10 Notorious Villains of the Bible and What Their Downfall Teaches Us

Adam and Eve were the first people to commit sin, but their eldest son, Cain, holds the title as the first murderer. Jealous of his brother, Abel, and his offering to God, Cain allowed hatred to grow in his heart. God warned him of the danger lurking (Genesis 4:2-7). Sadly, the bitter brother did not listen and instead chose to kill Abel. The brother he should have cared for (as he was his brother’s keeper), he murdered in innocent blood (Genesis 4:8-12).  

Readers of this account should be shocked at Cain’s actions, as well as equally shocked at the Lord’s response. He rebuked the sinning brother, calling to account the evil deed, but also extended mercy to Cain. The Lord provided protection for this brother by giving him a mark, so that no one would kill Cain – if they did, they would receive vengeance sevenfold (Genesis 4:13-15).  

Despite this show of mercy, Scripture does not show Cain repenting or attempting to follow the Lord. The greatest evidence of sin’s mastery over him is that his offspring inherited his proclivity toward wickedness (Genesis 4:17-24). As noted in the genealogies in Genesis, those listed in the lineage of Cain did not follow the Lord, in contrast to Seth’s line (the other brother who was born after the death of Abel).  

The villainous legacy of Cain endured and informed the New Testament writers’ view of sin, murder, and hatred. John connected those who hate their brothers and sisters with murderers, and said the world seeks to destroy believers just as Cain killed his brother (1 John 3:12, 15). Likewise, Jude compared false teachers to the first jealous brother (Jude 1:11).  

We should not follow the way of Cain, who allowed bitterness and hatred to consume his heart, which led to sin. When jealousy and hate crouch ready to pounce on us, may we remember the love of our Lord who died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Undeserving of such grace, our response to conflict with others should be a willingness to forgive.    

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In the same epistle that pronounces judgment on those who follow the way of Cain, another renowned biblical villain is mentioned: Balaam (Jude 1:11). He was a diviner who was hired by the King of Moab to curse the Israelites, though he is better known today for his conversation with a donkey. Balaam’s famous magical powers were demonic in origin. Yet, through the work of God, even a false prophet like Balaam was used to speak words of blessing, not curses, over Israel. Three times, Balaam pronounced a blessing over Moab’s enemy (Numbers 23-24).  

Based on Balaam’s choice of words in the account and his consistent acknowledgement of only being able to pronounce the words of God, some readers might be tempted to think that this man was indeed a follower of the Lord. However, we must remember that Balaam agreed to offer services to the King of Moab for Israel’s harm, and harm is what he caused. He advised the Moabites to tempt the Israelites to sexual immorality and idolatry (Numbers 31:16). As the Israelite men engaged in sexual immorality with the Moabite women, they were led further into sin by worshiping Baal, which incurred the Lord’s wrath. A plague broke out against Israel, killing 24,000 people (Numbers 25:9). Only because of Phinehas’ zeal for the Lord’s honor did the plague end (Numbers 25:6-8).   

The incident in Peor served as a reminder of and warning against wickedness in the minds of the Israelites (see Psalm 106:28). Likewise, Jesus mentioned Balaam and the evil at Peor to warn the church at Pergamum to turn away from the teachings of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:14-15). Like Balaam, the Nicolaitans were false prophets seeking to cause harm. They were not servants of God. 

Christians today also need to be watchful of false teachers who may appear to be aligned with the truth, and can speak in a way a faithful Christian would, because such teachers were present in the early church and are present now. Hence, the Apostle Jude urged believers to contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).     

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Saul seemed to be the epitome of a king. He was handsome, tall, and came from a wealthy family (1 Samuel 9:2). The people all expressed admiration for him (1 Samuel 10:23-24). But there were already telltale signs that this man was not the right choice for the ruler of Israel. He acted cowardly when the prophet Samuel attempted to present him as king (1 Samuel 10:22). And then, when the prophet gave specific instructions to Saul from the Lord, the mighty man from Benjamin was unable to follow them (1 Samuel 15:17-19). Under all the pomp and show of power was a man who was afraid and unfaithful to the Lord.  

Yet villainy did not at first mark Saul; it gradually developed as he became increasingly jealous of David. Hearing others praise David more highly than himself, Saul made plans to murder the shepherd (1 Samuel 19:1, 10-11). He attempted to spear David, plotted to kill him in his sleep, and pursued him throughout the wilderness. Yet the shepherd-warrior never attempted to retaliate and take Saul’s life. David deliberately chose to withhold vengeance, and when Saul was finally killed in battle, he mourned the loss of God’s anointed leader (1 Samuel 24:6; 2 Samuel 1:17).   

