (Psalm 139:16, NKJV). I ask Lord Jesus that You would scrub my name from the enemy’s counterfeit book of life and everything he has fashioned for me. Burn that counterfeit book Lord Jesus that leads to death, and lead me in the way everlasting. Thank You, in Jesus name, Amen.”
By Tania Francis