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Question:
What does the Bible say about life after death? What happens to the soul and body after death? What will happen to the body and soul before, and especially during and after the judgment?
This question is quite complex, so I decided to divide it into three smaller ones and see what the fate of Christians is, then those who heard the Gospel but did not believe. I have already written an article What is the eternal fate of good people who do not believe in the Gospel?
Go home to Christ
When the Apostle Paul was in prison and did not know with certainty whether he would survive, he wrote to the Christians of the city of Philippi:
I am attracted by both: I have a desire to be resolved and to be with Christ, because this is incomparably better; but remaining in the flesh is more necessary for you. (Philippians 1:23-24)
In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul develops this theme in great detail when he compares our earthly body to a hut:
For we know that when our earthly house, this hut, is destroyed, we have from God a dwelling in heaven, a house not made with hands, eternal. That is why we sigh, wanting to put on our heavenly dwelling; As long as we don’t end up naked even though we’re dressed. For we, being in this hut, groan under the burden, because we do not want to be undressed, but to be clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up with life. It is for this very reason that God created us and gave us the guarantee of the Spirit. So we are always in good spirits; and since we know that, being at home in the body, we are removed from the Lord - for we walk by faith, and not by sight - then we are complacent and wish better to leave the body and be at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)
From the above verses it is clear that at the time of death, the soul of a Christian leaves the body to go home to the Lord Jesus Christ, where it will be...
What does the Bible say about death?
The Bible compares death to sleep more than fifty times. After death we sleep, we are unconscious; we are not aware of the passage of time or what is happening around us. This is what death is like. The Bible says, “The living know that they will die; and the dead know nothing...their love, their hatred and their envy have now perished” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, NKJV, see also Psalm 146:4; 115:17). It is logical that after Lazarus is raised from the dead, he does not share what he saw or experienced. He had nothing to tell except that he had once been dead and was now alive! He experienced neither hell nor heaven. He simply "slept" in his grave. The Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost said the same thing about King David. “Men and brothers, let me freely tell you about the patriarch David, that he is dead and buried...”
Judgment of Christ
Immediately after this passage, in the same letter to the 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done while living in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
All Christians are subject to this judgment and it does not apply to our deeds and our lives before we entered into a covenant with the Lord Jesus. For all these sins we were completely forgiven when we believed in Him and became children of God. At the Judgment Seat of Christ we will be judged for the good or evil we have done as born again Christians. And depending on the good or evil that we did while living on this earth, we will receive a corresponding reward. Therefore, it is very important to think carefully about our actions. Some may think it looks good, but only personal examination in the light of Scripture can ensure that we live right. May God help us with this.
What Jesus Said About Eternal Life
One day I noticed these words of Jesus: “Whoever believes in the Son will inherit eternal life, but whoever refuses to believe in the Son will never see that life...” John 3:36 . These words conflict with what most Christians believe: in order to suffer in hell for all eternity, you must be alive, that is, have eternal life. But only those “who believe in the Son” receive eternal life.
The same thought is repeated more than once in John: Jn. 5:24; 6:47,54,58; 1John 3:15; 5:13
Paul writes: “Sin pays for death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Rom 6:23 . Here the consequences of two choices are contrasted: those who rejected Christ received death, those who accepted received eternal life.
John also writes that the one who chose Christ “passed from death into life” John. 5:24 and 1 John 3:14 , but not from eternal torment to eternal bliss.
It turns out that no one will be “roasting in a cauldron” for all eternity.
These texts are quite enough to say that the Bible does not teach eternal torment and immortality of the soul. But this doctrine is so deeply ingrained in people’s heads that more evidence needs to be provided. And it’s interesting: what is it really like and what will happen after death.
Rapture and Resurrection
These two events will happen at the same time and are very well described in 1 Paul's Epistle to the Thessalonians, which says:
I do not want to leave you, brothers, in ignorance about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not warn those who have died, because the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first; Then we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)
All Christians who died before the coming of Jesus Christ will be resurrected in a spiritual body during His coming and will meet Jesus in the clouds to be always with the Lord. Those who are still alive at that time will be transformed into spiritual bodies and will be caught up to always be with the Lord.
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What does the Bible say about the death and resurrection of Christ and the meaning of His sacrifice...
There is no appearance or greatness in Him... that would attract us to Him. He was despised and belittled before men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with pain, and we turned our faces away from Him; He was despised, and we thought nothing of Him. But He took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our illnesses; and we thought that He was smitten, punished and humiliated by God. But He was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities; the punishment of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed...