Not only did Saul act immorally by seeking David’s life, but he also committed other sins. He failed to carry out God’s orders to destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:7-11). As a result, a later descendant of the Amalekites, Haman, attempted to completely wipe out the Jewish people (Esther 3:5-6).  

And Saul even went to the extent of participating in necromancy out of fear of losing his position as king (1 Samuel 28). The man who had worked throughout his rule to remove witches and sorcerers from the land utilized the witch of Endor to conjure up the spirit of Samuel – an act forbidden in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).  

What Saul had failed to understand was that God did not want an outward show of faith through the keeping of ritual and rules (1 Samuel 15:22-23). The Lord desired wholehearted faith, something that David possessed, but Saul did not.        

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God had sovereignly given ten of the tribes of Israel to Jeroboam as a judgment against Solomon, since the wise king had unwisely allowed himself to be seduced into worshiping idols (1 Kings 11:30-31). The Lord had also promised Jeroboam an enduring dynasty if he would faithfully follow the Law (1 Kings 11:38). As is so often the case with people, though, Jeroboam did not listen. This new king of Northern Israel turned away from the Lord to pursue his own path, or rather, one that had been walked before. 

Following in the footsteps of the wicked Israelites who had made a golden calf while Moses received the Law, Jeroboam formed two golden calves as idols (1 Kings 12:28-30). He did not want the Israelites to travel to the temple in Jerusalem (the kingdom of Rehoboam), and so he established the religious center of the Northern Kingdom in Dan and Bethel. There, the Israelites engaged in a form of syncretism as they combined idolatry with worship of the Lord. Such an act angered God – the kingdom of Northern Israel would not endure.   

As a result, Jeroboam, son of Nebat, became a byword for wicked rulers. The kings who acted sinfully were recorded in Scripture as walking in the way of Jeroboam (1 Kings 16:26). Also, the idolatry he promoted (though under the guise of worshiping Yahweh, the true God) led to Northern Israel’s punishment and exile. Only under the reign of king Josiah were the detestable altars finally destroyed (2 Kings 23:15).  

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Arguably, the most notorious of all the biblical human villains are the evil king Ahab and his wife Jezebel, though Jezebel surpasses her husband in wickedness. She is the one who arranged to have Naboth murdered so her husband could take possession of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:5-15). Ahab felt remorse over his actions and repented, yet his wife was unaffected (1 Kings 21:27). Of course, that was not the only murder Jezebel plotted. She sought Elijah’s life after the death of the prophets of Baal, and she led the persecution against the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4; 19:2). Only because of Obadiah, who hid a hundred of the prophets, was there a remnant of prophets left. 

Jezebel’s sinister legacy lived on through other individuals who were similar to their spiritual forebearer. As the counterpart to John the Baptist, the Elijah-figure who announced the Lord’s coming, Herodias and her daughter were the Jezebel-figures who sought to stamp out the work of the Lord. With the same murderous intent as that Phoenician queen, Herodias manipulated events to get her husband to grant her a favor – John the Baptist’s head on a platter (Mark 6:17-28). She persecuted the prophet for speaking out against her marriage, just as Jezebel had tried to kill Elijah for his service to the Lord. Similarly, a false prophetess mentioned in Revelation was compared to Jezebel (Revelation 2:20). John’s vision of the great prostitute also bears a striking resemblance to her (see Revelation 17:3-6).  

This does not mean Jezebel’s husband was good, though, for he was not. He might not have been as intent on murder as his wife, but Ahab is highlighted in Scripture as a wicked ruler. As 1 Kings 21:25-26 says, “There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel” (NIV). Ahab was a promoter of idolatry, causing the Israelites to descend further into sin and away from the Lord.  

Because of the evil of this ruling couple and their act of injustice in killing Naboth, Elijah prophesied that they would both suffer a violent death (1 Kings 21:17-24). And that is exactly what happened. The Lord righteously ordained their deaths – Ahab while in battle (1 Kings 22:34-38), and Jezebel pushed from an upper-story window (2 Kings 9:30-37).  

Ahab and Jezebel may have considered themselves as successful and rich elites in their culture, but in God’s eyes, they were failures and spiritually impoverished individuals. Their lives serve as a warning against those who turn away from the Lord.     

