____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ May 12, 1996 ____________________________________________________ The Jehovah Witness' View Of "Soul," "Spirit," and "Hell" by Tom Edwards Briefly, the Jehovah Witnesses do not believe that man has a soul--rather, he is a soul. Therefore, if he is a non-Christian when he dies, his soul also perishes. This is referred to as the ``total annihilation'' of the person--and which is sometimes likened to the death of an animal, such as expressed in referring to such a one by the phrase, ``He's like Rover--dead all over.'' In view of this, you might wonder, ``Well, what about hell? If man doesn't have a soul that lives on beyond his temporary tabernacle of flesh, why would there be an eternal hell?'' The answer, of course, to the Jehovah Witness is that ``hell is not eternal. Rather, it is the total destruction of a lost sinner.'' Lest I misrepresent them, let us hear some of their own quotes on this: ''...the human soul is man himself, then it cannot be some shadowy thing that merely inhabits the body or that can exist apart from the person'' (The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, p. 36). ''...when Jesus said that persons would be thrown into Gehenna (Hell, tte) for their bad deeds, what did he mean? Not that they would be tormented forever'' (ibid., p. 44). Hell is viewed by them as being nothing more than ``mankind's common grave'' (ibid. p. 45). -- Soul -- These Jehovah Witness' doctrines are clearly opposite to that which the Bible declares. For example, in Matthew 10:28, Jesus states, ``And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'' Notice here, that while a person could kill the body, this would not also kill the soul. Obviously, the body and the soul are shown in this verse as being individually distinct entities--though one could perish, the other would live on. Consider also James 5:20: ``let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.'' What can be saved from death? The ``soul.'' If, though, the soul means only the physical body then this would mean that the sinner saved from the error of his way will never die physically. But as both the Bible and observation reveal, death is a ``going the way of all the earth'' (Josh. 23:14; 1 Kings 2:2); and the Hebrew writer declares that ''...it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment'' (Heb. 9:27). The best, and the worst, and all those people in between, all die. Even Jesus died physically, though He never sinned. Though ``soul'' is sometimes used as a synecdoche to stand for the whole of man (Gen. 2:7; Rom. 13:1), it is also viewed in the Scriptures, as we have briefly seen, to be a real entity in addition to the physical body--and while the body is destructible, the soul is not. -- Spirit -- The term ``spirit'' is also used to express different things in the Scriptures. For example, in James 2:26, it is seen as being the immortal ``soul'' within the body and which departs when the body dies. Commenting on this, Albert Barnes writes, ''...the body is animated or kept alive by the presence of the soul...'' and that ''...the body has no life independent of the presence of the soul.'' The soul is, therefore, a very intrinsic part of the human being. Corresponding to this, 1 Peter 3:19 speaks about the ``spirits'' who are now in prison--which, actually, has reference to the souls of Noah's day who were now in the Hadean realm of Tartarus. It's not merely their ``breath'' nor their bodies that are imprisoned; but it is that part of them that lives on that is!--the part we call the ``soul'' or ``spirit.'' The Bible teaches that man has been created in the ``image'' of God (Gen. 1:26,27), and this is what sets him apart from all other living creatures. But what is this ``image''? Does it mean that God has two ears, two eyes, a nose, two arms, two legs, etc.? Though God is often anthropomorphized in the Scriptures by speaking of Him with human features, all we really know about His form is that He is ``spirit'' (Jn. 4:24). This, therefore, is the likeness that we share with God: we have an eternal part of us called a ``spirit'' or the ``soul'' that has been created in His image. But if that ``soul'' is merely a physical body, as the Jehovah Witnesses teach, then how can it be said that only man has been created in the image of God? The ape has two arms, two legs, two eyes, etc. We see some resemblances between this animal and us, so why is it then that it is not created in God's image, too? It is because it has no soul. There is nothing in the ape--nor in any other living creature other than man--that lives on when death comes. Only man has a soul, and only man has been created in God's image. Also, the Jehovah Witnesses have emphasized that ``spirit'' is simply standing for ``breath''--and this exclusively. Though it is true that ``spirit'' sometimes is standing for ``breath,'' as well as for ``wind,'' this is not always the case--as we have just seen. In addition, when Jesus states that ``God is spirit'' in John 4:24, does He mean that ``God is wind''? or that ``God is breath''? Surely, from this verse alone it is obvious that the term ``spirit'' has additional meanings. What did Stephen mean when he implored the Lord in Acts 7:59 by saying, ``Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!''? Certainly, he did not mean merely his ``breath.'' According to 1 Corinthians 5:5, the ``spirit'' can be saved; but we would know better than to infer this as ``breath'' or ``wind'' in this verse. It's talking about one's eternal soul being saved from sin--not his body, which is outward and physical, but that inward spiritual essence that dwells in the temporary body (2 Cor. 4:16). There are various other verses also that could be cited to show of the use of ``spirit'' in this sense. -- Hell -- Since man's spirit or soul will always be, this causes us to greatly realize the need we have now to make our souls right with God so that our eternity can be spent with Him and not in eternal banishment from His presence in that terrible place called ``hell.'' Though the Jehovah Witnesses would have us to believe that ``hell'' is simply ``mankind's common grave'' in which there is no consciousness--and that the sinner who dies is ``totally annihilated''--this is not what the Bible teaches (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:10,15). But if the Jehovah Witness' concept of it were true then hell would often times be a blessing and not the horrible place in which the Bible describes. Think for a moment of all the people on our planet who suffer so greatly--whether it be those physically racked with pain or those agonizing with emotional traumas that are so intense and overwhelming. Yes, hell would be a relief to many people--and a better experience than what they're having on earth--if the Jehovah Witnesses were right. But this certainly is not the message of the Bible. According to God's word, death will not be a comfort for those who are unprepared to meet the Lord. Whether you take the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16 to be a parable or an actual event, one point remains the same: leaving this world without God on your side will be the ultimate mistake you--or anyone else--could possibly make; for by rejecting the Lord's saving grace, mercy, and blessings, one has sealed his own fate to a destination where God's grace, mercy and blessings will not be. Our chief concern needs to be not what others are saying about God; rather, it needs to be what God is saying to us! Whether we're talking about the ``soul,'' the ``spirit,'' ``hell,'' or any other issue concerning the Scriptures, let us then turn to those Scriptures for the answer. The Lord has given us His message that we may know how to be saved, how to live on this planet, and how to eventually make it to heaven. What God says is, by far, much more important than our personal views. Let us, therefore, each continue to examine the Scriptures that the Lord's thoughts may become more and more our thoughts; His views, our views; and His ways, our ways. ___________________________________________ JUDGMENT And must I be to judgment brought, And answer in that day For every vain and idle thought And every Word I say? Yes, every secret of my heart Shall shortly be made known, And I receive my just desert For all that I have done. How careful, then, ought I to live, With what religious fear, Who such a strict account must give For my behavior here. -- C. Wesley ___________________________________________ "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him" (Nahum 1:7). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@wwd.net ________________________________________