“And they brought Him to the place of Golgotha, which means: Place of Skull” (Mark 15:22). The material world, in some way unknown to us, suffered from the Fall of man (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 8:19-23). Therefore, the death of Christ has an impact on all creation. Christ is greater than the second Adam. He is the head of the new humanity; He is also the center of the universe. How all this happens, we are not able to give a definite explanation. But it is so.
“There they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on this side and on the other, and Jesus in the midst” (John 19:18). “And there was an inscription over Him, written in Greek, Roman and Hebrew words: This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38).
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written:
“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:10-13).
Christ destroyed the handwriting that was against us and nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Only Christ fulfilled the whole law and by His death paid the debt and delivered sinners from the curse (Galatians 3:10).
“From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour; and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: ... My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:45,46).
Christ paid the debt for Old Testament sin that was passed down from generation to generation (Romans 3:25-26; Hebrews 9:15). The sinner is now guilty not for Adam’s sin, but for his own sin, committed by himself. Christ became the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world and brought us deliverance (John 1:29,36; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:7-9).
“Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. And so... the earth shook; and the stones were dissolved” (Matt. 27:50,51). After the death of Christ, the stones of Golgotha literally cracked. In the place where His cross was installed, a deep crack formed, extending down to the cave in which the Ark of the Covenant was placed 600 years before this event.
When the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, besieged Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant was not included in the list of his trophies. He was, by divine providence, safely hidden by Jeremiah in a cave under the temple Mount Moriah, exactly under the place where 600 years later the Son of God would be crucified.
“And the Holy of Holies was anointed” (Dan. 9:24). In the original Hebrew, this place contains the word “godesh-godeshim”, meaning only the second compartment of the sanctuary - the Holy of Holies. The Ark of the Covenant had to be anointed with the blood and water of the Son of God in order for the New Covenant to be ratified or established. This is evidenced by the following text:
“One of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. And he who saw it bore witness, and his testimony is true; he knows that he speaks the truth, so that you may believe” (John 19:34,35). Notice that it was not just blood that came out, but blood and water. And further John assures us of the truth of what he saw. For what? For us to believe. Believe in what? The fact that at that moment the approval of the New Testament took place.
Not far from the site of the crucifixion there is a rich man’s grave carved into the rock, in which the crucified Jesus Christ was laid. “When evening came, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also studied with Jesus; He came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered the body to be given up” (Matt. 27:57,58). “And Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud, and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock; and rolling a large stone against the door of the tomb, he departed” (Matthew 27:59,60).
“The next day, which followed Friday, the high priests and Pharisees gathered to Pilate and said: Master! We remembered that the deceiver, while still alive, said: after three days I will rise again; So give orders that the tomb be guarded until the third day, so that His disciples, coming at night, do not steal Him and say to the people: He has risen from the dead; and the last deception will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them: You have a guard; go and protect it as best you can. They went and set a guard at the tomb, and put a seal on the stone” (Matthew 27:62-66).
Ron Wyatt believed that the Garden Tomb was where Jesus Christ was buried and resurrected. This grave is located near the site where Ron began his excavation of the Ark of the Covenant. When Ron examined this grave, he discovered several pieces of evidence consistent with the biblical story of Christ's burial.
One of these was believed to be an iron pin embedded in the rock on the outside of the grave. Ron theorized that this pin was used to seal the grave after the large round stone was rolled into place. Since the pin was torn out along with the stone part it was inserted into, Ron theorized that it was torn out when the angel rolled the stone back at Christ's resurrection.
The pin is located at a height of 1.8 m within a circular recess with a diameter of 4 m, made to hold the stone sealing the grave. The dimensions of this depression are compatible with the dimensions of a round stone with a diameter of 4 m that Ron found during his excavations. He suggested that this stone had once sealed a grave in the garden.
For years, some critics of Ron's discoveries argued that this metal pin was nothing more than part of the shrapnel from an exploding shell that struck the wall during the 1967 war. Although there was no evidence to support this theory, it has been repeated over the years and circulated by numerous critics. These criticisms have now been found to be unfounded.
The Garden Tomb Association (GTA) and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently announced that they had analyzed the site. Metal shavings from this iron pin were taken and examined. The results showed that the metal from which the pin is made is not of modern origin. This means that it is not a fragment of an exploded shell!!! While we must admit that these results do not completely prove Ron's assumption, they do not contradict him and certainly refute the claims of critics.
