(1) Biblical Christianity teaches that man consists of:
(2) The Watchtower Society believes that man consists of:
The word "soul" has a dual meaning. It can mean the whole person, or a secondary meaning of something separate from the body. When you are born, you are a soul and you have a soul.
This concept is not as clearly outlined in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament. The soul is our intellect,
our personality, our identity.
Genesis 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Man "became" a living soul. This is a figure of speech where a complete object is alluded to by speaking of one of its principal parts. Ex. "I saw 200 heads of cattle," or "Please give me a hand with this." And surely you've heard the expression, "Oh, you poor soul."
The Bible teaches that "soul" and "life" are not the same; they are distinct from each other:
Job 33:18 "He keeps back his soul from the pit and his life from perishing by the sword."
Job 33:22 "His soul draws near the pit and his life to the executioners."
Psalm 88:3 "My soul is full of troubles and my life draws near to the grave."
Man's soul is his self-consciousness and his spirit is his God-consciousness. They are not the same although the terms are often used interchangeably.
Genesis 35:18 (Rachel in childbirth): "It came about as her soul was departing (for she died)"
If the soul goes out at death, then we can reasonably expect that if it returns, the person would live.
I Samuel 28:11-15 Saul goes to the witch at Endor to conjure up Samuel. Samuel appears and the witch cries out with a loud voice. Even the witch was surprised because it really was Samuel. People who conduct seances are basically phonies, so to actually see Samuel frightened the witch. We know that it really is Samuel and not a demon because from verse 16 on, Samuel rebukes Saul in the name of Jehovah, something a demon would never do. In verse 19 Samuel says to Saul, "TOMORROW shall you and your sons be with me." The following day, Saul and his sons went into battle and they were slain. Their bodies were taken and nailed to the walls of Bethshan and some 2 or 3 days later their dead bodies were taken down and buried. This certainly shows that Saul and his sons were not in the "grave" with Samuel the day they died. Then where were they? The SOULS of Saul and his sons went to Sheol, the realm of the departed spirits.
In Deuteronomy 18:10,11
"There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead."
and
Leviticus 19:31"Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."
God forbids necromancy. Why would He do this if He knew that the dead ceased to exist, as the Jehovah's Witnesses believe? Why would anyone try to make contact with the dead if they believed that the dead had no conscious existence afterwards?
II Samuel 12:23"But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
David's soul goes to his son.
I Kings 17:21,22"O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him." Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived."
When God returned the child's soul to his body, he became alive again.
Other scriptures that reveal the separate existence of the soul from the rest of the body:
Job 14:22"But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
Psalm 16:10Prophetically, it was said of Jesus, "For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol,"
Psalm 42:11; 43:5 "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me?"
II Kings 4:27 "Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her."
Isaiah 14:9-11 This is a dirge against the king of Babylon. It speaks of when he was going to die; it's a picture of what he's going to face. Looking into Sheol at the time of death of the king of Babylon. The souls there are conscious and speaking from the midst of Sheol.
Isaiah 57:20,21"But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."
There is no peace for certain dead people.
Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine; The soul who sins shall die."
This does not refer to the annihilation of the soul or the death of the body. The context reveals one's spiritual standing before God. The next few verses show this and says that the righteous will surely live. (v.9) Physical death is not referred to here because we will all die whether we sin or not. It is "spiritual" life or death that is being contrasted here.
The context, beginning from verse 1, reveals one's spiritual standing before God. The Israelites were grumbling that punishment for what a father did fell upon his offspring. God's response is "the one who sins is the one who will die." Physical death is not referred to here because we will ALL die whether we sin or not. It is "spiritual" life or death that is being contrasted here.
As you read on in this chapter, it says that the righteous soul will live! (vv. 9, 21). Verse 4 is not talking about physical death, but about the spiritual nature of man. The LORD here is talking about another kind of death - spiritual death (v. 21).
Physical death cannot be the full extent of God's wrath against sinners. The Bible says that it is possible for man, through repentance, to flee from the wrath to come.(Luke 3:7) Man cannot flee from physical death. If the wages of sin is merely physical death alone, then every person would be justified before God when he died and could never be brought before the "Great White Throne" judgment alluded to in Rev. 20:11-14.
Hebrews 9:27 says that "it is appointed unto men to die once and then the judgment."
If physical death IS the judgment, then what is the "judgment" that comes AFTER death - and why?
Ezekiel 32:21,22
"They have gone down, they lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.' "Assyria is there, and all her company, with their graves all around her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword."