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As the daughter of Jezebel and Ahab, Athaliah continued in her parents’ wickedness. Her father had formed an alliance with Jehosaphat, and so she came to power through her marriage to Jehosaphat’s son, Jehoram (2 Kings 8:18). Their son, Ahaziah, ruled in Judah and was encouraged toward evil by his mother, who was “his counselor in wickedness” (2 Chronicles 22:3, BSB).  

But his rule was short-lived since Jehu enacted vengeance against the house of Ahab. Ahaziah was put to death, along with the other princes of Judah. This was an opportunity Athaliah scrambled to take. She began murdering the surviving heirs to the throne and took control as queen of Israel, ruling for six years as the only reigning queen in Israel’s history (2 Chronicles 22:10-12) 

Her willingness to kill those in the Davidic line, including her grandson Joash, shows the extent of her depravity. She was an idolator whose reign was marked by ruthlessness. Eventually, her villainy came to an end when God brought judgment against her through Jehoiada the priest, the one who promoted the worship of the Lord through his counsel to Joash (2 Chronicles 23:14-17).      

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Even for the worst human villains, there is the chance of redemption. We see this in fictional tales, such as in The Lord of the Rings, when Frodo chose to extend mercy to Saruman and Wormtongue. He knew what it was like to be consumed by darkness and decided to show mercy to those still held by the Ring’s power. Wicked characters do not always respond to the mercy shown to them, just as people in real life refuse the good news of the gospel. But sometimes, there are those villains who choose to turn away from their former evil. Such stories are powerful testimonies of God’s grace.  

Manasseh’s story is one of these stories about an enemy turned follower of God. We would assume that with a father like Hezekiah, Manasseh would have lived in obedience to the Lord from the beginning of his reign, but he did not. Scripture tells us that he rebuilt the high places for idol worship and set up Asherah poles and altars for Baal. He desecrated the temple of the Lord by setting up images and worshiping the stars. Also, he practiced witchcraft and divination, and even went as far as to sacrifice his children in the fire (2 Chronicles 33:4-6). The Bible is clear about the wickedness of this king: “Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites” (2 Chronicles 33:9, NIV).  

God attempted to get Manasseh’s attention, but the king did not listen. So, the Lord used a tactic that works on most of us. He allowed suffering to enter Manasseh’s life. The commanders of the army of Assyria captured Manasseh and took him as a shackled prisoner to Babylon. With everything stripped away, he had time for reflection. The evil of his actions was exposed to him, which led him to humble himself and seek the Lord’s help. In answer to Manasseh’s prayers, God restored him to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 33:13).  

The king was a changed man, for he now “knew that the Lord is God” (2 Chronicles 33:13). He removed the idols and images from the temple and the land. Once Manasseh had been a promoter of idolatry, but now he was urging people to worship the Lord God (2 Chronicles 33:15-16). His story shows us the power of God’s redemptive work, that we do not have to stay within the realm of darkness. Former villains can become members of the kingdom of light.      

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He is known as Herod the Great, but his greatness is questionable. From a biblical standpoint, he was not a great ruler, as jealousy, suspicion, and murder defined his life. Herod was known to be capricious, and he killed multiple members of his family in an effort to keep a grip on the throne. So, although some historians positively highlight his rise to power and his grand additions to the Jewish temple, Herod is known biblically for his evil deeds, specifically the Massacre of the Innocents.   

News of the Messiah’s birth did not bring Herod joy. From what he knew of the prophecies, a new king of Israel meant he would lose his position as king of Judea under Roman rule. He did not want that to happen. Thus, he acted in a way that mirrored Pharaoh during the time of Moses’ birth. Herod commanded the deaths of all the male boys in Bethlehem under the age of two, to remove any threat to his rule (Matthew 2:16). In his greed and lust for power, he sought the life of the Lord Jesus, the Savior of the world.  

The blood of the children he killed will cry against Herod on the Day of Judgment. His actions fulfilled what Jeremiah spoke of, of people mourning for the loss of their children (Matthew 2:17-18). Although he may have tried to act as a follower of the Jewish Law to gain political favor, Herod was far from God. His evil actions will be brought to light for all to see at the end of days when he stands in judgment before the One he attempted to murder.      

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In Dante’s Inferno, Judas is pictured in the center of hell within the mouth of Satan. Such an image depicting the betrayer of Christ in the worst part of hell has a legitimate basis considering Scripture calls Judas the son of perdition (John 17:12). Jesus said that it would have been better for His betrayer not to have been born, pronouncing a woe upon him (Matthew 26:24). There is no other person quite like Judas, as he is the epitome of a traitor.  