The study of the material was carried out by the Israeli Department of Antiquities under the direction of one of their archaeologists, Yeheil Zelinger. He will publish details of this research soon.
“And after the Sabbath had passed, at dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb, and sat on it” (Matthew 28:1,2).
The first earthquake made it possible for the blood of Christ to be sprinkled on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. The second earthquake closed the crack leading down to the cave with the Ark of the Covenant from dirt and moisture getting there. “The angel, speaking to the women, said: Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified; He is not here - He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:5,6).
“And they look and see that the stone has been rolled away; and he was very big. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in white clothing; and were horrified. He says to them: do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified; He has risen, He is not here. This is the place where He was laid” (Mark 16:4-6).
“And the covenant shall be established for many for one week, and in the half of the week sacrifice and offering shall cease” (Dan.9:27). Daniel's prophecy speaks of an establishment in 33 AD. New Testament and the end of ritual sacrifices. All the typical sacrifices pointed to one main sacrifice of the Son of God. And when it took place, then the figurative service, pointing to the future sacrifice, was no longer needed.
The ministry itself and its main servant, the High Priest, have changed. If previously the priesthood was and was passed on from generation to generation according to the order of Aaron, now Jesus forever became the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:10). The typical earthly temporary Levitical ministry was replaced by the typical heavenly eternal ministry of Christ (Heb. 7:12). But before all this could take effect, the covenant had to be established.
“That is why the first covenant was not established without blood. For Moses, having spoken all the commandments according to the law before all the people, took the blood of bulls and goats with water, and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you” (Heb. 9:18-20).
“How much more (how much better) will the Blood of Christ, Who through the Holy Spirit offered Himself blameless to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living and true God! Therefore He is the mediator of the new covenant, so that through His death, which was for redemption from the transgressions committed in the first covenant, those who are called to an eternal inheritance may receive the promise” (Heb. 9:14,15).
“But Christ, the High Priest of good things to come, having come with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this dispensation, nor with the blood of goats and bulls, but with His own blood, entered once into the sanctuary and obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9: 11,12).
“If he who rejects the law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, is punished without mercy with death, then how much more severe punishment do you think will be guilty of the one who tramples on the Son of God and does not consider as holy the Blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace?” (Heb. 10:28,29).
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem and ten thousand angels, to the triumphant council and church of the firstborn written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to the Mediator of the new covenant. Jesus, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaketh better than Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24).
All these texts indicate that the New Covenant was established by the blood of Christ, this blood being the blood of sprinkling according to the image shown by Moses at Mount Sinai, and the importance of warning against the rejection of this blood.
There is another very interesting testimony about this blood in the Bible:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all. This was the testimony in its time” (1 Tim. 2:5,6).
“This is Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood and the Spirit, not by water only, but by water and blood, and the Spirit bears witness of Him, because the Spirit is truth. For three bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And three bear witness on earth: spirit, water and blood; and these three are about one. If we accept the testimony of man, the testimony of God is greater, for it is the testimony of God, with which God testified about His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; He who does not believe God represents Him as a liar, because he does not believe in the testimony with which God testified about His Son. This testimony is that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:6-11).
We believe that the above texts speak of the evidence of our redemption - the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. The discovery of the Ark of the Covenant and the blood of Christ is precisely this testimony.
“Because the law was weak through the flesh, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin and condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8: 3.4). The word likeness is indicated here not in order to separate Christ from us, for “His name is Immanuel, which means: God with us” (Matthew 1:23), but in order to indicate that He, unlike us, has never sinned.
If it said “sent in sinful flesh,” then we might think that the Son of God was a sinner like us. But this word is indicated here specifically so that we understand that God sent His Son in our fallen human flesh, but in it He never sinned, thereby condemning sin. Where did He condemn him? Condemned sin in the flesh. In what flesh did He condemn sin? In the one He accepted from birth. What flesh did He take on from birth? What flesh needed redemption? In our fallen human flesh, which Jesus Christ took upon Himself, He redeemed us, proving that sin cannot dominate us.
