There is huge confusion and misuse of terms, when talking, writing, teaching or preaching on the subjects of “the soul”, or “the spirit”. The Roman Church in particular is guilty of propagating the confusion, in its perverse teachings on the subject, which after many hundreds of years is now embedded in the “psyche ” of the church members and the “Priesthood”. The error is now so widespread, that many or most Protestant Churches also preach the same as the Roman, as regards the “enduring human, and immortal soul”. The subject of "soul" and "spirit" has been a constant subjective study for much of the writers Christian life, and it had been noticed that many anomalies, and unobjective misuse of terms takes place constantly by teachers and preachers. A major part of the problem is "woolly thinking", lack of source material, indoctrination by the RCC over hundreds of years, copyist error, differing churches Dogma, and mixing the terms "soul and spirit" together, and interchangeably misusing them in quotations and teaching. An overview of Bible text corruptions can be seen at: http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Corruption%20of%20the%20Bible%20Text.htm To approach this subject objectively, it will be necessary to examine the various origins as far as is possible, and compare them to what Holy Scripture, The Bible, has to say, using the KJV (Companion). There will also be liberal reference to Dr. E. W. Bullinger in his Appendixes 9, 13, 101, and 110, and others; giving the appropriate detail. To begin with the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), are they the originators of the mythology? No; they are propagators, and very powerful in this regard. A very comprehensive listing of the deliberate errors by the RCC, can be accessed on the Web under “Catholic Concerns” by an ex. Nun. Also a brief overview can be obtained from: http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Why%20the%20Roman%20Catholic%20church%20is%20not%20of%20God%20Almighty.htm Almost certainly the foundation of the teachings come from Babylon, and were formulated in the beginning by Nimrod, aided by his mother. The following is a short extract from www.revelationsmessage.co.uk , the 14th Chapter: Babylon as is well known was founded by Nimrod, whose father was Cush and grandfather Ham! Nimrod was "great in rebellion against God", (Gen. 10:9,) (The word "before," Str. Hebrew 6440 can be either; "the face that turns," is from the number 6437, "to turn," "to face up to," "to turn aside / away," "turn the back," "turn the face," "turn the self, or as chosen by the translators, "before". Both are prepositional, but the context of Nimrod's story gives the sense, i.e., he was a great rebel against Jehovah, and in great sin in his life in the face of Jehovah. He and his mother were founders of false "religion" in Babylon.) (Nimrod's mother is reputed to have altered the "heavenly message," and created the "Zodiac," of which there is a copy in the temple at Dendera in Egypt. She is also reputed to have treated Nimrod as her husband sexually!) Babylon became the fountainhead of Satanic opposition to Jehovah God, until its destruction, and the removal of its priests to Pergamos (Anatolia.) From that beginning, the religions of the world became infused with the Satanic error, of an enduring entity called “the immortal soul” which they teach, every person possesses! So well placed was ancient Babylon geographically on the trade routes of the then known world, that the pernicious error easily spread to the far East, to Africa, to Europe via the Greeks, and later to the “New world” by migration. So fundamental is this error against the efforts of Almighty God in Christ, that the minds and hearts of sincere people worldwide can be very disturbed, when trying to correlate the differing teachings, even in one group of churches. It also leads to conflict among well meaning sincere Christians, who hold to the “soul doctrine” as an Article of Faith, without really knowing why! In the RCC case, this doctrine is basic to that of Purgatory, which is one of the most powerful tools that they have in their efforts to control their congregations! The following is a short extract from an article on the subject of Hell : Purgatory. This concept has been taught for so long, and linked to the “immortal soul” in the Roman teaching, that many people cannot even consider that it may be a false teaching! The possibility that their own entity may end at death, is too difficult and painful to contemplate. Its concept is from Babylon, and in the Roman version, the “soul” in question can be prayed for, have “masses” said, and the “sins” of the person “mitigated” by various “acts,” and in the past “payments” to the Church, which was and is lucrative for the Church. This system of course gives enormous power to the Roman Church, as for the “believer”, they are the only entity able to give/ instigate these eternal benefits! This teaching of course eliminates the True message of Salvation in Christ, and also negates the fact that a person may have a DIRECT relationship with Christ! In summary therefore, the intermediary state called Purgatory, is not Biblical, and goes against the message of Salvation in the Bible. It is therefore by definition anti-Christ! The whole of the article can be viewed at: http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/hell.htm Most of the world’s religions have a variation on this theme, and of course they are not correct. What then is the correct understanding? With the current emphasis in the churches on “Ecumenical understanding”, this can be very difficult to ascertain, if the individual will only rely on some person who