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Throughout his time with Jesus, he had already been pinching coins from the money bag and coveting expensive items, such as Mary of Bethany’s costly perfume (John 12:5-6). Greed was his undoing.   

The closeness of Judas to Jesus makes the act even more heinous. He was not a stranger who happened to learn about the Lord’s whereabouts, eager to gain favor with the Pharisees. No, he was a member of Jesus’ own number. He had seen the Lord heal, release people from bondage to demons, miraculously feed hundreds of people, and witnessed Christ raise people from the dead, including Lazarus. Like the other disciples, he had been counted among the close followers of Jesus, privy to the teachings and explanations from the Lord. He was not overt in his treason; he betrayed Jesus with a kiss (Luke 22:48). Such an act mirrored Ahithophel’s betrayal of David, who had been the king’s trusted counselor and friend (Psalm 41:9; 55:12-14).   

We know from the Bible that after the deed was done, Judas felt remorse for handing over Jesus, an innocent man, to die (Matthew 27:3-4). He attempted to give back the coins and then hanged himself because of the overwhelming guilt (Matthew 27:5). Unlike many other villains in the Bible, who would have gloated over their prize, Judas’ conscience was stricken. His remorse could have indicated a desire for forgiveness. Biblical scholars continue to debate whether this traitor could have been saved, and whether he is in hell or not. The Lord knew what was going to happen, that Judas would betray Him. Surely, grace would have been shown to Judas if he had sought forgiveness, just as Jesus forgave and reinstated Peter after the disciple denied knowing Christ.    

And we know that the devil had a part in Judas’ actions. Luke and John record how Satan entered the erring disciple before he betrayed the Lord (Luke 22:3; John 13:27). So, although we are unwise to take the stance “the devil made him do it,” we should acknowledge that spiritual forces were at work surrounding the actions of Judas Iscariot. Whether or not he received salvation is debatable; however, he will continue to be remembered in Scripture as the one who betrayed the innocent Son of God.   

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As terrible as the deeds of people like Cain, Balaam, Jezebel, and Judas were, the title for worst villain in the Bible belongs to Satan, our adversary. He is not a human like the other villains on this list, but a fallen angel who chose his path long before the fall of humankind. All of God’s creation was originally “very good” (Genesis 1:31). However, starting with Satan, sin began to worm its way in and corrupt what God had made. The devil was once an angel who served the Lord – he saw the beauty and glory of God, yet still he chose to turn away in rebellion. With other defiant angels who sided with him, Satan fell and became an enemy of the Lord (see Isaiah 14:12).  

He is the one who snuck into Eden to deceive Eve and Adam, causing more harm to the Lord’s good creation. That crafty serpent, Satan, lied by telling the first humans that they could become gods, and temptation was awakened (Genesis 3:1-5). Sin entered the world because of Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God.  

Throughout the Bible, we find the devil working to thwart God’s plan of salvation. The book of Daniel shows us that spiritual forces are at work in the world, and Satan was surely behind the attempts to wipe out Israel and David’s lineage. People like Haman and Saul were sinners fueled by their own hatred and desire for power, but the devil certainly would have wanted to fuel the flames of sin to destroy Israel and the lineage through which the Messiah would come. The Seed of the Woman would crush his head, eventually, but he would still do all he could to strike the heel (Genesis 3:15). And Satan did; he watched with pleasure as Herod tried to snuff out the life of the newly born Christ. He tempted the Son of God in the wilderness, trying to get Jesus to bow down in worship of him (Matthew 4:1-11). Then, he entered one of the Messiah’s own followers – Judas – to betray the Lord and have him sentenced to death (Luke 22:3).  

The devil may have thought he had succeeded at Jesus’ death, but the tables had been turned. For at the cross, Satan was defeated. Christ had paid for the sins of all mankind, an earth-shaking event that changed the course of history. No more would the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve live in terror of death because of the devil or endure the weight of separation from God (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus had brought salvation, and all who believed in Him would be set free. His resurrection was proof of this truth.  

In the future, the old serpent will attempt again to thwart the Lord’s plan by pursuing God’s chosen people and persecuting the saints. He will seek to set himself as a god, and people will worship the dragon for a time (Revelation 13:4). But the devil will not prevail. His days are numbered and his fate in the Lake of Fire is assured (Revelation 12:12; 20:10). The dragon’s head will be crushed, and God’s never-ending Kingdom will be established, never to be hindered by sin or Satan again.   

Until then, we remain vigilant of the devil and his schemes, knowing that he seeks to devour us (2 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Peter 5:8). We put on the armor of God to fight our true enemy, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV).      

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