When He was incarnated as a man, He certainly did NOT become sinful flesh or a sinner. He always was, is and will be the Son of God. He took upon Himself our nature in order to redeem it. In the same way, we are reborn or take on (perceive) a spiritual heavenly nature when we are born from the spirit from above. By accepting this nature, we do not become holy flesh, but at the same time, being in fallen, human, sinful flesh, we cease to sin. “Therefore, just as Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourself with the same thought; For he who suffers in the flesh ceases to sin, so that the rest of the time in the flesh he may no longer live according to human lusts, but according to the will of God” (1 Pet. 4:1,2).
“For let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: He, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God; but he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).
“His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3). “Does not the Scripture say that Christ will come from the seed of David” (John 7:42). “For He does not receive angels, but He receives the seed of Abraham” (Heb. 2:16)
“And just as the children share in flesh and blood, He also took part in the same, so that by death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver those who through the fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Heb. 2:14, 15). Why did He become involved with us - did He take on this flesh and blood? To break the powers of sin that dominates us and to give us access to another, more dominant power of grace. He came to save us FROM sin, but NOT IN sin. Now, after He has done this, each of us can become involved with Him and say: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:19,20).
“Therefore He had to become like the brethren in everything, in order to be a merciful and faithful high priest before God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For just as He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:17,18). The high priest was chosen from among the people:
“For every high priest, chosen from among men, is appointed for men to serve God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, being able to bear with the ignorant and erring, because he himself is overcome with infirmities, and therefore he must offer both for the people and for himself. sacrifices for sins. And no one accepts this honor of his own accord, but is called by God, like Aaron. So Christ did not appropriate to Himself the glory of being a high priest, but He who said to Him: You are My Son, today I have begotten You; as in another place he says: You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:1-6).
“He, in the days of His flesh, with a strong cry and with tears, offered prayers and supplications to Him who was able to save Him from death; and was heard for His reverence; Although He was the Son, He learned obedience through His sufferings, and, having been perfected, became the author of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, being called by God High Priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:7-10).
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (but did not sin)” (Heb. 4:15). The use of the word "likeness" here has the same meaning as in Romans 8:3,4.
He was tested (tempted) in everything just like we are, but he did NOT sin (he did not respond to any of the temptations). This is the only difference between Him and us, and this is the meaning of the word “likeness.” “There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1,2). The opposite is also true - today there is no justification for those who continue to live in sin when they can live without sin.
How is this possible, you ask? How was this possible for Christ? He had “the same” flesh and blood as we do, and in the fight against sin he did not use his Divine power.
He voluntarily gave up his advantages so that no one would have reason to think that they could be saved only by taking advantage of divine advantages. But He was constantly tempted to do this: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:3); “Save Thyself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40).
He endured much harder and more temptations than we do, and yet he resisted and did not sin. How did He do this?
“For Christ did not please himself” (Rom. 15:3). Why did He not do His own will? Because His own will called Him to come down from the cross.
“From that time on, Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again. And, calling Him back, Peter began to rebuke Him: Be merciful to Yourself, Lord! may this not happen to you! He turned and said to Peter: get away from Me, Satan! you are a temptation to me! because you think not about the things of God, but about the things of men” (Matthew 16:21-23). What Peter said to Christ was told to Him by His own will, but in all cases He denied Himself, His own will, choosing God’s instead of man’s, no matter from whom it came. This is confirmed by the following texts:
“I cannot create anything on my own. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is righteous; For I do not seek My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). “For I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 6:38).
“And going away a little, he fell on his face, prayed and said: My Father! if possible, let this cup pass from Me; however, not as I want, but as You want” (Matthew 26:39).
Jesus Christ showed and proved for each of us the winning formula of the cross: “NOT as I want, BUT as YOU want.” The principle of the cross is the same for everyone - the crucifixion of one’s own self (one’s will) in favor of the will of God. This is the secret of victory over sin. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). So, the word about the cross is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. This word, the principle of the cross (not I, but Thou), embodied in our lives and applied to ourselves, can give us victory. To help us gain this victory, Jesus now serves as High Priest in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary.
But be careful! The enemy of our salvation does not sleep!
“Beloved! Believe not every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Know the Spirit of God (and the spirit of error) this way: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh is from God; And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God, but it is the spirit of Antichrist, about whom you have heard that he would come and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:1-3).
“For many deceivers have entered into the world, not confessing Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh: such a person is a deceiver and Antichrist” (2 John 1:7).