The strong and mighty are speaking from Sheol. Sheol is a place whose locality is somewhere under the earth where souls/spirits exist awaiting the resurrection and Judgment Day. Where did the soul go?
Matthew 10:28"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
The Witnesses may say that this is the future life of the soul. This is impossible in the light of their own theology which says that ONLY those who are faithful will be resurrected as a soul in the future and die no more. What force would this scripture warning have in this world if it meant destruction in the grave, and how did they get into the next world having been unfaithful. Also, if men do not have souls now, then it means that God is going to create new future souls at the resurrection. But how can new future souls be rewarded for what former "non-souls" have done? "Destroy" does not mean annihilate; it means "to render useless."
Matthew 22:31,32 "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am the God of the living; not the dead."
According to Jesus, these men were still alive!
In Luke 9:30"And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah," and Matthew 17:9"Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.""Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. The bearing down on the word "vision" in verse 9, implying that the experience wasn't real, is arbitrary. The Greek word "orama" which means "that which is seen; a spectacle" is the word for 'vision." They actually saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah and heard their voices. Were the angels of Luke 24:23 any less real? The women saw the vision ("orama") or angels at the Lord's tomb. If the souls were dead, then who or what were talking to Christ?
Luke 16:19-31 This is a true account and not a parable. Mark 4:34 says "but without a parable spoke He not unto them (the multitude) and when they were alone He expounded all things to His disciples." If the account of the rich man in Sheol is a parable, then we challenge the Witnesses to show us where Christ ever expounded the meaning of the supposed "parable" to His disciples. If the "parable" did have some significance, then why doesn't the Bible tell us what it is? Paradise is the place in Sheol of the righteous dead. Sheol is represented as having two compartments. This story was built upon an already existing belief system on the Jewish concept of Sheol.
John 5:28"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice."
Dead people can hear.
John 11:25,26
"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?""
A Christian never dies. Both verses refer to the soul of man that continues to live after death. It is just as Jesus said of the 2 classes: first of the goats, or the unbelieving wicked, and the sheep who are the righteous ones.
Acts 2:31"he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption."
There is a distinction between the soul and the flesh.
Acts 20:10"But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, "Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.""
II Corinthians 4:18"while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
The "outward man" (physical) perishes.....the inward man (soul) is renewed. The inner part of man does not perish with the body, hence, the soul is immortal. Here Paul is telling us that things which are seen are temporary; things which cannot be seen are eternal.
II Corinthians 5:6-9"So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."
If annihilation is true, then how can one be "present with the Lord?"
II Corinthians 12:2"I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third heaven."
Paul knew of a man who went to Heaven; whether IN or OUT of the body – which refers to the man's soul.
Philippians 2:10"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,"
Dead people ("under the earth") acknowledge Christ's Lordship. Their knees are bending.
I Thessalonians 5:23"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The body, soul, and spirit are preserved. Paul is addressing individuals within the congregation.
Hebrews 12:23"to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,"
Speaks of redeemed individuals who are not yet clothed with a resurrection body, but who are enjoying conscious fellowship with God in this state. There is existence between death and resurrection. The Watchtower Society mistranslates the word "spirits" and instead uses "spiritual lives."
II Peter 1:13,14"Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me."
Peter is referring to his coming death and giving fellow Christians counsel. The Greek word "skinoma" is translated "tabernacle" which the basic meaning is 'tent,' i.e., a tent used for habitation. The WT 7-15-93 p.15 says concerning this word, "But as long as he was alive in his tabernacle," - his human body. Peter was likening his body to a tent in which the spiritual part of him (soul/spirit) dwelled. This would have been a silly metaphor for Peter to use for his body (tent) if there was nothing dwelling inside of it.
