Summary Evaluation of Physical Only Positions

To summarize let's again remember where we started. The beliefs were grounded in the following statements by Physical Only adherants. We'll look at those statements, the evidence required for those statements to be true, and review the evidence from Scripture and history.

1 "Man is a living soul [Hebrew nephesh], formed of the dust of the ground; man is physical with a brain empowered by the spirit in man and can die."

Implicit in this statement is the assumption that the Hebrew word nephesh, and thus man, was completely defined in the first chapters of Genesis. Hebrew, however, is a language of relatively few words, each word having several meanings. It is incorrect to state that any word is completely defined by examining a small percentage of the total occurrences of the word.

In addition, Scripture presents a progressive revelation to man. No single chapter or book contains the totality of God's revelation about any single doctrine. The doctrine of man is no exception.

2 "Nephesh is the word generally translated soul in the King James Version. Nephesh--in reference to human beings--is always speaking of the temporary, physical, animal life which is supplied by the transfer of oxygen through the blood."

The term nephesh also refers to other qualities of mankind. For example, it refers to the emotions, the will, and the mind. The Hebrew language clearly indicates that the nephesh represents man's inner self as opposed to the outer appearance.

3 "The Hebrew word nephesh merely means a breathing animal--this is what man became. The soul is physical, composed of matter, and can die. The soul is merely the breathing animal."

The word nephesh typically refers to the non-material aspects of man. It refers to the soul that leaves a body at death. This nephesh is never placed in a tomb or grave, but resides in Sheol after death. The Hebrew people believed that communication with these conscious souls of the dead or familiar spirits was possible. The Torah and later Scriptures provided repeated prohibitions regarding contact with these familiar spirits.

4 "The spirit in man (1) imparts the power of intellect--thinking and mind power to the human brain, and (2) is the means God has instilled making possible a personal relationship between human man and divine God."

The inner man, from both the OT and NT perspectives, is described by the soul, nephesh in Hebrew and psuche in Greek. This soul is the source of intellect or mind power.

Though we have not discussed the Holy Spirit, it is clearly the indwelling of God within man that gives us access to God (Ephesians 2:18) and even pleads our case to God (Romans 8:26).

5 "The departed human spirit, at death, is in fact a spiritual mold, of itself unconscious, yet in the resurrection bringing into the resurrected body all the memory, knowledge, and character as well as form and shape of the person before death."

The soul, nephesh or psuche, is seen as the container of the personality, what the inner man really is. In the resurrection, it is this soul that will be united with a body.

6 "Pagan religions were simply manufactured to control the masses. The doctrine of a hell immediately after death--which signifies that people had inherent immortality--were meant to scare the common people into being faithful citizens."

The concept of an afterlife is a universal concept. Archeology and literature are almost unanimous in their support for the concept of a conscious afterlife in which the dead would "live" in another place. That both the Hebrews and the pagans (everyone else) believed this is beyond dispute.

This belief is more than a pagan idea. It is elemental to the human condition. It is not simply something some individuals invented to control other people.

7 "The wicked will receive eternal punishment (by being burned up to become ashes and remaining dead for eternity), not eternal punishing (remaining eternally alive while being tormented in a fictitious burning hell-fire)."

The language of the OT and especially of the NT show that the fate of the wicked will not be annihilation. The original Greek and Hebrew terms translated into English as perish or destroy should not necessarily be taken to be annihilation. Just as we speak today of perishing or destruction as meaning a physical languishing or physical or mental turmoil, these words often have similar meanings in Scripture. There are enough clear statements of conscious, unending torment to call into question the theory of the destruction or annihilation of the wicked.

Evaluation of the Required Evidence

In order to maintain Physical Only positions, we are required to show the following evidence from Scripture. Without all these observations, the foundational plank for our theories of "soul sleep" and annihilation cannot be upheld.

1 Nephesh always refers to characteristics of physical, biological life; it is never refers to the mind, emotions, or personality and is never contrasted to flesh or the body.

The Greek word bios is never used for the psuche nor for nephesh in the LXX. Both nephesh and psuche refer to the intellect, emotions and the total personality. The fact that the nephesh and psuche leave the body after death is clear evidence that this statement is false.

2 Nephesh, at death, is placed in a grave or tomb.

Nephesh or psuche are never placed in the tomb. The soul leaves the body behind and goes to Sheol or Hades after death. The body or corpse is placed in the tomb.

3 Graves or tombs can be purchased for future placement of dead nephesh.

Bodies were placed in tombs. Sheol, the home of the nephesh after death, is never purchased; no prime spots in Sheol were ever purchased.

4 Words used by pagans to describe an immortal soul or the abode of conscious departed souls are never used in Scripture to refer to man; rather Scripture uses carefully selected words that describe precisely that man is mortal.

The very words used by pagans to denote the immortal soul (psuche) or the hidden place of departed spirits (Hades) are the words used by both the Jewish translators of the Old Testament into Greek and by the New Testament writers. These words expressed the ideas that God wanted expressed in Scripture.

5 Sleep is used, not merely as a euphemism for death, but as an actual description of the state of the dead.

Sleep is an excellent picture of the dead body. It is a common euphemism for death. When used, it was not always understood to mean death. The most common description of death in the New Testament is the departure of the soul or life principle (psuche) from the body. The actual description of the state of the dead involved both the body (soma) and the soul (psuche). Various Scriptural passages may emphasize one or the other, but taken together they embody a more full revelation of what man is.

6 The wicked are not described as experiencing pain or torment after death; only after the final judgment are they punished.

The wicked dead are described by Jesus himself as experiencing pain and suffering in Sheol or Hades. Other Old and New Testament writers also promote this concept.

7 Eternal punishment is described in Scripture only as the consumption or destruction of all aspects of man; there is no external punishing, but the eternal punishment of destruction.

Scriptures describe the never ending torment of the wicked after the judgment. The translation of Greek or Hebrew words using English words perish or destruction are not necessarily meant to convey the idea of annihilation.

The long and the sort of it is: many are wrong. They were taught and believe concepts that are in error.

Let's give God the glory for our increasingly accurate understanding of the New Covenant, the nature of our relationship with God, and God's loving grace.

Then, let's move forward with renewed vigor to accomplish the work of spreading the Gospel to the world.

The following are some objections that were raised during the initial presentation of this material.

Consciousness and brain function
Jews believe there is no afterlife

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