On the day of judgment
Christians were forgiven of all sins when they believed in Jesus Christ and made a covenant with Him. Therefore, they will not be judged at this judgment day, which is described in the book of Revelation. But they will be there to judge the world and the angels, just as it is written in the 1st Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians:
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you really unworthy to judge unimportant matters? Do you not know that we will judge angels, much less the deeds of this life? (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)
After this judgment there will be many glorious events in which Christians will participate together with the Lord Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven and eternity.
Translation: Moses Natalya
What does the Bible say about death?
This is a question that has crossed everyone's mind because death happens to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or status.
Death is an invincible enemy, having defeated the likes of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. The postulates or theories of minds like Einstein or Stephen Hawking can never be proven on this matter. So what does the Bible say?
One of the most significant miracles of Jesus recorded in the Bible was raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11). There are other cases of people being raised from the dead, but unlike those mentioned earlier in the Bible, Lazarus was dead for four days. When Lazarus died, Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, and I am going to wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought He spoke of resting in a dream” (John 11:11-13, NKJV).
How a person is “structured”
To understand how man is “structured,” let us turn to the moment of creation: “The Lord God created man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life, and he became a living creature” Genesis 2:7 . It’s worth saying right away that the literal translation is: “man became a living being” or “a living soul.”
Now let's talk about the “components”. The dust of the earth is all the chemical elements of which we are composed, our body: all systems, organs, brain, nerves. The breath of life is the energy that “starts” the body. And when the body begins to function, a “living soul”, a “living being” appears. The formula is simple:
Body (dust) + breath of life = living soul
Remove any term from this and there will be no sum, no soul.
Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow you will have to earn your bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7 “So the dust returns to the ground from which it came, and the spirit returns to God, to Him who gave it...” In Gen. 2:7 we read what spirit God gave at creation - this is the breath of life.
In the Bible, neither the Hebrew word "ruach" nor the ancient Greek word "pneuma", translated as "spirit", designate some kind of intelligent being capable of conscious life outside the body. On the contrary, these words mean “breath” - the spark of life necessary for the existence of the individual, this vital principle that makes both animals and people alive. Solomon writes about this: Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 “For the fate of people is like the fate of animals, and they die like animals, and the breath of life in them is the same... And they all have one destiny: from dust they came and to dust they will return.” .
The fact that the soul is not an incorporeal or immortal entity is confirmed by the texts that speak of the death of the soul: Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Numbers 23:10 .
So: a living person, soul, consciousness is the body + breath of life.
Words change meaning
Before we begin to study the topic, we need to understand that any word can change its meaning over time and evoke completely different associations in us.
An example from everyday life
When we hear the word “tablet” today, we imagine an iPad or a tablet computer on Android. But more recently, people had other associations with this word:
An article about changes in the meanings of words in Arzamas
Example from the Bible
The word “wine” is strongly associated with an alcoholic drink made from grapes. But it wasn't always like this. Webster's Dictionary of 1899 also defines "wine" as fermented or unfermented grape juice. That is, it is either simple grape juice or an alcoholic drink. Our ancestors understood what drink we were talking about from the context.
Therefore, when we read in the Bible that wine is a blessing, it means unfermented grape juice. When we read in the book of Proverbs 23:31 that it is not so much not to drink, but not even to look at wine, because the consequences will be sad, then we read about an alcoholic drink.
It is also clear from the context what kind of “wine” Jesus used at the Supper. It was Easter. On Passover, Jews removed everything rotten, fermented and leavened from the house. So there could be no alcoholic wine in the house. In addition, rotting and fermentation in the Bible are a symbol of sin and degradation. Therefore, alcoholic wine could not symbolize the pure blood of Christ.
The word "soul"
It is clear that we grew up in a culture where the word “soul” is associated with a disembodied and immortal sentient entity. But the Bible never speaks like this about the soul. This is the meaning people attribute to it. According to the Bible, the soul can die, the soul is just life, or the soul is the whole person completely. We will see this later.
God is love
Now, when people ask me, if God is love, then why will He forever torment those who have sinned for 100 years, I answer that God will not torment anyone. But the question remains, if love, then why will it destroy? This also means that God will not torment anyone forever. If a person does not like what will happen in eternal life, then it will become eternal torment for him.
Today God calls us to choose eternal life and come to Him so that He can change us, our characters, our tastes and so that eternal life becomes paradise for us. If we refuse, then God will not force anyone. Violence and coercion are the methods of Satan and people. Intimidation with eternal torment from the same series. God wants to build a relationship of love, friendship and cooperation with us.