Revelation 6:9-11 (Scene of the breaking of the seals in heaven) "The souls of those slain" (their bodies had been killed) yet their souls were safe in heaven. This scene is during the Great Tribulation. These individuals were martyrs. That these souls are in a conscious state is evident from the fact that they cry out and that they are spoken to. (v.11) It is clear that these souls have not yet experienced the resurrection from the dead for:
(1) the end of history had not yet come since they themselves affirm that their blood has not yet been avenged and
(2) they are told to rest yet for a little while until their fellow servants should have fulfilled their course. (v.11)
The objection might be raised that since Revelation is a symbolic book, we have no right to draw teachings about the intermediate state from such symbols. The point is, however, if there is no conscious existence between death and the resurrection, the entire passage becomes meaningless. Since the text cannot refer to people still living on earth, nor to people who already have received their resurrection bodies, it must have reference to individuals enjoying some kind of conscious existence between death and the resurrection. Jehovah's Witnesses render "souls" or "persons" for members of the anointed class (the 144,000). The white robe which is said to have been given to each of them (v.11) is understood to mean their resurrection as spirit creatures in 1918. At this point, we must remind the Witnesses that according to their own teaching, this so-called "first resurrection" was a transition from non-existence to spirit existence.(1918) If these "persons" or "souls" were non-existent between their death and their spiritual resurrection, how could they possibly "cry out" during this period? In reference to Abel's blood crying out, there is a vast difference. Abel's blood testified to God against Cain's murder, but didn't talk, neither was it clothed, told to be patient, nor was Abel's blood ever called a "soul." How did literal blood get into heaven anyway? Can blood carry on a conversation? The blood was a sign that "spoke" to God. Revelation 6:9-11 says "souls" cried out; not blood.
Revelation 20:4,5 "Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."
The souls of those who were beheaded are alive and existing in some form. They are not re-created!
SOUL SLEEP
Despite the fact that in the Old Testament the term "sleep" is used to denote death, never once is such a term used to describe the immaterial nature of man, who was created in the image of God. The term "sleep" is always applied to the body, since in death, the body takes on the appearance of one who is asleep. The term "soul sleep" is never found in Scripture and nowhere does it state that the soul ever sleeps or passes into a state of unconsciousness.
History and culture also testify against the annihilationist position. The Jews of Jesus' day believed in the survival of man's mind (or soul) after the death of the body, for they believed in "ghosts."(Luke 24:37) Josephus testified to this and said that all but the Sadducees believed in the continued existence of the soul. (Wars II, 154-159, 163,166) Eusebius, the early church historian, tells us that the doctrine of "soul sleep" was invented by 3rd century heretics.(E.H. Book VI c.371)
CAN THE SOUL "DIE" OR BE ANNIHILATED?
Ezekiel 18:4"Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die."
(Context): The Israelites were grumbling that punishment for what a father did fell upon his offspring. God's response is the one who sins is the one who will die. This verse is not talking about the condition of the dead.
As you read on in this chapter, it says that the righteous soul will live!(vv. 9, 21) Verse 4 is not talking about physical death, but about the spiritual nature of man. The Lord here is talking about another kind of death - spiritual death (v. 21)
Physical death cannot be the full extent of God's wrath against sinners. The Bible says that it is possible for man through repentance to flee from the wrath to come. (Luke 3:7) Man cannot flee from physical death. If the wages of sin is merely physical death alone, then every person would be justified before God when he died and could never be brought before the "Great White Throne" judgment.(Rev. 20:11-14)
Hebrews 9:27 says that "it is appointed unto man to die once and then the judgment." If physical death IS the judgment, then what is the "judgment" that comes AFTER death – and why?
Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
This verse initially reveals that the soul is separate from the body. However, the Jehovah's Witnesses interpret this verse as to mean that the body (soul) does not experience eternal punishment but rather is "destroyed," i.e., goes into a state of non-existence.
DID THE GREEK BELIEF IN THE IMMORTALITY OF THE HUMAN SOUL CORRUPT THE CHURCH?
Some critics of early Christianity claim that the early Christians borrowed this concept from the pagans. But the pagan concept of the pre-existence of the human soul as well as their negative view of material creation often set them apart from the Christians. Many of the pagans believed that the spirit of man was pure, though the flesh was inherently evil. Christians believed that man consisted of body, soul, and spirit, and would continue to be so after the resurrection - yet in a state of perfection.
It must be noted that the Jews, according to their own Talmudic writings, believed that humans consist of body, soul, and spirit, and than the spirit continued to exist consciously after the death of the body. Their view of the afterlife was virtually identical to that of the first century Christians. The 16th chapter of Luke is an example of Jesus using their beliefs as a platform to warn them of the afterlife, though differing from the "immortal soul" concept of the pagans.
It is important to note the difference between the early Christian conception of eternal life and the widespread Hellenistic assumption of the immortality of the soul. Although the Bible speaks like classical paganism, of man as having a soul as well as a body, it does not see him as consisting essentially as a soul imprisoned in a fleshly body, as Platonism and much Hellenistic spirituality did. It sees him as a unity of soul and body. Those from the Hellenistic world who did not recognize man as essentially as soul-body unity, but rather as a spirit temporarily embodied in flesh, found this interpretation of Jesus unattractive, and frequently diminished His full humanity; sometimes denying it altogether.