Death of Herod

Death of Herod

The death of Herod in the book of Acts was widely believed to be attributed to God. Unlike Ananias & Sapphira’s incident, this is a tough passage to handle.

Having said that, it takes much more to argue that God killed Herod, than to say that He didn’t. There are way too many Scriptures to show that God (in His nature and character represented by Christ) wasn’t the One.

I have heard many interpretations, even from the New Covenant teachings. But none seems to explain the consistent nature of God who changes not. Some even said that God had to kill him (soul and body, but not spirit) in order to save more lives, i.e. to protect the Gospel and the Church. Well, if God does it to one, He has no reason not to do it to another. If Jesus is not the true exegesis of who God is, then we are no different from any non-believer.

And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. - Acts 12:23

The word ‘angel’ in Greek can refer to ‘a superhuman being’, which is an angel. Or it can also refer to a ‘human messenger.’ There are many cross-references for these.

Hence, it is possible that a human messenger struck Herod. But in Josephus’ account, there was severe stomach pain from Herod’s internal, which seemed to point to something beyond natural. Furthermore, Luke wrote that Herod was eaten by worms, although he didn’t specify the timeline when it took place. It could have taken several days (in Josephus’ account) for the worms to eat him up.

Another possible reason is that an angel of God indeed struck Herod. Since angels have freewill (Jude 6; nowhere in the Bible says that angels don’t have freewill), they could have done something that God didn’t necessarily approve (just as Peter did in the case of Ananias & Sapphira).

A third reason could be that Luke didn’t have a full understanding of the New Covenant and thus, simply attributed everything supernatural to God. Just like Peter and the OT saints didn’t have complete understanding in their days. Don’t forget that Acts is a historical book and the Temple had yet to be desecrated. In Josephus’ account, Herod himself believed that he would certainly die if he saw the sign of an owl for a second time, which he did after he was publicly glorified by men. Negative faith is still faith that works according to your belief. The devil can easily steal, kill and destroy, and push the blame to God. This is the same today when believers attributed disasters and deaths to God. 

I’m more inclined to believe in the second reason where the angel acted on its own accord. Ultimately, it is not as vital to know who killed Herod, as long as we know that it is not God. Yes, there is a judgment that is to come, but it is not now and I have many Scriptures spoken from Christ Himself regarding judgment.

If God were to take away one’s life to save another, then Christ died in vain and He didn’t do a complete and perfect work on the Cross.

P.S: Since this is a radical view in the eyes of mainstream believers, I’ll like to suggest that you dig deeper before commenting, as I won’t be replying if the intention is simply to argue.