The Soul and Eternal Punishment [revised 2007].pdf

The Soul and Eternal Punishment

Matthew 10:28

Ken Guindon

(Diploma, Bible School of Gilead Ï 48 th Class)

¨July 1, 1999, (revised, September 20, 2007)

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Christian Hope

First Argument - Greek and logic applied to JW teaching on Matthew 10:28a.

Second Argument: Matthew 10:28b (five sections: 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e).

2a) Why we have reason to fear God rather than men.

2b) The meaning of Apollumi, ÐdestroyÑin Matthew 10:28b.

2c) The unforgivable sin and the final destiny of the wicked.

2d) What does New World Translation mean by cutting off (Mt 25:46)?

2e) Does soul refer to a future life as stated in The Emphatic Diaglott?

Conclusions on Matthew 10:28.

AppendixÎChurch Fathers on Hell and the Soul.

Introduction

The Watchtower Society has about 6.7 million members and their rate of expansion is

approximately 1.5%. JehovahÓs Witnesses baptize close to 250,000 people each year and

their converts are then trained to proselytize others. Many of those who study with the

Witnesses changed their religion quite quickly after having been visited only a short time.

The methodology employed by the Witnesses is very simple. First, the Witnesses will

leave their literature in homes and then return to begin a discussion based upon a

Watchtower book or pamphlet. The subjects taken up with newly contacted individuals

usually center on such things as: God will put an end to all wars, a future life in a restored

earthly paradise, the Trinity or the soul. Due to the fact that the majority of Christian

people are not trained to discuss these matters, especially topics like the Trinity or the

soul, the JehovahÓs Witnesses easily turn these discussions to their advantage. With great

conviction, they will state that the Bible does NOT teach what people (Protestants or

Catholics) have been brought up to believe. According to the Watchtower Society, these

are very simple subjects which anybody can easily understand.

Simplistic arguments are employed and the unlearned are led to accept what has been

proved true thanks to the documentation provided in the Watchtower SocietyÓs books and

magazines. This is why a detailed discussion of the JehovahÓs WitnessesÓ teachings on

this and other subjects is important to Christians who seek to dialogue with them.

Christians need to have concern and empathy for JehovahÓs Witnesses who are sincere,

but in error. The purpose of this article is to help Christians meet the challenge thrust

upon them by the JehovahÓs Witnesses and others that hold similar beliefs on the soul

(i.e. Adventism, Christadelphianism, etc.). Truth is a matter of life and death because it

does affect our relationship with God (Deut. 30:19, 20; John 8:32).

When discussing doctrinal differences, remember that during the Arian controversies

(of the 4 th and 5th centuries), only a iota (Greek letter ÐiÑ) separated the opposing sides.

What sometimes seems to be nothing more than a small detail can often make all the

difference in the world. This is why I have chosen to consult lexicons and reference

works. JehovahÓs Witnesses admit that we should do this:

ÐBut what does the Bible really teach about the soul? To find out, we need to examine the meanings of

the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated ÐsoulÑ in the Bible.Ñ (ÐWhat Happens to Us When We

Die?Ñ Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, Brooklyn, 1998, p. 19).

Matthew 10:28 is an important passage on life, death and the soul, and the JWs (i.e.

JehovahÓs Witnesses) will usually bring it up and explain that hell is not really a place we

The Soul of Man in Matthew 10:28

should fear. I want to say right away that the true teaching about hell is nothing like what

the JWs imagine Christians teach. Because the matter before us is the soul, I shall not go

into much depth about what hell is and why men go there; this would be a topic for

another article.

Consequently, my intention is to take up the JehovahÓs WitnessesÓ belief that the soul

ceases to exist at death. A complete treatment of the historical, theological and philoso-

phical ideas relative to the nature of the soul is far beyond the limits of this article which

is written for the average person. Hopefully this article will be easily understood by

everyone. Should anyone desire more information, he or she is invited to consult his

church leaders and reputable theological sources.

Sadly, JehovahÓs Witnesses attract many fine people through their teachings

concerning the soul and hell. A superficial reading of their literature might leave one with

the impression that their arguments are plausible, even convincing. Such a possibility

calls for a serious examination of the Watchtower SocietyÓs teachings. This is the task

before us.

The Christian Hope

What is eternal life? Is there life after death? What do the Scriptures set forth as the

ChristianÓs hope after death (Eph. 4:4)? These and other questions are dealt with in that

section of theological studies called eschatology (study of last things). Briefly, a Christian

who has been born anew, from above, has become a child of God (John 3:3). The apostle

Paul informed the Galatian believers: ÐFor you are all sons of God through faith in Christ

Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on ChristÑ (Gal. 3:26-27,

NKJ). A Christian will spend eternity with Jesus Christ. A number of passages from the

Holy Scriptures are listed below to substantiate this thought. The italics will draw

attention to certain key phrases. Although these texts inform our Christian faith, they

donÓt exhaust all possible avenues of argument. Hopefully, they are sufficiently clear for

most readers. They have been taken from the King James Version published several

hundred years before the Watchtower Society was organized.

In my FatherÓs house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare

a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto

myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:1-3)

And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for

ever . . .; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:16-17).

If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be (Jn 12:26;

compare John 17:24).

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life;

and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28).

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children,

then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be

also glorified together. . . . For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor

principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other

creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans

8:16-17, 38-39).

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of

God, an house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to

be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found

naked. . . . We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present

with the Lord. (2 Cor. 5:1-3, 8).

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain . . . having a desire to depart and to be with Christ;

which is much better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. (Phil. 1:21-24).

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