holds a position in a church or group, which has an “agenda” or “hidden motive” to maintain. The mainline churches are moving by “stealth” towards one large grouping, and they are consciously trying to avoid the areas of their teachings and dogmas that conflict with each other. One of these is Acts 4:12; “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”. In verses 10 and 11, that Name is explicit, It is Jesus Christ, the Crucified! This is the reason for the Satanic planted error of the immortal soul. This the reason that satanic forces have been so active in establishing the myth of the immortal soul! The Ecumenical Movement will not countenance the supremacy of the Salvation Work of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus! Why; because it cuts to the heart of their hidden agenda, and because of that they deny “there is only one way to Almighty God, through Christ’s Salvation Sacrifice”! To admit to Acts 4:12 would mean that it would exclude all the world’s religions, except for a small grouping of true Christ-Ones, who know and hold the Truth! This and more is why the “immortal soul” myth must be maintained by them, as they have then power in their own teaching, “to help people to pass from death to life, by their own teachings and ministrations”! The writers have personal experience of an ordained Minister, who is unusually well read and versed in Scripture and many religions. He will not however accept the supremacy of Christ in the context of Acts 4:12, but will only admit to the all encompassing love of Christ “being big enough to admit all religious people”! His list include all the world’s religions, and including “New Agers, Witches, Wizards”, etc. The only people he cannot countenance are “Fundamentalists”, who are guaranteed to send him into a rage of proportions leading to verbal swearing and abuse! Fundamentalists are those who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and state that He only is the way of Salvation, and to the Father! As an example of “Ecumenical Possession”, it is difficult to surpass! So; we now turn to what the Bible says about the soul. We can start very early in its text at Gen. 2:7. The following is an extract from the above mentioned Website “Revelationsmessage”, Rev. Chp. 6:9. V.9 And when He opened the 5th seal, I saw under the alter the (a)souls of them that had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held: (a) See comments Rev. 20:4 (b.) Apps. 110 (2,) 170 (3,) and 13. There is much confusion on this subject. The Greek myth of an enduring entity called the "soul," is now established teaching in the churches, and works against Christ's sacrificial death on the Cross. The Roman teaching in particular gives power to Priests and people for "purgatory" relief of "unrepentant souls," by their prayers, and "special Masses." A careful study of Scripture shows that the spirit of life is given and taken by Almighty God, and by Him alone. The spirit of life and the dust of the ground = the living soul, Gen. 2:7. The word soul is used very loosely in everyday speech, which only adds to the confusion. In the important instances, care is needed to ascertain the actual intended meaning. In this case, the Greek "psucha," in context means the individual. However these "individuals," "have been slain for the Word of God," and they are in the Tribulation age. There is the implication that those so affected go straight to heaven, as the Age Time, affects the case. In this age, when we die, we await the resurrection of either glory with Christ, if we have trusted Him for salvation and we are washed in His redeeming blood, or resurrection to precise judgement at the "Great White Throne," at the end of the Millennial age, Rev. 20:11-12. In the case of the saved and the unsaved, the spirit of life returns to the Father, Ecc. 12:7. In the case of the Christian (the true Christ one,) there is the implication in Scripture, that the Christ Spirit returns to Christ, Acts 7:59 & Philippians 1:23. As can be seen from the above comments, the period of time one is living in, seems to change the case, this in Scripture is called by the Apostle Paul “the administration,” or “age time” by others. Each “age time” has different criterion and rules, hence the comments above regarding those that die in different situations, and times. The fact that there is so much confusion regarding “the soul” and “the spirit of life,” and that to many people the two are interchangeable in general speech, adds to the misconceptions. There is no doubt that the “spirit” returns to God at death. The soul in the Bible’s own definition (and therefore God’s) is as shown above in blue. But many people will object to this comment, and insist that “consciousness” continues in the “soul” after death! The Bible is clear; after the death of an individual, there is no consciousness or memory! These references confirm the point; Psms. 6:5, 30:9, 31:17, 88:11,115:17,118:17, 146:4, Ecc. l.9:6-10, 12:7, Isa. 38:17-19. The great emphasis of the Necromancers of all shades, is that “there is no death.” In the “Spiritualist” churches, many of their hymns emphasise this in each verse. This is the great thrust of Satan in the world, to stop people from believing that Christ has defeated death on the Calvary Cross, and that HE ALONE HAS THE POWER AND AUTHORITY TO RAISE PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD! All authority is His until He hands back the finished Work to the Father, at the end of the Millennial Reign! (1Cor. 15:24). It is seen from the above extract that the blue portion gives the formulation of “the soul”. The dust of the ground, + the spirit of Life = the living Soul !Soul and Spirit, The Error!
