Dear in Christ,- This post may sound silly to many. I wish something similar (or even better) were written by someone with a better knowledge of zoology.
- If you are not familiar with the Hebrew and Greek words translated as Hell, Sheol and Gehenna, respectively, please, this post may not be for you.
There was a time we used to stay in an agrarian village near Electronic City, Bangalore, [Electronic City is termed as the software capital of India]. Fields yielding carrots, beets (beetroots), spinach, etc., were all around us. During evenings while the farmers gather these vegetables they would give us some (very often, for free). During those days we lost a lot of weight by turning raw vegans. Also, we tried out a few recipes like beetroot wine and carrot cakes.
Three years passed by, and some of these farmers decided to stop cultivation and to construct apartment complexes in their fields, to be let out to the software professionals from the nearby Electronic City. As they were digging foundations for the apartment complexes, a few human skeletons were uncovered, which caused quite a stir among the superstitious villagers. Cops were called in and the investigations revealed that these skeletons were of a few goons who were killed in a gang war, many years ago.
(For the sake of this post I assume that decomposition of human bodies results in producing simple molecules. I am not a student of science, correct me, if I am wrong.)
All those three years while we were staying there, the molecules from the bodies of those goons nourished our bodies and became part of our bodies while we consumed the vegetables (in the form of beet wine and carrot cakes) that grew in the fields in which they were buried.
Now, let's try to apply Mat 10:28 to these goons.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.According to a vast majority of Christians, the bodies and souls of sinners and those who don't accept the Christian God would be destroyed in hell. The goons I mentioned above should have been sinners and quite likely to be non-Christians. If the judgment of the world has to happen one of these days and if their bodies are to be cast into hell, at least, parts of their bodies have to come out of our bodies, because we have consumed the molecules from their bodies.
It is estimated that the surface soil of earth contains the decomposed remains of 110 billion human beings who lived and died over thousands of years. The food you eat and the water you drink have the molecules from those human beings, a majority of them could have been sinners. The molecules from thousands of them could be in your body. I am more than convinced that you are a heaven bound Christian saint. The molecules that once belonged to those sinners have to come out of your body, so that they could be thrown into hell. Do you think this to be a plausible scenario?
For the reasons mentioned above, physical, biological resurrection of human beings also becomes implausible.
Yes, yes, Mat 10:28 mentions “soul” as well!
It is generally understood that the word “soul” implies “the immaterial part of a human being”.
The Greek word translated as “soul” in Mat 10:28 is ψυχή (psuchē, psoo-khay', G5590 in Strong's Lexicon). Whereas this word is translated as “soul” for a 54 times in the King James Version, it is also translated as life (40 times), mind (3) and heart(2).
Let us examine some of the passages where this word is translated as “soul”.
Act 7:14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen (75) souls.[G5590]Do we have to believe that Jacob went down to Egypt with 75 “immaterial parts of human beings”?
Act 27:37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen (276) souls[G5590].Was Paul on the ship to Italy with 276 “immaterial parts of human beings”?
Rev 18:13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls[G5590] of men.Is the Great Babylon is accused of importing “the immaterial parts of a human beings”, just as she was importing cinnamon, odours, ointments, and so on?
I can go on and on, but, it could be established that the Greek word in question means either “person” (individuals, people, body) or “mind”. Jacob went down to Egypt with 75 persons or individuals. There were 276 people with Paul on the ship to Italy. The Great Babylon is accused of importing human beings (or bodies of men, obviously, not as slaves).
- Fear gripped people seeing the signs and wonders performed by the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:43)
- Those individuals who don't obey the Messiah would be destroyed from among people. (Acts 3:23)
- 3,000 people were added to the congregation on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:41)
- Jesus' mind was troubled (Joh 12:27; Mat 26:38)
- Mary's mind magnified the Lord (Luk 1:46)
- Every individual is instructed to obey the authorities. (Rom 13:1)
There are quite a few passages where this Greek could mean “life”. Obviously, the following passage talks about the death (life being required) of the rich man who garnered all his wealth in barns.
Luk 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul[G5590] (life) shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Christ's “soul” was not left in hell.
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul[G5590] was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.This passage is an allusion to Psa 16:10.
Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul[H5315] in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
The Hebrew word used here, נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh, neh'-fesh, H5315 in Strong's) is translated several times as “dead body”. See: Num 9:6, 7, 10; Hag 2:13.
Num 9:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body,[H5315] ....
Hag 2:13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body[H5315] touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
“Adam was made a living soul”
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul;[G5590] the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
As we all know, this passage refers back to Gen 2:7.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living[H2416] soul.[H5315].Please note the Strong's numbers of the words “living” and “soul” in Gen 2:7. We see them, exactly in the very same order in passages referring to animals as well.
Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living[H2416] creature[H5315]...Apart from the grammatical requirements, there is no differences in the Hebrew text of these passages.
Gen 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living[H2416] creature[H5315] after his kind...
Gen 9:10 And with every living[H2416] creature[H5315] that is with you...
Conclusion:
Haven't we heard preachers asking us:Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?What if Jesus really meant something like this?
Mar 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own life (or mind)?What if Jesus were using a figure of speech or rhetorical figure like Antanaclasis in Mat 10:28 where both the words translated as “body” and “soul” in fact meant “body”, indicating a complete destruction of it? At least in Indian English, don't we use expressions like “chaos and confusion” to mean a state of “total confusion”? (Please don't tell me that the scriptures don't use figures of speech, more than 60 of them are used.)
Mar 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life (or mind)?
We need to let the Holy Spirit to use figurative language or figures of speech. If we can't completely comprehend a literary work in another language just by knowing its grammar and using a dictionary, how do we expect to comprehend the scriptures, written in languages that are extinct, using translations and Strong's Lexicon?
In Christ,
Tomsan Kattackal
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