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses: I have offered you life and death, blessing and curse. So choose life - if you and your descendants really want to live.” Deuteronomy 30:19
Two resurrections and two deaths
When King Hezekiah learned of his imminent death from illness, he began to pray and ask for a reprieve. In answer to prayer, his life was extended another fifteen years. Then the grateful king praised God: “It is not in Sheol that they thank You, not the dead who glorify You, and not those who descend into the grave who trust in Your faithfulness. But whoever is alive, truly alive, thanks You, as I thank You today...” Isaiah 38:18-19 . Everyone who talks about the immortality of a soul imagines a dead righteous person in heaven, forever glorifying God, but Hezekiah could not see such a brilliant prospect in death.
The Apostle Peter unequivocally said about David, recognized by all as a righteous man: “My brothers! I can tell you straight: the patriarch David died, was buried, and his tomb has been preserved with us to this day... David himself never ascended into heaven...” Acts 2:29,34 . David remains in the grave, which means that after death the righteous do not enter heaven until the resurrection on the last day: John 6:40 “This is the will of my Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; I will raise him up [on] the last day.”
Christ taught that there would be two resurrections: a “resurrection of life” for the righteous and a “resurrection of judgment” for the wicked. These two resurrections are separated by a thousand years ( John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:4, 5 ).
The first resurrection does not occur immediately after death, but at the Second Coming of Christ ( 1 Cor. 15:22, 23; 1 Thess. 4:15-18 ). Until this moment, as we have already learned, people are in a state of death sleep. No matter how many millennia pass from death to resurrection, for the resurrected it will be a moment.
“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: over them the second death has no power” ( Rev. 20:6 , Synodal translation). We see that the second death has no power over those who participate in the first resurrection. Not eternal hellish torment, but a second death.
The two deaths are clearly evidenced by Christ's statement that he who keeps His Word will never die (John 8:51). If we consider that there is only one death, then either Christ was wrong, or there was no one in two thousand years who kept His Word. Neither the first nor the second is true. But this can only be so if there are two deaths: the first is like a dream, and the second is eternal and real. And about the second, Jesus said that he who keeps His Word will never die.
You also need to understand that everyone will be resurrected in the body. Jesus made this clear when, after His resurrection, he communicated with his disciples:
Luke 24:36-43 “And while they were talking about this, He Himself appeared among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” In confusion and fear, they decided that they saw a spirit. But He said to them: “Why are you so afraid? Why did you allow doubts in your heart? Look at My hands and My feet - it is really Me. Touch Me and look. After all, a spirit does not have flesh and bones, but I, as you see, have.” Having said this, He showed them His hands and feet. They were surprised and for joy could not believe it. Then He said to them: “Do you have any food here?” They gave Him a piece of baked fish. He took it and ate it in front of them.”
But this is a different body. Body not subject to aging and decay:
I Corinth 15:52-53 “This will be accomplished quickly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. It will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, but we will be transfigured, for this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
In the second resurrection, all those who refused to choose salvation and eternity will be revived by God. The life of each of them will be shown: from Satan to the last man. It will be shown that God did everything for them, if only they would make the right choice, but they did not want to and decided to give up eternity. God will honor their choice and destroy them forever. Although it will be painful for Him to do this, since He loves everyone, even Satan. This is the second death. No one will suffer forever.
Matthew 25:46 again contrasts the reward of the two groups: “And they shall go away: the portion of such is everlasting punishment, but of the righteous is everlasting life.” What is being contrasted is not eternal torment against eternal bliss, but eternal punishment against eternal life. In the Synodal translation, instead of “eternal punishment,” there is “eternal torment.” But if we look in the original, we will see the Greek word κόλασιν, which has only one meaning - punishment. But what kind of punishment this will be should be asked not from people, but from the Bible:
Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day will come, burning like an oven; Then all the arrogant and those who do wickedly will be like stubble, and the coming day will burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
John 15:6 “Whoever does not remain in Me will be cast out like a branch and wither; and such branches are collected and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.”
I think there is no need to explain how long straw and dry branches burn. As we see: there is no talk of any eternal fire.
Revelation 20:14-15 “And death and hell themselves were cast into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. There, in that lake, people were thrown, not written in the Book of Life.”
Ultimately, “He will wipe away all bitter tears from their eyes: there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, [for] all the former things have passed away” Revelation 21:4 . This is another text that says that at the end of the history of this world there will be no suffering at all, much less eternal.
