Appendix.37
Revised 2023
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This work is completely independent of any existing religions denomination, church, organisation or group, a voice from a wilderness.
Almost all religions in the world, including all the Christian denominations, teach and believe the concept of man having a Soul that does not die at death but moves on in another form. Upon of the basis this doctrine many Christian religions teach that at death those who are wicked go to Hell a fiery place of continual pain and punishment. This information deals mainly with the subject from the Christian view using the bible as its authority.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica (1988), Volume 11, page 25 says.“Early Christian philosophers adopted the Greek concept of the soul’s immortality and thought of the soul as being created by God and infused into the body at conception.”
Regarding the creation of the first human soul, “God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul [Hebrew, neʹphesh].” Genesis 2:7. The Hebrew word neʹphesh, here translated “soul,” means ‘a creature that breathes'. When God created the first man, Adam, He did not infuse into him an already living immortal soul. He created a life force that required maintaining by breathing. “Soul” used in the Bible, refers to the entire living breathing being. If oxygen is denied to the cells, the life force of the soul or person dies.
"In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return" Genesis 3:19;
"The soul who sins is the one who will die" Ezekiel 18:20.
"Man has no superiority over animals, for everything is futile. 20 All are going to the same place. They all come from the dust, and they all are returning to the dust" Ecc 3:19-20.
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, defines nephesh as “the essence of life, the act of breathing, taking breath … The problem with the English term ‘soul’ is that no actual equivalent of the term or the idea behind it is represented in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew system of thought does not include the combination of the ‘body’ and ‘soul’ which are really Greek and Latin in origin” (1985, p. 237-238,).
The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible says on nephesh: “The word ‘soul’ in English, .. ultimately coming from philosophical Greek (Platonism) and from Orphism and Gnosticism are absent in ‘nephesh'. In the OT it never means the immortal soul, but it is essentially the life principle, or the living being,” (Vol. 4, 1962, “Soul,” ). The Old Testament describes the dead as going to sheol, translated into English as “hell,” “pit” or “grave.” Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 describes sheol as a place of unconsciousness: “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished …”
King David laments that death extinguishes a relationship with God. “For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?” Psalms 6:5. The immortal-soul concept is not part of the Old Testament, it began to make inroads into Jewish thought, as Jews came into contact with Greek culture. When the 'Church' adopted the doctrine of the immortal soul, it also developed the teaching of hellfire. The most common belief regarding the afterlife in the Christian Church now, is that people possess souls and at death, their consciousness in the form of the soul, departs from the body and goes to heaven or hell.
WHAT THE APOSTLES TAUGHT
Like the Hebrew word nephesh, the Greek equivalent word psuche refers to humans and animals as “souls”. Jesus declared that God can destroy man’s psuche, or “soul” at Matthew 10:28. The apostle Paul describes death as “sleep” :
"Who died for us, that whether we be wake or sleep, we should live together with Him" 1 Thessalonians 5:10.
Comparison: "Jesus who died for us, so that we can live together with him, whether we are ·alive [ awake ] or ·dead [ asleep ] when he comes" 1 Thessalonians 5:10 EXB.
List of scriptures that refer to death as being asleep, Acts 7:60, 13:36, 1 Cor 7:39 15:6 15:18 15:20 15:21, 1 Th 4:14 4:15 5:10 2 Pet 3:4.
The term immortal soul appears nowhere in the Bible. It does however speak about immortality. For example: “You know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” 1 John 3:15. Paul, at Romans 2:5-7, told members of the congregation in Rome to “seek” immortality. He taught Christians at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 that they must be changed and “put on” immortality. Saying that only God and His Son possess immortality at 1 Timothy 6:12-16, and that eternal life is a “gift” from God at Romans 6:23. The most powerful words come from Jesus Himself: “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day” John 6:40.
Just as Jesus had been resurrected after sleeping in death for three days, he referred to these ones as being raised or resurrected at the 'last day'. They sleep in death, in which there is no recognition of time until the 'last day' period starts, when they receive a resurrection back to life. Jesus also confirmed that all mankind, including the bad would receive a second chance resurrection "I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked" Acts 24:15 (NIV). Whether dead in 'soul sleep', unconscious for a year or 100 years or 1,000 years, when resurrected, they return to consciousness with no recollection of time passing, time ceases to exist for them in the unconscious state. Soul sleep, lasts from death until the day of resurrection, it is timeless and the same for all.
ORIGIN OF IMMORTAL SOUL TEACHING
After providing the first human couple a pristine perfect environment, God placed on them a reasonable test that required them to make a choice. Either accept Him as their ruler and standard setter or reject Him in favour of determining their own independent standards. A bench test was employed. "God gave this command to the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:16-17.
This choice drew a certain spirit Son of God, who contradicted what Yhwh had said. “Did God really say that you must not eat from every tree of the garden?” .. the woman said .. “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But God has said about the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden: ‘You must not eat from it, no, you must not touch it; otherwise you will die.’” At this the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die. For God knows that in the very day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad.” Genesis 3:1-5. This slanderer directly contradicted what God had said and in fact called God a liar. It was this original lie "You certainly will not die, you will become like God" that created the erroneous universal belief that humans have immortal souls and do not really die but instead become spirit creatures like Gods after death.
Teaching the immortality of the human soul, the Churches are in reality teaching the same lie as Satan in complete opposition to Gods' truth.
THE BIBLE'S ANSWER TO DEATH
The Bible informs us that God promises all mankind a resurrection. All records of our DNA, our memories, personality characteristics, etc, are at death recorded in the memory banks of God, and will all be returned in a new body at resurrection. But when?
See REVEALING THE SONS OF GOD.
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