So the soul is an entity which is breathing! It is interesting to note that the Latin word for the soul is “anima” which means “air or breath”, (see App.13 Companion Bible). The very interesting thing to note is that the words and formulation are used for the Created animals of Genesis! Therefore the simple fact is that any living creature, man and animal, Created by God, and since Eden pro-created; is a “living soul”, Gen. 1:20 !
As an aside, the important point in Genesis is the difference between man and animals as shown is Gen.1:26 and 27. The fact of man being Created in the likeness of the Godhead is of profound importance to realise, as the mind also has the same difference to animals, with the impact that difference has made since the partaking of the “fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen.2:17)! This point needs to be made, as many religions teach that animals are equal to humans, instead of what God says in Gen.1:26; which gives dominion to man over animals!
When Eve, then Adam partook of that fruit, they unlocked the forbidden knowledge, and became subject to death, which brought on the “Curse” of God to Adam and Eve, but also the Promise of Gen. 3:15, which is all about Christ, and Salvation through Him, which Satan has since been combating, part of which is the myth of the immortal soul!
In the view of the writers, the spirit is the enduring entity in all people, whether Christian or not.
However, the "spirit of life" metamorphosis’s to the "Spirit of Christ" at conversion to Christ! This goes to be with Christ at death in the writer’s view (Acts 7:59).
The non-Christian’s "spirit of life", goes back to the Father at death, (Ecc. 12:7), to await the Judgement when reunited with the body.
The "Christ Spirit" is probably vastly different in the limbo state, (that time between death and the “glorified body”) to that of the unbeliever, as Christ said "God is the God of the Living, not of the dead", (Matt.22:32, Mark 12:27, Luke 20:38.)
In 1Thess. 3:13-18, the great Apostle Paul lucidly describes the condition of those that die in Christ Jesus. Three times he uses the words “sleep” or “asleep” in Jesus. In the A.V. translation the word “asleep” has been accepted, and taught by enlightened preachers for many years. It is interesting to note the word used by the Translator of the Ancient Armenian Pshitta, which has recently been commissioned and predates the Greek translation, and therefore the "Received Text". He uses the word “repose” and “reposed,” instead of “sleep” and “asleep.” This carries the added meaning of “peace, security, rest etc:” which in the context of Christ our Lord, feels natural, when considering all His care and love for people of goodwill; as evidenced in the Gospels! All the incidents of Jesus’ love towards people are emphasized by their response to Him and His messages; even when in deep sin!
His condemnation was always reserved for those who corrupted the True Scriptures (The Word of God;) particularly the Pharisees!
The Translator of the Pshitta mentioned above can be accessed at: Supporters Page : (Translation of the Pshitta, by Victor Alexander).
The Translator is an ancient languages scholar, who uses ancient Aramaic in his work, not modern Aramaic, which is the usual method. Because of his ability and training, even to “Pictoform,” his work is of particular interest and importance; even if only for comparison.
The unbelievers on the other hand await The Great White Throne Judgement", when they are Judged by Almighty God "on all they ever did", and those failing are subject to the “Lake of Fire”, (Rev.20:14), called “the second death”.
Summary:
It becomes apparent that each and every case in Scripture where the terms “soul and spirit” are used needs careful examination, to ascertain the actual usage and meaning. To emphasis that point, we need only look at two examples:
- Gen. 1:20, the Hebrew word Nephesh is translated “life”!
- Gen. 2:7, here the same word Nephesh is translated “soul”!
This is clearly to suit the Dogma of the organization that had commissioned the translation. These are two examples of hundreds, and underlines the need for the student to examine every case where Nephesh is used!
These have been very carefully done by the late Dr. E. W. Bullinger, in his Companion Bible. They are found at the back of the Bible under the heading “Appendixes”, and the ones to study are 9,13,101 and 110. Every single verse where the words are used are detailed, so that every student can be sure of the actual meaning.
Alternatively, they are available on the Web, courtesy of Levend Water, at:
http://www.levendwater.org/companion/index_companion.html
The ideal is the Companion Bible, as each page has a wide margin with crucial information on many subjects of Scripture, including that of the soul and spirit!
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