Basic HTML Version
BIG QUESTION
(Continued f rom page 12)
basic truth. Few have ever grasped
it.
Since man's material "soul"–
his body and its physical life pro–
cesses-is corruptible and perishes
after death,
how
is it possible for
God to ultimately resurrect an indi–
vidual?
If
everything is physical
and turns lo dust, what is there that
remains of a person to be "brought
back"?
How
are his personality, his
memory and his cbaracter
pre-
Bible declares (Eccl. 9:5, 10). In
the day of a man's death, "his
thoughts perish" (Ps. 146:4). The
Bible clearly pictures death as a
sleep-a
state of
unconsciousness
(Dan. 12:2).
Al death , thi s spi rit in man
"shall return unto God who gave
it" (Eccl. 12:7) . Jt is then "filed
away," so to speak, 1ike a tape
recording, for God's future use ata
resu rrection.
On it is indelibly recorded one's
character and the many experiences
accumulated during one's lifetime.
This is hell, the biblical
gehenna-tbe
valley of Hinnom, anciently the fiery
repository for J erusalem's garbage. Here, more than a thousand years from now,
will center the judgment in which tbe resurrected wicked will be burned to asbes -
not tortured forever. Request our free article
To Hell and Back
for the true
biblical understanding of hell.
served
by God until a day of resur–
rection?
The answer is simply that
not
everything
about a man is physi–
cal! The Bible calls this nonphysi–
cal component tbe "spirit [He–
brew
ruach,
Greek
pneuma]
in
man" ( J ob 32:8; Zech. 12: 1; l
Cor. 2:11). l t is not
the
man.
lt
is
in
man.
This spirit in man, however,
has no consciousness apart from
the physical human brain. l t is
not to be confused in any way
with the fictional concept of a
conscious "immortal soul." " T he
dead know not any thing," the
38
(See the article "What
l s
Man?"
that will appear in next month's
issue, for a further explanation.)
1t
is also this "spirit in man"-as
often explained in the pages of this
magazine-tbat sets man apar t
from the animals.
It
is what makes
man
unique.
1t
imparts to the living
human brain the power of intellect
to comprehend materialistic knowl–
edge. It is the sou rce of human
intelligence.
It
is
not
present in ani–
mal brain. (For a further examina–
tion of the spirit in man concept,
write for the book
The fncredible
Human Potential.
It
is free upon
request.)
Whole World Decei ved
There is no scriptural basis what–
ever for belief in an "immortal
soul " surviving consciously after
death.
Throughout the centuries of pro–
fessing Christianity, innumerable
sermons have been preached and
countless pamphlets written pur–
porting to prove the soul 's immor–
tality. Upon careful and open–
minded examination, they are all
found to be riddled with surprising
error.
The doctrine of the immortal
soul is built on a foundation of bib–
lical mistranslations, fa1se premises
and sloppy scholarship. Few have
had the spiritual courage to take a
fresh, unprejudiced look at the
question and accept the
true
Bible
teaching.
For when the false doctrine of
the immortal soul is toppled, along
with it falls the equally pagan and
false concept of Heaven and Hell–
one of the cornerstones of tradi–
tional Christianity!
Satan the devil has suc–
ceeded-for the time being-in
deceiving the whole world (Rev.
12:9). It was he who first intro–
duced the idea that man does not
really die, but is inherently
immortal. "Ye shall not surely
d ie," Satan lied to Eve in the
garden of Eden (Gen . 3:4).
God's future for mankind is far
more transcendent than the com–
mon picture of immortal souls
floating on clouds and strumming
harps for eternity. For those who
choose it and qualify, there
is
life
after death by a resurrection. But
that life will come through a
new
birth
as an immortal spirit being
into the very family of God-by
means of a future
resurrection
from the dead!
Write for our booklets
What
Will You Be Doing in the Next
Lije?
and
What is the Reward of
the Saved?
Also
The Wonderful
World Tomorrow-What
lt Wilf
Be Like.
It
is time to cast off the fables
and traditions of men and under–
stand the great meaning and pur–
pose of human life as revealed in
the Bible!
Will
you
have the courage to
look into it for yourself?
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH